Independent 6693/Scorpion
Posted by neildubya on April 4th, 2008
This seemed quite a bit easier than previous Scorpion puzzles but still provided lots to chew over. I liked 23a and the definition in 17d is excellent.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 5 | MIR[-ror],AGE |
| 10 | UNION CARD - can’t work this one out: “ID, carried on van, perhaps by revolutionary character”. |
| 14 | (HANGS)*,E,AD - I got suckered into thinking that “boozer” meant someone who drinks, rather than a place to drink, so this took a while to get. |
| 16 | TO in RAG< - GATOR. Cleverly worded clue, although it does result in a slightly surreal surface. |
| 20 | IS<,I in (BLUES)* - should have been quicker with this as SIBELIUS is a favourite of mine. Excellent surface reading. |
| 23 | SHAM,POOING - “conditioning locks” is the deceptive definition and “doing his business” provides a welcome opportunity for a childish laugh. |
| 27 | TOR in NO IO,US |
| Down | |
| 2 | IN in CH,WAG - nice &lit clue. WAG is “Wives and Girlfriends” (ie, of a footballer) |
| 5 | MEDUSA - didn’t understand when I filled it in but looking at it now I think that “Kansas area” might be MID USA, with E (drug) replacing I (”first”). Or is there more to it than that? |
| 6 | RECTANGLE - “wrecked angle”, although I don’t understand the rest: “when addressing crossword form”. |
| 9 | GERRARD’S CROSS - the footballer in question being Steven, the Liverpool midfielder and England underachiever. |
| 15 | H,EEL PIE,CE - I think I’ve parsed this right as I’ve assumed that “meal perhaps in London” is EEL PIE. |
| 17 | INN in TITUS - excellent and very misleading definition: “It’s a problem to lug”. |
| 19 | ON,(OPERA)* - (soap) ON A ROPE. |
| 21 | (MA[-r]CIANO)* - “Rocky” is practically compulsory as the anagram indicator here. |
April 4th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
10a NU< + (ON+CAR in ID) &lit.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
RECTANGLE - Crossword form - while the daily cryptics are square 15X15, other puzzles can be rectangles and anayway a square is a type of rectangle. I think that’s what’s meant here.