Independent 11,728 by Wire

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This was an enjoyable and challenging puzzle from Wire.

I liked 2D for the imagery that had nothing to do with the answer and 25A was a novel way of presenting the definition.

ACROSS
1 FAST FOOD
Don’t eat regularly from odd unhealthy portions (4,4)

Fast(=don't eat) + odd letters of "from odd". The def might be a little questionable, as it probably is possible to have healthy fast food.
6 SUPINE
Laid back contingent of Scots up in Edinburgh (6)

Hidden in "Scots up in Edinburgh"
9 ID CARD
Pass maybe from twisted doctor on bad acid (2,4)

D{octo}r< after acid*
10 VIRGINAL
Runs spirit into glass container that’s pristine (8)

(R{uns} + gin) in vial
11 BONE MARROW
Tissue in cart single male has filled (4,6)

Barrow(=cart) around (one m{ale})
12 COAX
Gain influence by flattering Wire (4)

DD. Wire here is not a reference to the compiler but simply means wire i.e. coaxial cable.
13 SEPTIC
Infected college by start of autumn? (6)

C{ollege} after Sept I(=date usually considered the beginning of autumn, at least in the Northern hemisphere).
15 ESCAPADE
Handset oddly lost on new space adventure (8)

Even letters of handset after space*
18 LACROSSE
‘Large axe’ cryptically represents a sport (8)

Cryptically "Large axe" would be L{arge} + a + cross(=x) + e
20 IBERIA
Goat briefly faces wind from east peninsula (6)

Ibe[x] + air<(=wind). An ibex is a type of goat, although in an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Jeremy Clarkson was so convinced it was an antelope that he told the contestant who picked that option he'd got it right, even when he hadn't.
21 THOU
Second person once with husband out cycling (4)

(H{usband} out) with the T cycling to the front.
23 PAINKILLER
Drug old man worsening after tattoo (10)

Pa(=old man) + (iller(=worsening) after ink(=tattoo))
25 FIVE A DAY
Better option than 1: 35 per week? (4-1-3)

DD/CD. 35 per week would effectively be the same as 5 a day (7 days * 5 = 35) and the 5 a day would be better than fast food, assuming the fast food consists of burgers etc.
26 DINGHY
German on row with empty holy vessel (6)

(G{erman} after din(=row in argument sense)) + h[ol]y
27 PISTOL
Investigator mainly took what can be loaded (6)

PI(=private investigator) + stol[e]
28 SPEEDS UP
Cat crossing ocean towards port gets quicker (6,2)

(Puss around deep)< (reversal indicated by "towards port" which, in naval parlance, means towards the left)
DOWN
2 ANDROMEDA
Congregation of stars with a capital attorney (9)

And(=with) + Rome(=capital) + DA(=District Attorney)
3 TEASE
Lead on runner announced (5)

Hom of Tees(=a river, which runs)
4 ORDNANCES
Navy invested in gold balls as munitions (9)

N{avy} in (OR(=gold) + dances(=balls))
5 DIVERGE
Deflect half of eggs rolling beneath penguin? (7)

Eg[gs]< under diver(=penguin, which is a diving bird)
6 SHREW
Fly’s last to escape insectivore (5)

Shrew[d]. Fly here is used as an adjective meaning clever.
7 PRINCIPLE
PC in peril breaking law (9)

(PC in peril)*
8 NYALA
US cities caging American antelope (5)

(NY + LA (=short forms of US cities)) around A{merican}
14 TURBULENT
Wild time Blur tune conjured up (9)

(T{ime} Blur tune)*
16 CHICKADEE
Third letter about Bumpkin Bill’s bird (9)

Cee(=name for the letter C) + (hick(=bumpkin) + ad(=bill in the form of an advertising bill) )
17 DRIVE THRU
Medic hurt possibly carrying setter’s source of 1 (5-4)

(D{octo}r + hurt*) around I've(=setter's). Not sure if source of 1 (i.e. fast food) shouldn't have a question mark, as you do get drive-thru cinemas and other things.
19 ERINYES
Goddesses start to notice anger rising for sure (7)

