Independent 10,595 by Dutch

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I always seem to get on well with the Dutch – with the exception of their driving habits. What sort of crossword will be served up? Fries and mayonnaise, or should it be tomato sauce or god forbid ketchup.

Some lovely surfaces – 16ac for the political idea, the topical 20/15 dn made me wonder if another Dominic could have been used in the clue, 1ac used a lovely device to benefit the clue reading; 24ac for the arachnophobes and 26dn for its misdirection.

I have a little gripe with 28ac but may have missed something. 

5ac completely escaped me – thanks to Hovis for enlightenment.

Thanks Dutch a new setter for me to blog, though not your first puzzle – very enjoyable.

Key: * Anagram; Rev. reversed; DD double definition; Underline definition

Across
1 Hostess with young man stretching limits of legality (8)
lad (young man) in l and y (limits of legality) = LANDLADY

5 Get over junk you shouldn’t have internalised (6)
o (over) + Ta (You should n’t have) in bin (junk) = OBTAIN

9 Texan can brush over preposterous hat (8)
broom (brush) around (hat)* = BATHROOM

10 Returning songbird impishly carries bit of leaf (6)
Rev. hidden songBIRD IMpishly = MIDRIB

12 Turn head of terminally lovesick sheep? (9)
(t + lovesick)* = LIVESTOCK

13 Dutch wants depravity, the horny fellow (5)
D (Dutch) + evil (depravity) = DEVIL

14 Scrap very loud sex when retired (4)
Rev FF (very loud) + it (sex) = TIFF

16 Is Raab desperately trying to start being a foreign expert? (7)
(is + Raab + t)* = ARABIST

19 About to master four-letter word usages (7)
cuss (four-letter word) around to + m (master) = CUSTOMS

21 Produced wind to sound rude (4)
Homonym of blue (rude) = BLEW

24 A little hairy spider brought about a state of turmoil (5)
Rev. hidden = hAIRY Spider = SYRIA

25 Appear to enjoy drinking a double (9)
look (appear) + like (enjoy) around a = LOOKALIKE

27 Sympathetic lady in Papuan attire stripped regularly (6)
stripped regularly pApUaN aTtIrE = AUNTIE

28 Spooner’s to use motivational tactic getting a drink in America (4,4)
Boot Rear (motivational tactic) spoonerised = ROOT BEER (???) – If I’ve parsed correctly should there not be a Homonym indicator?

29 Go green in a weird way and articulate why (6)
(green)* + homonym of why = ENERGY

30 Beauty to behold by the outskirts of Caerphilly (3,5)
eye (behold) + c and y (outskirts of Caerphilly) = EYE CANDY

Down
1 Liable to change (6)
(liable)* = LABILE

2 Tory leader visits unsuspecting resident (6)
t (tory leader) in naive (unsuspecting) = NATIVE

3 Drawers learn using repetition, endlessly sketching faces (5)
Starts of learn using repetition, endlessly sketching = LURES

4 Operation cancelled with doctor beginning to fall asleep (4,3)
op off after dr (doctor) = DROP OFF

6 But will she see you after this? (5,4)
Cryptic definition BLIND DATE

7 A flower cutting to have in France – cheers! (2,6)
ure (a flower – river) in avoir (French to have) = AU REVOIR – cheers is in Chambers as good-bye, though more usually as Thanks or good health in my experience so a bit of a surprise.

8 Greek character missing a knack for sexiness (8)
Nu (Greek character) + ability (knack) – a = NUBILITY

11 Essential ingredients to cook rabbit gumbo (4)
Hidden coOK RAbbit = OKRA

15 See 20

17 Assassinates duchess with steel-bladed boot (3,5)
Ices (assassinates) + Kate (duchess) = ICE SKATE

18 Rowdy gents are cut off (8)
(gents are)* = ESTRANGE

20/15 Amazingly fit and also single but so out of touch (4-9)
(fit + single + also)* = SELF ISOLATING

21 I go by mainly old Byzantine life lessons (7)
(I go by + ol)* = BIOLOGY

22 I have to open some booze to concede defeat (4,2)
I’ve in Gin (some booze) = GIVE IN

23 Sound like an ass welcoming foreign visitor to shop (6)
Bray (sound like an ass) around ET (foreign visitor) = BETRAY

26 Barely rate jerk in Upper Chamber (5)
at (barely rate) + tic (jerk) = ATTIC

18 comments on “Independent 10,595 by Dutch”

  2. Thought this was the best Dutch crossword I have tried. Lots of great surfaces and a few cunning clues (like OBTAIN). Favourites include: OBTAIN, CUSTOMS, ICE SKATE and SELF-ISOLATING.

    Don’t think any homophone indicator needed for a Spoonerism which relies on how it sounds not on how it is spelt.

    Many thanks to Dutch and twencelas.

