Independent on Sunday 1494 / Filbert

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This is Filbert’s ninth appearance in the Indy since he began last November but his first on a Sunday. I have solved and enjoyed them all and this one was no exception.

I like the way that the cluing is a little different from the norm in places whilst maintaining, for the most part, smooth and believable surfaces with some imaginative definitions. I would be hard-pushed to select a favourite clue today because there are so many on the shortlist, so I am not going to try.

Thanks, Filbert, for a most agreeable way to spend part of a Sunday morning.

Across
1 Talk Talk‘s lawyers flipped coin (6)
RABBIT – BAR (lawyers) reversed (flipped) BIT (coin)

5 Shoe company’s third chance, missing second round (8)
MOCCASIN – [co]M[pany] (company’s third) OCCASI[o]N (chance, missing second round)

9 Country club I rebuilt next to theatre (8)
REPUBLIC – an anagram (rebuilt) of CLUB I after (next to) REP (theatre)

10 Cut off ends of airtight bag doctor provided (6)
ADRIFT – A[irtigh]T (ends of airtight) around (bag) DR (doctor) IF (provided)

11 One section of popular board game’s missing edges (6)
INCHES – IN (popular) CHES[s] (one section of … board game’s missing) – S as an abbreviation for ‘section’ is in Chambers but I’ve no idea of in what context it is used.

12 Space in the brain for milky solid (8)
EMMENTAL – EM (space) MENTAL (in the brain)

14 Furiously sound horn to pass lowcoach (5,3,4)
TOOTH AND NAIL – TOOT (sound horn) HAND (pass) [s]NAIL ([s]lowcoach)

17 Adapt – no; lob, mall – yes (12)
MONOSYLLABLE – an anagram (adapt) of NO LOB MALL YES – &lit, ‘adapt’ is not monosyllabic but ‘lob’ and ‘mall’ are – a very clever clue!

20 Profiting from every version of film shot with gloves on? (8)
UPPERCUT – UP (profiting from) PER (every) CUT (version of film)

22 Cold, enjoyed outside, as an ice-lolly should be (6)
LICKED – LIKED (enjoyed) around (outside) C (cold)

23 Small nasty unfinished bit of protein in cereal? (6)
WEEVIL – WEE (small) VIL[e] (nasty unfinished)

25 Enjoys going round smart seaside resort (8)
HASTINGS – HAS (enjoys) around (going round) STING (smart)

26 Audible smell fellow inhales wife expelled (4,4)
SENT DOWN – SENT which sounds like (audible) ‘scent’ (smell) followed by DON (fellow) around (inhales) W (wife)

27 Cad objectified woman? Quite (6)
RATHER – RAT (cad) HER (objectified woman)

Down
2 Improving the flavour of an egg I scrambled (6)
AGEING – an anagram (scrambled) of AN EGG I

3 Light touches single part of painting (11)
BRUSHSTROKE – BRUSH STROKE (light touches)

4 It’s very unlikely that, ultimately, everything’s blue (4,5)
TALL STORY – [tha]T (that, ultimately) ALL’S (everything’s) TORY (blue)

5 Play item Bach arranged without second violin part (7)
MACBETH – an anagram (arranged) of [i]TEM BACH – ‘without second violin part’ indicating the removal of the second letter in violin from the potential anagram fodder.

6 Tea-room entrance (5)
CHARM – CHA (tea) RM (room)

7 Undress hirsute character (3)
AIR – [h]AIR[y] (undress hirsute)

8 Without a bit of evidence, assume an archaeological site’s beneath you (5,3)
INFRADIG – INF[e]R (without a bit of evidence, assume) DIG (an archaeological site)

13 Don’t princes set out to be dull? (11)
NONDESCRIPT – an anagram (set out) of DON’T PRINCES

15 As part of revolting chores, I lube nurse’s medical equipment (9)
NEBULISER – hidden (as part of) reversal (revolting) in ‘choRES I LUBE Nurse’

16 Mock man that exaggerates his manhood (8)
CODPIECE – COD (mock) PIECE (man {chess etc})

18 Understand butcher can’t haggle over lambs’ heads (5,2)
LATCH ON – an anagram (butcher) of CAN’T H[aggle] O[ver] L[amb]

