Atrica sets Independent cryptic crosswords every two or three months. The previous one was in early May
Tuesday is theme day in the Independent. Atrica’s puzzles often contain themes, some of which are well hidden. If there is one today it is, for me, in the well hidden category.
I have a couple of ideas for themes, but they are a bit vague and don’t convince me that I have got a definite theme. For instance there are a few forenames hidden in or forming the entries – NORA, SUE, SIAN, RACHEL and REES. There is also an incomplete SOPHIE or SOPHY.
There are a few computer programming terms within the entries – FORMAT, FIELD, TREE, CODE and ADDRESS and additionally an incomplete STYLE, but there is nothing indicating why these should be theme words.
The TIMES and the PEOPLE are, or were, newspapers, but I’m clutching at straws there.
I leave it to other solvers to spot whether I have missed anything obvious. I often do.
I liked the clue for OBSESSIVE using regular pairs of letters in the wordplay rather than just regular individual letters.
Some of Atrica’s clue surfaces read very smoothly making it difficult to identify the definition immediately. Examples I liked today were the clues for PLASMAS, ORALS, ANOTHER and PEOPLE.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Sacred text brought back inside as things becoming extremely heated (7)
PLASMAS (hot ionized material consisting of nuclei and electrons. It is sometimes regarded as a fourth state of matter and is the material present in the sun, most stars, and fusion reactors) PSALM (sacred text) with the central letters SAL reversed (brought back inside) + AS P (SAL<) M AS |
| 5 | One leaves emptier after initially trusting someone leading us astray (7)
TEMPTER (one leading us into sin or astray) T (first letter of [initially] TRUSTING + EMPTIER excluding (leaving) I (Roman numeral for one) T EMPTER |
| 9 | State elected a warmonger (5)
PUTIN (reference Vladimir PUTIN (born 1952), President of Russia, responsible for overt warmongering in Ukraine) PUT (state at in ‘state one’s case’ or ‘PUT one’s case’) + IN (elected) PUT IN |
| 10 | Wide saucepan or a microwave more than suffices (9)
PANORAMIC (wide) PANORAMIC (hidden word in [more than suffices] SAUCEPAN OR A MICROWAVE) PANORAMIC |
| 11 | Making changes in remodelling animal shelter for example (9)
RESTYLING (making changes) REMODELLING with STY (animal shelter) replacing (for) MODEL (example) RE STY LING |
| 12 | Suppressing resistance, guarantee result (5)
ENSUE (result) ENSURE (guarantee) excluding (suppressing) R (resistance) ENSUE |
| 13 | Enlightening but no, not familiar, unfortunately (13)
INFORMATIONAL (giving knowledge; enlightening) Anagram of (unfortunately) NO NOT FAMILIAR INFORMATIONAL* |
| 17 | Criminal safely idles in Greek paradise (7,6)
ELYSIAN FIELDS (in Greek mythology, the abode of the blessed dead; Greek paradise, also any delightful place or state) Anagram of (criminal) SAFELY IDLES IN ELYSIAN FIELDS* |
| 22 | Lessons after the end of term examinations (5)
ORALS (examinations) ORALS (the letters in MORALS [lessons] after the M (final letter of [end of] TERM) ORALS |
| 24 | Open present in the designated place (4,5)
OVER THERE (in the place indicated; in the designated placed) OVERT (open [to view]) + HERE (in this place; present) OVER T HERE |
| 26 | They go for a spin, she drives erratically (9)
DERVISHES (members of any of various Muslim orders of ascetics, some of which, whirling [spinning] DERVISHES, are noted for a frenzied, ecstatic, whirling dance; they go for a spin) Anagram of (erratically) SHE DRIVES DERVISHES* |
| 27 | Sit around next to a storyteller (5)
AESOP (reference AESOP [620 – 564 BCE], Greek fabulist and storyteller) A + POSE (sit) reversed (around) A ESOP< |
| 28 | At the outset, naturally – exactly when you entertain ambitious resolutions (3,4)
NEW YEAR (time at the start [outset] of the NEW YEAR, when people make resolutions, many of which are laughingly ambitious and never achieved) NEW YEAR (first letter of each of [at the outset] of NATURALLY, EXACTLY, WHEN, YOU, ENTERTAIN, AMBITIOUS and RESOLUTIONS) NEW YEAR |
