Independent 12,327 by Tack

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A grid from Tack for our pleasure today.

I felt this to be a mostly straightforward proposition from the start, with quite a bit of clueing to exercise my anagram muscles. 20 across was my favourite clue for artfully cheeky (every pun intended) construction.

Thanks very much to Tack for the entertainment.

 

ACROSS
1. Where one could get a spare item of crockery in kitchen (7,5)
BOWLING ALLEY

Item of crockery [BOWL] in [IN] kitchen [GALLEY]

10. In an excited state drunk becomes irritated (7)
UPTIGHT

In an excited state [UP] drunk [TIGHT]

11. Policeman runs past where skaters relax (7)
OFFICER

Runs [R] past [after] where skaters relax [OFF ICE]

12. Laws of generating intelligent conclusions, principally? (5)
LOGIC

First letters of [“principally”] LAWS OF GENERATING INTELLIGENT CONCLUSIONS

13. The yards formed compounds (8)
HYDRATES

Anagram [“formed”] THE YARDS

15. Troubled about Messi not drinking much? (10)
ABSTEMIOUS

Anagram [“troubled”] ABOUT MESSI

16. Junk energy emitted by toothless prime minister (4)
EDEN

Junk [TAT] energy [E] emitted [removed] by toothless [EDENTATE]

18. Peak Fury docked twice by international boxing judge (4)
FUJI

Fury docked twice [FU] by international [I] boxing [around] judge [J]

20. Fine stroke-maker caught behind by player, not stumped (10)
BOTTICELLI

Caught [sounds like] behind [BOTTI = ” botty”] player not stumped [CELLIST without ST]

22. Mankiest bananas emerging through error of judgement (8)
MISTAKEN

Anagram [“bananas”] MANKIEST

24. He dabbles in drugs, primarily with one of The Libertines (5)
DRAKE

Drugs, primarily [D] with one of The Libertines [RAKE]

26. Flow of water sent back to correct swimmer (3,4)
LEE TIDE

Sent back [backwards] to correct [EDIT] swimmer [EEL]

27. Predator’s gun back from Saturday at around noon (4,3)
ARMY ANT

Gun [ARM] back from [last letter of] Saturday [Y] at [AT] around noon [N]

28. What’s used in court to suppress fraud? (6,6)
SQUASH RACKET

Double definition

DOWN
2. Power cuts elsewhere succeeded suppressing generation (7)
OUTAGES

Elsewhere [OUT] succeeded [S] suppressing [around] generation [AGE]

3. Experts defending one carrying on what predecessors left? (8)
LEGACIES

Experts [ACES] defending [around] one [I] carrying [under] on [LEG]

4. A, B, C, D, F or G (4)
NOTE

NOTE = “NOT E”

5. Advisers against you replacing setter with new rogue (5,5)
AGONY AUNTS

Anagram [“rogue”] AGAINST YOU with I replaced by new [N]

6. Briefly served up another drink one left in can for ages (5)
LIFER

REFILL without second L [briefly] served up [backwards]

7. Chay going off to meet Ted sailed in style (7)
YACHTED

Anagram [“going off”] CHAY to meet [“with”] TED

8. Greek character evidently defending loud friend in French household (7,6)
NUCLEAR FAMILY

Greek character [NU] evidently [CLEARLY] defending [around] loud [F] friend in French [AMI]

9. Forebodings I should have mentioned, harbouring ill-feeling about island (13)
PRESENTIMENTS

I should have mentioned [PS], harbouring [around] ill-feeling [RESENTMENT] about island [I]

14. Can access achieved with them spread pretension? (3-7)
TIN-OPENERS

Anagram (“spread”) PRETENSION

17. Ideal fellow (8)
ACADEMIC

Double definition

19. Joel sat near us periodically indicating fools (7)
JESTERS

Alternate letters of [“periodically”] JOEL SAT NEAR US

21. Escape from capsule aka Gemini (7)
LEAKAGE

Hidden word: CAPSULE AKA GEMINI

23. University will support advanced random number generator later (5)
ADIEU

University [U] will support [under] advanced [A] random number generator [DIE]

25. Just food and drink we hear (4)
FAIR

Sounds like [“we hear”] Food and drink = FARE

 

15 comments on “Independent 12,327 by Tack”

  1. Hovis
    #1 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 09:10

    Thanks to Tack for brightening up a dreary day with some nice humour.
    Minor slip-up in blog for 5d. Should have said I replaced by N(ew).

