Independent 6916 by Tees

by

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

I found this a little easier than some Tees puzzles, but one or two left me a bit bewildered (especially 19 across). The three clues linked by pillow talk were brilliant and there was a lovely cryptic definition in 5 down.

Across
1,13 Down in the Mouth: (on demo with hunt)*.
5 Boom Town: m to w in boon. My only slight quibble here would be that “in receipt of benefit” sounds more like the boon goes on the inside rather than the outside.
9 Teamster: AM in tester.
10, 17 Pillow Talk: Great cryptic def – “union’s little chat” and links to a couple of other feathery clues.
11 Stannite: I didn’t really get this. The clue is “Miner’s source puts News International into administration”. The definition is obviously miner’s source (stannite being a material from which tin is derived) and I assume News International = NI, but I don’t see the stante bit.
12 Bishop: Bi (bisexual) + shop. Another very funny clue.
15 Safe: Double definition All this pratice at cryptics must finally paying off, because I remembered straight away that peter is a slang word for a safe.
19 Otoscope: Clue is “One looking to improve performance of London’s Britney Spears”. Beyond the implication that anyone who likes Britney’s music might need their ears examining, this one was lost on me. Possibly it’s supposed to sound like something in a Cockney accent, but I can’t work out what.
20 Totter: [Gian]t + otter.
21 Viscount: V + suction*.
22 Iceman: cinema*.
23 Liegemen: Lie + gen around men.
24 Gasoline: s in (gaol in E).
25 Uneasy: (any use)*
Down
2 Oresteia: (easier to)* – see oresteia.
3 Nominate: Mina in note. Familiarity with the plot of Bram Stoker’s Dracula helps here. It has two female characters – Lucy Westenra, who is turned into a vampire and killed, and Mina Harker, who is saved from Dracula at the end.
4 Nutriment: (tri men) in nut.
5 Barber of Seville: (observable flier)*.
6 Maidish: Mai (French for May) + dish.
7 Oklahoma: OK + lama around ho.
8 Newspeak: cryptic/double def. Newspeak was a term coined by George Orwell in 1984, but has since been applied more generally to ambiguous and misleading official language.
14 Trousseau: T + Rousseau.
15, 16 Spitting Feathers: (pint gas fitter she)*. A good clue, but thirsty wouldn’t be my definition for spitting feathers
17 Telomere: hidden, reversed.
18 Launders: LA + under s.
19 Overall: Double def.

9 comments on “Independent 6916 by Tees”

  2. I agree re 5a.
    11a “News” (plural)=N+N “International”=I “adminisration”=STATE
    19a I think “Britney Spears” must be modern rhyming slang for ears

  4. 11a NN (news) I (international) in STATE (administration)

    19a ‘Britney Spears’ could be considered Cockney rhyming slang for ‘ears’, but I don’t think it is in reality.

  7. Beers would improve a performance of Britney Spears.

    In fact, it could be tears for your ears if not for the beers at a performance of Britney Spears ..or..

    “It could be Britney Spears for your Britney Spears if not for the Britney Spears at a performance of Britney Spears”

    I wonder if there’s Cockney rhyming slang for Britney Spears?

  8. I think the Cockney rhyming slang for ‘Britney Spears’ must be ‘Tears for Fears’, who were slightly more listenable.

    I can’t remember enjoying a Tees puzzle as much as this one. BISHOP, OTOSCOPE, ‘Fringe’ in 5dn, TELOMERE, STANNITE all excellent, and the answers linked to PILLOW TALK were brilliant. (And I even guessed ORESTEIA correctly!)

  9. Nice crossword, but, like NealH, I was bewildered by some of it. In 3dn clearly Tees means tri-men to be the equivalent of three fellows, but it seems pretty loose to me. Not even a question mark or a possibly or some such?

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