Independent 12,196 by Grecian

I found this quite a slog. It had some very tough clues and occasionally quite obscure references.

There seems to be a Patti Smith theme. Apart from the two which directly reference her, I think Gloria and Land are also references to her work. There are probably others but she's not an artist I know much about.

 picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 SCRIBE
Writer in bed overwhelmed by endless lovemaking (6)

Crib(=bed) in se[x](=lovemaking)

4 SALLOWER
Everything screened by broadcaster is more jaundiced (8)

All in sower(=broadcaster of seeds)

10 OFF BREAKS
Deliveries cancelled before holidays (3,6)

Off(=cancelled) + breaks(=holidays). An off-break is a spin delivery in cricket.

11
See 15

12 LAND
Secure country (4)

DD. The first def would be in the sense of "I've secured/landed a prize".

13 REINSTATES
Gallery on board after controller returns to former position (10)

(Tate(=gallery in London and other cities) in SS(=onboard i.e. inside a steamship)) after rein(=controller in the sense of the rein used for a horse)

15/11 REDONDO BEACH
Bum echoed Brando somewhere close to Los Angeles (7,5)

(Echoed Brando)*

16 HORSES
Animals record released 50 years ago (6)

DD referring to the Patti Smith album Horses, which was released on the 10th November 1975.

19 GLORIA
Tissue-wrapped gold halo (6)

Glia(=tissue, a type of cell in the brain and spinal cord also called neuroglia) around or(=golden in heraldic usage)

21 CLOSE TO
Secret love is nearby (5,2)

Closet(=secret, as in "her closet admirer") + o(=love)

23 PATTI SMITH
Singer and model coming back with German opening track (5,5)

(Sit<(=model) + mit(=German for "with")) in(=opening) path(=track)

25 KITE
3 characters reflected in strange TikToks (4)

Hidden, reversed in strange tiktoks

27 IBIZA
Cabaret singer loses face covering AC/DC in rave venue (5)

[L]iza(=Minelli, who appeared in the film version of Cabaret) around bi(=AC/DC as a slang term for bisexual)

28 REFORMISM
Political doctrine on the subject of class is principle of Marxism (9)

Re(=on subject of) + form(=class when used in things like "fourth form") + is + M[arxism]

29/7 KIMBERLY WYATT
Mike Batt wryly remixed Pussycat Doll (8,5)

(Mike Batt wryly)*. Kimberley Wyatt was a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls,

30 REAGAN
Royal daughter hosting a president (6)

Regan(=one of the daughters of King Lear) around a

DOWN
1 SPOILERS
They try to stop drag queen stuffing booty (8)

ER(=late queen) in spoils(=booty, as in "spoils of war")

2 RAFA NADAL
Racketeer pilots a new car in reverse (4,5)

RAF(=pilots, although this is questionable since the RAF has ground crew, engineers etc as well) + a n{ew} + Lada<(=make of car). The definition is a somewhat whimsical reference to Nadal using a racket while playing tennis.

3 BIRD
Amount offered to kidnap right-winger (4)

Bid(=amount offered at an auction) around r{ight}

5 ABSINTH
Ban this awful drink (7)

(Ban this)*. The word is normally spelt with an E at the end but this seems to be an acceptable alternative.

6 LOBSTER POT
Behold Harry Potter crushing rubbish basket (7,3)

(Lo(=behold) + potter*)(harry used as the anagram indicator) around b{ull} s{h*t}(=rubbish)

7
See 29 Across

8 REHASH
Soldiers’ mess showing The Magnificent Seven perhaps (6)

RE(=Royal Engineers) + hash(=mess). The Magnificent Seven was a rehash of the Japanese film Seven Samurai.

9 GAZEBO
Happy Monday afternoon coming up in wee outhouse (6)

(Bez(=Happy Mondays band member) + a{fternoon})< in go(=wee as in urinate)

14 INORDINATE
Excessive noise worried uninitiated child at first (10)

(Din(=noise) + ate(=worried)) after [m]inor

17 ELEGISING
Nigel in Reform welcomes unusual form of protection delivering sorrowful lines (9)

Nigel* around egis, which is an unusual spelling of the word aegis(=protection).

18 MONEYMAN
Financier contracted Brazilian footballer within a day (8)

Neyma{r} in Mon{day}

20 ADMIRAL
One commanding batsman going up over mid-off (7)

Lara<(=Brian Lara, West Indian batsman) around mid*

21 CUT OFF
Stop cat spending month inside box (3,3)

Seems to be to{m} in cuff(=box). Spending is used as the removal indicator to take m{onth} from tom. I think box is used as a synonym for cuff in the sense of a light blow (cuff someone/box their ears).

22 UPTICK
Happy over credit increase (6)

Up(=happy) + tick(=credit, as in "on tick")

24 TUISM
Apostrophe is dividing corporation (5)

Is in tum(=corporation). I'd never heard of tuism before but it is in Chambers as a synonym for apostrophe.

26 FREE
Independent bank promoting Head of Finance (4)

Reef with F[inance] "promoted" to the front.

1 comment on “Independent 12,196 by Grecian”

  1. Thanks Grecian and NealH

    This year sees the 50th anniversary of Patti Smith’s landmark album Horses.

    The thematics include tracks from the album: Gloria, Land & BirdLand, Kimberly, Redondo Beach, Free Money & Elegie.

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