Independent 9516 / Morph

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Morph has given us a puzzle of transition today

 

 

I

The clues and the entries move thematically from the icy cold of the pole to the sweltering heat of the equator.  In true northern geographic fashion, the cold elements are at the top of the grid moving through the temperate climes in the middle to the heat of the bottom of the grid.  The transition is underline by the central down entry GETTING WARMER where WARMER is in the lower half of the grid.

Not all the across entries are thematic.  I can’t link TATERS and GOSSIP to the theme although there was a dance group called HOT GOSSIP in the late 70s, early 80s.

This was a pleasant puzzle with clues that, to me, didn’t seem too difficult.  My last one in was PUDENDA as I was unsure of PUD for ‘hand’.

I liked the clues for CATCH ONES DEATH and INCANDESCENTLY

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Ice cold then hot, like one with fever? (6)

 

C (cold) + H (hot) + ILLY (a rare form of ILL; descriptive of someone with a fever)

C H ILLY

CHILLY (ice) I think ‘icy’ might have been a better definition, although I suppose the definition might be ‘ice cold’ with ‘cold’ doing double duty in the definition and wordplay.

 

4

 

Bow, habitual response in very cool place (6)

 

ARC (bow) + TIC (involuntary habitual response)

ARC TIC

ARCTIC ( a very cold area)

 

9

 

To become fashionable, adapt headset and begin streaming? (5,4,5)

 

CATCH ON (become fashionable) + an anagram of (adapt) HEADSET

CATCH ON E’S DEATH*

CATCH ONE’S DEATH (CATCH a very bad cold; begin streaming [from the nose])

 

10

 

Commander taking garrison relief (7)

 

COM (commander) + FORT (garrison)

COM FORT

COMFORT (relief)

 

11

 

Shreds, removing core, and chips material (6)

 

TATTERS (shreds) excluding (removing) the central letter (core) T

TATERS

TATERS (informal form of potatoes; material for making chips)

 

12

 

 Goody cake getting brown (7)

PURI (small cake of unleavened Indian bread, deep-fried and served hot) + TAN (tawny brown colour)

PURITAN

PURITAN (a person strictly moral in conduct; a goody)

 

13

 

Cool centre for graphene research backed (6)

 

SERENE (hidden word [centre for] reversed [backed] in GRAPHENE RESEARCH)  The letters in SERENE form the central six of sixteen letters in GRAPHENE RESEARCH

SERENE<

SERENE (calm; cool)

 

14

 

Back-to-back leaks and rumours (6)

 

GO (urinate; ‘take a leak’) + PISS (another form of urinate) reversed (to give GO and PISS in a back to back arrangement)

GO SSIP<

GOSSIP (scandalous rumours)

 

17

 

Left out, our intention’s to show up for reception (7)

 

WELCOME (if we exclude (out) L [left] from WELCOME we are left with WE COME [our intention’s to show up])

WELCOME

WELCOME (reception with kindness or pleasure)

 

20

 

Offload after height of passion (6)

 

TOR (hill, rocky height) + RID (dispose of; offload)

TOR RID

TORRID (passionate)

 

21

 

Scattered herd graze in high temperature (3,4)

 

Anagram of (scattered) HERD + EAT (graze)

RED H* EAT

RED HEAT (the temperature at which something is RED-hot)

 

23

 

Shedding light on South American heritage unknown outside Lima (14)

 

INCAN (of an ancient South American people) + ([DESCENT {heritage} + Y [letter frequently used to denote an unknown value in mathematic}] containing [outside] L [Lima is the international radio codeword for the letter L])

INCAN DESCENT (L) Y

INCANDESCENTLY (with a shining, glowing white light)

 

24

 

Muslim ruler gets name for liberal aim in allowing exposure of flesh on beach? (6)

 

SULTAN (Muslim ruler) with N (name) replacing (getting … for) L (Liberal)

SUNTAN

SUNTAN (browning of the skin as a result of exposure to the sun)

 

25

 

Roasted yet was damp (6)

 

Anagram of (roasted) YET WAS

SWEATY*

SWEATY (damp)

 
Down

1

 

Limerick news report on radio (5)

 

CRAIC (sounds like [on the radio] CRACK [sudden sharp splitting sound; report])

CRAIC

CRAIC (Irish [Limerick] term for the latest news)

 

2

 

Salary right for new arrival (7)

 

INCOME (salary) + R (right)

INCOME R

INCOMER (one who comes to live in a place, not having been born there; new arrival)

 

3

 

