Independent on Sunday 1,777/Bard

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As far as I can see, this is a debut from Bard, so welcome and congratulations.

I have an opinion on this puzzle, but will leave it to others to comment first about how they found it, while I content myself with not one but two bird links.

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1 Fishy expression – up to no good
POUT
(UP TO)* with ‘no good’ as the anagrind. Pushing out your lips in a pout could be seen like fish lips. A pout is also a type of fish, and some authorities link the two words etymologically.

4 Succeed in quiz about cancelled or difficult subjects
SORE POINTS
S[C]ORE POINTS.

9 Cause of extreme weather faked online
EL NIÑO
(ONLINE)* with ‘faked’ as the anagrind.

10 Graduate student briefly put right about Sartre’s Nausea
MAL DE MER
A charade of MA, L and REMED[Y] reversed. Great surface: La Nausée is one of Sartre’s works.

11 Sporting footwear with a snappy outfit, both trimmed
WATER SKI
A charade of W, A, TERS[E] and KI[T].

13 Acrostic of “find accommodating receptacle to entomb dead”
COFFIN
Reading the clue literally would give you FARTED; but that’s just misdirection. The solution is hidden in AcrostiC OF FINd.

14 School rebuffed pupil’s denial, employing a process for detecting plagiarism
COMPARISON
An insertion of A in COMP and NO SIR reversed. The insertion indicator is ’employing’ and the reversal indicator is ‘rebuffed’. The definition as ‘process for detecting plagiarism’ is extremely loose, I would say.

16 Play outside transport terminal in Chiswick
BUSK
A charade of BUS and K for the final letter in ‘Chiswick’.

17 Antipodean’s vital amber liquid, we hear
KIWI
Aural wordplay (‘we hear’) for KEY WEE. It’s not unequivocally referring to a bird, so I can’t.

18 Owner‘s organised report about dog permit oddly ignored
PROPRIETOR
An insertion of OPRI, the even letters of DOGPERMIT, in (REPORT)* The anagrind is ‘organised’.

20 Don’t take part in operation against ticket seller
OPT OUT
A charade of OP and TOUT.

21 Ex-PM brewing lager with last vestiges of her late barley
EARL GREY
A charade of (LAGER)* and REY for the final letters of the last three words of the clue.  The anagrind is ‘brewing’.

23 Maybe Simon and Garfunkel‘s Sound of Silence toasted thus?
TWO-PIECE
Whimsically, a toast to silence might be TO PEACE. The aural wordplay is indicated by ‘sound of’.

24 Born horny? This might calm one down
BRANDY
A charade of B and RANDY.

26 “Poorly managed reef, greater action necessary” – Kenyan oceanologist taking sides
GRANNY KNOT
The outside letters (‘taking sides’) of GreateR ActioN NecessarY KenyaN OceanologisT.  Granny knots and reef knots are related: when I was a lad, the granny knot was what resulted if you didn’t get the reef knot quite right, which is what the surface is getting at, I fancy.

27 Afghans regularly overthrown in epic story
SAGA
The odd letters of AfGhAnS reversed.

Down

2 Hunter concealed in middle of ox-bow lake
OWL
Hidden in ox-bOW Lake, and given the range of species on offer, an excellent option for the obligatory Pierre bird link. I have gone for the long-eared owl, a UK-wide resident. The ‘ears’ are actually feather tufts and seem not to be involved in hearing but perhaps in communication.

3 Hemp wound up counterpart with tackle on the right wing
TWINE
A charade of TWIN and E for the final letter of ‘tackle’.

4 How walks up Kilimanjaro and fun runs are backed, or by whom?
SPONSOR
The final letters (‘how … are backed’) of ‘walks’, ‘up’, ‘Kilimanjaro’, ‘fun’ and ‘runs’, followed by OR, with an extended definition.

5 Macabre effect of 22D 13A is as yet unknown
REMAINS TO BE SEEN
A whimsical description of how you might describe the contents of a GLASS COFFIN.

6 Bird chewed a pencil
PELICAN
(A PENCIL)* with ‘chewed’ as the anagrind. Evolution often produces things of great beauty; I’m not sure the PELICAN can be described as such, but you can check out the obligatory Pierre bird link and decide for yourself. Functional, certainly. The picture shows the Australian Pelican, which is the only one to inhabit billabongs.

7 Unusually fine story that’s hard to describe
INEFFABLE
A charade of (FINE)* and FABLE. The anagrind is ‘unusually’.

8 London and SE might be OK, somehow
THE BIG SMOKE
(SE MIGHT BE OK)* with ‘somehow’ as the anagrind.

12 Boundless energy from a cat with one special ability – absorbing carbon!
ATOMIC POWER
An insertion of C in A TOM I and POWER. The insertion indicator is ‘absorbing’.

15 Post Office is working to shut up malicious writer
POISON PEN
A charade of PO, IS, ON and PEN.

18 Snooker player Hendry’s last cup, perhaps
POTTERY
A charade of POTTER and Y for the last letter of Hendry, which is referencing the Scot who is one of the most successful players in the game’s history.