| 29 | Endlessly try to move towards the finish of trainee’s course (7)
AINTREE (horse racecourse near Liverpool) TRAINEE with TRY excluding the final letter Y (endlessly TRY) moving towards the end of the word to form AINTREE) AIN TR EE |
| Down | |
| 1 | Copier puncturing edges of precious documents (6)
PAPERS (documents) APER (mimic; copier) contained in (puncturing) PS (outer letters of [edges of] PRECIOUS) P (APER) S |
| 2 | Handmade craft shows preoccupation with detail (9)
ARTISANAL (made by a handcraftsman) ART (craft) + IS ANAL (shows preoccupation with analysis and detail) ART IS ANAL |
| 3 | Boy collecting ace coin? (5)
MONEY (a coin is an example of money) MY (exclamation of surprise; gosh!; boy!) containing (collecting) ACE (a card or die or domino representing the number one) M (ONE) Y |
| 4 | Specious argument deviously stops him wasting time (7)
SOPHISM (a plausibly deceptive fallacy; specious argument) Anagram of (deviously) STOPS HIM excluding (wasting) T (time) SOPHISM* |
| 5 | Drunk circling about later this evening (7)
TONIGHT (later this evening) TIGHT (drunk) containing (circling) ON (with reference to; about) T (ON) IGHT |
| 6 | Carelessly recomposed missing page, "i" needing two dots in this context (5,4)
MORSE CODE (a method of communication by telegraph using dots and dashes [short and long tones or signals]. The letter i is represented by two dots) Anagram of (carelessly) RECOMPOSED excluding (missing) P (page) MORSE CODE* |
| 7 | Item regularly exchanged before beginning of solemn occasions (5)
TIMES (moments at which something happened; occasions) TI (IT, first two letters of ITEM swapping places [exchanged]) + ME (second two letters of ITEM also swapping places [exchanged] – so each two letters of ITEM have been treated similarly, regularly exchanged) IT EM |
| 8 | Perhaps reading chapter with Leah upset about her sister (6)
RACHEL (sister of LEAH, first referenced in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. RACHEL and Leah also appear in the Book of Ruth) Anagram of [… upset with ..) R (reading, one of the three Rs [reading, [w]riting and [a]rithmetic]) and C (chapter) and LEAH RACHEL* |
| 14 | Fanatical obtuseness every other couple’s ignored before this writer has (9)
OBSESSIVE (excessively enthusiastic; fanatical) OBSESS (first, third and fifth pair of letters [every other couple] in OBTUSENESS) + I’VE (I have, this writer has) OBSESS IVE |
| 15 | Bristle in anger at first when exhausted (3)
AWN (a bristle) A (initial letter of [at first] ANGER) + WN (letters remaining in WHEN after the central letters are removed [exhausted]) A WN |
| 16 | Attend to case of earlier speaker (9)
ADDRESSER (the person speaking; speaker) ADDRESS (deal with; attend to) + ER (outer letters of [case of] EARLIER) ADDRESS ER |
| 18 | One more alto? Anyone but that woman (7)
ANOTHER (one more) A (alto) + NOT HER (anyone but that woman) A NOT HER |
| 19 | Available region in the east initially rejected for plant (7)
FREESIA (a type of plant) FREE (available) + ASIA (region in the east) excluding the first letter (initially rejected) A FREE SIA |
| 20 | Behold new dress in metropolis (6)
LONDON (example of a metropolis) LO (behold) + N (new) + DON (wear; dress in) LO N DON |
| 21 | Tesla phone app occasionally upset the likes of us (6)
PEOPLE (the likes of us) ELPOEP (letters 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 of TESLA PHONE APP) all reversed (occasionally), all reversed (upset) to form PEOPLE PEOPLE< |
| 23 | Projectile that can pierce a vegetable miles away (5)
ARROW (a projectile that can pierce) MARROW (a vegetable) excluding (away) M (miles) ARROW |
| 25 | Exercise to some degree contraindicated (5)
TRAIN (exercise) TRAIN (hidden word in [to some degree] CONTRAINDICATED) TRAIN |
Theme is Martin Amis novels – London Fields, Rachel Papers, Money, The Information, Time’s Arrow, Other People…
I didn’t spot it while solving but then I remembered it’s Tuesday so there must be a theme and then it became immediately obvious.