Watch Kelvin, stuck in toilet, unconscious (7)

 

K (kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature) contained in (stuck in) (LOO [toilet] + OUT [unconscious])

LOO (K) OUT

LOOKOUT (watch)

 

5

 

Hooks up again with dearest after bust-up (7)

 

Anagram of (bust-up) DEAREST

REDATES*

REDATES (goes out again with someone from a previous relationship; hooks up again with)

 

6

 

Rubbish truck done up as a farm vehicle (7)

 

(ROT [rubbish] + CART [truck]) reversed (done up; down clue)

(TRAC TOR)<

TRACTOR (farm vehicle)

 

7

 

Sticking together present in college back in the day (9)

 

HERE (present) contained in (C [college] + ONCE [formerly; back in the day])

C O (HERE) NCE

COHERENCE (a sticking together)

 

8

 

As a result of climate change, the earth is a degree closer to game over? (7,6)

 

GETTING WARMER (the effect of climate on the earth)

GETTING WARMER

GETTING WARMER (approaching the solution; getting slightly [a degree] closer to the end [game over])  double definition

 

12

 

Montages released by The Police of top hits remixed (9)

 

Anagram of (remixed) OF TOP HITS

PHOTOFITS*

PHOTOFITS (identification pictures made using  photographs of facial elements.  PHOTOFITS are regularly used by police forces)

 

15

 

A people between south and north – Middle Eastern (7)

 

(A + RACE [people]) contained in (between) (S [south] and N [north])

S (A RACE) N

SARACEN (a Syrian or Arab nomad  any Arab; a Muslim, esp an opponent of the Crusaders; a Moor or Berber; one or more of those definitions are descriptive of Middle Eastern people)

 

16

 

Hand, American, seizing butt and genitals (7)

 

(PUD [paw, fist or hand] + A [American]) containing (seizing) END (butt)

PUD (END) A

PUDENDA (external genital organs)

 

18

 

Bug woman on Jersey, day (7)

 

LADY (woman) + COW (Jersey is a breed of cow)

LADY COW

LADYCOW (American name for a ladybird [bug])

 

19

 

South Pacific On Ice a shambles of the first order (7)

 

Anagram of (shambles) ON ICE A + A (of the first order)

OCEANI* A

OCEANIA (a region centred on the islands of the tropical or southern Pacific Ocean)

 

22

 

Entertainment equipment giveaway by hostel (5)

 

TELL (inform; betray;  giveaway) + Y (YMCA hostel)

TELL Y

TELLY (television; entertainment equipment)

 

 

7 comments on “Independent 9516 / Morph”

  1. I really enjoyed this too, thank you Morph and Duncan

    With regard to TATERS, what about ‘hot potatoes’?

  2. Always a pleasure to see Morph, and thanks to Duncan for the blog.
    Regarding “taters”, when I moved to London from the, er, frozen north, one of my Cockney colleagues always used to complain about being “taters” on frosty mornings. I never understood it and didn’t want to seem a klutz by asking.
    It was some years later that I learned that it is CRS “taters in the mould” = cold.

  3. I parsed WELCOME the other way round, as it were; WE’LL COME = “our intention’s to show up”, with the L[eft] out.
    “It’s taters” was common in my native Black Country: I always assumed it was short (cf ‘brass monkey weather’) for the cold’s effect on the male anatomy. What baerchen’s ‘tater mould’ may be I have no idea though it sounds like an interesting addition to the kitchen battery.
    There were a number of Americanisms today of which the Y for YMCA was one, I think: anyway, I didn’t get it, just put ‘telly’ in any way.
    Good puzzle, well-clued (SUNTAN a favourite for its slightly cheeky surface) and well-themed.
    Thanks to both.

  4. Thanks Morph and Duncan.

    ‘Taters’ also used to be slang for cold weather in the Cheshire/Lancashire area, though as I haven’t lived there for over 20 years I don’t know if it’s still current.

  5. Enjoyable stuff that beat me by a few in the end. Loads of good clues, but my honours go to the clever theming and to the surface of 19a in particular. Cheers to Morph for the puzzle and to DS for the blog.

  6. As others, found this enjoyable and enterprising, though not so easy, took me several visits to finish, with WELCOME – I agree with @3 Grant Baynham’s parsing – and GLOBAL WARMING.

    24A I think the words “aim in allowing” are part of the definition.

    Thanks to Morph and duncanshiell.

  7. Just finished the puzzle – very impressive and humorous construction that was also fun to solve.

    Many thanks to Morph and Duncan.

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