19 Welsh dish provided in bloody small portion
RAREBIT
A charade of RARE and BIT.

22 It’s clear from the outset – girls love anagrams and silly spoonerisms …
GLASS
The initial letters of the last five words of the clue.

25 … like mine
DIG
A dd.

Many thanks to Bard for this Sunday’s puzzle.

16 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1,777/Bard”

  1. I really liked this.
    I know amber coloured urine may indicate dehydration -and that Brandy may increase lust.
    But…1a was really good (LOI)-loved EARL GREY (still do)
    Thought BUSK was a great surface etc etc
    More, please

  2. Thank you pierre. Loved your birds. Great selection, especially with the extra link between the OWL clue and the billabong PELICAN you’ve chosen. A billabong is commonly an ox-bow lake.

    Agree MAL DE MER is a good clue.

    I also enjoyed Bard’s crossword. Didn’t fully parse WATERSKI or TWO-PIECE. Lovely misdirections. KIWI, COFFIN, and GLASS made me laugh. Tick for INEFFABLE because I like the word, and the cluing.

  3. Top faves:
    MAL DE MER, TWO-PIECE (an extended def, considering the background of ‘Sound of Silence’?), GRANNY KNOT and THE BIG SMOKE (recalling that SE is often clued as ‘London area’. If there is an OK cigar, that will make the clue even more appealing!).

    Welcome Bard. A great enjoyable puzzle. Thanks.
    A crisp and neat blog Pierre! Thanks.

    A couple of thoughts:
    OPT OUT
    Def: Don’t take part
    REMAINS TO BE SEEN
    Def: is as yet unknown

  4. Def in 4a would be ‘difficult subjects’? Liked the link between COFFIN, GLASS and REMAINS TO BE SEEN although didn’t fully get the need for ‘macabre effect of’. Works okay without it. Agree with Pierre re the def for COMPARISON. BUSK is tops and PELICAN. Congratulations and thanks Bard (and Pierre). Excellent

  6. Mal de mer and Remains to be seen were excellent. Less enamoured with Sponsor. Not sure what the Boundless is doing in clue for Atomic Power

    I see we have a green website theme for St. Patrick. Nice touch Admin

    Thanks Pierre and Bard

  7. REMAINS TO BE SEEN (some thoughts)
    The ‘effect of GLASS COFFIN’ might have been adequate. However, with the ‘macabre’, Bard tells us
    that there is a body inside!
    ATOMIC POWER
    Boundless in the sense of vast works fine, I guess.

  8. COFFIN is one of my favourite clues in ages – a new layer of entertainment!

    Thanks & welcome Bard, and thanks Pierre.

  9. I’m intrigued to hear Pierre’s opinion in due course. I enjoyed this debut – welcome, Bard. I share the appreciation for COFFIN and also enjoyed the surface link between GLASS and DIG. POUT, MAL DE MER, BUSK, KIWI, REMAINS TO BE SEEN and POTTERY were my other ticks. I’d agree the def for COMPARISON is a bit loose. ‘… on the right wing’ to indicate the final letter of a word in a down clue feels slightly strange; I appreciate the clue is certainly horizontal even if the solution isn’t – and I don’t mind ‘top’ for first letter in an across clue!

    Thanks Bard and the enigmatic Pierre (that is a fine looking PELICAN but, I’d agree, ‘beautiful’ is probably not the word )

  10. A warm welcome to Bard who gave us quite a challenging puzzle – this may well be a first appearance here but I doubt that it’s his/her first ever compilation.
    Ticks here went to SORE POINTS, MAL DE MER, REMAINS TO BE SEEN & RARE BIT.

    Thanks to Bard and to Pierre who must have been delighted to have two birdie opportunities – don’t think I’ve ever seen a long-eared owl that wasn’t asleep!

  11. I will drop back in now to say that I, too, enjoyed this debut. I’m always careful when I blog a setter’s debut puzzle not to be too opinionated in the preamble in case that sets the tone – one way or another – for commenters. Perhaps slightly clunky in one or two places – I wasn’t keen myself on ‘boundless energy’ for ATOMIC POWER – but overall a fine and entertaining puzzle. More like this, please.

  12. Thanks Bard & Pierre, nice puzzle. Some super definitions (1, 4, 16, 26, 5 -inc ‘is’, 25), and refreshing fun and games with quite a few surfaces (13 and 22…25 particular highlights).

  13. Excellent debut, thanks Bard and Pierre! Quite a few red herring indicators too. I particularly liked the COFFIN clue and where it eventually led.

  14. A Bard crossword but, thankfully, not a “bard” grid. Marvellous debut, I thought with particular congrats for the wonderfully constructed clue for COFFIN.
    Since no-one else has mentioned it (and I do so like to nitpick 😉 ), Pierre you’ve underlined the wrong bit in 4a.

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