Jeemz is a new setter in the Independent
He has posted a few puzzles on MyCrossword.co.uk, but this appears to be his first outing in a national newspaper (and indeed on fifteensquared). I found this a relatively straightforward solve for the most part, though I did get bogged down a bit in the SE corner, where some double definitions had me scratching my head for a while. AMORTISES, too, took me longer than it should have, and I’m still not 100% sure I’ve parsed it correctly. But there was a huge amount to enjoy and admire here, with some really well-worked surfaces. Among my favourites are the NATURISTS at 11ac and the linked 14ac, as well as the neat cricketing misdirection for VERDI. But my favourite favourite has to be the rogue landscapers stripping the borders of plants.
Thank you to Jeemz and congratulations on a very fine debut! I’ll look forward to seeing more of your work in future.
Moh’s patented cruciverbial hardness scale rating: Calcite
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ARMAGEDDON |
Member meets elderly fellow in final showdown (10)
|
| Charade of ARM (member) + AGED (elderly) + DON (academic fellow) | ||
| 6 | KEEN |
Fervent low wail (4)
|
| Double definition, though I’m not sure a keen is necessarily low in pitch | ||
| 10 | VERDI |
Scorer taken aback by rapid review (5)
|
| Hidden reversal (taken aback by) in rapID REView | ||
| 11 | NATURISTS |
Russian plotters essentially bungled – they get exposed (9)
|
| Anagram (bungled) of RUSSIAN [plo]TT[ers] | ||
| 12 | RENEGUE |
Frenchman with brogue’s half Welsh (7)
|
| RENE (Frenchman) + [bro]GUE (brogue’s half), giving an alternative spelling of the verb meaning to go back on a promise. This clue may prompt discussions along the lines of the use of the word ‘paddy’ to indicate a fit of temper | ||
| 13 | PUNJABI |
Language using play on words: “setter’s on strike” (7)
|
| PUN (play on words) + JAB (strike) + I (setter) | ||
| 14 | CARICATURIST |
Behind vehicle I caught 11 stripped off for illustrator (12)
|
| CAR + I + C (behind car I caught) + [n]ATURIST[s] (solution to 11ac minus its outer letters) | ||
| 18 | RUSSIAN DOLLS |
Putin’s puppets perhaps, being full of themselves (7,5)
|
| Cryptic definition. Are puppets dolls? Perhaps, for the purposes of this clue at least | ||
| 21 | TEA SHOP |
Frightfully posh eat here (3,4)
|
| Anagram (frightfully) of POSH EAT. I think this is a clue-as-definition, depending perhaps on what type of tea shop we’re talking about | ||
| 23 | THIN AIR |
Time locks guarding home into which one could disappear? (4,3)
|
| T (time) + HAIR (locks) around (guarding) IN (at home) | ||
| 24 | CALENDARS |
Rogue landscapers stripping borders of plants: their days are numbered! (9)
|
| Anagram (rogue) of LANDSCA[p]ER[s] (landscapers minus the outer letters – borders – of PlantS) | ||
| 25 |
Story going round about parent could be spam? (5)
|
|
| Reversal (going round) of LIE (story) around MA | ||
| 26 | LUSH |
Rich Liberal, leading force, wanting power (4)
|
| L (liberal) + [p]USH (force wanting power) | ||
| 27 | FALSE STEPS |
Result of getting rash possibly from confounded pests – fleas! (5,5)
|
| Anagram (confounded) of PESTS FLEAS. The definition might less cryptically be read as ‘result of being rash’ | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ADVERB |
This might determine how things are done – here or there? (6)
|
| ‘Here’ and ‘there’ can both function as adverbs of place, so are definitions by example, hence the question mark | ||
| 2 | MIRING |
Making grubby writer’s group read aloud (6)
|
| Homophone (read aloud) of ‘my ring’ (writer’s group) | ||
| 3 | GOING CAP IN HAND |
Conducting supplication bareheaded? (5,3,2,4)
|
| Double definition, the first metaphorical, the second literal | ||
| 4 | DANDELION |
So-called smart creature – it tells the time to kids in the garden! (9)
|
| Soundalike (so-called) of ‘dandy lion’ (smart creature) | ||
| 5 | ON TOP |
Handy over, prising out Australia’s tail and leading (2,3)
|
| ON T[a]P (handy) with the A replaced by an O (Over prising out AustraliA’s tail) | ||
| 7 | ECSTATIC |
Sent English Commander-in-Chief to engage immediately (8)
|
| Envelope of E C–I–C around (to engage) STAT (immediately, in medical contexts) | ||
| 8 | NO SAINTS |
Less than perfect devious sons aren’t commonly taken in (2,6)
|
| Insertion (taken in) of AIN’T (aren’t commonly) inside an anagram (devious) of SONS | ||
| 9 | TRANQUILLISERS |
Terribly ill in quarters, squaddie initially gets drugs (14)
|
| Anagram (terribly) of ILL IN QUARTERS S[quaddie] | ||
| 15 | AMORTISES |
Writes off what’s surrounding opening in wood (9)
|
| AS (I think ‘as’ and ‘what’ can be interchangeable in a phrase such as ‘do what/as I say’, but other suggestions are welcome) around MORTISE (opening cut into wood to make a joint) | ||
| 16 | PROTOCOL |
Expert heading to officer convention (8)
|
| PRO (expert) + TO (from surface) + COL (officer) | ||
| 17 | ASSAULTS |
When sailors adopting uniform indicates hostilities (8)
|
| AS (when) + SALTS (sailors) around (adopting) U | ||
| 19 | PARADE |
Show collection of jumbos? (6)
|
| Double definition, the second referring to one of the collective nouns for a group of elephants | ||
| 20 | DRILLS |
Rehearses riddles (6)
|
| Double definition, the second being the verb meaning to make a lot of holes in something | ||
| 22 | PLAZA |
Old man stifles fire discovered in shopping centre (5)
|
| Envelope (stifles) of PA around [b]LAZ[e] |
An excellent debut. Look forward to the next outing.
This was great fun with some inventive clueing.
It took me some time to convince myself that AS = WHAT in 15d but eventually came up with the same example that MOH mentions in his review.
Perhaps I need to go to Specsavers but I couldn’t find PARADE as a collective noun for elephants in any dictionary, including Collins and Chambers.
In my book, 22d is an American term. Collins and Chambers agree.
VERDI was my favourite.
Thanks to Jeemz and to MOH.
Nice job Jeemz and congrats on the debut. I’d agree with our blogger ref the fine hidden clue for VERDI and the anagram for CALENDARS. Having seen similar before, I suspect the Welsh comment would cause outrage on the G thread.
Thanks both