Independent 10,864 by Serpent

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As the Olympic games comes to a close, Serpent one of the newer kids on the block gives us a puzzle. Certainly one of the leading gold medal contenders for hiding things ingeniously in grids.

And today was no exception with 8/19dn giving the clue to the novelty – LEADING LIGHTS.

Not a word I would personally use, but Chambers has one of the definitions of light “in a crossword, the word (or sometimes an individual letter in the word) on the diagram that is the answer to a clue.”

The leading lights (first letters of the across answers), as it were, do indeed spell out LEADING LIGHTS.

As to clues – I liked the novelty of 25ac and 22dn reminded me of an old joke of mine, whilst 15dn had splendid misdirection. Hopefully one day another more local to me expression will see the light of day in a crossword “Nee problem”  – to which the reply can be “Too much skiing no doubt!” – I’m not planning on going on stage anytime soon.

Serpent is rapidly becoming a leading light in the crossword world. Many thanks Serpent fun as always.

Across
8 Flat fare includes fuel on return journey between borders of Libya and Nigeria (7)
Rev. gas (fuel) in LibyA + NigeriA = LASAGNA

9 Exquisite poem that mourns losing Unknown Soldier (7)
elegy (poem that mourns) – y (unknown) + ant (soldier) = ELEGANT

10 Having sex in May ruined friendship (5)
(May)* around it (sex) = AMITY

11 Carriage with curtains at the front is a potential disaster (9)
trap (carriage) after death (curtains) = DEATHTRAP

12 Design pitched roof separating home from home with round centrepiece (9)
tent(pitched roof) in in(home) + in (home) around o (round) = INTENTION

14 He’s always moving and shaking to keep order (5)
(and)* around Om (order) = NOMAD

16 What decides those in power generation about energy stored in revolutionary cell? (7,8)
generation around (e + cell)* = GENERAL ELECTION

19 Subject has say in story (5)
eg(say) in lie (story) = LIEGE

20 Coin boxes mainly sold without money (9)
invent (coin) around sold – d = INSOLVENT

21 Dashing chap initially attracted girl using images (9)
(girl + chap + a)* = GRAPHICAL

23 Feeling that gets one’s back up? (5)
DD HUNCH

24 Beat president losing power in petulant display (7)
Tan (beat) + Trump (president) – p (power) = TANTRUM

25 One of vessels commandeered by Royal Marines supplies seafood (7)
ships (vessels) with i (one of vessels) in RM (Royal Marines) = SHRIMPS

Down
1 It’s helpful when one’s committed to particular position (10)
as (when) + stance (particular position) around is (one’s) = ASSISTANCE

2 Threatening university with closure of lending library after vacation (4)
u (university) + g (closure of lending) + ly (library after vacation) = UGLY

3 Staff train monkey (8)
man (staff) + drill (train) = MANDRILL

4 Stop getting fed up in row (6)
Rev ate (fed) in din (row) = DETAIN

5 Can he claim broadcast’s performed by rote? (10)
(can he claim)* = MECHANICAL

6 Reasonable ticket price for audience (4)
Homonym of fare (ticket price) = FAIR

7 Thick dust leads to influenza patients’ suffering (6)
(dust + I + p)* = STUPID

8/19 Influential characters put in their place here? (7,6)
DD (see above) LEADING LIGHTS

13 Powerful swimmer looks after hospital ship (5,5)
nurses(looks after) + h (hospital) + ark (ship) = NURSE SHARK

15 Having enlisted help, workers mean to turn old handle (6,4)
Men (workers) around aid (help) + (mean)* = MAIDEN NAME

17 Doing very little with no inclination seemingly (8)
DD LISTLESS

18 Piano pieces inspiring church scores (7)
notes(piano pieces) around ch (church) = NOTCHES

19 See 8

20 Transfer elements to enter earnings (6)
come in (enter) swapped around = INCOME

22 What blights teenagers’ lives in part of London, according to local reporter (4)
Homonym of Hackney – H (as per southern accents) = ACNE

