Independent 12,063 by Umpire

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June is with us and the Umpire has found time between innings to compile a puzzle.

Some lovely clues and a double pangram to boot. 9ac was sublime; 12ac caught me out; 5dn was proof less is more and 27ac I did enjoy.

Thanks Umpire

 

Across
1 Hush money Republican leaves frequent sexual partner (6)
st(hush) + ready(money) – r (Republican) = STEADY

5 Who shot horror film cut nothing, getting one fired (8)
(who)* + IT (Horror film) + zero (nothing) – o (cut) = HOWITZER

9 Pacific nation announced seventh payment? (4)
Sounds like Fee G (seventh letter) = FIJI

10 Unexpected turns of events around penalty area: people fighting (10)
kickers(Unexpected turns of events) around box (penalty area) = KICKBOXERS

11 Powerful service, perhaps, as some saints weep aloud (10)
Sounds like canon (saints) + bawl (weep) = CANNONBALL

12 Sluggish fish circling lake (4)
ide(fish) around l (lake) = IDLE {clue could also be COLD I would say}

13 Sketch of character given novel by Times editor at first (8)
(given)* + tt (times) + e (editor at first) = VIGNETTE

15 Dismisses English planes possessing impossibly fast speed (6)
e(English) + jets (planes) around c(impossibly fast speed) = EJECTS

17 Without leaders, walk with difficulty where animal lives and do damage (6)
limp(walk with difficulty) + lair(where animal lives) – leaders = IMPAIR

19 Tired footballers chasing game regretted conceding right at the start (8)
FA (footballers) + tig(game) + rued(regretted) – r (right at the start) = FATIGUED

21 Transported in layers of paper for delivery (4)
sounds like wrapped (in layers of paper) = RAPT

23 Joining excursion inside flat (10)
uniting (joining) around exc (excursion) = UNEXCITING

25 Champion disappearing act cloaks queen (10)
vanisher(disappearing act) around qu (queen) = VANQUISHER

26 Popular ghost houses that I find dismaying (4)
hidden populAR GHost = ARGH

27 Assembled gravesite memorials, essentially, in church yard (8)
met (assembled) + garvEside + memoRials (essentially) in ce (church) + y (yard) = CEMETERY

28 Comfort jury judge’s thrown out following some illumination (6)
jury swapping lux(some illumination) for j(judge)

Down
2 Bar limits drunk standing proudly alongside locals (9)
(bar limits)* = TRIBALISM

3 One Glaswegian on vacation dips into river in French city (7)
I(one) + gn(Glaswegian on vacation) in von (river) = AVIGNON

4 Year working under British overseas territory (5)
y(year) + uk(british) + on (working) = YUKON

5 Unit teacher revised (7)
(teacher)* = HECTARE

6 Most faint books, boring without stories, ultimately lost (9)
wo(without) + lies(stories) + t (ultimately lost) around bb (books) = WOBBLIEST

7 Material in book upset right away (7)
text(book) + rile(upset) – r (right) = TEXTILE

8 Sign on line, or covering one up (5)
(line or – I)* = ENROL

14 Stone Sour quiet, for a change (9)
(sour quiet)* = TURQUOISE

16 Child born with temperature raised by a German (9)
Rev, nee (born) + w (with) + t(temperature) + ger(German) = TWEENAGER

18 Old soldier stimulated after shelling (7)
ant(soldier) + piqued(stimulated) – pd (shelled) = ANTIQUE

19 Fellow concerned with back of heel in cast once more (7)
f(fellow) + re(concerned with) + shy(cast) around l(back of heel) = FRESHLY

20 Entrance ten taking in gold items on counter in French cafe? (7)
gate(entrance) + x (ten) around au (gold) = GATEAUX

22 Surprise delivery service dropping off opposite base (5)
amazon (delivery service) – on (off opposite) + e (base) = AMAZE

24 Coach told to get rid of wingers in chant (5)
car(coach) + told – td(wingers) = CAROL

 

14 comments on “Independent 12,063 by Umpire”

  2. Not only is this a pangram – which, by the way, was completed before half the puzzle was done – but it is only the second crossword we have experienced that is entirely made up of single word answers.

  3. Neatly done. I saw the double pangram beginning to form and it helped by the time I got to about half way down the puzzle though I was beaten by ‘hush’ = ST which I have certainly seen before but which was a long way from being front of mind. Not an easy puzzle – quite a lot of clues required a second visit with crossers but all very fairly put together. CEMETERY is a nice &lit and joins FATIGUED and ANTIQUE on the podium for me.

    Thanks Umpire and twencelas

  4. I got to ENROL, as per Hovis @1, but one might parse it differently, I think.
    As per our blogger, 12(ac), IDLE, stood in my grid as COLD, for far too long.
    A lot of novel wordplays from Umpire, FEE G (9ac), and AMAZE (22d), two of the best.
    I had a few quiblets: is C in 15(ac), “impossibly fast”?
    How is “hush” , ST, in 1(ac)?
    I know it’s a regular, but are the FA actually footballers? (19ac).
    All-in-all, an expert and enjoyable piece of setting.
    Thanks to Umpire & twencelas

  5. Chapeau to a brilliant bit of setting but just too fiddly for me in general; didn’t have the time or patience today but I enjoyed revealing and seeing how it pieced together. I had the same queries as E.N.Boll&@4 and blinked at exc for excursion, but it was a classy puzzle, albeit one that I’m happy I didn’t tangle too deeply with.

    Thanks both!

  6. St as an alternative to sh seems fine to me. The FA/footballer’s controversy continues. I tend to agree with E.N.BOLL& on this. I also agree that photons would take issue with 15a.

  7. ENB & AP: as per my own comment, ST was ‘unremembered’: here’s what Chambers has to say on the subject.

    st or ‘st /st/
    interjection
    Hush
    A sound made to attract someone’s attention

    Not that I have ever heard it used; perhaps I was talking too loudly at the time!

    The challenge re FA is not unreasonable – technically, they are the administrators of the game – but, insofar as all professional teams are members of the FA and the teams are made up of footballers, it has long been accepted in crossword land as a fair synonym/abbreviation.

  8. Thanks both. Thanks all so far, as the ‘hush’ element in STEADY was beyond me, and the FA in FATIGUED I’ll put alongside the ubiquitous ET (minus most of its title) for ‘film’ as it very much aided the surface.

  9. Thank you Twencelas for your intro. Your mention of the double pangram certainly helped with the last few (eg the sour stone :)).
    I went straight to 9 across to start me off and which truly IS a gem as you said.
    The rest of the puzzle was full of equally rewarding star quality clues.
    Thank you Umpire !

  11. I only knew st as psst without the afterthought – oi rather than sh. I had UPSET for AMAZE, for a while, beguiled by the wrong delivery company.

  12. I think 15a is fine as, in the context of the clue, it is an impossible speed for English planes.
    Great crossword, thanks all

  13. Was confused by ST for SH.. I suppose a shortening of Hist or Psst, but not encountered it before in crosswordland… one could quibble about UK=British, if being a pedant was important for solvers… the all-important crossers were required before finally accepting TEENAGERS with a twist, also had to change from KICKBOXING… fortunately didn’t see the fish as anything apart from IDE, just as well as it was FOI, it took a while to get started, and to finish… CEMETERY was the obvious answer, but could I parse it..? After CE n Y, it was mix n match from any letters I could find… so thanks for the blog. I did comment quietly to myself that it felt like a double panagram, but I didn’t have the energy to make an inventory…
    Thanks Umpire n twencelas

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