Independent 11,113 by Filbert

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Filbert provides our Thursday challenge.

I wasn’t quite convinced by the construction of 15a, but there were plenty of good clues here: I particularly liked the extended definition of 6d, the amusing juxtaposition of 8d, and the neat (and environmentally-aware) 20d.

I think we have a theme too: Chris BOARDMAN is a former cyclist (RIDER) who rode a bike made by LOTUS. Other makes are available, including RALEIGH and BROMPTON. There are also cycling references in the clues for 17a, 18a, 24a, and perhaps 2d (the annual Tour de France race finishes in Paris) and 25d (a single-speed bicycle, for example one used in track cycling, is one without all the complicated gear-changing mechanisms). As a non-cyclist I can quite believe there are other references I’ve missed, but no doubt someone will point them out. Thanks Filbert for an enjoyable ride.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
1 CONDOR
High-flier in Tory party close to donor (6)
CON (short for Conservative = Tory) + DO (slang for a party) + last letter (close) of [dono]R.

Common name for two species of vulture (high-flier).
5 MERLIN
Nothing to do with millions in retirement for old King’s Counsel (6)
NIL (nothing) + RE (on the subject of = to do with) + M (abbreviation for millions), all reversed (in retirement).

According to legend, the wizard who served as an advisor (counsel) to King Arthur.
8 GABBY
Chatty homosexual bishops are boring (5)
GAY (homosexual), with two B (abbreviation for bishop) inserted into it (boring).

Slang for over-talkative, from “gab” as in “the gift of the gab”.
9 BOARDMAN
Rocky and Rambo director, perhaps (8)
Anagram (rocky = unstable) of AND RAMBO.

A member of the board of a company.
11 AFTERGLOW
Radiation left wolf with great metamorphoses (9)
Anagram (metamorphoses) of WOLF + GREAT.

The “left” is slightly misleading because it makes us try to fit an L in somewhere. But it’s part of the definition: the radiation left behind after an event.
12 RAINY
Painter occupying gallery finally calling for oils? (5)
RA (Royal Academician = artist, often a painter) + IN (occupying) + final letter of [galler]Y.

Oils = short for oilskins = waterproof garments, which might be called for in rainy weather.
13 TITIAN
A red, one drunk by abstemious Scot (6)
I (one in Roman numerals) inserted into (drunk by) TT (teetotal = abstemious) + IAN (the crossword setter’s usual Scotsman, except when he’s spelled Iain).

Titian red = a reddish-gold colour, often used by the Venetian painter Titian who seemed to like painting red-haired women.
15 RALEIGH
Atlantic expedition leader‘s spoken, rowers stripped (7)
[o]RAL (spoken) + EIGH[t] (a rowing crew), with the outer letters stripped off. I’m not sure this quite works, because “oral eight” isn’t a meaningful phrase in itself, so it seems odd to “strip” the whole phrase rather than the individual words.

Sir Walter Raleigh, who made expeditions across the Atlantic at the request of Queen Elizabeth I.
17 BUM
Sponge saddle cover? (3)
Definition and cryptic definition. Bum, as a verb = sponge = slang for persuade someone to give you something for nothing; or bum = what goes on top of a saddle, so (loosely) covers it.
18 FLATTER
Become more suitable for steady cycling? (7)
Double definition. Flatter, as a verb = become = make someone or something look good; or flatter (terrain) = less hilly and therefore more cyclist-friendly.
19 ENIGMA
Inscrutable character of endlessly kind mother (6)
[b]ENIG[n] (kind) without the outer letters (endlessly) + MA (mother).
22 LOTUS
Last bit of fruit tortured soul eats? (5)
Anagram (tortured) of SOUL, containing (eating) the last letter of [frui]T.

Clue-as-definition: in Greek mythology, the “lotus eaters” were addicted to lotus fruit and lost contact with the rest of the world as a result.
24 MOOD SWING
Low winds when cycling, good change from high? (4,5)
MOO (low = cow noise) + WINDS with the last two letters “cycling” round to the front + G (good).

