Independent 11,800 by Twin

My first Independent blog in a while…

…sitting in for the usual blogger, who is currently on holiday. I enjoyed this puzzle which was generally harder to parse than to solve. It took me an inordinate amount of time to see the relatively straightforward IBUPROFEN requiring all of the crossers to see it, but my LOI was TAG LINE. No quibbles with any of the clues and apart from SAFE SEAT which may be difficult for non-UK solvers, I think most of the general knowledge required is gettable.

Thanks, Twin.

ACROSS
1	VIDEO	Leaderless team breaking 5-0 record (5)
		[leaderless] (s)IDE (“team”) breaking V (5) + O
4	STOREROOM	Stockholder secures backing to gather rent (9)
		<=MOORS (“secures”, backing) to gather TORE (“rent”)
9	IBUPROFEN	Drug abuse in pub, for example, at an end (9)
		(in pub for e) [anag:abuse] where E is an end* of (exampl)E
10	DIJON	Where to find mustard jar originally belonging to 60s singer (5)
		J(ar) [originally] belonging to DION (“60s singer”) For the benefit of the younger generation, American singer Dion’s best known hits are probably “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer”
11	ESKIMOS	Some endlessly rolling on river current? (7)
		<=SOM(e) [endlessly, rolling] on (River) ESK + I and &lit. Eskimo rolls are moves made in a kayak which involves the kayaker turning the kayak upside down and then righting it again, as seen recently at the Olympics, where it is required in order to navigate one of the obstacles in the race..
12	EARACHE	Overhear a chess piece making difficulty for listeners (7)
		Hidden in [piece] “overhEAR A CHEss”
13	SCANDAL	Survey son about Watergate, say (7)
		SCAN (“survey”) + <=LAD (“son”, about)
15	GEMINI	House and home one is to illustrate after retirement (6)
		[after retirement] <=(IN (“home”) + I’M (“one is”) + e.g. (for example, so something provided “to illustrate”))
18	UNREAL	Strange, mostly ignorant liberal (6)
		[mostly] UNREA(d) (“ignorant”) + L (liberal)
20	TAG LINE	Slogan left in clay pot (3,4)
		L (left) in TAGINE (“clay pot”)
24	GREATER	More impressive kitchen implement under discussion (7)
		Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [under discussion] of GRATER (“kitchen implement”)
25	SOZZLED	2 final characters in single day (7)
		Z + Z (“final characters”) in SOLE (“single”) + D(day) The 2 in the clue refers to 2dn (DRUNK)
27	LATTE	Second unfinished coffee (5)
		LATTE(r) (“second”, unfinished)
28	AFTERNOON	A female seabird with nothing on for part of the day (9)
		A + F (female) + TERN (“seabird”) with O (nothing) + ON
29	WORKPLACE	The Office cast lack power (9)
		(lack power) [anag:cast*]
30	STEAK	Small wooden dish (5)
		S (small) + TEAK (“wooden”)
DOWN
1	VEILED	Extremely vague, silly, idle – like some threats (6)
		[extremely] V(agu)E + (idle) [anag:silly*]
2	DRUNK	Soak? That’s about right (5)
		DUNK (“that”, i.e. soak) about R (right)
3	OARSMAN	Racer represented San Marino, cutting in (7)
		(san maro) [anag:represented] where MARO is MAR(in)O cutting* IN
4	SAFE SEAT	Peters to take Liverpool Walton? (4,4)
		SAFE (“peter”) + S + EAT (“to take”) Liverpool Walton is currently considered a Labour safe seat in elections, as it has been held by them with a considerable margin since 1992, although it was considered a safe Tory seat before that.
5	OINKED	Duck with tattoos sounded like a pig (6)
		O (zero, so “duck”, in cricket) + INKED (“with tattoos”)
6	ENDORSE	Complete Black Beauty, say, without first initial (7)
		END (“complete”) + (h)ORSE (“Black Beauty, say”) without first (letter)
7	OBJECTION	Opposition adjusted to nice job (9)
		(to nice job) [anag:adjusted*]
8	MINCE PIE	Food for viewer of EastEnders (5,3)
		In Cockney Rhyming slang, MINCE PIEs are eyes, hence “viewer”
14	CARPENTER	Plane worker‘s vehicle parking register (9)
		CAR (“vehicle”) + P (parking) + ENTER (“register”)
16	BUNGALOW	Building waste covering a wildebeest up (8)
		BLOW (“waste”) covering <=A GNU (“a wildebeest, up)
17	CASSETTE	Tape class outside of class (8)
		CASTE (“class”) outside of SET (“class”)
19	ANTWERP	Belgian city worker with English accent (7)
		ANT (“worker”) + W (with) + E (English) + RP (Received Pronunciation, so “accent”)
21	LAZARUS	American supporting largely indolent Australian, perhaps reading The Man Who Died Twice (7)
		US (“American”) supporting [largely] LAZ(y) (“indolent”) + A (Australian) + R (“perhaps reading” i.e one of the three Rs)
22	ARMADA	Fleet Street abandoning Star over crazy article (6)
		St, (street) abandoning (st)AR over MAD (“crazy”) + A (“article”)
23	GDANSK	Sand blasted in Greek city (6)
		(sand) [anag:blasted*] in Gk. (Greek)
26	LOOSE	Free love repeatedly found in university (5)
		O + O (“love” repeatedly) found in LSE (London School of Economics, so “university”)

