Independent 11,139 by Rodriguez

by

An excellent crossword.

I’m wondering if I am ever again going to be scheduled a puzzle I can pick a few issues with.  This one has unquestionable clueing, and a super reveal, and is as an enjoyable a solve as they come.

The theme is barely concealed – the clue for 12A refers to the perimeter and the answer is its author, and 22D lends a massive clue to its contents.  I was perhaps fortunate to solve 22D early on – I found the clues in the bottom half of the puzzle much more accessible than the top – and see from my notes I guessed the perimeter (then immediately got 12A) after sketching out the following :

...... G...H. ..DENI NG....
TURNING IN THE WIDENING GYRE

This is the first line of “The Second Coming” by W.B. Yeats.

22 lines that are often quoted and often raided for use as titles etc. because of their serious symbolism.  Particularly the third line.
I’m probably lucky that I wasn’t forced to study it as a child, like so many, and haven’t had its impact deadened.

Does anything beside a falcon move in a “gyre”?
Maybe this poem has led to that word being associated so strongly.

I urge you to follow the link underlined above and reacquaint yourself.

The only question I have is why there is a question mark on the clue for 12A?

Across
7 ETCHER Extremely elitist singer, one making an impression (6)
E[lites]T (extremes of the word elitist),  CHER (singer)
9 INERTIA Being still not out, a trier endlessly bats (7)
IN (not out),(A TRIE[r])* AInd: bats, making ERTIA
10 REMOTENESS Head after meteor travelling in distance (10)
(METEOR)* AInd: travelling, then NESS (head).  Very appropriate anagram indicator for meteor (and Meteors: Keep your distance)
11 AGOG Try silver dresses in a state of excitement (4)
Go (try) inside (dressed by) AG (silver)
12 YEATS Remain bowled over about English writer whose words go around here? (5)
STAY< (remain, reversed (bowled over)) around E[nglish].   Not sure about the final “?” on the clue – there’s no doubt about who wrote the poem, is there?
13 METATARSI Jack is back on team after breaking bones (9)
(TEAM)* AInd: breaking, then TAR (jack) IS< (is, back)
15 GATEWAY Compilers game to pirouette always entrance (7)
WE TAG  (compilers game) all reversed (to pirouette), AY always
16 HEARKEN Listen, lady’s possessing advanced knowledge (7)
HER (lady’s) around (possessing) A[dvanced] KEN (knowledge)
20 GAS FITTER Chat with comparatively dishy workman (3,6)
GAS (chat), FITTER (comparatively dishy)
23 DUVET In the Berliner version, you check cover (5)
D (Berliner version, i.e. German, thus D for Deutsch)  “U” (you, as spoken, in English if not in German)  VET (check)
Edit: See Comment #1 Better parsed as DU (you in German) VET (check)  I do not know even that much German
25 NAIL One may need filing tips from National Archives in London (4)
First letters (tips) from N[ational] A[rchives] I[n] L[ondon]
26 RIDING HIGH Successful, like a horseman on horse? (6,4)
Double Def.  – One of them figurative, if not cryptic
27 SHOTGUN One getting fired got enraged? Avoid going over it (7)
(GOT)* AInd: enraged, inside SHUN (avoid)
28 OR ELSE Possible threat from men by European university (2,4)
OR (men, “Ordinary Ranks”) E[uropean] LSE (university)
Down
1 THROTTLE Stifle Red Guards China’s No. 2 let loose (8)
TROT (Red, as in communist of the Trotskyist tendency) around (guards) H ([c]H[ina]), then finally (LET)* AInd: loose.
2 URGES Drives in ancient city given good directions (5)
UR (ancient city), G[ood] E S  (East and South, directions)
3 RIPENED Current writer gets into wine that’s aged (7)
I (Current, as measured in amps) and PEN (writer) all inside RED (wine)
4 NEWSPAPER Note apps were developed for provider of information (9)
(N[ote] APPS WERE)* AInd: developed.
5 ITHACA Regularly dirt-cheap around Greek island (6)
[d]I[r]T [c]H[e]A[p] CA (around)
I know Ithaca from Greek myth etc. but wasn’t sure precisely where it was – now I’ve looked it up I’m surprised it is so small  Ithaca (Wiki)
6 NABOBS Prosperous people rom North America given two shillings (6)
N[orth] A[merica], then BOB and S (two shillings, one colloquial, one abbreviation)
There are many theories why a shilling was called a ‘Bob’ but we’ll never know for sure.
8 THERESA Poet initially wrapping present on 1st of April or May? (7)
TS [Eliot] (poet, initially) around (wrapping) HERE (present), then A[pril]
Def. references Theresa May by example thus the “?”
14 PASTURAGE French chemist wanting drug, say, about to bandage area where there’s grazing (9)
PASTUER – E (Most famous French chemist you can think of, take away the E for drug),  EG< (say, about) around (to bandage) A[rea]
17 ROUGH-HEW Husbands wearing make-up and women’s fashion crudely (5-3)
H H (husbands) inside (wearing)  ROUGE (make-up), then W[omen]
Edit: Definition underlining corrected
18 EMERGES Issues with electronic fuses (7)
E-MERGES (you know how this works)
19 DEAD END Where progress is impossible, Democrats must admit a need for reform (4,3)
D and D (Democrats) around (mustard mint) (A NEED)* AInd: for reform.
21 AGASSI Fun experience is coming up for US sports champ (6)
A GAS (fun experience) IS< (is, coming up)
22 FALCON 12’s bird described circling here has nothing on large rook (6)
FA (nothing, as in sweet FA) L[arge] CON (rook).
The definition gives the strongest hint of the perimeter quote – especially when combined with the clue at 12A
24 ENVOI 16! Voice has captured some poetry (5)
Hidden (captured) in hearkEN VOIce.  The first word from the answer to 16.