Mood swing = perhaps a descent into despondency after a “high” (exhilaration).
26 FRIGHTEN
Put hand in bog for bully (8)
RIGHT (one of two hands) inserted into FEN (wetland; the experts would probably distinguish between marsh, swamp, fen and bog, but they’re close enough for crosswords).

Bully, as a verb = frighten.
27 AGAIN
More profit, America first (5)
GAIN (profit), with A (America) first.
28 CANYON
Bog over there, river down here? (6)
CAN (bog = slang for toilet) + YON (over there; similar to “that”, as opposed to “this”, but generally denoting something further away).

A deep river valley.
29 WILIER
More foxy women tell stories in Irish (6)
W (women), then LIE (tell stories) in IR (short for Irish).
DOWN
2 ORBIT
Annually repeated circuit round the centre of Paris was gripping (5)
O (a round shape, as in O-ring) + centre letter of [pa]R[is] + BIT (as a verb in the past tense = was gripping).
3 DAYDREAMT
Rogue Mary dated had fantasies before bedtime (9)
Anagram (rogue) of MARY DATED.
4 RIBBLE
Yorkshire river leaks out of its banks (6)
[d]RIBBLE[s] (leaks) without its outer letters (banks).

River that flows westwards from North Yorkshire through Lancashire.
5 MEALWORM
Lame cooking with ordinary recipe, ultimately humdrum grub (8)
Anagram (cooking) of LAME, then W (with) + O (ordinary) + R (abbreviation for Latin recipe = take, in old-fashioned medical prescriptions) + last letter (ultimately) of [humdru]M.

Grub = beetle larva.
6 RIDER
E.g. Mamil when sporting lurid ergonomic clothes (5)
Hidden answer (. . . clothes) in [lu]RID ER[gonomic].

Extended definition: MAMIL = Middle Aged Man In Lycra = derogatory term for a cyclist of a certain age dressed up like a professional sports rider in brightly-coloured close-fitting gear.
7 IMAGINING
Filbert’s getting on trousers at home, occupied with thoughts (9)
I’M (Filbert’s = the setter of this crossword is) + AGING (getting on = becoming older), containing (trousering) IN (at home).
8 GIANT
Two soldiers, one very small, one very tall (5)
GI (American soldier) + ANT (which may be a “soldier ant” and is very small compared to the GI).
10 MYTH
Fictional character Mighty Mouse keeps heading skyward (4)
Hidden answer (. . . keeps), reversed (heading skyward = upwards in a down clue) in [mig]HTY M[ouse].
14 TRATTORIA
Italian mounting show with extravagant sculpture etc. (9)
AIR (as a verb = show, as in “to air one’s opinions”) + OTT (short for over-the-top = extravagant) + ART (sculpture etc), all reversed (mounting = upwards in a down clue).

Italian = short for “Italian restaurant”, which may call itself a trattoria.
16 LAND SNAIL
Line meandering in sandal a clue to what left it? (4,5)
L (line) + anagram (meandering) of IN SANDAL.

Extended definition, referring to the distinctive slime trails left by snails.
17 BROMPTON
South Kensington location‘s empty but hosting special prom just after (8)
B[u]T without the middle letter (empty), containing (hosting) an anagram (special) of PROM, then ON (just after, as in “on arrival” = just after arriving).

Former village, now absorbed into the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, but still surviving in some local place names.
18 FELT
Experienced fellow allowed to have learner demoted (4)
F (abbreviation for fellow) + LET (allowed), with the L (learner) moved towards the end (downwards, in a down clue = demoted).
20 ARGON
Gas shipment not carbon neutral (5)
[c]ARGO (shipment) without the C (chemical symbol for carbon), then N (neutral, in electrical wiring).
21 FOR NOW
Either aspect of flagellation that hurts temporarily (3,3)
F OR N = either of the two sides (aspects) of the word F[lagellatio]N, then OW (a cry indicating “that hurts!”).
23 SOGGY
Wet horse, therefore yard providing blanket (5)
GG (gee-gee = child’s word for a horse), with SO (therefore) + Y (abbreviation for yard) providing a “blanket” around it.
25 IRATE
Extremely snappy single speed (5)
I (one in Roman numerals) + RATE (speed).

Extremely snappy = very angry = irate.