  2. PostMark
    #2 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 09:35

    As our blogger says, very approachable with plenty of amusing surfaces. BOWLING ALLEY, BOTTICELLI, LEE TIDE, PRESENTIMENTS, TIN-OPENERS and ACADEMIC my faves.

    Thanks both

  3. Layman
    #3 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 09:57

    EDEN was completely impossible to get (for me, anyway). NOTE is nice. Thanks Tack & leedsclimber

  4. gsolphotog
    #4 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 10:22

    I can only agree with the above compliments. A clever, amusing puzzle to brighten a cloudy Saturday.
    I left entering EDEN right to the end as I was determined to parse it and was very pleased when I finally succeeded .
    Thanks all.

  5. E.N.Boll&
    #5 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 10:27

    Very clever clueing throughout, something for everyone, no bums (apart from one bottie ), and no obscurities.
    Nice nod to Sir CHAY Blyth in 7(d).
    14(d) is a lovely anagram, no problem with the solution, though does anyone ever say “tin opener”? It’s always can-opener.
    I agree with Layman @3, EDEN was a shoe-in but the parsing took me ages.
    Superb setting, great fun, hats off, Tack & LC

  6. Petert
    #6 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 10:59

    BOWLING ALLEY and BOTTICELLI were, for me, the two stand out clues. ENB@5 I would always say “tin-opener”. “Can-opener” is still an Americanism to me. I can see how ACADEMIC sort of means “ideal”, but I am struggling to find a good example.

  7. Leedsclimber
    #7 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 11:37

    Thanks Hovis #1 and well spotted. All corrected

  8. E.N.Boll&
    #8 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 11:37

    Petert@6
    Fair play on “tin-opener”, though after your post, I went into my Amazon account and asked for a tin opener, and every product said can-opener!
    Fair play, too, on ACADEMIC. I don’t think it is a good match, at all, for IDEAL.
    I reconciled it, as being something utopian, but which is a theoretical thing, that cannot practically be achieved, so it’s “academic”.
    I’d be interested to hear other views.
    Though it’s purely academic, now.

  9. Hovis
    #9 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 11:53

    I was brought up with tin-opener, rather than can-opener. Confusingly, we also referred to the device for puncturing holes in evaporated milk tins as tin-openers as well. Can’t remember when I last used mine.

  10. E.N.Boll&
    #10 - Sat 11th Apr 26, 12:19

    Hovis@9 Ah, yes…..those things that punched a triangular hole into tins of carnation milk, or was it “connie onnie”?
    It was a real treat on tinned fruit salad, when I was a kid. OK – I bow to my peers…..it’s tin opener!

  11. PJ
    #11 - Sun 12th Apr 26, 01:32

    I’m grateful for the parsing of EDEN, which had gone in to celebratory acclaim without me understanding why it was the answer, exactly.

    Nice puzzle.

    I don’t think I’ve ever said “can-opener”. It’s always been a tin to me.

  12. AP
    #12 - Sun 12th Apr 26, 01:35

    I enjoyed this and found it went in smoothly, with BOWLING ALLEY, MISTAKEN, LIFER and ADIEU being my faves.

    Like gsolphotog@4 I held out trying to parse EDEN but unlike him I failed, as indeed I did for BOTICELLI too although both had to be those of course.

    I’m another tin-opener user, but agree with E.N.Boll&@8 about ACADEMIC = IDEAL (theoretical), though I had to wave it through.

    Thanks both

  13. WordPlodder
    #13 - Sun 12th Apr 26, 05:36

    Late comment. V. enjoyable, especially the parsing of the ‘toothless prime minister’, as indeed he was after Suez; any contemporary parallels I wonder?

    E.N.Boll& @5: I think ‘Ted’ refers to another real-life sailor (and another Prime Minister to boot) at around the time of Sir Chay Blyth, Ted Heath.

    Thanks to Tack and Leedsclimber

  14. E.N.Boll&
    #14 - Sun 12th Apr 26, 16:42

    WordPlodder@13…..yes! Ted Heath, of course.
    Was his yacht, “Morning Cloud” ?
    I missed the reference, well-spotted.

  15. WordPlodder
    #15 - Mon 13th Apr 26, 02:08

    E.N.Boll& @14 – yes, “Morning Cloud” it was; winner of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race in 1969.

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