 

18 comments on “Independent 11,139 by Rodriguez”

  3. I noticed that 24d could be parsed as hidden in sixteen voice although I doubt that that was intentional.

  4. Another reason for the question mark in 12a could be to bring out the double meaning of going around – encircling the crossword and “turning in the gyre”. But I think setters have also just used them to indicate something slightly weird going on, or to help the surface. I think KVa @1 is definitely right about duvet.

  5. This was an excellent challenge and very enjoyable. Having entered the answers to clues 1-11, I saw the word RETURNING around the perimeter and spent far too long work out the Nina to include that word specifically. I finally decided to finish the whole puzzle and then look again at the Nina, which revealed all.

    Although “compiler” is often used to clue I or ME, I don’t think “compilers” to lead to WE is very fair.

    Congratulations to Rodriguez and thank you. Thanks too to beermagnet.

  8. The wikipedia article linked to in the blog references a 2020 Guardian article with this in it:
    ‘Someone reading it [The Second Coming] for the first time in 2020 might resemble the apocryphal theatregoer who complained that Hamlet was nothing but a bunch of quotations strung together.’ I’m rather ashamed to admit that is me. That would make it an unknown known, something I think Rumsfeld omitted to mention.
    Excellent puzzle & blog, thanks both

  9. What a beautiful puzzle! – superbly summed up by beermagnet.

    Following my usual practice of tackling the clues in order, I made a good start in the top half and counted myself lucky to get 12ac on the first pass, so knew whose words I was looking for. Once I started on the downs, TURNING soon appeared and 22dn confirmed the poem. I then filled in all the remaining perimeter letters (is this cheating?) and settled down to enjoy the rest of the ride.

    So many lovely clues – too many to list – but I’ll pick out ITHACA (for sentimental reasons: one of my regrets is not being able to visit Odysseus’ home on the last day of our holiday in Kefalonia, years ago, because the weather was too bad for the crossing) and ROUGH-HEW (because of the mention above of Hamlet: it brought to mind, once again, my A Level English:
    “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,
    Rough-hew them how we will.”)
    You forgot to underline ‘fashion’, beermagnet.

    Huge thanks to Rodriguez for the fun and to beermagnet for a super blog.

  10. ‘Does anything beside a falcon move in a “gyre”?’
    Well yes, slithy toves do. They also gimble, which is more than falcons do, but then only in a wabe.

  11. Really must read the poem again – only the faintest memory of it from years gone by.
    Liked KVa’s parsing of DUVET and agree with RD that ‘we’ seems a bit unfair to solvers.
    Favourite here was FALCON.

    Thanks to Rodriguez and to beermagnet for the review.

  12. Not being the most acute of solvers, I like the way that Rodriguez signals his themes and ninas. I half tried to avoid filling in the peripheral letters before I had solved the clues, but it’s too tempting.

  13. Probably just about tolerable for a themed puzzle that actually uses its theme.

    ‘Comparatively dishy’ got my hackles up for FITTER; 23 Across I felt the D was a little OTT, and the U ill-defined, unless we admit all txtspk,; 28 always going to be a nightmare to define. In Downs, ‘poet initially’ I thought a little loose for TS, and we might have expected it to be WB in any case; 17 the blogged definition should be ‘fashion crudely’, and 22 was for me where the theme intruded rather too much.

    I thought generally the cluemanship was very good however.

  14. Like James @8 I knew many of the lines from the poem but I’m not sure I’ve read the whole thing before. After having done so I felt a great sadness probably amplified by the happenings in Washington this week. I loved this crossword, thanks to Rodriguez for featuring the Yeats masterpiece and to beermagnet for the blog.

  15. Thanks for the comments everybody. I’ve learnt some more. Particularly KVa @ #1 who set right the parsing for DUVET. I’m such a dreadful monoglot I didn’t even know German “du” which I now understand is equivalent to French “tu”.
    I also fixed the definition underling at 17D which was an oversight so thanks Uncle Richard at #13 for that.
    Deezzaa at #10 reminds me of ‘gyre’ used in Jabberwocky, and made me realise we always alliterate ‘gyre and gimble’ in that poem, whereas ‘gyre’ in normal use is soft-g same as ‘gyroscope’ . My partner Sophie reckons that’s because Lewis Carroll was making a joke.
    If so it must a well hidden joke, almost as well hidden as the jokes in the cartoons by Leonardo.

  16. Thanks Rodriguez for yet another stellar crossword and to beermagnet for a most informative blog. I saw the Yeats quote but had never read The Second Coming; thanks for the link.

  17. A great treat for a wet and miserable Saturday afternoon…..we enjoyed it enormously.
    Lots of gyres in ocean and atmosphere too.
    Thanks to setter and blogger

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