14 comments on “Independent 11,113 by Filbert”

  1. Rare for me to spot a theme, but this one jumped out, perhaps because I’ve been in a few bike shops in my time. CONDOR, MERLIN and GIANT are also makes of bike.
    Thanks Quirister (a fellow singer?) and Filbert

  2. That’s a lot of bike brands! I can see CONDOR, MERLIN, BOARDMAN, RALEIGH, ENIGMA, LOTUS CANYON, WILIER, ORBIT, RIBBLE, GIANT, BROMPTON, FELT and ARGON. There may be more (TIT[i]AN?). Such a treat to have a familiar theme, with so many answers indicated three ways as a result: you get two PDMs that way. Lots of humour in the non-theme answers too, with sort of tangential connections evident. Great fun, thanks Filbert/blogger.

  4. Rog @2, Gobbo @2/3: thanks, I knew there’d be more to this, but as I said it’s not my area of expertise at all.

    [Rog: your assumption is correct. I think “quirister” is a rather pleasing variant of “chorister” which doesn’t deserve to be obsolete.]

  5. (Quirister – it’s still used in Winchester of course, and I wondered whether you might have a connection there. I agree that it’s pleasing!)

  6. [Rog: no Winchester connection – I belong to the half of the population that wouldn’t have been allowed in, though I gather that’s changing soon. I just found the word in Chambers once while looking for something else, and liked it.]

  7. Lancastrians may bilk at the Ribble being described as Yorkshire river, since they have most of it. However, Filbert may be redeemed if the lesser known Ribble was intended, which is entirely in Yorkshire and joins the River Holme in Holmfirth. We should know! Rather too many answers needing clarification from the blogger for my liking, but thanks anyway Filbert and Quirister.

  9. An ambitious project not quite realised, for me.

    In today’s Across clues I quibbled at 8, and it’s just for me, on the BB ‘are’ plural usage, 15 as blogged, 17 & 18 having weak second definitions, presumably trying too hard to reference the theme; 19’s ‘endlessly’ I can never accept as meaning ‘both ends removed’; 22 doesn’t seem quite to work for the myth, where the sailors slept but were finally returned to the boat by Odysseus, and 24, which along with 2 Down seemed to point to the ghosted theme where other clues hadn’t bothered. In the Downs we had the to me unknown ‘mamil’ and a rather confused definition for 16.

    I can thank Filbert for hiding the theme, almost, from me, as I wouldn’t have been interested, but it was a grand feat to get so many references to bike brands in. There were also some good clues, including WILIER, which I thought nicely done.

    Many thanks Filbert and Quirister.

  10. Blind to the theme despite the (now) obvious hints in the clues, as well as the answers. Still, you’d never catch me in Lycra – that’s my excuse anyway.

    Good to see a new ‘river’ making an appearance and I liked the TRATTORIA def as my last in.

    Thanks to Filbert and Quirister

  11. I usually struggle with Filbert, but this one rolled along nicely. I parsed RALEIGH as orally without oars, which is wrong in so many ways. Thanks both.

  12. Thanks both. I will try to commit MAMIL to memory and reduce my hostile vocabulary when I drive past one who has selfishly delayed me. The Red Rose in me would quibble the already remarked upon RIBBLE, and again I’ll bemoan the overuse of London locations as though it is the centre of the globe, not hidden inconveniently in a corner of our island, though I did know BROMPTON owing to its oratory, but can’t readily equate ‘on’ (suggests precision) to ‘just after’

  13. Thanks all. Ribble Cycles started in Preston so Mr Ribble probably wouldn’t have liked it either, but I put Yorkshire because the dales can help with the river names.

  14. Got a bit stuck on the bottom left corner and put the puzzle to one side to watch Secrets of the London Underground on Yesterday channel. They were investigating Brompton Road station, disused since the thirties but housing the operations for the Anti-Aircraft unit in WWII. So when I got back to the puzzle, I immediately got17dn.

    Didn’t spot the theme. The last time I tried to ride a bike, whilst visiting friends in Scotland about ten years ago, the saddle worked lose and swivelled up while I was riding and nearly did me a nasty injury.

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