Kairos sets a few Independent puzzles each year. His most recent was just over two months ago.
There were thirty five clues today and more than one slightly obscure word Usually one or other of those facts signifies there’s something going on in the grid. If these is, I’ve failed to spot it, but that’s a fairly common occurrence.
I had to pay close attention to the word play to be sure I got the right answers, particularly for the entries I first spelled as VITTELS and OBLIGER before realising that the wordplay didn’t work for those forms.
There is one answer I have failed to parse. I just can’t see what is going on in the 3 down clue for LECTERN. Clearly it’s a stand and it used in church, but that’s as far as I get. I don’t know what ‘at the front of’ is doing in the clue. I look forward to learning how I should have parsed it.
Apart from that one, I was able to parse the clues without too much difficulty although I have a query about the definition of MASTODONS at 30 across.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Nasty about Times section for food (7)
|
(VILE [nasty] containing [about] [T {time} + T {time} giving times]) + S (section) VI (TT) LE S |
VITTLES (variant spelling of VICTUALS [food])
|
|
5
|
Town station in El Salvador (7) |
STA (station) + IN + ES (international vehicle registration for El Salvador) STA IN ES |
STAINES (town in the south of England, just west of London)
|
|
9
|
Ill-bred fellow’s abrupt and unfriendly with old leader (9)
|
CHURL (ill-bred surly fellow) excluding the last letter (abrupt) L + CHILL (unfriendly) CHUR CHILL |
CHURCHILL (reference Sir Winston CHURCHILL [[1874 – 1965], former British leader)
|
|
10
|
What could be cast in gold for farewell (5)
|
DIE (something that can be cast) contained in (in) AU (chemical symbol for gold) A (DIE) U |
ADIEU (farewell)
|
|
11
|
Trio belt out operatic words (8)
|
Anagram of (out) TRIO BELT LIBRETTO* |
LIBRETTO ( text or book of words of an opera, oratorio, ballet etc)
|
|
12
|
Bring round nature award we hear (4,2)
|
WAKE UP (sounds like [we hear] WAY [style; nature] + CUP [an example of an award]) WAKE UP |
WAKE UP (bring round from an unconscious state)
|
|
14
|
Spartan queen has one going for new calendar? (7)
|
(PLAIN [spartan] + ER [Elizabeth Regina; queen]) excluding (going) I (Roman numeral for one] and adding (for) N (new) PLANN ER |
PLANNER (calendar)
|
|
16
|
Old man in Sudan beaten up in prison (7)
|
PA (father; old man) contained in (in) an anagram of (beaten up) SUDAN S (PA) NDAU* |
SPANDAU (prison in western Berlin demolished in 1987 soon after the death of Rudolf Hess, one of the last inmates)
|
|
18
|
Dread regular contributors to rag week (3)
|
AWE (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regular contributors to] RAG WEEK) AWE |
AWE (dread)
|
|
19
|
One promising love and money amongst older men (7)
|
O (zero; love score in tennis] + (L [pound sterling; money] contained in [amongst] [BIG {older, as in older or BIG brother} + OR {other ranks; men}]) O (B (L) IG OR) |
OBLIGOR (in the person who binds himself or herself to another; one promising [?])
|
|
21
|
Full traveller meeting obstruction before beginning to eat (7)
|
REP (representative; commercial traveller) + LET (obstruction) + E (first letter of [beginning to] EAT) REP LET E |
REPLETE (full)
|
|
23
|
Old forward is good player? (6)
|
EX (former, old) + PERT (saucy; forward) EX PERT |
EXPERT (good player)
|
|
25
|
Preserved forged medal (British Empire Medal) (8)
|
Anagram of (forged) MEDAL and BEM (British Empire Medal) EMBALMED* |
EMBALMED (preserved)
|
|
29
|
Deliberately offend leader leaving walk (5)
|
STROLL (walk) excluding (leaving) the first letter (leader) S TROLL |
TROLL (make a conscious attempt to provoke controversy or disagreement on the internet; deliberately offend)
|
|
30
|
Secretive men eating fox and woolly creatures (9)
|
MASONS (members of the Society of FreeMASONS, a traditionally secretive body of men) containing (eatimg) TOD (fox) MAS (TOD) ONS |
MASTODONS animals of the genus of extinct mammals resembling elephants. Wikipedia tells me that they are different from ‘woolly mammoths’, so I am not sure why the clue contains the word ‘woolly’)
|
|
31
|
Warning words after Republican’s scrap before court (4,3)
|
R (Republican) + IOTA (very small amount; scrap) + CT (court) R IOT A CT |