12 comments on “Independent 11,800 by Twin”

Didn’t understand 3D as I was trying to work RSM (International Vehicle Code for San Marino) into OAAN. Otherwise all very clear and enjoyable so thanks Twin and Loonapick.

I needed the blog to help with a couple of bits of GK: NHO Dion or Liverpool Walton and I had completely forgotten the Eskimo roll so didn’t really understand the def of 11a but that is entirely my bad. Stockholder as definition for STOREROOM seemed slightly odd – the word only seems to be defined as a person rather than a place/thing in the dictionaries I’ve looked at. Otherwise, as Tatrasman says, all very clear and enjoyable.

Faves inc IBUPROFEN, ESKIMOS (now I understand it properly), DRUNK, OARSMAN, OINKED, MINCE PIE, ANTWERP and GDANSK.

Thanks Twin and Loonapick

A bit tricky for a Monday but enjoyable. I’m old enough to remember the 60s singer and I knew about Liverpool Walton too

Thanks to Twin and Loonapick

Twin is a GEMINI? Enjoyable puzzle. Liked SOZZLED because one ‘z’ let alone two is rare, and the &Lit ESKIMOS. Thanks loonapick and Twin. Plus, I thought the GK was locatable and Dion sang The Wanderer.

Not my sort of day. Didn’t spot the drug, couldn’t see the drunk so never got sozzled. Liverpool Walton a mystery and I assume Lazarus is some bible thing.
The oink and the ‘orse were better for me. Must be how the brain isn’t working on a Monday morning.
Thanks Twin for the setting and Loonapick for the unravelling.

Thanks both. A lot to admire here, and I had a similar experience to our blogger in finding parsing more of a challenge than solving, GEMINI serving as an example, I thought STOREROOM as stockholder was a clever and fair misdirection, if taken literally. Like others I didn’t need to be based overseas to be unsure whether Liverpool Walton is a SAFE SEAT, but I guess it will remain so at least until the next election.

Pretty tough for a Monday. Agree with most of the comments above

Thanks Twin and Gemini

[Dion even had hits in the ’50s, notably with A Teenager in Love (1959 – No. 5 US, No. 28 UK)]

Thanks Twin and loonapick

If Liverpool Walton has been held by Labour since 1992 and was a Tory stronghold prior to that I think it’s fair to say that it’s a safe seat, even if the party holding it has changed.

This was on the extremes of my abilities. I did finish it all without help, and all parsed, but it took me a long time and much head scratching. Last one in was SAFE SEAT as I really couldn’t see what the question was doing untill I finally worked out the Peters part of it.

I didn’t have a problem with stockholder as a definition, but suspect if I hadn’t seen it I would be grumbling to myself.

Thanks for the mental work out Twin, and to loonapick for the blog.

Another “took a while” puzzle, but mostly steady.. I put MEDICI for house as I convinced myself that to “dem” something is to illustrate it, but obviously it left a lot to be desired.. took me longer than needed to justify ESKIMOS, despite having learned to do the “roll” a long time ago (closest I’ve ever come to drowning)… once I had the crossers PETERS/SAFES leapt out at me, which was fortunate as I’d been looking blankly for a while..
Thanks Twin n loonapick

All gettable though we’d never heard of Dion and only got it by saying “Dionne Warwick, surely she’s not spelt that way” as indeed she isn’t.

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