Independent 11,735 / Liari

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Liari has set today’s Tuesday – or theme day – puzzle. I have had very little experience of solving or blogging work by this setter.

It actually turned out to be a very entertaining solve, and for a long while, I couldn’t spot any theme amongst either the clues or their solutions, and there appeared to be no obvious Nina around the perimeter. In the end, I suddenly saw that a good few grid entries were also types of penguin and, upon closer inspection, I spotted even more. It was only upon googling species of penguin, however, that I realised quite how much thematic material Liari had managed to squeeze into the completed grid: 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 23/21, 24, 28. I for one had never heard of the species at 14 and 15! Maybe there are more still that I didn’t spot …

As for my favourite clues today, I would single out 11, 15 and 25, all for smoothness of surface; 9 and 28, both for making me smile; 16, for overall construction; and 18, which took me a long time to parse satisfactorily.

I am already looking forward to Liari’s next cruciverbal creation, feathered friends and all.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
05 FAIRY Fine sprightly elf-like creature

F (=fine) + AIRY (=sprightly, jaunty)
     
06 GALAPAGOS Girl getting a passage back finally to Caicos islands

GAL (=girl) + A + PAG (GAP=passage, space; “back” indicates reversal) + <t>O <caico>S (“finally” means last letters only)
     
10 ATTUNE A dry summer month to go topless and acclimatise

A + TT (=dry, teetotal) + <j>UNE (=summer month; “to go topless” means first letter is dropped)
     
11 AIRSPEED Despair brewing about jetBlue’s latest flight rate

<jetBlu>E (“latest” means last letter only) in *(DESPAIR); “brewing” is anagram indicator
     
12 MACARONI Corn am I cooking with a variety of pasta

*(CORN AM I + A); “cooking” is anagram indicator
     
13 CHEW Munch cold cut

C (=cold, as on tap) + HEW (=cut, chop)
     
15 SNARES Catches second criminal near back of buildings

S (=second) + *(NEAR) + <building>S (“back of” means last letter only); “criminal” is anagram indicator
     
17 SNATCH Some song regularly sung at church

S<u>N<g> (“regularly” means alternate letters only) + AT + CH (=church); a snatch of a song is a burst of singing, a fragment of a song
     
20 CHAP Man in check with a pawn

CH (=check, in chess) + A + P (=pawn, in chess)
     
22 MORIBUND On the way out, kid charges on mud carelessly

RIB (=kid, tease) in *(ON MUD); “carelessly” is anagram indicator
     
25 DISPENSE Detective given power in intelligence deal

DI (=detective, i.e. detective inspector) + [P (=power, in physics) in SENSE (=intelligence)]; to deal is to dispense, distribute, e.g. cards
     
26 CRESTS Takes a break after Charlie reaches the top

C (=Charlie, in the NATO alphabet) + RESTS (=takes a break); to crest is to culminate, reach a high point
     
27 EGRESSION Perhaps seniors arranged departure

E.G. (=perhaps, say) + *(SENIORS); “arranged” is anagram indicator
     
28 ROYAL Frequently scrubbed droopy tail of Rex

<d>R<o>O<p>Y <t>A<i>L (“frequently scrubbed” means alternate letters are dropped); “of rex” means pertaining to a king, hence “royal”
     
Down    
     
01 SALT MARSH It left damage in extremely treacherous hot coastal wetland

SA (=it, i.e. sex appeal) + L (=left) + {MAR (=damage) in [T<reacherou>S (“extremely” means first and last letters only)]} + H (=hot, as on tap)
     
02 BROUHAHA Brother and uncles initially laugh with excitement

BRO (=brother) + U<ncles> (“initially” means first letter only) + HA-HA (=laugh); brouhaha is excitement, agitation, uproar
     
03 PALADIN Grief overwhelming young male champion

LAD (=young male) in PAIN (=grief); a paladin was a knight renowned for heroism and chivalry, hence “champion”
     
04 SAMPLE Small enough to try

S (=small, of size) + AMPLE (=enough, sufficient)
     
