We have a Radian puzzle on what is usually a theme day in the Independent crossword series.
Clearly there is a theme in this puzzle with many entries associated with one of the many meanings and associations of atmosphere, space, stars, planets, rockets and missiles.
I reckon you could make a case for relating well over 50% of the entries to some aspect of the theme. I’ve listed my list of possible relationships between entries and the theme at the very end of the blog.
There was one entry that was unknown to me and that was GIBBOUS at 5 across. There are two other entries that I haven’t come across very often – CAPELLA and IRENIC.
The cluing was fair with some good misdirection – for example the clue for SHEEN with my first thought for ‘Polish’ being related to the country Poland.
I’m not quite old enough to remember a CRYSTAL radio SET but I know that such sets were around in the 1920s.
I struggled a bit with the definition for HEADING at 28 across and have commented about in the detail below.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
English staff incorporate special gap in text (2,5) EM SPACE (term used in printing to describe a gap equal to the width of a letter m) E (English) + (MACE [rod; staff] containing [incorporate] SP [special]) E M (SP) ACE |
| 5 |
Hunchbacked historian contracted American (7) GIBBOUS (hump- or hunch-backed) GIBBON (reference Edward GIBBON [1737 – 1794], English historian whose best known word was ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’) excluding the final letter N (contracted) + US (United States; American) GIBBO US |
| 10 |
Rock producer guaranteed some returns (4) ETNA (Volcano on Sicily which producer molten rock when it erupts) ETNA (reversed [returns] hidden word in [some] GUARANTEED) ETNA< |
| 11 |
Scheme regularly yielded missile (10) PROJECTILE (missile) PROJECT (scheme) + ILE (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of YIELDED) PROJECT ILE |
| 12 |
Smell authentic in the north (6) BOREAL (of the north) BO (Body Odour; smell) + REAL (authentic) BO REAL |
| 13 |
A big number burn one in fashionable style (8) TRILLION (a large number) (RILL [small brook; burn] + I [Roman numeral for one]) contained in (in) TON (fashion; fashionable style) T (RILL I) ON |
| 14 |
Reckoned European writer’s declared limits (9) ESTIMATED (reckoned) E (European) + (STATED [declared] containing [limits] I’M (I am; writer / setter is) E ST (IM) ATED |
| 16 |
Polish husband spotted cops (5) SHEEN (shine; polish) SEEN (spotted) containing (cops) H (husband) S (H) EEN |
| 17 |
It doesn’t matter which one’s left a number (5) ETHER (anaesthetic; number) EITHER (the one or the other; doesn’t matter which one) excluding (left) I (Roman numeral for one) ETHER |
| 19 |
Some stars with lawyer hedging capital (9) ANDROMEDA (a constellation; some stars) (AND [with] + DA [District Attorney; lawyer]) containing (hedging) ROME (capital city of Italy) AND (ROME) DA |
| 23 |
Myths occupying old priest’s first US mission (8) EXPLORER (EXPLORER 1 became the first successfully launched satellite by the United States when it was sent to space on January 31, 1958; first [space] US mission) LORE (learning, especially of a special, traditional, or out-of-the-way miscellaneous kind, as in folkLORE [myths]) contained in (occupying) (EX [old] + PR [priest]) EX P (LORE) R |
| 24 |
Horrible green Yankee spirit (6) ENERGY (vigour; spirit) Anagram of (horrible) GREEN + Y (Yankee is the international radio communication codeword for the letter Y) ENERG* Y |
| 26 |
Drug group’s early receiver possibly needing cans (7,3) CRYSTAL SET (an early radio receiver which the user often needed headphones [cans] to listen to) CRYSTAL (cocaine or amphetamine; drug) + SET (group) CRYSTAL SET |
| 27 |
Judge put away rebel’s leader first (4) RATE (settle the relative rank, scale or position of; judge) R (first letter of [leader] REBEL) + ATE (consumed; put away) R ATE |
| 28 |
What’s the point of cricket ground without grass? (7) HEADING (point, perhaps in the sense of a title indicating the gist or point of a chapter or paragraph? Alternative point in the distance to which one is heading) Bradfords list point as a synonym under a group of headword, HEAD(S), HEAD FOR, HEADING, HEADMAN, HEAD-SHAPED and HEADY HEADINGLEY (cricket ground in Leeds) excluding (without) LEY (meadow; grass) HEADING |
| 29 |
Racy novel about woman’s sport (7) ARCHERY (a sport) Anagram of (novel) RACY containing (about) HER (woman) ARC (HER) Y* |
| Down | |
| 2 |
Measuring devices incorporating old night lights? (7) METEORS (one of countless small bodies travelling through space, seen when they enter the earth’s atmosphere as aerolites, fireballs or shooting stars; night lights) METERS (measuring devices) containing (incorporating) O (old) METE (O) RS |
| 3 |
Gym has inbuilt stage (5) PHASE (stage in growth or development) HAS contained in (inbuilt) PE (physical education; gymnastics) P (HAS) E |
| 4 |
Star has a piano in basement briefly (7) CAPELLA (a first-magnitude star in the northern constellation Auriga) (A + P [piano]) contained in (in) CELLAR (basement) excluding the final letter R (briefly) C (A P) ELLA |
| 6 |
Pacific island with nicer bananas (6) IRENIC (tending to create peace; pacific) I (island) + an anagram of (bananas) NICER I RENIC* |
| 7 |