(N[otice] + ire)< + yes(=for sure). The Erinyes were Greek goddesses more usually called the Furies.
22 HAITI
Asian having leader demoted on island country (5)

Thai(=Asian) with the T being demoted to the end + i{sland}
23 PEDAL
Friend circumventing editor’s clutch? (5)

Pal(=friend) around ed{itor}. A clutch pedal in a car is an example of a pedal, hence the question mark.
24 LINED
Reinforced story implicating new Democrat (5)

(Lie(=story) around n{ew}) + D{emocrat}. Lined here would be in the sense of an object lined with something to make it stronger.

9 comments on “Independent 11,728 by Wire”

  1. I very much enjoyed this. For 14d, I’m not sure if Wire is one of the setters who’d use any sort of indirect anagram, so l prefer parsing as T + (blur tune)*.
    My one misgivings is that I felt ORDNANCE is a mass noun. I checked on google which agreed with me. So, maybe, 4d is a mistake?

  2. A lovely puzzle from one of my favourite setters.

    I enjoyed the linked 1ac, 25ac and 17adn (although 17dn took longer than it should have because, having the final U, I was convinced the second word would be ‘menu’.) I was also held up for a minute or two at 6ac, looking for a reversed (laid back) hidden. Great misdirection, too, in 12ac COAX and 2dn ANDROMEDA.

    I met ibex first as a small child, from a set of ‘Snap’ cards and somehow always remembered it – otherwise I might easily have thought it was an antelope, as less familiar animals so often are, in crosswords (see 8dn. (Thanks for the anecdote, Neal. 😉 )

    My favourites today were 10ac VIRGINAL, 18ac LACROSSE, both for the wordplay, 21ac THOU, 28ac SPEEDS UP, both for the construction, 6dn SHREW (a little gem) and 19dn ERINYES – not an easy clue to construct and, like all the others, a great surface.

    I agree with hovis re the parsing of 14dn and have to share his misgivings re ORDNANCES, which in no way detracted from the puzzle, as far as I was concerned.

    Many thanks to Wire for a great start to the week and to NealH for a fine blog.

  3. I see the setter is looking after himself as we have a five-a-day reference today whilst, as Leonidas in the FT last week, he was referring to a diet regime! I’d agree with Hovis that TURBULENT is more neatly parsed with the standalone T at the beginning – though I have no particular beef with well-accepted abbreviations playing a part in an anagram. Rather as Roz suggests, if the letter being abbreviated does actually appear – ideally at the beginning – of the word being used in the fodder, that should be acceptable. WRT ORDNANCE, the plural does appear as a valid word in Chambers …

    I enjoyed the use of ‘to port’ in SPEEDS UP which is a good fun clue and both COAX and ID CARD made me smile.

    Thanks Wire and NealH

  4. Great puzzle. Clever clues. I thought 9a might be (1,1,4). What’s an Id Card? FIVE A DAY is a favourite and COAX which beat me. Thanks NealH (great blog) and Wire.

  5. For 4d oed.com has ORDNANCE:
    ‘…2.b. c1450–1629 † Usually in plural. A piece of ordnance for discharging missiles; a large gun. Obsolete.
    …1629 They replying so stoutly, made our Marriners quickly..fly to their Ordnances vnderneath. J. Wadsworth, English Spanish Pilgrime 35’…

  7. I remember that episode of Millionaire. Lucky for me I had my Ask the Blogger lifeline for TEASE. I’d forgotten all about runners being flowers being rivers.
    Rather like the idea of needing a painkiller after playing lacrosse.
    Thanks Wire and NealH.

  8. Been doing crosswords for most of my life and I still occasionally miss runner=river (and flower= too). Nice crossword with no huge high points but zero quibbles either. Liked misdirection of Wire in coax

    Thanks Wire and Neal

    Just seen Pete’s comment – glad it’s not just me 🙂

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