It’s us again – this time we are blogging a Knut puzzle. It was Bert blogging yesterday – Joyce’s turn today. If there are any errors, I can blame Bert as he didn’t proofread it properly.
Joyce would also like to pre-empt any comments from Postmark about how lucky we are to be still at home……….
……. we will also still be at home for Saturday’s blog as well. Three blogs this week rather than the two last week when we inadvertently blogged an extra puzzle.
It’s theme day so we were on the look out for something. It wasn’t until we had completed the grid that I googled FORTY EIGHT CRASH. The clues were symmetrically placed and I thought the theme may have something to do with a banking crisis. Even before I hit search, google came up with “forty eight crash Suzi Quatro”. Bert was looking at the grid and spotted DEVIL GATE DRIVE – another Suzi Quatro track. The first webpage I opened for 48 crash had the lyrics which I noticed featured SILK SASH BASH. We had CAN CAN in although we had difficulty parsing it. Bert who has a much better memory for song titles remembered CAN THE CAN as another track.
The crossword brought back memories of the 70s – thanks Knut.
FLORID (red-faced) A (America)
D (first or ‘principal’ letter of dodgy) RIVE (French for bank – of a river)
A reversal of YARD (three feet)
An anagram (‘spread’) of BEANSTALK around or ‘across’ H (hot)
An anagram (‘upset’) of YMCA with SORE (angry) outside or ‘about’
Could this be CAN CAN (two loos) which sounds like (‘redolent of’) Toulouse?
SQUAT (short and dumpy) around or ‘toting’ UZI (machine gun) RingO (missing the middle letters or ‘discharged’)
B (British) and a reversal (‘sent back’) of SUGO (Italian sauce ‘for spag bol’ made from tomatoes). We had to check this one as we had never come across SUGO before.
SAS (Special Air Service – ‘elite troops’) H (last letter in oompah)
An anagram (‘damaged’) of HIT CRYPT
A cryptic definition about buying an item (lot) at an auction
An anagram (‘cooked’) of MEAT
EVIL (wicked) after or ‘following up’ D (first letter or ‘intro’ to Daytona)
A whimsical reference to SLAV-ISH (like someone from the Balkans – 10ac)
An anagram (‘tailored’) of TOGA SIMPLY
BISTO (instant gravy) around or ‘bottling’ R (river)
If you were about to board a plane you would be at the GATE
Double definition
S (second) ILK (class) – a reference to King’s Counsel
F (force) and an anagram (‘out’) of TORY – FORTY sounds very young to us!
ENDS (games of bowls) around or ‘entertaining’ NE (north east) A (area)
wEIGHT (power) with ‘w’ (women) leaving
A reversal (‘given rise to’) of LITOTES (understatement) ON around or ‘penning’ A (article)
US (American) U (university) RED (Marxist) around or ‘assuming’ P (power)
BROWN (former PM) and wALEs (missing first and last letters or ‘discovered’)
IND (independent) RAG (newspaper)
R (Republican) in CASH (liquid asset)
A reversal (‘overturned’) of VAN (commercial vehicle) + Y (last letter or ‘end’ of motorway)
Double definition
I don’t often do The Independent but chose to have a go today.
I wasn’t aware that it was theme day so I didn’t look.
I certainly remember Suzi though. Most boys my age had her poster on the wall.
Thanks to K&B&J
I’m sure I must be missing something obvious, but why is GATE ground?
Ian – if you are gated, you are grounded. As in confined/curfewed.
I have no idea what could have prompted such sensitivity on the part of our esteemed bloggers but, whilst they are here, I shall take the opportunity to thank them for a delightful blog. For once, I spotted the theme. Oddly enough, CANCAN was the way in, rather than DEVIL GATE DRIVE. I did raise an eyebrow when SUZI appeared, given her heyday was the ubiquitous 50 years ago. And then everything made sense. It is nice to be reminded.
I do very much hope CANCAN and ‘two loos’ are connected – if one desires a non-lavatorial parse, Toulouse-Lautrec did paint cancan dancers in Paris … DRIVE, BOGUS, POLYGAMIST, SILK, CRASH and NAVY were my other favourites today.
Thanks Knut and B&J
PM – I’m pretty sure it’s intended to be both the two-loos pun and a reference to the Moulin Rouge artist. Fun clue in an all-round entertaining puzzle.
Thanks, Knut and B&J!
COTD: NOSE TO TAIL
Also liked OPENING BID and CANCAN (parsed it as mentioned in the blog-looks all right to me).
Thanks both!