RIOT ACT ( a form of words read as a warning to rioters to disperse)
|
|
32
|
Lunatics in a tizzy without a medicinal preparation (7)
|
Anagram of (in a tizzy) LUNATICS excluding (without) A LINCTUS* |
LINCTUS (syrup-like medicine for coughs and sore throats)
|
|
Down |
|||
|
1
|
Outspoken against old state (5)
|
V (versus; against) + O (old) + CAL (California; American State) V O CAL |
VOCAL (outspoken)
|
|
2
|
Maybe Tom has to capture small image (9)
|
THUMB (reference Tom THUMB [character of English folklore]) + NAIL (capture) THUMB NAIL |
THUMBNAIL (miniature version of a graphic image; small image)
|
| 3 |
Stand at the front of church (7) |
I have not yet worked out the wordplay here |
LECTERN (a stand or a reading-desk, especially one from which the lessons are read in church) |
|
4
|
Dropped apple-core into mud (5)
|
P (centre letter of [core of] APPLE) contained in (into) SILT (mud) S (P) ILT |
SPILT (dropped)
|
|
5
|
Get rid of group of terrorists we hear (4)
|
SELL (sounds like [we hear] CELL [group of terrorists]) SELL |
SELL (give up for money; get rid of)
|
|
6
|
“Silvers swallows arsenic” – a story (3,4)
|
([AG {chemical symbol for silver} + AG {chemical symbol for silver] to give silvers}] containing [swallows] AS [chemical symbol for arsenic]) + A AG (A S) AG A |
AGA SAGA (descriptive of popular novel in a semi-rural middle-class setting)
|
|
7
|
Report interference? (5)
|
NOISE (report) NOISE |
NOISE (interference, in a communication channel for instance) double definition
|
|
8
|
Astonishing cup result for Bobby Moore at Wembley? (9)
|
Anagram of (astonishing) CUP RESULTS SCULPTURE* |
SCULPTURE (there is a SCULPTURE of Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium)
|
|
13
|
Client standing up in leisure suit (4)
|
USER (hidden word [in] reversed [standing up; down clue]] LEISURE SUIT) USER< |
USER (client)
|
|
14
|
One against redevelopment of top resort (9)
|
Anagram of (redevelopment of) TOP RESORT PROTESTOR* |
PROTESTOR (opponent; one against)
|
|
15
|
Excellent gunners and engineers (4)
|
RA (Royal Artillery; gunners) + RE (Royal Engineers) RA RE |
RARE (excellent)
|
|
17
|
Oscar met Brad dancing with a beautiful person (9)
|
Anagram of (dancing) O [Oscar is the international radio communication codeword for the letter O] and MET BRAD and A DREAMBOAT* |
DREAMBOAT (someone wonderful and desirable, usually of the opposite sex)
|
|
20
|
Work with artist hiding evil thug (7)
|
GO (work) + (RA [Royal Academician {artist}] containing [hiding] ILL [evil]) GO R (ILL) A |
GORILLA (thug)
|
|
22
|
Group of soldiers also included in scheme (7)
|
TOO (also) contained in (included in) PLAN (scheme) PLA (TOO) N |
PLATOON (subdivision of a military company of soldiers; group of soldiers)
|
|
24
|
Penny’s excited over picture (5)
|
P (penny) + HOT (excited) + O (over) P HOT O |
PHOTO (picture)
|
|
26
|
Rector leaves choice food for wine (5)
|
MORSEL (choice piece of food) excluding (leaves) R (rector) MOSEL |
MOSEL (German white wine)
|
|
27
|
Storage units Kelvin installed in Norfolk town (5)
|
K (kelvin) contained in (installed in) DISS (town in Norfolk) DIS (K) S |
DISKS (computer storage units)
|
|
28
|
Leave out note in books (4)
|
MI (note of the tonic sol-fa) contained in (in) OT (Old Testaments) O (MI) T |
OMIT (leave out)
|
Thats a bit rough.Everyone ignoring Kairos.Nothing wrong with this. In fact Staines amused me. I thought LECTERN was almost non-cryptic. But overall liked it.
Come on, someone else say something!
I also can’t see anything but a dictionary definition for Lectern, and stumbled on the spelling of Vittles and Obligor. Otherwise a nice workout. Thanks to Kairos and Duncan.
And I had started my comment before I’d seen Copmus@1…..
Another software update this week, and a bigger square red box, but worse now on my iPhone. That’s progress I suppose.
3 Down: cryptic def. stand, noun and verb.
Sorry, we are still baffled by 3d.
Thanks Duncan – we had the same problems as you with spellings.
Thanks Kairos – hope you drop by to explain 3d!
Too late to comment really but popped in to make sure I’d got everything correctly parsed.
Didn’t have a problem with 3d – a LECTERN is situated at the front of the church so that the preacher can see all of the congregation nodding off before his eyes!
Thanks to Kairos for the puzzle and to Duncan for the review.