Independent 8640 / Radian

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Radian has taken me down memory lane today.

 

 

 

As someone who spent all my working life in Government Land Survey organisations with the final twenty-six years at 14 25, today’s crossword had a tinge of nostalgia about it as there were many references to MAPS, the content of MAPS, the uses to which they are put and to the people who use them.  While the MAPS used by RAMBLERS are among the best known products of  14 25, the leisure and tourist side of the business generated less than 10% of the revenue and I had little to do with them in my daily work.  However I have always made good use of such MAPS outside work and in retirement.  Only yesterday I was walking the hills of North West Scotland with a 14 25 MAP close at hand.

The clues today were not too difficult with only one obscure reference more often found in barred crosswords.  GE for ‘Earth’ in the wordplay at 1 down is not that common in daily cryptics.

I noted two uses of the device where the containment indicator was slightly hidden – IN HOCK at 9 across and IN THE RED at 22 down.

My last ones in today were in the NW corner where GLOBE (1 down) and ROADWAY (8 across|) were the last to be solved.

I have minor queries about a couple of clues today, but I could well be missing something subtle,

Finally, in pedants corner, I recognise that OS is a commonly used abbreviation for 14 25 among map users and is used as such in the wordplay to 23 across SAILORS. However, within the organisation itself, since 2000 at least, the abbreviation was only used as part of a product title e.g. OS Landranger Map, OS Explorer Map, OS MasterMap etc  The full title was always used when referring to the organisation.

Across
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Coach got crushed in crash (2,4)

 

BUS (coach) contained in (crushed in) GOT

GO (BUS) T

GO BUST (become bankrupt; crash)

 
4 African native with big trunk bays,circling a returning snake (6)

(B [abbreviation for bay] + B [abbreviation for bay] giving bays) containing (circling) ([A + BOA {snake}] all reversed (returning)

B (AOB A)< B

I’m not 100% sure of the parsing here as I can’t actually find B as an abbreviation for bay and returning only seems to be qualifying snake in the clue and not qualifying the indefinite article.

BAOBAB (a gigantic tropical African and Australian tree, with a very large trunk)

8

 

On which to see "Streetcar" in New York, topless or not? (7)

 

BROADWAY (a famous street in New York where you might see the play "A Streetcar named Desire", or just a physical streetcar) excluding the first letter (topless) B

 

ROADWAY (a surface on which you may see a streetcar)  You can therefore see a streetcar on BROADWAY or ROADWAY

 

9

 

Sick owing money to uncle and bank (7)

 

ILL (sick) contained in (IN) HOCK (if you are IN HOCK you are owing money to a pawnbroker [uncle])

H (ILL) OCK

HILLOCK (small hill; bank)

 

11

 

What disgruntled spectators do, showing initiative (3,2,3,2)

 

GET UP AND GO (what disgruntled spectators do)

 

GET UP AND GO (energy; initiative)  double definition

 

12

 

Pharmacist stocks American products of 14 25 (4)

 

MPS (Member of the Pharmaceutical Society [?]; pharmacist) containing (stocks) A (American).  I haven’t got all my dictionaries with me at the moment but I can’t find MPS as a pharmacist in the electronic Chambers that I do have, and Google tells me that a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society would be a MRPharmsS

M (A) PS

MAPS (products of ORDNANCE [14 across] SURVEY [25 across]

 

13

 

Atlas for example would be odd behind stone (5)

 

RANGE – if put behind ST (stone) would form STRANGE (odd)

 

RANGE (reference the ATLAS range of mountains in North Africa)

 

14

 

Cannon law ignores individual (8)

 

ORDINANCE (that which is ordained by authority; law) excluding (ignores) I (one; individual)

 

ORDNANCE (great guns; cannon)

 

16

 

Slipshod organiser mislays English troops (8)

 

Anagram of (slipshod) ORGANISER excluding (mislays) E (English)

 

GARRISON (a body of troops stationed in a town or fortress)

 

18

 

You’d be mad to go off these birds (5)

 

RAILS (reference the phrase OFF THE RAILS denoting madness)

 

RAILS (any bird of the genus Rallus)

 

20

 

Junk 12 on way back (4)

 

MAPS (12 across) reversed (on the way back)

SPAM<

SPAM (junk, especially in terms of e-mail)

 

21

 

Trash old bangers, keeping unusual wings, musts for 23? (10)

 

BIN (trash) + O (old) + (CARS [bangers] containing UL [first and last letters of {wings} UNUSUAL)

BIN O C (UL) ARS

BINOCULARS (important accessories for SAILORS [23 across])

 

22

 

18 and 14 25 briefly shook hands (7)

 

Anagram of (shook) RAILS and OS (a commonly used abbreviation for ORDNANCE [14 across] SURVEY [25 across])

 

SAILORS (hands)

 

24

 

Psalm about iconic lovelorn rustic outings (7)

 

PS (psalm) containing (about) (ICONIC excluding [lorn] O [zero; love score in tennis])

P (ICNIC) S

PICNICS (rustic outings – I’m not sure that all PICNICS can be considered rustic affairs these days)

 

25

 

American withdraws very complex examination (6)

 

US (United States; American) reversed (withdraws) + an anagram of (complex) VERY

SU< RVEY*

SURVEY (examination)

 

26

 

Surplus due to be spread over student group (6)

