Independent 12,359 / Mog

Mog has served up the Indy’s latest Tuesday offering. Tuesday is theme day, of course.

I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, pitched appropriately at a medium level of difficulty for a mid-week puzzle.

I only realised that there was a theme when I re-read the clue at 29, which is a kind of instruction to look for the name of a band on each row of the completed grid. I have highlighted a name on all but the bottom row, where I haven’t spotted anything, other than the word BAND itself. I wonder if anyone else has …

As for my favourite clues today, I would highlight 3 and 7, both for smoothness of surface; 16, for making me smirk; and 21, for overall construction.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are underlined; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1	DRAWING	Enticing models could be studied thus (7)
		Double definition: “drawing” is enticing, attracting AND those “drawing”, i.e. sketching, study posing models
5	SCRAPER	Bolt cut by tool (7)
		SCRA<m> (=bolt, run off; “cut” means last letter is dropped) + PER (=by, by means of)
9	PLAIN TEXT	Statement lamenting old time, unencoded message format (5,4)
		PLAINT (=statement lamenting, statement of grievance) + EX- (=old, former) + T (=time)
10	CROSS	Angry winger lets striker have it (5)
		Double definition: the adjective “cross” means angry, annoyed AND in football, a “cross” is what a winger should let a striker have to shoot at goal!
11	ARAB	Big beetle destroying South Carolina – one from Egypt? (4)
		<sc>ARAB (=big beetle; “destroying South Carolina (=SC)” means letters “sc” are dropped)
12	BAKED BEANS	Wild babes naked for part of breakfast (5,5)
		*(BABES NAKED); “wild” is anagram indicator
14	ANTIQUE	Against mission forgetting saint of great age (7)
		ANTI (=against, counter) + QUE<st> (=mission; “forgetting saint (=St)” means letters “st” are dropped)
16	ENTRAP	Catch spouse scratching backside in mirror (6)
		PARTNE<r> (=spouse; “scratching backside” indicates last letter is dropped); “in mirror (=reflected)” indicates reversal
17	LAVABO	Volcanic flow starts to bury oceanic basin (6)
		LAVA (=volcanic flow) + B<ury> O<ceanic> (“starts to” means first letters only)
19	STONERS	Cannabis lovers head for sativa hair products (7)
		S<aliva> (“head for” means first letter only) + TONERS (=hair products); stoners are habitual users of especially cannabis
22	OYSTER CRAB	Seafood sorbet whipped up with a cry (6,4)
		*(SORBET + A CRY); “whipped up” is anagram indicator; an oyster crab is a small parasitic crab feeding off its oyster host
23	LURE	Tempt liberal university with right drug (4)
		L (=liberal) + U (=university, as in OUP) + R (=right) + E (=drug, i.e. Ecstasy)
26	NACRE	Cannoli, essentially ground stuff in a shell (5)
		<can>N<oli> (“essentially” means middle letter only) + ACRE (=ground, i.e. area of land); nacre is mother-of-pearl or a shell yielding it, hence “stuff in a shell”
27	AMERICIUM	Radioactive element? Before noon, Curie mixed around one million (9)
		AM (=before noon) + [I (=one) in *(CURIE)] + M (=million); “mixed” is anagram indicator
28	CASTLED	Protected man on board ushered past players (7)
		CAST (=players, i.e. group of actors) + LED (=ushered, guided); the “board” of the definition is a chessboard and the “man” is the king
29	DISBAND	Split up and put down each row’s thematic group (7)
		DIS (=put down, rubbish) + BAND (=each row’s thematic group, i.e. each row of the completed grid reveals the name of a band, split across two entries (see highlighted grid))
DOWN
1	DOPIAZA	Make Italian dish, going at midpoint for a curry (7)
		DO (=make, produce) + PIzZA (=Italian dish; “going at midpoint for a” means middle letter “z” is replaced by “a”)
2	ASANA	Yoga pose was anagrammed, partially (5)
		Hidden (“partially”) in “wAS ANAgrammed”
3	IONA	One charged entry to Adventure Island (4)
		ION (=one charged, i.e. charged particle) + A<dventure> (“entry to” means first letter only); Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides
4	GRENADE	Note, explosive danger surrounds it (7)
		E (=note, in music) in (DANGER); “explosive” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit.*
5	SO THERE	Drunk now, whether you like it or not (2,5)
		SOT (=drunk, toper) + HERE (=now); So there! is an exclamation of defiance, derision, finality, etc
6	ROCK BOTTOM	Shake buttocks as low as possible (4,6)
		ROCK (=shake, swing) + BOTTOM (=buttocks, backside)
7	PROPAGATE	Rugby player arriving empty devoured spread (9)
		PROP (=rugby player) + A<rrivin>G (“empty” means middle letters are dropped) + ATE (=devoured); to propagate is to spread, disseminate
8	RESIST	Sibling tense after dealing with weather (6)
		RE- (=dealing with, regarding) + SIS (=sibling, i.e. sister) + T (=tense, in grammar); to weather e.g. the storm is to resist, withstand it
13	SQUARE MEAL	Mare chewed though grass courses of ample size (6,4)
		*(MARE) in SQUEAL (=(to) grass, snitch); “chewed” is anagram indicator
15	TRANSACTS	Does business answer for boring leaflets? (9)
		ANS (=answer) in TRACTS (=leaflets); here, “boring” indicates “drilling into”, not “dull, dry”!
18	ORCHARD	Where fruit might turn red, if not green (7)
		OR (=if not, in this sentence) + CHARD (=green, i.e. vegetable)
19	SEAWEED	What farmer sows bears wonder plant (7)
		AWE (=wonder, amazement) in SEED (=what farmer sows)
20	STEAMED	United, under Solskjaer’s lead, moved quickly (7)
		S<olskjaer> (“lead” means first letter only) + TEAMED (=united, joined together)
21	COGNAC	Topless dance in clubs twice lifted spirit (6)
		ANGO (<t>ANGO (=dance); “topless” means first letter is dropped) in C C (=clubs, in cards; “twice” indicates repetition); “lifted” indicates vertical reversal
24	UTICA	Some pharmaceutical town in NY (5)
		Hidden (“some”) in “pharmaceUTICAl”
25	HISS	A boy’s introduction to slide whistle (4)
		HIS (=a boy’s) + S<lide> (“introduction to” is first letter only)

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