Independent 9730 / Serpent

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A classic Serpent puzzle to liven up a Tuesday – and our second Serpent blog in two weeks!

 

He’s definitely on the money today! We only tumbled to the theme when we had almost completed the puzzle – we realised that there were synonyms for money in a lot of the across clues, but, when we had completed it and looked a little deeper we found that 13ac is American slang for money, and realised that 24, 25, 28 and 30 can all be associated with money. One of those great puzzles where you don’t need to spot the theme to enjoy the challenge.

There are many well constructed clues, but we were particularly impressed by the connected clues at 15 and 16.

Across
1   15 bullets found in marksman’s jacket (6)
MAMMON AMMO (bullets) ‘found’ in M N (first and last letters or ‘jacket’ of ‘marksman’)
5   Buck Rogers loses almost everything pursuing cheat all over (6)
DOLLAR R (first letter only of ‘Rogers’ – ‘losing almost everything’) after or ‘pursuing’ DO (cheat) ALL reversed or ‘over’
10/29   Everyone should accept this on securing desired outcome through change (5,6)
LEGAL TENDER LEG (‘on’ in cricket) + END (desired outcome) in or ‘through’ ALTER (change)
11   Is this related to fluctuation in yuan price? (9)
PECUNIARY A cryptic definition – an anagram of YUAN PRICE – anagrind is ‘fluctuation’
12   Way to provide security and alert local criminal (10)
COLLATERAL An anagram of ALERT LOCAL – anagrind is ‘criminal’
13   Ingredient in vegetable soup and cockaleekie? (4)
KALE Hidden (‘ingredient’) in cocKALEekie
15   “Cabaret”‘s opening and over half of Isherwood’s novel means … (6)
RICHES An anagram of C (first letter or ‘opening’ of ‘cabaret’) and ISHER (‘over half of Isherwood’) – anagrind is ‘novel’
16   … having them tell Isherwood’s other characters off (4-2-2)
WELL-TO-DO An anagram of TELL WOOD (the other letters or ‘characters’ of ‘Isherwood’ – see 15) – anagrind is ‘off’
19   What’s used to pay fare from India, reserving mid-section of seating area (8)
CURRENCY CURRY (fare from India) round or ‘reserving’ the middle letters or ‘mid-section’ of bENCh (seating area)
21   Carefully prepared patches of ground with holes for vegetables (6)
GREENS Double definition – the first referring to GREENS on a golf course
24   Silence is very hard for you and me to interrupt (4)
HUSH HH (very hard) with US (you and me) inside or ‘interrupting’
25   Subject of experimental work on prisoner’s sense of right and wrong (10)
CONSCIENCE SCIENCE (subject of experimental work) after or ‘on’ CON (prisoner)
27   “Bitter” perhaps describes mean article about Grant (9)
ALLOWANCE ALE (‘bitter perhaps’) round or ‘describing’ LOW (mean) AN (article) C (circa – about)
28   Board and lodgings for hacks with no frills? (5)
TABLE sTABLEs (‘lodgings for hacks’ – horses) without the first and last letters or ‘frills’
29   See 10
30   Appropriate linesman checks corner kicks from the outset (6)
POCKET POET (‘linesman’) round or ‘checking’ C K (first letters or ‘outsets’ of ‘corner kicks’)
Down
2   Exchange licence plates with delightful character (7)
ANGELIC Hidden in or ‘plated by’ ‘exchANGE LICence’
3   Feast laden with fat in the morning brought about sickness (5,5)
MALTA FEVER REVEL (feast) round or ‘laden with’ FAT + AM (morning) all reversed or ‘brought about’ – a new one for us!
4   Family member found in outskirts of Newcastle? That’s a relief! (6)
NEPHEW N E (first and last letters of Newcastle) PHEW (‘that’s a relief’)
5   Late year-end finished with sacking of leader (8)
DECEASED DEC (December ‘year-end’) cEASED (finished) with the first letter or ‘leader’ omitted or ‘sacked’
6   See 24
7   I’m surprised American soldier upset his old adversary (7)
ARAPAHO OH (‘I’m surprised’) A (American) PARA (soldier) all reversed or ‘upset’
8   Thrilling cast vacated theatre circle (8)
ELECTRIC An anagram of T E (‘theatre’ without the middle letters or ‘vacated’) and CIRCLE – anagrind is ‘cast’
9   Vacuous humbuggery exercise (4)
HYPE Could this be an &lit? H Y (‘humbuggery’ without the middle letters or ‘vacuous’ PE (exercise)
14   It curtails reforms serving the public good (10)
ALTRUISTIC An anagram of IT CURTAILS – anagrind is ‘reforms’
17   Less decent batsman sacrifices power to lower degree (8)
OBSCENER OpENER (batsman) with ‘p’ (power) omitted or ‘sacrificed’ and replaced by BSC (Bachelor of Science – ‘lower degree’)
18   Ship preferably has children on board (8)
SCHOONER SOONER (preferably) with CH (children) insde or ‘on board’
20   Determination to work out issues (7)
RESOLVE Double definition
22   Leon Redbone regularly remixed “Move On Up”? (7)
ENNOBLE An anagram of LEON rEdBoNe (alternate or ‘regular’ letters) – anagrind is ‘remixed’
23   Serpent takes shelter in the land of Nod (6)
ASLEEP ASP (serpent) round or ‘taking’ LEE (shelter)
24/6   Pine nut’s suppressed rash (8)
HEADLONG LONG (pine) after or ‘suppressed by’ HEAD (nut)
26   Outstanding women contributed to dictionary (4)
OWED W (women) in or ‘contributing to’ OED (Oxford English Dictionary)

