Independent 11,773 / Bluth

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Bluth has provided his latest teaser for our entertainment this Thursday.

I found this to be towards the easier, or rather less difficult, end of the Bluth spectrum. I think that I have managed to solve and parse all the clues to my satisfaction.

I haven’t spotted any particular theme here, although in a number of the clues – 5, 15, 19, 25 – Bluth has made clever use of proper nouns in the wordplay.

My favourite clues today were 11, for entertainment value; 15, 21, 26 and 27, all for smoothness of surface; 20, for overall construction; and 23, for the misleading use of “wicked”.

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

Across  
   
07 SAUCEPAN Cross about gold rim of coffee pot?

[AU (=gold, i.e. chemical symbol) + C<offe>E (“rim of” means first and last letters only)] in SPAN (=(to) cross, reach over)
   
09 MURMUR Complain quietly after knocking back odd drink

RUM (=odd, weird) + RUM (=drink); “after knocking back” indicates reversal
   
10 EMBOSS Impress space commander

EM (=space, in printing) + BOSS (=commander); to emboss is to impress, i.e. print, stamp
   
11 STUNT MEN Essentially agents mustn’t fancy actors – they represent them in tricky situations

*(<ag>EN<ts> + MUSTN’T); “essentially” means middle letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “fancy”
   
12 CONSTITUENCIES Order nicest section including posh seats

U (=posh, upper-class) in *(NICEST SECTION); “order” is anagram indicator
   
13 OSLO Oscar regularly visited T S Eliot in capital

O (=O, in NATO alphabet) + <t> S <e>L<i>O<t> (“regularly visited” means alternate letters only are used)
   
17 GATED Talented adult should cover up if in confinement

G<if>TED (=talented); “adult (=A)” should cover up if” means letter “if” are replaced by “a”; gated refers to students or schoolchildren who are subject to a curfew or confined to school grounds
   
19 YANK Ultimately Vernon Kay confused American

*(<verno>N + KAY); “ultimately” means last letter only is used in anagram, indicated by “confused”
   
20 READ THE RIOT ACT Diplomacy after Radio Three broadcast is given severe warning

*(RADIO THREE) + TACT (=diplomacy); “broadcast” is anagram indicator
   
23 CANOODLE Wicked thing loves going inside for kiss and cuddle

O O (=love, i.e. 2 x 0 (=zero score)) in CANDLE (=wick-ed thing, i.e. an object with a wick!)
   
25 IGNORE Turn a blind eye as foremost of gangsters, Ronnie Knight escaped somehow

G<angsters> (“foremost of”) + RO<n>NIE (“knight (=N, in chess) escaped” means letter “n” is dropped); “somehow” is anagram indicator
   
27 ACTIVE Working in musical returning to entertain City’s West End

C<ity> (“West End” means first letter only, where “East End” would be last letter of word) in ATIVE (EVITA=musical; “returning” indicates reversal)
   
28 CUSTOMER Some retrospectively secure MOT success for client

Hidden (“some”) and reversed (“retrospectively”) in “secuRE MOT SUCcess”
   
Down  
   
01 WARM Affectionate wife’s getting a room

W (=wife) + A + RM (=room)
   
02 SCOOPS Shop on board ship provides ice-cream portions?

CO-OP (=shop) in SS (=on board)
   
03 ONUS Responsibility of ordinary group of students

O (=ordinary, as in O Level) + NUS (=group of students, i.e. National Union of Students)
   
04 IMPUGN Attack dog kept by hitmen occasionally

PUG (=dog) + <h>I<t>M<e>N (“occasionally” means alternate letters only)
   
05 GRATUITY Playing guitar with Thom Yorke initially giving tip

*(GUITAR) + T<hom> Y<orke> (“initially” means first letters only); “playing” is anagram indicator
   