07 AFRICAN Like a giraffe’s day aboard a vessel

FRI (=day, of week) in [A + CAN (=vessel, holder of liquid)]
     
08 OPEN Frank in love with writer

O (=love, i.e. zero score) + PEN (=writer, i.e. writing implement)
     
09 ZERO Duck kept in freezer overnight

Hidden (“kept”) in “freeZER Overnight”; a duck is a zero score for a batsman in cricket
     
14 CHINSTRAP Scrap thin broken part of helmet

*(SCRAP THIN); “broken” is anagram indicator
     
16 EXPANDS Old containers in the kitchen holding last of grilled mushrooms

EX- (=old, former) + [<grille>D (“last of” means last letter only) in PANS (=containers in the kitchen)]; to mushroom is to grow or spread, often uncontrollably
     
18 TABLETOP Where food might be fixed, needing small pot on the counter

<s>TABLE (=fixed; “needing small (=S, in sizes)” means letter “s” is dropped) + TOP (POT; “on the counter” indicates reversal)
     
19 EMPEROR Leader recalled agent in capital city

REP (=agent, i.e. representative) in ROME (=capital city, of Italy); “recalled” indicates reversal
     
21 HOPPER Gardener gathering cheap crop ultimately for grain bin

<chea>P <cro>P (“ultimately” means last letter of each word only is used) in HOER (=gardener); a hopper is a container in which seed is carried for sowing, hence “grain bin”
     
23 ROCK Toss // stone

Double definition: to rock is to roll from side to side, to toss, e.g. of a ship on the sea AND a rock is a (large) stone
     
24 KING Monarch’s family heading to gala

KIN (=family) + G<ala> (“heading to” means first letter only is used)
     
     
     

11 comments on “Independent 11,735 / Liari”

  1. Wow! Who knew there were so many types of penguins – and not a ‘gentoo’ to be found? Lovely crossword, although I’ve never been a fan of setters using ‘frequently’ to refer to a ‘regular’ selection of letters (28a). I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that ‘frequently’ can be ‘irregularly’ as well so doesn’t impart much information on the choice.

  3. I can’t add to your list of types, RR, but ROCK HOPPER, SNARES, MACARONI and ROYAL are all types of Crested penguin so CRESTS has relevance to the theme. I suspect AIRSPEED does not have relevance to the theme.

    Well done Liari and thanks RR

  4. [Harry Hill had the brilliant idea of inserting a bleep just before every occurrence of the word “king” in the soundtrack of a nature documentary about king penguins.]

  5. Thanks both. If ever asked what is my favourite animal, I go with the penguin, so I perhaps should have spotted this theme….apparently there are 18 types all in, so this is quite comprehensive, and Adelie for instance would have been difficult to include. Encountered the African in Cape Town this year, and are Antarctica bound in the not too distant so should be able to tick off a few more.

  7. Perhaps Blue penguin hiding in the surface of 11a. Quite common in my neck of the woods. Also called Fairy elsewhere. Enjoyed the crossword and the theme in retrospect. Thanks RR and Liari.

  8. Thank you all for the kind words! 
    Yes, you got all of the species, 10-11 out of the 18: African, Chinstrap, Emperor, Galapagos, King, Fairy (or Little Blue), Macaroni, Royal, Snares, and (Northern and Southern) Rockhopper. CRESTS was a happy bonus, as there is an Erect-Crested Penguin, as well as the other crested ones PostMark mentioned. 
    @Hovis, would have loved to include a Gentoo, as they are one of my favourites, but I only included those that could be defined another way. 
    @TFO, enjoy Antarctica! It is an amazing place that I was fortunate enough to visit as well.
    Thanks again for the lovely blog, RR.
    ~Liari

  9. Thanks Liari. I got to this late but I still wanted to register my delight despite the theme flying (or not) over my head. Favourites included SNARES, MORIBUND, SAMPLE (love that kind of clue), ZERO, and KING. Thanks RR for the blog.

  10. yay liari!!! this was the bee’s knees! – no, the penguin’s knees! …wait, do penguins have knees? 😛
    thanks so much for this present on an otherwise personally worthless day

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