 

13 comments on “Independent 9730 / Serpent”

  1. And, of course, ANGELIC could be a reference to an investment banker. Always pleased to finish a Serpent crossword. Great blog – didn’t know KALE was US slang for money. MALTA FEVER was also new to me.

  4. My first entry was 13ac: LEEK  ….. And why not?

    Wrong!

    All very good again (except perhaps DECEASED (5d) – bit unfortunate that the deleted C is still there).

    Thanks Serpent and B&J.

  5. Thanks, both.

    Enjoyable slither through the long grass with Serpent this morning.  Vaguely saw that there was a money theme, but when KALE went in I dismissed it because I couldn’t see what that had to do with it (LEEK would have given me the same impression).  No matter – you didn’t have to twig the theme to solve it.

    I too liked the ISHERWOOD clues.

    Thanks to Serpent too.

  7. Thanks Serpent, Bertandjoyce

    Relieved it wasn’t another Isherwood puzzle – thought those two very good, also MAMMON, GREENS, ASLEEP. I generally made very heavy weather of it all, so pleased to finish, and impressed by all the acrosses.

  8. The Isherwood clues were our first ones in – we had a hunch that there was something subtle going on (“the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field” – Genesis ch3, v1) and were delighted our hunch proved right.  So then we got MAMMON and twigged the theme – although it took us a while to work out some of the other themed answers!  We didn’t know the slang meaning of KALE, either: and following a quick google, GREENS also appears to be slang for money although the articles referenced aren’t very specific about it – derived from ‘greenbacks’ maybe?

    Not too happy about OBSCENER as a valid word – it may be a valid formation of a comparative but it’s not in Chambers and would one use it in everyday speech, or even in writing?  We think most people would say ‘more obscene’, as in ‘which is more obscene, Lolita or Lady Chatterley’s Lover?’

    Of the other non-themed answers our favourites were NEPHEW and ALTRUISTIC.  Favourite themed answers of course were RICHES and WELL-TO-DO, but we also liked LEGAL TENDER and CURRENCY.

    Thanks, Serpent and B&J

  9. Ah, Allan … you have had a sheltered upbringing, clearly.

    I ‘ad a love affair with Nina
    In the back of my Cortina
    A seasoned up hyena could not have been more obscener
    She took me to the cleaners
    And other misdemeanours
    But I got right up between her
    Rum and her Ribena

    Ian Dury, a master of the English vernacular, as Billericay Dickie.  If it’s good enough for him …

  10. Yes, K’s D, a fairly sheltered upbringing, I suppose, since the only verse I recall with a rhyme for ‘Cortina’ is the one that begins:

    I am a young executive. No cuffs than mine are cleaner;
    I have a Slimline brief-case and I use the firm’s Cortina.

    … by John Betjeman (who else?), Poet Laureate 1972-84

  11. Ah, I remember enjoying watching Leon redbone, he regularly came to the Vancouver folk festival when I was a student. Great stuff. Despite the darkest of sunglasses, he always asked for the lights to be turned down.

    Enjoyed this, noticed the money theme and delighted to read there is more than I saw. I liked the Isherwood clues and associated 1a, as well as OWED, ALTRUISTIC, and NEPHEW.

    LOI was 24/6 HEADLONG, didn’t pay attention to the enumeration.

    Glad I worked my way through this,mthanks Serpent, and thanks B&J

  13. Many thanks to Bertandjoyce for the usual excellent blog, and to all those who took the time to solve and comment.

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