06 SUPERSONIC Very quick drink with young man in Queen Vic shooting mouth off

SUP (=drink) + {SON (=young man) in [ER (=queen, i.e. Elizabeth Regina) + <v>IC (“shooting mouth off” means first letter is dropped)]}
   
08/14/18 PUSHING UP THE DAISIES Passed on style of bra cups in G – I said these should work

[IN G in PUSH-UP (=style of bra)] + *(I SAID THESE); “should work” is anagram indicator
   
13 OBSERVANCE Spirit-raising meeting tackling Bible – ring bishop to start ceremony

O (=ring, pictorially) + B (=bishop, in chess) + [RV (=Bible, i.e. Revised Version) in SEANCE (=spirit-raising meeting)]
   
16 ORATORIO Gold disc collected by ace Bananarama for one musical work

OR (=gold, in heraldry) + {O (=disc, pictorially) in [A (=ace) + TRIO (=Bananarama for one, i.e. the 1980s UK pop group)]}
   
21 TIDIER Smarter detective’s breaking rank

DI (=detective, i.e. Detective Inspector) in TIER (=rank, row)
   
22 TANNOY Once volunteers bother to share a PA annoy

TA (=once volunteers, i.e. Territorial Army) + ANNOY (bother); “share a” means that one letter “a” covers the last letter of one word and the first letter of the second
   
24 EACH Every individual taking fruit punch at the opening is wasted

<p>EACH (=fruit); “punch at the opening (=first letter) is wasted” means letter “p” is dropped
   
26 REEK Told to create stink

Homophone (“told to”) of “(to) wreak (=create, e.g. havoc)”
   

 

12 comments on “Independent 11,773 / Bluth”

  1. My first “all in, all known, all fully parsed” in the couple of months I’ve been doing these!

    I enjoyed the stunt doubles, the riot act and the snuggle; struggled more than I should have to solve the anagram for constituencies; and needed a few checkers and a bit of thought to tease out ‘pushing up the daisies’ since I’d mistakenly decided that the definition was provided by the second part of the clue!

    Thanks bluth for the fun.

  3. Missed the a covering if to get GATED. Sometimes I spot that device, but not today.
    12ac (and 19ac) all the nods towards today’s date that I need, so thanks Bluth for the regular style puzzle and RR for the blog.

    [Just spotted the flag at the top of the page. Celebrating our independence from those pesky, troublesome colonies across the pond?]

  4. I enjoyed READ THE RIOT ACT and MURMUR. As a crossword solver, it is hard to get Playtex out of your mind when thinking of a type of bra. Thanks, both.

  5. RR: typo 13a->15a OSLO. 08d/14d/18d PUSHING UP THE DAISIES – You haven’t italicised the def “Passed on”, and the PUSH-UP doesn’t need anagramming.

  6. …No Playtexes here, just Bluth’s trademark ‘lift and separates’: 5d Thom Yorke, 19a Vernon Kay,
    and 25a Ronnie Knight – husband of Barbara Windsor, who was always “in” (the) “Queen Vic shooting” (her) “mouth off” in 6d SUPERSONIC: “Get outta my pub!”.
    Thanks B&RR

  8. The day has gone by. I solved this before breakfast but have not been back to 225 since then. Although it is late, I didn’t want to leave my appreciation of this puzzle unrecorded. EMBOSS, STUNT MEN, CANOODLE, WARM, SCOOPS, ORATORIO and EACH were my favourites.

    Thanks both

  9. Wow, that was my quickest solve for a while, although I wasn’t sure about GATED. The answer was obvious, but I couldn’t see how it worked.

  11. A Bluth is always worth the effort… this was just grand.. tricky enough for me but all fair.. needed a few crossers for the anagrams to come together, had to cross out various bits of ORATORIO to work out where Bananarama came in, n as usual tried to look for the wrong definition a couple of times before pennies dropped.. e.g. GIFTED/GATED
    Thanks… I’ve missed you Bluth, n RatkojaRiku for the blog..

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