Independent 9,162 / Anax

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It has been a while since it has fallen to me to blog a puzzle by Anax, so I sharpened my pencil with relish when I discovered today’s puzzle.

This crossword took me a while to get into, since I managed to solve only some of the shorter entries on first reading. However, having solved 5, I realised what the second word of 9 had to be, and before long I had found all four of the 15-letter words. Thereafter I made fairly steady progress, ending up with 16, 22 and 24 at the end, all of which were new to me but which I managed to tease out from the wordplay and confirm in Chambers and/or online.

There is always much to admire in an Anax, for example, a generous helping of words whose part of speech changes from clue to solution, e.g. “routine” in 4A is a noun in the surface reading of the clue but actually an adjective as the definition part of the solution.

My favourite clues today were 2, for its conciseness and & lit.-ish content, and 21, for surface.

(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 PRIMP Dress up in skirt with very soft border

RIM (=skirt, as verb) in PP (=very soft, i.e. pianissimo)
     
04 CUSTOMARY Academic opening report on copper’s routine

CU (=copper, i.e. chemical formula) + [MA (=academic, i.e. Master of Arts) in STORY (=report)]
     
09 SPEAKING VOLUMES Highly significant audio books?

Cryptically, “audio books” could be described as “speaking volumes”
     
10 INTREPID Hardy’s fury about books reflecting decline

[NT (=books, i.e. New Testament) in IRE (=fury)] + PID (DIP=decline; “reflecting” indicates reversal)
     
11 AVERTS Heads off while keeping Romeo in check

[R (=Romeo, in radio telecommunications) in VET (=check, as verb)] in AS (=while)
     
14 GET ON Good college board

G (=good) + ETON (=college); e.g. to get on/board a train
     
16 TOP DOLLAR Highest cost to figure in equal value

TO + [DOLL (=figure, i.e. bodily shape) in PAR (=equal value)]; e.g. I pay top dollar for my materials
     
17 HYPOTONIC Hotel pool to fill that one club’s rather wasted?

H (=hotel) + {POT (=pool e.g. of bets) in [YON (=that) + I (=one) + C (=club)]}; “rather wasted” muscles, which are lacking in tone, could be described as “hypotonic”
     
18 STYLI Some rusty little needles

Hidden (“some”) in “ruSTY LIttle”
     
19 TORQUE Gossip heard for a moment

Homophone (“heard”) of “talk” (=gossip); (in physics) a “moment” is a measure of turning effect, hence “torque”
     
20 OFF-PISTE This might be fine in spite of straying?

F (=fine) in *(SPITE OF); “straying” is anagram indicator; & lit. -ish
     
23 NO DISTANCE AT ALL Somehow contained, as unlikely to be very close

*(CONTAINED AS) + TALL (=unlikely, of story); “somehow” is anagram indicator
     
24 DUST DEVIL Way to cut turkey that’s wrong – it’ll scatter bits

[ST (=way, i.e. street) in DUD (=turkey, flop)] + EVIL (=wrong)

A dust devil is a small storm in which a whirling column of dust or sand travels across a dry country, hence “it’ll scatter bits”
     
25 AUDIT Sports car’s detailed check

AUDI T<t> (=sport’s car); “detailed” means last letter dropped
     
Down    
     
01 PASSING SHOT Death’s stolen successful return

PASSING’S (=death’s) + HOT (=stolen, of goods); a “passing shot” is “a successful return” in tennis
     
02 IDENTITY PARADES Suspect party is detained for them?

*(PARTY IS DETAINED); “suspect” is anagram indicator; & lit. -ish
     
03 PEKOE Dog drinks old tea

O (=old) in PEKE (=dog, i.e. Pekinese)
     
04 CONSISTENT Sulphur is packing material that’s stable …

[S (=sulphur) + IS] in CONTENT (=material)
     
05 SAVE … but it’s extremely volatile

IT (=SA, i.e. sex appeal, as in She’s got it) + V<olatil>E (“extremely” means first and last letters only)
     
06 OBLIVIOUS Not seeing line, I will break clear

[L (=line) + I] in OBVIOUS (=clear)
     
07 ADMIRALTY ISLAND Count crosses rough trails, mainly in part of Alaska

*(TRAILS MAINLY) in ADD (=count, as verb); “rough” is anagram indicator
     
08 YES Bond’s not OK, OK?

Y<ok>E’S (=Bond’s, restraint’s); “not OK” means letters “ok” are dropped
     
12 SERVICE FLAT In which one may pay more rent if someone else does?

Cryptic definition: “if someone else does”, i.e. provides domestic service (cleaning, etc)
     
13 SPECIFICAL Particular place if (sic) replaced

*(PLACE IF SIC); “replaced” is anagram indicator
     
15 NOT FUSSED Easy to break fondu sets

*(FONDU SETS); “to break” is anagram indicator; e.g. I’m easy/not fussed/don’t mind either way
     
21 PLAZA Almost put down a 10-point tile on a square

PLA<y> Z (=put down a 10-point tile, in scrabble; “almost” means last letter dropped) + A
     
22 MAEV Irish queen mother – English version

MA (=mother) + E (=English) + V (=version); Maev is the queen of Connacht in Irish mythology
     
23 NOD Refusal and, ultimately, approval

NO (=refusal) + <an>D (“ultimately” means last letter only)
     
     

 

6 comments on “Independent 9,162 / Anax”

  1. Not quite as hard as I’d been expecting from Anax, but still not many easy clues. I liked SPEAKING VOLUMES, HYPOTONIC (‘rather wasted’ and a lack of tone are maybe not exactly the same thing, but close enough), AUDIT (looked simple, but wordplay took a bit of working out), DUST DEVIL and ADMIRALTY ISLAND. Hadn’t come across SPECIFICAL, as opposed to plain old ‘specific’.

    Anyone ever heard of a SARDINE FLAT? Dumb and dimmer.

    Thanks to Anax and RatkojaRiku

  2. Fair set me up for the day has that. Good blog, RatkojaRiku , thanks. And thanks to Anax for such an enjoyable workout.

  5. Thanks Anax and RR

    My first Anax, I think, and a very good workout. I’ll be back for more.

    I had a slightly different parsing for 21:

    Almost put down: PLA(ce)
    A 10-point tile: Z
    on A

    Might not have been right, but it worked!

  6. Thanks Anax – an enjoyable solve last night.

    Thanks RR – your preamble reflects a solve very similar to ours.

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