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Archive for September 8th, 2008

Independent No 6832 by Mordred

Posted by NealH on 8th September 2008

NealH.

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed

An excellent puzzle with very smooth surface readings and not too much trickery, although the precise meaning of one or two did escape me.

Across
1 Sleep out: Spout about lee. I don’t quite follow the definition - “bedroom space down under”. It’s either an Australian phrase or it’s referring in some way to the down that’s used in bedding.
5 Jangle: Jingle with i replaced by a.
9 Prepared: Paper* + red.
10 Edging: [h]edging.
12 Impromptu: imp + hom. of (romped you).
13 Elite: hidden.
14 Success story: Not sure if this is wholly cryptic or not. Clue is “tale about achievement, beginning to end”.
18 Caribbean Sea: e in (Bianca’s bare)*.
21 Mel on
22 Louisiana: Louisa around Ian.
24 Trivia: last letter of pedant + leading letters of the other words + &lit.
25 Encomium: Once* + mum around i.
26 Renege: Renee around g.
27 Graceful: Grace + ful[l].
Down
1 Sepsis: Pisses*.
2 Exempt: Ex + ET around mp. I assume ET stands for something like Employment Training.
3 Piano: (on + AI + P)<.
4 Unexpectedly: (Len eyed up XTC)*.
6 Addressee: Don’t quite see where the R comes from in this. The clue is “Recipient of writing, perhaps in total five points”. I assume it’s add=total and 5 points=ESSEE.
7 Gridiron: (Crossword) grid + iron. But a bit tricky if you’re not familiar with US sports.
8 Eagle eye: “Brood of pheasants oppressed by raptor’s close observation”. The obvious explanation would be “brood of pheasants” with raptor (=eagle) on top of it. However, I can’t find eye as a collective noun for pheasants. Wikipedia does give “a nye of pheasants”, which sounds similar.
11 Bunsen burner: Didn’t entirely get this either. “Heating apparatus such as Alfred the Great’s keeping oven half out of commission”. Heating apparatus = bunsen burner and “bun burner” = Alfred (story about him buring cakes). But I’m struggling to work out the “sen”.
15 Unbendable: Unendable around b.
16 Scimitar: Scar around I’m + it + &lit.
17 Trillion: I think this is final letters of lost and over + IL + LI (1 pound each way) + on. Very good clue, but I was unconvinced by “on = bet”.
18 Tariff: TA + riff.
20 Mammal: Mamma + l.
23 Stoic: Sic around t[a]o.

Posted in Independent | 13 Comments »

Guardian, 24488/Rufus

Posted by mhl on 8th September 2008

mhl.

A fun puzzle from Rufus to start the week; there were lots of good “a-ha!” moments for me in this one and excellent surface readings throughout, my favourites being 8d and 28a, I think. (Incidentally, this is my first blog post as a regular Guardian blogger rather than an occasional substitute.)

Across
1 ACCUSED: Double definition
5 BREAK IN: Double definition
10 PLOT: Double definition
11 CLEVER DICK: A nice cryptic definition
12 OSTLER: ST in (ROLE)*; he works in a stable; this is one of those words I only know through crosswords…
13 TRENCHES: Cryptic definition - they are cuts in the earth
14 KICKSTART: “Thrills” = KICKS + “hooker” = TART
16 LINKS: “a course for drivers” is a golf course
17 ESSAY: The “points” are E & S and “to express” is SAY
19 INCOGNITO: (NOTICING O)*
23 CATSEYES: Cryptic definition
24 EXPAND: Double definition (the first part is the verb sense of “elaborate”)
26 PEACE TALKS: (TAKES PLACE)*
27 NEAR: Double definition; “close” spatially, and “tight” meaning stingy
28 MEASURE: “I object” = ME (very nice!) + A + SURE
29 CASCADE: CAD in CASE
 
Down
2 COLOSSI: These huge statues are “large figures”: I after CO + LOSS
3 UNTIL: Hidden answer
4 EXCERPT: R in EXCEPT
6 REELED: Double definition; the latter one as in “his head swam”
7 ADDICTION: A fun clue: “the talk of the present era?” is A.D. DICTION
8 IN CHECK: (CHICKEN)*, referring to chess. This was one of the last I got, due to the excellent surface reading and misleading way in which “King under threat” reads as a charade :)
9 BETTER ONESELF: Double definition
15 KNAPSACKS: “a second thought” = A PS in “gifts” = KNACKS
18 SCALENE: A triangle with three unequal sides is scalene: A L = “a number” in SCENE = “view”
20 OPEN SEA: Cryptic definition; open sea is the view (”prospect”) once you clear land on a ship
22 TANKARD: TA + (DRANK)* (the “volunteers” are the Territorial Army)
22 OYSTER: E in (STORY)*
25 PANIC: P + (I CAN)*

Posted in Guardian | 12 Comments »