Brunel starts the week off in the Independent
This is my first time blogging a Brunel puzzle, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but there are some well-engineered, not to say downright cunning, constructions here, hidden beneath some vividly enjoyable surfaces.
My favourites have to include the naked bishop on ecstasy and the rather startlingly suggestive clue for ONION. And a special mention for MOHOCK, which, aside from being a neat clue, revealed to me a hitherto unknown chapter of London’s criminal history. Thanks to Brunel for the education.
Moh’s randomly generated cruciverbial hardness scale rating: Fluorite
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | MOSHPIT |
Frenzied dancing here, the outcome of Tom’s hip replacement (4,3)
|
| Anagram (replacement) of TOMS HIP | ||
| 5 | HACKSAW |
Remove front from sheds with a wide cutting tool (7)
|
| [S]HACKS (sheds, without the front letter) + W (with) + A (from surface) + W (wide) | ||
| 9 | HEELS |
Rats uncovered the fish (5)
|
| H (central letter of ‘the’, so ‘uncovered the’) + EELS. For the definition and solution, think US slang for lowlife, a contemptible person | ||
| 10 | WORRISOME |
Argument about city one’s to visit, causing anxiety (9)
|
| Reversal of ROW (argument about) + insertion of IS (I’s/one’s to visit) into ROME | ||
| 11 | CARRIER BAG |
Boron must be swathed in cloth after girl handled container (7,3)
|
| B (boron) inside (swathed in) RAG (cloth) after CARRIE (girl’s name) | ||
| 12 | IDLE |
Finally Aldi marketed the French loaf (4)
|
| Last letters (finally) of aldI marketeD + LE (‘the’ in French) | ||
| 14 | NEAR THE BONE |
Discovered naked bishop using drug – it’s almost indecent (4,3,4)
|
| [U]NEARTHE[D] (discovered naked, ie without first and last letters) + B (bishop) + ON E (on ecstasy, using drug) | ||
| 18 | HEALTH SCARE |
Guy’s: key hospital for injection and nursing, with fear of epidemic maybe (6,5)
|
| Insertion (for injection) of ALT (key on a computer keyboard) + H inside HE’S (he is/guy’s) + CARE (nursing) | ||
| 21 | ROBE |
On way back Deborah’s sporting loose garment (4)
|
| Hidden (sporting) reversal (on way back) in dEBORah’s | ||
| 22 | SNOOKER CUE |
Big stick taken by Trump? (7,3)
|
| Cryptic definition – clue misdirects us to think of the authoritarian bent of the US president, instead of the snooker player Judd Trump | ||
| 25 | SERENGETI |
Catastrophe for Greens – it involves energy, that’s plain (9)
|
| Anagram (catastrophe for) of GREENS IT around (involves) E (energy) | ||
| 26 | COOPS |
Pens work in Greek island (5)
|
| Insertion (in) of OP (opus, work) in COS (the Greek island more usually transliterated as Kos) | ||
| 27 | STATERS |
Old coins identified by numerical data (including old sovereign) (7)
|
| Insertion (including) of ER (Elizabeth Regina, old sovereign) in STATS (numerical data) | ||
| 28 | NODULAR |
Lumpy, large noodles from the East are trimmed (7)
|
| Reversal (from the east) of L (large) UDON (noodles) + AR[e] (are trimmed) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | MOHOCK |
Second American call girl possibly pursued by twisted barrister, the old rogue (6)
|
| MO (second, as in just a mo) + HO (US slang for whore, so American call girl possibly) + reversal (twisted) of KC (king’s counsel, a barrister). A jorum for me, I was fascinated to discover the history of Mohock gangs, which sound a little like an 18th-century version of the Bullingdon Club | ||
| 2 | STEERS |
Cattle and horses registered in Duke’s place (6)
|
| STEE[d]S with R (registered) instead of D (Duke, so ‘in Duke’s place’) | ||
| 3 | PASSIONATE |
Stick around southern island, getting hot (10)
|
| PASTE (stick) around S + IONA (Scottish island) | ||
| 4 | TOWER |
Wrote off breakdown van? (5)
|
| Anagram (off) of WROTE. A breakdown van might tow a car and thus be described as a ‘tower’ | ||
| 5 | HERBAL TEA |
Concocted a lethal brew, dropping bottom bits, to make infusion (6,3)
|
| Anagram (concocted) of A LETHA[L] BRE[W] (dropping bottom bits) | ||
| 6 | CLIP |
Cut speed (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | SNOWDROP |
Straightaway falls when cycling – the first bloomer (8)
|
| NOW DROPS (straightaway falls) with the S cycling to the front. Minor quiblettino: snowdrops are not necessarily the first plants to bloom – round where I am winter aconite tends to be earlier | ||
| 8 | WHEREVER |
Hesitate to leave area for this place, or any place (8)
|
| W[A]VER (hesitate) with the A (to leave area) replaced by HERE (this place) | ||
| 13 | REFERENCED |
“Samples of rare ermine traded illegally,” covering note mentioned (10)
|
| First letters (samples of) Rare Ermine + FENCED (traded illegally) around (covering) RE (note) | ||
| 15 | ABSENTEES |
Melania ultimately attends meetings, having sent people away (9)
|
| A (MelaniA ultimately) + BEES (meetings, as in spelling or sewing bees) around (having, as in eating, perhaps) SENT | ||
| 16 | CHORUSES |
Compositions sung about Egyptian god shown on tablets (8)
|
| C (about) + HORUS (Egyptian god) + ES (ecstasy tablets) | ||
| 17 | CANBERRA |
Capital may be arranged retrospectively (8)
|
| CAN (may) + BE (from surface) + reversal (retrospectively) of ARR (arranged, as in a piece of music) | ||
| 19 | SCHOOL |
Firstly selecting carriage, hop onto Circle Line train (6)
|
| First letters of Selecting Carriage Hop Onto + O (circle) + L (line) | ||
| 20 | CENSER |
In report, remove references to swinger at Mass (6)
|
| Soundalike (in report) of ‘censor’ | ||
| 23 | ONION |
Two legs astride one head (5)
|
| ON (another term for the leg side in cricket) + ON (hence ‘two legs’) around (astride) I (one) | ||
| 24 | KNEE |
After skunk taken intermittently, finally smoke the joint (4)
|
| Alternate letters (taken intermittently) of sKuNk + last letters (finally) of smokE thE |
I remember a similar (but a little better imo) clue for ONION some time ago. May have been Eccles? It was along the lines of ‘one between two legs can make your eyes water’.
I just had a look in the archives. The clue I was remembering was by Knut, not Eccles. “One trapped between legs? It could make your eyes water”.