Stake regularly helped trim noted stable here (9) BETHLEHEM (reference the stable in the city where the Bible tells us that Jesus was born) BET (wager; stake) + HLE (letters 1, 3 and 5 [regularly] of HELPED + HEM (edge or border; trim) BET HLE HEM |
| 8 |
Free places to go in Unionist northeast (7) UNLOOSE (free) LOOS (toilets; place to go) contained in (in) (U [Unionist] + NE [North East]) U N (LOOS) E |
| 9 |
Oz stars shorten courses drastically, wasting 24 (8,5) SOUTHERN CROSS (constellation visible in Australia; Oz stars) Anagram of (drastically) SHORTEN COURSES excluding (wasting) E (ENERGY [entry at 24 across]) SOUTHERN CROSS* |
| 15 |
Highly regarded papers cover dotty ladies touring east (9) IDEALISED (regarded as perfect; highly regarded) ID (identity papers) containing (cover) (an anagram of [dotty] LADIES containing [touring] E [East]) I (D (E) ALISE*) D |
| 18 |
Cab mostly unoccupied is exempt from duty (3-4) TAX FREE (exempt from duty) TAXI excluding the final letter I (mostly) + FREE (unoccupied) TAX FREE |
| 20 |
What shuttle had to do to repeat record? (2-5) RE-ENTER (the Space Shuttle has to RE-ENTER the earth’s atmosphere when it returns home) RE-ENTER (repeat a record in a database) double definition RE-ENTER |
| 21 |
Follow street Arab, Ancient Mariner’s guide? (3,4) DOG STAR (Sirius, the DOG STAR, is the brightest star in the night sky and would have been used by sailors in the past [ancient mariners] as a guide) DOG (follow) + ST (street) + AR (Arab) DOG ST AR |
| 22 |
Install old shower daughter imported (6) ORDAIN (install [in a religious office]) O [old] + (D [daughter] contained in [imported] RAIN [shower]) O R (D) AIN |
| 25 |
Shortage – no top soil (5) EARTH (soil) DEARTH (shortage) excluding (no) the first letter (top) D EARTH |
Links to theme?
EM SPACE – terrestrial allusion to space
PROJECTILE – rocket, missile
BOREAL – northern lights in the atmosphere
TRILLION – number of stars
ANDROMEDA – stars
EXPLORER – space mission
HEADING – direction of a rocket
ARCHERY – use of missiles
METEORS – space
PHASE – stage of a rocket launch system
CAPELLA – start
BETHLEHEM – Star of Bethlehem
SOUTHERN CROSS – stars
RE-ENTER – rocket
DOG STAR – stars
EARTH – planet, star
This gives us 16 out of 29 entries with a reasonably firm link to the theme.
As many commenters have pointed out, the list should include GIBBOUS – of moon / planet, between half and full, unequally convex on two sides.
You could possibly add CRYSTAL SET with its link to radio waves through the atmosphere, and ETNA firing lava as projectiles. There is also a vast amount of ENERGY in parts of space.
Duncan, I think ‘heading’ is simpler than your conjectures suggest – is it not just a compass point? Well done on finding so many interstellar connections; you are a star, indeed. I had the same three (in my case) unknowns – IRENIC and CAPELLA were both gettable but new to me whilst GIBBOUS is familiar but not in the sense it was defined. I see CAPELLA derives from ‘little goat’; is there any connection to ‘a capella’ or is it just one of those coincidences?
ARCHERY probably my favourite for the surface but DOG STAR came close.
Thanks Radian and Duncan
PHASE is more moon-y, surely, rather then a rocket stage? Talking of which, GIBBOUS is an unequal convex moon phase between half and full.
Thanks for the blog!
Struggled a bit in places. I knew GIBBOUS in reference to the moon when more than half showing but not to mean hunchbacked. Didn’t get HEADING. Initially had RE-ENTRY for 20d but 29a was clearly ARCHERY so was quickly corrected. Tried to get an anagram of W + NICER for a Pacific island. Really liked that clue once I cottoned on to the correct parsing.
Just to add to Duncan’s meteor types in 2d, I always quite liked the word “bolides” for “fireballs”.
The theme helped here, though I was unsure of GIBBOUS in both the anatomical and as it turns out lunar senses. I wasn’t quite sure of HEADING either, but I think your “point in the distance to which one is heading” and PM @1’s “compass point” are correct.
Good to see SOUTHERN CROSS appear, about the only constellation I can confidently identify!
Thanks to Radian and Duncan
Very enjoyable. At 17A once again I was caught out by ‘number’ in this sense but eventually twigged. Postmark @1, ‘a capella’ should really be ‘a cappella’ though dictionaries accept both, but it has a completely different etymology, from ‘cappella’ meaning ‘chapel’, so ‘in chapel style’ i.e without orchestra. Many thanks Radian and Duncan.
Thanks Tatrasman: as you can tell, music not my strongpoint and, though you generously allowed that some dictionaries may vary, I hadn’t even spelled it correctly. Mind you, I nearly entered a patella for some reason. Presumably singing on bended knee!
Maybe singing in Harmon knee, PostMark.
😀
I still haven’t learnt to give up on a bad idea. I was disappointed to learn that OVRATAL wasn’t a word meaning “point” for 28ac but my mind went blank thinking of other grounds.
I hope you genuinely did look up the brilliantly logical OVRATAL Petert. I think we have all been on similar optimistic searches so imagining your resigned disappointment amused me.
Completed this and totally failed to spot the theme!
Incidentally, ETHER could be considered thematic in the sense of the luminiferous ether which was suppose to fill space and through which light was propagated.
Soooo neat
Thanks Dunc and Radian