Please take a minute to read this post: Help save The Independent Cryptic Crossword
An anniversary puzzle from Gaff.
The problem with this sort of puzzle is that though the theme is topical and the result elegant half the grid is a write-in. I did enjoy this, but am glad we don’t get them every day. Thank you Gaff.
| Across | ||
| 9, 12, 10 | ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL | 14, 17 (3,3,3,7,5) |
| “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” | ||
| 11 | TISANES | Bergamot is an essential ingredient for herbal teas (7) |
| an ingredient of bergamoT IS AN ESsential | ||
| 12 | See 9 | |
| 13 | NAY | Civilisation ended – always in denial (3) |
| civilisatioN (last letter) AY (always) | ||
| 14 | SELF EVIDENT | New feld events not requiring demonstration (4-7) |
| (FIELD EVENTS)* | ||
| 17 | TRUTH | Babe follows the frst gospel (5) |
| T (first letter of the) and Babe RUTH (baseball player) | ||
| 18 | TEL | Small number allowed to return (3) |
| LET (allowed) reversed – telephone number, abbreviated (small) | ||
| 19 | MARCH | 1 started leading demonstration (5) |
| M (first letter of Martin) ARCH (leading) | ||
| 21 | BRAVE PERSON | Hero is proven sabre-rattler (5,6) |
| (PROVEN SABRE)* rattler = anagram | ||
| 23 | EBB | Withdraw heartless barb after emotional outbreak (3) |
| BarB (heartless=no middle) following E (first letter of emotional) | ||
| 25 | FORSOOK | Approval on woman roughly abandoned (7) |
| OK (approval) on F (female, woman) OR SO (roughly ) | ||
| 27 | LINCOLN | City memorial site for . . . . (7) |
| The Lincoln Memorial in Washington | ||
| 28, 22 | I HAVE A DREAM | . . . . Abba’s number 20 (1,4,1,5) |
| Abba song and stiring lines (rhetoric) from MLK’s speech | ||
| 29 | NOVELTIES | Trifes with fresh relationships (9) |
| NOVEL (fresh) TIES (relationships) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1, 15 | MARTIN LUTHER KING | Composer has hand in infatuation involving royal couple’s disobedient preacher (6,6,4) |
| Bohuslav MARTINU (composer) has L (left, hand) inside (in) and THING (infatuation) including (involving) ER and K (royal couple) – definition is ‘disobedient preacher’ | ||
| 2 | BLESS YOU | Mystifed by Seoul’s response to expulsion (5,3) |
| (BY SEOUL’S)* anagram=mystified – response to a sneeze (expulsion) | ||
| 3 | TENNIS SHOE | Jessica wears those loosely for trainer? (6,4) |
| Jessica ENNIS is surrounded by (wears) THOSE* losely=anagram | ||
| 4 | PASS | Approve advance (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 5 | SEYCHELLES | Spots cover chief in mostly golden islands (10) |
| SEES (spots) surround (cover) CH (chief) in YELLow (mostly golden) | ||
| 6 | See 26 | |
| 7 | CUP TIE | Meeting to decide teams’ progress (3,3) |
| cryptic-ish definition | ||
| 8 | OLD DUTCH | Converts nearly cuddle hot Londoner’s wife (3,5) |
| (CUDDLe HOT)* nearly=not finished – East-End slang for wife | ||
| 15 | See 1 | |
| 16 | IMMINENTLY | 2009 disaster in heartless country soon (10) |
| MM (two thousand) and NINE* (anagram=disaster) in ITaLY (counrty, heartless). Naughty but nice! | ||
| 17 | TO BE FAIR | Meaningless qualifcation is requirement for judge (2,2,4) |
| double definition – one of those meaningless things people say when stalling for time | ||
| 20 | RHETORIC | Relocate to richer address (8) |
| (TO RICHER)* – definition is ‘address’ | ||
| 22 | See 28 | |
| 24 | BANISH | Sound annoyed about return to villainy for outlaw (6) |
| BAH (sound annoyed) about SIN (villainy) reversed (returned) | ||
| 26, 6 | OVER HERE | Where US troops were 20 years earlier with money and libido (4,4) |
| “over paid, over sexed and over here…” | ||
| 27 | LIVE | Be active (4) |
| double definition – ‘exist’ and ‘working’ | ||
*anagram
I notice from Andrew’s blog that the Guardian puzzle is also themed today. I suspect we can write in the same answers there too.
Thanks PeeDee,
I thought this was really good fun.
SELF-EVIDENT was very nice.
You are very suspicious!
Many thanks PeeDee although I see that you were unable to complete 23a – What a Gaffe!
I suggest EBB – but don’t ask me why.
Many thanks also to Gaff for outwitting PeeDee.
Thanks for the blog, PeeDee [but you’ve guessed the wrong paper!].
And thanks for the great puzzle, Gaff – I don’t think there was any need for the preamble but that seems to be the custom with FT crosswords. I liked SELF-EVIDENT, too, and BLESS YOU and IMMINENTLY.
HI Bryan – intrigued to know what you mean @3? I have EBB for the solution too.
After the indy this was a write in except for 16d where the word play for nine* eluded me.
Thanks PD and for the blogging software which has more than halved my blogging time.