 

Anagram of (spread) DUE containing (be spread over) NUS (National Union of Students; student group)

U (NUS) ED*

UNUSED (surplus)

 
Down
No. Clue Wordplay Entry

1

 

Throw up earth walls? Yes earth (5)

 

GE (in Greek mythology, the goddess or personification of Earth) containing (walls) LOB (throw up)

G (LOB) E

GLOBE (the earth)

 

2

 

Travelling folk base solution on losing odd members (7)

 

BED (base) + OUIN (even letters of [losing odd members] SOLUTION)

 

BEDOUIN (nomadic people; travelling folk)

 

3

 

23 cultivators in the main export millions (9)

 

SEA FARMERS (cultivators in the main [SEA]) excluding (export) M (millions)

 

SEAFARERS (SAILORS [23 across])

 

5

 

Granada pal in the past penned note (5)

 

AGO (in the past) containing (penned) MI (note of the tonic sol-a)

A (MI) GO

AMIGO (Spanish [Granada] word for friend [pal])

 

6

 

Disorder and panic in Malibu?  That’s not new (7)

 

Anagram  of (panic) IN MALIBU excluding (that’s not) N (new)

 

BULIMIA (disorder relating to abnormal hunger or appetite)

 

7

 

Support Wolves kit worn by 17s (9)

 

BACK (support) + PACKS (a collective noun for a group of wolves is pack)

 

BACKPACKS (kit worn by RAMBLERs [17 across])

 

10

 

Notice German going over to participate next door (9)

 

(AD [advertisement; notice] + G [German]) containing (going over) JOIN IN (participate)

AD (JOIN IN) G

ADJOINING (lying next to; next door)

 

13

 

Pops up again to harvest fruit (9)

 REAP (harvest) + PEARS (fruit) REAPPEARS (pops up again)

15

 

Heading into ground after dreadful cold (9)

 

DIRE (dreadful) + C (cold) + an anagram of (ground) INTO

DIRE C TION*

DIRECTION (heading)

 

17

 

Someone lacking 15 in speech perhaps rose (7)

 

RAMBLER (one who lacks focus or DIRECTION [15 across] in speech)

 

RAMBLER (a descriptive term for a number of flowering ROSEs)

 

19

 

One’s large as well as small in the Galapagos, say (7)

 

I’S (one’s) + L (large) + AND (as well) + S (small)

 

ISLANDS (the Galapagos are a group of ISLANDS)

 

21

 

Her bottom’s flat except,say, when climbing (5)

 

BAR (except) + (E.G. [for example; say] reversed [when climbing; down clue])

BAR GE<

BARGE (flat-bottomed freight boat)

 

22

 

Charged account that’s overdrawn (5)

 

AC (account) contained in (IN THE) RED (if you are IN THE RED you are overdrawn in terms of money)

R (AC) ED

RACED (charged)

 

 

10 comments on “Independent 8640 / Radian”

  2. Thanks both. Enjoyable. I wasn’t sure about B for bay, either, but it had to be! Needed your explanation of GE for earth.

  3. Enjoyable, accessible but not exactly easy – thanks for a great time, Radian.

    And thank you for the blog, duncanshiell. I couldn’t quite parse MAPS and BINOCULARS. Not too happy with clue for MAPS if that is indeed the parsing.

  4. A decent mental workout, and I found the bottom half easier than the top half. HILLOCK was my LOI after I finally deciphered the wordplay.

    I didn’t know b=bay (4ac) or Ge as an alternative to Gaea/Gaia (1 dn) but the answers were obvious enough from the definitions.

    I agree with the quibble about “MPS” if that was the parsing that Radian intended. My Chambers only has it as the initials of a Member of the Philological Society.

  5. As Duncan doesn’t have all his dictionaries with him I will just confirm that Collins has the following:

    B. – (on maps, etc) bay
    MPS – Member of the Pharmaceutical Society

  6. Thanks for the blog, Duncan.

    I particularly liked ROADWAY and SAILORS – since I’m only a humble 17dn, it never occurred to me that there was anything irregular in that use of OS.

    I also liked the use of ‘in hock’ and ‘in the red’.

    I gasped when I saw ‘Cannon law’ – but shoud have known Radian better. What a clever clue! It’s a favourite pair of words for crossword setters but I’ve not seen it / them clued better.

    Many thanks to Radian for another great puzzle: I really enjoyed it – as usual.

  7. A pleasant diversion but alas over too quickly.

    Re 12ac, #4 and #5 the Pharmaceutical Society became the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1988, so that the designation MPS became MRPharmS (because MRPS was already in use by the Royal Photographic Society).

    Thanks, Radian and Duncan

  8. Isn’t it amazing what difference putting a puzzle aside for a few hours makes. I got stuck about half way through at lunchtime but came back to it just now and quickly finished it off without even picking up Chambers.

    Thanks for the explanation of 8ac. I had all the components in my head (plus a few red herrings) and just couldn’t put them together.

    Anyone else get stuck on 21ac thinking it was an anagram of O BANGERS U(nusua)L?

  9. My idea of a perfect puzzle – nothing weak, hackneyed or pedestrian but plenty of enjoyment. Many thanks to Radian. And thanks to Duncan – I did enjoy your preamble’s cartographical musings (though a little envious of your Caledonian cavorting!)

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