Fun puzzle, not too taxing. Thanks, Atrica & Duncan.
Funny to have this as a theme… as it was a Phi theme in Oct 23.
New editor perhaps.
Widdersbel @ 1
Thanks for pointing out the theme. Other than the easily forgotten plots af a few escapist thrillers, Literature has never been my strong point.
Immediately obvious to Widdersbel but not to me, despite looking for it. And despite it appearing nine months ago which doesn’t rule it out as a valid subject in my book (excuse pun). I fear I am more familiar with the father’s work than the son’s so I was left in the dark. I had big ticks for some of these: PANORAMIC, DERVISHES, NEW YEAR, PAPERS, ARTISANAL, MORSE CODE, LONDON and the delightful ARROW were all super.
Thanks Atrica and duncan
Didn’t see the theme…so what’s new.
Nice crossword – as mentioned there are some lovely surfaces which give little away.
Didn’t know awn but was clear from cluing. Hope we see more of Atrica
Thanks Atrica and Duncan
Spotted the theme – I’m a Martin Amis fan – TONIGHT TRAIN is there too…
…and in 24a OVER THERE – “the designated place” could be The Zone Of Interest. [My favourite quote is from Other People: “‘…Gob less.’ — ‘I’ll try’…”]
What is there in a theme? A theme by any other name would be as invisible to me!
Liked DERVISHES (I am a fan of Rumi’s poems, the great 13th century Sufi mystic-I don’t understand them fully but I get my own ‘meanings’ out of them), MORSE CODE, OBSESSIVE and ARROW. One more: NEW YEAR. How true it is (the surface)! An Everyman trade mark clue!
Thanks Atrica and duncan!
I completed this on paper for a change. All went in except 1a which completely bamboozled me. I had to use a word finder to complete that.
I also couldn’t correctly parse 29a thinking the endless try was AI(m) but not making any sense of the rest of it.
Thanks Atrica and to Duncan for the enlightenment.
Thank you to everyone for the comments and especially to Duncan for the excellent blog. I just looked back at the Phi puzzle on October 13th last year. I must have solved it at the time! Apologies to Phi for stepping on his theme, it was entirely accidental. I wrote this one after watching the film (loosely) derived from “Zone of Interest”. For my next theme I’ll be concentrating on names of burgers from the Wellington on a Plate festival in New Zealand 😉
His Dad’s Lucky Jim was on the shelves chez the young ginf, and I think I’ve read at least one of Amis fils’s, but nothing rang a bell. First time I’ve done an Indy, ta FrankieG for the link. Found the software a bit unnerving, just new I spose. Thanks all.
As a relative novice, I enjoyed this puzzle and found it to be almost entirely accessible with smooth surfaces, fair definitions and clear indications as to the wordplay… except for three in the NW corner: plasmas, restyling and money. The wordplay was significantly tougher for the first two of those than elsewhere in the crossword (and I’m not sure why the plasmas are _becoming_ heated); whilst money for coin sounds almost Dickensian (“can you spare some coin”). I ended up having to Reveal for those! But well, onwards and upwards!
Favourites were morse code, another, obsessive and arrow.
Found this tough, had to come here for answers to 1a (sigh) and 3d (d’oh), and to reveal the theme – not familiar with the works of Amis Jr. Thankyous to setter & blogger.
grantinfreo@11, I was put off by the software at first too – so much so I almost didn’t come back. If you press the Settings button at top left (three horizontal bars like an I Ching symbol) you get a Settings menu which may be helpful. I disabled ‘Skip over filled squares’ and enabled ‘Display clues as a list’ which make it a bit less weird for me.
Didn’t spot one of my own former themes…
PS Burger puzzle already gridded. Given I work a few weeks ahead, you’ll get it in September. Perhaps it should be an unexpected Tuesday Phi when it appears…though you have one of those lined up soon as well.
@phi #14 even Homer…
Nice to keep company with the theme-meister