Independent 9384 / Klingsor

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The last Klingsor puzzle that we blogged was back in March last year.

 

Once again, we enjoyed the solve. It was tricky in places but one of the criteria for enjoying a puzzle is whether it raised a smile, had smooth surfaces and the ingenuity of the clues – this did all of them.

We hope that everything is correct as we will not be able to amend the blog as we will be without internet access today. Hopefully with Gaufrid’s support and the help of the various commenters that it all eventually makes some sense.

Thanks Klingsor for the enjoyment!

ACROSS
1   One’s in trouble after short time? It’s like fan-bloody-tastic! (6)
TMESIS Well, we had all the crossing letters and had the parsing but could not believe that there was such a word. We ended up using a word search in the end only to find that we were correct all along. It’s T(short for time) followed by I (one) in MESS (trouble)
5   To decorate with particular knitwear pattern is a craft (8)
TRIMARAN TRIM (to decorate) ARAN (particular knitwear)
9   What’s central to idealist – it’s self-evident? (8)
ALTRUISM AL (central letters in idealist) and TRUISM (self-evident). Dare we say that it’s an &lit? It’s not a term that we particularly like and tend to describe clues like this as having a cryptic definition.
10   Top stores close briefly to count the takings (4,2)
CASH UP CAP (top) around or ‘storing’ SHUt (close) without last letter or ‘briefly’
11   Desire is what makes owl howl (10)
ASPIRATION It could be seen as a double definition but the cryptic part is that what makes OWL into HOWL is an ASPIRATION!
13   Child’s repelled by hospital food (4)
NOSH SON (child) reversed or ‘repelled’ H (hospital)
14   Women wearing the same navy blue (4)
DOWN W (women) inside or ‘wearing’ DO (short for ditto or ‘the same’) and N (navy)
15   Means of payment could be direct debit, initially involving reduced charge (6,4)
CREDIT CARD An anagram of DIRECT (anagrind is ‘could be’) D (first letter of debit or ‘initially’) around or ‘involving’ CARe (charge) without last letter or ‘reduced’. We weren’t too sure first about charge and care being synonyms until we realised you could say “in my charge’ or “in my care”.
18   Legal adviser’s first in to celebrate and offer congratulation (10)
FELICITATE LICIT (legal) A (first letter in adviser) inside or ‘in’ FETE (celebrate)
20   Bookshop evidently stocks this English writer (4)
HOPE Hidden in the clue booksHOP Evidently. However, we had never heard of Anthony Hope – although when we looked him up we found that he had written The Prisoner of Zenda which we did know.
21   Leader’s missing island, Rhodes perhaps (4)
CHEF CHiEF (leader) without I (island). The Rhodes had nothing to do with the island- it was the chef Gary Rhodes.
22   Source of annoyance not against hiding key for larks (10)
EXALTATION vEXATION (source of annoyance) without V (against as in versus) around or ‘hiding’ ALT (key on the computer keyboard). We could’t work out the relevance of larks so checked in Chambers – exaltation is the collective noun for larks. Does anyone know why?
25   Secretary accompanies a chap to the West Country (6)
PANAMA PA (secretary) plus A MAN (chap) reversed or ‘to the West’
26   Hour in rough pub can get good – it helps fighter train (8)
PUNCHBAG H (hour) in an anagram of PUB CAN (anagrind is ‘rough’) G (good)
28   He’d try playing captivating number, a mournful song (8)
THRENODY An anagram of HE’D TRY (anagrind is ‘playing’) around or ‘captivating’ NO (number)
29   Too much hesitation shown by Prince Harry? (6)
POTTER OTT (too much) ER (hesitation) after or ‘shown by’ P (Prince). We doubt whether anyone needs to know that it is Harry Potter, the creation of J. K. Rowling.
DOWN
2   Boon companion’s temper being a heavy burden (9)
MILLSTONE MILLS (as in Mills and Boon the publishers) TONE (temper)
3   European rabbit regularly is eaten by Irishman (7)
SERBIAN RaBbIt (alternate letters only or ‘regularly’) inside or ‘eaten by’ SEAN (Irishman)
4   Runner bean at last is removed from covering (3)
SKI N (last letter of bean or ‘at last’) removed from SKIn (covering)
5   One briefly employed by Independent and Times (5)
TEMPI TEMP(one briefly employed) I (Independent)
6   Lacking self-restraint at home, happy to imbibe endless wine (11)
INCONTINENT IN (at home) CONTENT (happy) around wINe (first and last letters missing or ‘endless’). We had all the crossing letters, worked out the parsing and then realised the definition – it raised a smile.
7   As aircraftsman lands set off siren (7)
ARSENIC AC (aircraftsman) around or ‘landing’ an anagram of SIREN (anagrind is ‘set off’) – As being the chemical symbol for Arsenic
8   So fences save neighbours (5)
ABUTS AS (so) around or ‘fencing’ BUT (save)
12   Group of isolated geographical forms … this? (11)
ARCHIPELAGO An anagram of gEOGRAPHICAL without or ‘isolating’ G (group of). It was one of those clues where only one word was possible but the parsing was difficult. We hadn’t realised that G could stand for ‘Group of’ as in G7. A fan-bloody-tastic anagram. Obviously an archipelago is a group of isolated islands, which could be described as ‘geographical forms’.
16   When one’s expected to produce a letter (3)
ETA ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
17   Will administration under monarch back miscreant? (9)
REPROBATE PROBATE (will administration) under ER (monarch) reversed or ‘back’
19   One with puncture should secure new tyre, ultimately and do this? (7)
INFLATE I (one) FLAT (puncture) around N (new) plus E (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of tyre)
20   Expert‘s statement of the obvious about temperature (7)
HOTSHOT It’s a play on the fact that you could say that HOT’S HOT when talking about temperature but you would be stating the obvious.
22   Ancient has written about Othello, at heart a Moor (5)
HEATH HATH (old form of has) about E (middle letter of Othello or ‘at heart’)
24   Pop back and fold suit (5)
APPLY PA (‘pop’ reversed or ‘back’) PLY (fold)
27   Tot needs a leg up (3)
NIP A reversal of PIN (leg) which in a down clue means that it would be written up

 

4 comments on “Independent 9384 / Klingsor”

  1. Defeated by 1ac, but otherwise enjoyed this challenge. Several parsings took a while to realise once I’d got the actual words – e.g. FELICITATE and EXALTATION – and ‘Mills’ as ‘Boon companion’ was really groanworthy.

    I was going to quibble about TEMPI for ‘times’. But I see Chambers allows ‘time’ for ‘tempo’ in addition to its common meaning of speed (in music).

    Interesting coincidence that ALT (for key’) and PANAMA were both in Paul’s offering in another place yesterday.

    Thanks, Klingsor and B&J

  2. I’d heard the word TMESIS before (Scrabble maybe) but no idea what it meant until now. Ditto THRENODY but at least that was an anagram. The hardest of the week so far, as befits a Thursday. Thanks to K & B & J

  3. 1ac was my first one in. I remember Stephen Fry being interviewed many years ago and saying it was one of his favourite words. Couldn’t remember how to spell it, but was able to quickly work it out from the word play and the dictionary confirmed it.

    10ac was my LOI. Just couldn’t see the word play. One of several I couldn’t parse, so thanks for all the explanations.

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