23 Present contribution to higher education (4)
Hidden higHER Education
HE (Higher education) + RE (contribution to it as in subject) = HERE

16 comments on “Independent 10,864 by Serpent”

  1. You always know you have to look for something in a Serpent crossword and I’m delighted to report that I did (thanks to the helpful 8/19) see the ‘leading lights’

    Thanks to Serpent for the entertaining crossword and to twencelas for the blog

  2. Excellent as always. A few minor differences in my parsings.
    In 12a, “centrepiece” denotes the O being in the centre of IN.
    In 16a, I have E (energy) in a reversal of CELL.
    In 25a, the idea seems to be to take SHIPS and then have the I commandeered (placed inside) RM.
    In 1d, it is AS + IS inside STANCE.

  3. Good old Serpent, up to his usual tricks with 8/19d giving a hint where to look for a reference back to itself. Very clever. Apart from this, lots to enjoy. NOMAD took my fancy, as did the poignant surface for ELEGANT. From the sublime to the other end of the spectrum, but ACNE brought a smile.

    Thanks to Serpent – a busy setter with Basilisk appearing in the FT today – and twencelas

  4. Sorry, meant to point out that I parsed 23d as a hidden (‘higHER Education’), which ‘contribution’ indicates.

  5. Thanks Wordplodder @ 3 – have corrected 23d. And thanks Hovis @2 have corrected 1d, 16ac is probably better described as you say but works either way – Totally agree with the others, it’s just my brevity of explanation.

  6. Filled the grid OK but outfoxed by the endgame.
    Great to see this setter twice in one day(not many I say that about)
    And thanks for blog twencelas

  7. Thanks, twencelas, for a blog that’s brimming with enthusiasm for this indeed very good Serpent crossword.
    That said, I agree with Hovis @2 about 16ac but – unlike you – do not think that your explanation works too.
    Yes, it might be an anagram but in that case one for CELL around E (which is different from (E+CELL)*).
    As I couldn’t see anything special around the perimeter, I opted for having a look at starting letters.
    After all, he’s done this before (see Serpent, 18 Mar 2021, or Basilisk, 4 May 2021).
    Bingo! [as I saw it only at the end, it was of no help for solving]
    I’ll have to admit I failed on 22dn but now that it’s explained it’s really top-notch (as it the rest of this crossword).

  8. I found this a bit easier than some Serpents but still needed help on the meatier bits. I got leading lights purely from definition and crossers, so the explanation upped my admiration of Serpent’s skill all the more.

  10. Very enjoyable. Excellent clues and surfaces.

    We are not sure whether we would describe Serpent as a ‘newer kid on the block’. We think his first Indy puzzle was in 2016 although he had set some Inquisitor Puzzles in the Indy before that. before they transferred to the i.

    We missed the endgame but that did not spoil the enjoyment.

    Thanks to Serpent and twencelas.

  11. We enjoyed the solve but missed the endgame but – surprise, surprise – we did spot what was going on in Serpent’s puzzle (as Basilisk) over on the pink pages. We’re not going to give anything away, though – you’ll have to wait for the blog in ten days’ time.
    Thanks, Serpent and twencelas.

  12. Great stuff as said above. LIEGE is an interesting word. Not long ago Bluth clued it with similar wordplay, but defining it as “superior’ rather than “subject”. Both being right, of course.

  13. Thanks twencelas and Serpent….
    after BASILISK, just finished his Indy, too…
    Paul/Mudd weekends used to be common … ..
    Basilisk/Serpent weekend is heavenly!

  14. Old Snakehips is one helluva setter who just gets better and better. If he was a she well we’d sure like to have met her! 🙂

  16. Buoyed by my first ever unaided finish in Tees’ Sunday puzzle I gave this a go & rattled through it surprising quickly. Enjoyed it immensely though despite getting LEADING LIGHTS early doors didn’t occur to me to see if indicated anything else.
    Thanks Serpent & twencelas for the review

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