  3. This was great fun with plenty of amusing and clever clues.

    I think 11d must be a semi &lit with the whole clue providing the definition as a GUMBO is a stew whereas OKRA are vegetables that you might put in a stew.

    Many thanks to Dutch and twencelas.

  4. Apparently in some West African languages ‘ngombo’ means okra! Struggled in NW corner, otherwise comfortably completed. Thanks Dutch and Twencelas.

  5. Thanks Hovis @ 1 – even though I’m a northern Englishman, I have a problem with the word Ta, so am not surprised I ignored it as a possibility. And thanks also @ 2 – had a Latin teacher called Spooner when I was 11 and he explained the concept then – over the years I seem to have got it into my head that its a letter swap and not as Chambers says ‘a transposition of initial sounds of spoken words, eg shoving leopard for loving shepherd’.

  7. So nice to see Dutch back with another puzzle – it’s certainly been a while.   I do like the way in which he manages to stay just on the right side of causing any offence and works hard to produce decent surface reads.

    The little hairy spider made me laugh and my top two were the clever 1a and (begging her pardon because she’s one of my preferred members of the royal family) 17d.

    Many thanks, Dutch, don’t leave it so long next time!   Thanks also to twencelas for the review.

  8. Very enjoyable.  We liked the topical reference in 20/15

    Re 11dn, Chambers has for gumbo: “okra or its mucilaginous pods; a soup thickened with okra pods; a dish of okra pods seasoned; …”
    And we would class 1dn as an &lit; the definition in Chambers is “unstable, apt to slip or change”

    Thanks, Dutch and Twencelas.

     

  9. Thanks, Dutch, Twencelas

    Very good, funny and cunning.

    ICE-SKATE as a solution tends to jump out at you but I found the Rosa Klebb image so compelling that it took ages, with much forehead slapping afterwards.

    If you google ‘labile meaning’ the first definition given is ‘liable to change’.  Easy work if you can get it.

  10. many thanks all, your comments mean a lot to me. I was quite worried about this puzzle, so I am pleased the response seems positive. It’s nice to be back

    And thanks especially to Twencelas for an excellent blog

    Ha, 1a I intended with=and, but twencelas found a perfectly valid alternative parsing. Except that I wouldn’t want people to think i overuse that device, since it also occurs in 30a. Also, i try to avoid ‘with’ as a link (but for 17d, it seemed unavoidable there …)

    Twencelas no doubt your fodder in 20/15 is just a typo, ‘so’ is part of the definition (as in ‘in this manner’). in 23d, ‘to’ is also part of the definition (just saying, because i think “to” is a poor link and i don’t want people to think i used that)

    And yes, gumbo is the vegetable (see Chambers), the stew derives from that. An &littish-sounding clue perhaps, but is just a simple hidden as twencelas expertly indicated

    I’m flattered that @QuizzyDan has done a twitch live stream of solving this crossword, you’ll find it on his twitter timeline

    Thank you all so much and hope to see you again soon

  11. It would n’t be my blog without the odd typo (now corrected). I really should have applied for a job at the Guardian in my youth. Thanks Dutch for the explanation of 1ac and the kind words.

  12. Thanks, Dutch I really enjoyed that. I even got the spoonerism. I made a mess of the top corner though, 16a I had all the components (Is Raab and the T of trying) but the foreign expert I came up with was BARISTA. I blame the rather excellent coffee shop I was visiting. probably the last time to visit before all we have to look forward to is 20/15 again!

  13. Excellent.
    His best so far? Not sure, they were all really good.
    I particularly liked the appropriate dig at Dominic Raab, and also 1dn – such a neat &lit.
    Many thanks to Turbolegs & Dutch (warm welcome back!).

  15. Great to see Dutch back with a puzzle as good as any he’s previously set.

    1dn, “Liable to change” was a brilliant &lit, especially (as James has said and as I found when I checked Collins to be sure of the meaning) as the clue is a word-for-word dictionary definition. I noticed that the first def is in fact a chemistry term of art and, knowing that Dutch is a retired chemist, I wondered how long he had been aware of this gem.

    I roared with laughter when it clicked that the “motivational tactic” in 28ac was (in terms) a kick up the arse. Was it such a motivational tactic that got Dutch to set again, I wonder?

    6dn  BLIND DATE was a superb cryptic definition

    I was another one who didn’t realise gumbo (11dn) was a word for okra, only being aware of the name of the stew that is named after it. Surely that clue must qualify as some sort of &lit, given that the vegetable is in fact essential to the stew?

  18. First time I’vd solved a Dutch puzzle, I believe. Baerchen tipped me off, and I’m already familiar with the name via the Elgar puzzles on the big dave site.

    Super puzzle, not difficult, but very enjoyable. Smooth surfaces and no obscure words. I’ll look out for the next one.

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