Suzi and I are of the same “heyday” so no eyebrow raising here.
Another splendid crossword from Knut and an equally splendid blog from B&J. So many brilliant clues but the wonderful two loos is my favourite
Thanks to all three
Great puzzle. Missed the theme. Toulouse :-D.
Thanks Knut and B&J
27a ‘lift and separates’ SUZI Q’s third 1973 hit “Daytona Demon” to get a “D” and the definition.
[i pointed out the 50th (Golden) anniversary of DEVIL GATE DRIVE(1974) back in February here – when Rodriguez used her to clue UZIS]
Thanks for the blog, dear B&J, and thanks to those who have commented.
I was watching an old episode of Top of The Pops recently which featured Suzi and her band performing Devil Gate Drive. The band members were wearing the type of white plastic wellies which I associate with people who gut fish in a quayside factory and the lead guitarist, a big lad with an excellent mullet (hairdo, not the fish), was dancing a jive with hand movements. All very odd, so a theme was born…
Best wishes to all, Rob/Knut
I have little to no knowledge of this diva/bassist and I wondered whether Quatro could be part of a car theme -but Mr Google soon came to help
Two themes today Qaos always has one and the Indy has on Tues.
Thanks @Knut for description of TOTP
probably not shot in Billingsgate
Thanks B&J
Loved this theme. Loved this puzzle. Loved the comments. Thanks in abundance to Knut and Joyce (of Bertandjoyce fame).
And extra thanks to Knut/Rob for coming on to the blog – I can almost smell the fish!
[Suzi Quatro at Festival Hall, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was the first live rock concert his three music-mad sisters took my little brother then aged 15 to see; he became a self-taught guitarist and still plays in a rock and roll band, his side hustle to his career as a surgeon (fine motor skills and all that). “CAN the CAN” was always one of my favourite tracks and I still remember her live performance of that one almost fifty years on. So glad she came to Oz and the result was that a very talented – though not famous – guitarist emerged!].
[I’d always thought the lyrics of 48 Crash were nonsense – (‘silk sash bash’ – what’s that supposed to mean?) But: ‘The song has long been assumed to be about andropause. However, … one alternative theory is that, having boasted of their ability to write “a song about anything”, (Mike) Chapman and (Nicky) Chinn (aka Chinnichap) were issued with the challenge to come up with a treatment of the 1848 US economic crisis.’ – TTLi.]
Thanks K & J&B
I really enjoyed this, especially as it took exactly the same time to have breakfast. 13A reminds of the public toilets in Hampstead Garden Suburb converted into the Cafe Toulous (sic). Thanks Knut and B&J.
[Here’s that TOTP clip again Devil Gate Drive]
At first this seemed quite on the gentle side for a Knut – some pretty clear reversals & anagrams that went in pretty easily. Then things get trickier. I like the economy of 5d and the disguise in 18a. 28a’s a giggle and 21d’s a groan 🙂 (as was 13a)
Tricky but gettable 11a and 15/19a. 6d is cheekily brilliant. Didn’t know about the groups of nine.
Been making the sause of 17a all my life without knowing it was called that! That and 17d brought back happy memories of student days. Smiles also for 1d, 2d. Failed at the last with GATE. (Back in my skool days ‘grounded’ was not a thing).
Cheers Knut and bertandjoyce!
Completed, some unparsed, but how did I miss the theme. My era. If only Leather Tuscadero could have been crowbared in too!
The reversed sauce and LITOTES both evaded me and there was no grounding in my day either.
Hands up those of us who wouldn’t mind feeling as young as forty once more.
Good fun all round.
Thanks Knut and B&J.
2d BISTRO – Another ‘lift and separate’ of “River Café?!” to get the definition and an “R” …
…Aah! Bisto
Thanks both. CANCAN held out in the parsing, as I thought redolent related to the sense of smell rather than sound. Spotted the theme, though not all its parts which assisted DRIVE – I know some French, but asking us to translate bank in my view was hardly cricket (a sport played in single figure temperatures and rain, it appears)
I loved CANCAN with its almost clue as definition (clue as allusion?). I think RIVE gauche is enough of a thing for DRIVE to be ok.
All went in very quickly until at the end failing to get GATE.
Well, I’d heard of SUZI QUATRO but knew nothing about her so the theme went right over my head.
Thanks Knut. I heard of SUZI QUATRO but my knowledge of the theme ended there so my enjoyment was a bit dampened. I liked clues such as THE BALKANS, BROWN ALE, and IN DRAG. Thanks B & J for the informative blog.