19 Silver lining nothing but miserable (6)
MEAGRE – AG (silver) in (lining) MERE (nothing but)

21 Top businessman pockets two pounds in giant fiddle (5)
CELLO – CEO (top businessman) around (pockets) LL (two pounds)

24 Box up electronic parts for medical professional (3)
VET – E (electronic) in (parts) TV (box) reversed (up)

12 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1494 / Filbert”

  1. I don’t think we see nearly enough of this excellent setter.

    One very minor niggle: At 10 across, I think “bags” would have made for a better surface.

    Though I agree with you, Gaufrid, there are too many good clues to list favourites, I will give top Billing to 6down for its simple elegance.

  2. A pretty substantial Independent on Sunday offering from Filbert this week. I couldn’t parse INCHES and missed the two separate ‘light touches’ for BRUSH(&)STROKE – now the ‘single’ makes sense.

    Plenty to pick from but my favourites were the ‘Talk Talk’s’ def for 1a, the surface and def for EMMENTAL and best of all the wonderful &littish WEEVIL. Not a puzzle to do half way through the morning porridge.

    Thanks to Filbert and Gaufrid.

  3. Very welcome especially on a Sunday.Otherwise it was Inky and I’d be better off reading Finnegan’s Wake.The last two IQs have been well above my pay grade.

    This was very refreshing- a theme seems to be lurking but nothing too obvious.

    Thanks Filbert and Gaufrid.

  4. Having got over my disappointment, upon solving RABBIT straight away, that this puzzle wasn’t a tribute to Chas Hodges, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I associate Filbert with hardish puzzles, and the grid looks non-standard, and it’s a Sunday, so I still think there must be something going on here.

    Anyhoo, very many thanks to Filbert and Gaufrid

    ps TOOTH AND NAIL great idea!

  5. Think that’s the first Filbert I’ve solved without encountering too many difficulties.   I do have an issue with some of his surface reads and definitions but would agree that there was much to enjoy in this one.

    Thanks to Filbert and also to Gaufrid for the decryption.

  6. 11a. “s.” is used as an abbreviation for “section” in Acts of Parliament. So FA 2017 s. 32 is section 32 of the Finance Act 2017.

  8. Surprisingly, RABBIT was our LOI after CODPIECE; we’d resorted to a wordfinder for the latter (Doh! when we saw it) and were about to do the same for 1ac when we realised what it was.  All the rest were solved unaided.  We particularly liked WEEVIL and INFRA DIG.

    Thanks, Filbert and Gaufrid.

    PS. @gsolphotog @1: In 10ac the cryptic grammar requires ‘bag’ for the plural subject ‘ends’ (of airtight).

     

  9. Allan @8, no it does not.

    A ‘bags’ B is fine, even if A consists of multiple things.

    That’s what I’ve learned in recent years but – that said – I would indeed go for the plural (seems more ‘natural’ to me).

    Good crossword, much easier than how I experienced this setter previously.

    Although, what is ‘Audible smell’ (26ac)?

    Many thanks to Gaufrid and Filbert.

     

  10. Many thanks to Gaufrid for the blog and to all commenters for cheering up a day when everything’s been disappointingly rained off.

    On bags/bag:

    I know this has been discussed by Sil & others a few times, particularly for hidden words; eg should it be ‘regular Georgian houses’ or regular Georgian house’ for ‘large’.  I don’t think this is quite the same case.  Fodder should be treated as singular, but the fodder here is A..T.  ‘Ends of’ is not the fodder, it is a description of it, and a plural one, so I’d find it odd to use bags rather than bag.

    An audible smell is one of the less deadly kind, on the whole.

  11. Thanks Filbert,

    some great stuff here – enjoyed the monosyllabic &lit, the romantically wistful 3d, and also stuff like the simple classic 2d, which just works so well. And plenty more.

    Thanks also Gaufrid

  12. Thanks Allan, Sil and Filbert for responding and analysing my early comment on 10a. As I said above Filbert, we don’t see nearly enough of your excellent crosswords.

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