Deri is the Tuesday setter this week.
Tuesday is theme day in The Independent, but I cannot see one this week, even though there are 34 entries in the grid. Clutching at straws, there are a few musical allusions in the grid – DONNA Summer, SOUNDTRACK, SHEET MUSIC, EVENSONG and MANDY [Barry Manilow song] – but there isn’t an obvious link between them. No doubt there is something blindingly obvious that I have missed.
I liked the clue linking Erling [Haaland] and [Manchester] City. I also enjoyed the wordplay for CINCINNATUS with its many component parts.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | What could be future of X site? It’s spurned (5)
TENSE (reference the FUTURE tense in grammar) TEN (X is the Roman numeral for TEN) + SitE excluding (spurned) IT TEN SE |
| 4 | Since amongst English, Yankee’s relaxed (4)
EASY (relaxed) AS (since) contained in (amongst) (E [English] + Y [Yankee is the international radio communication codeword for the letter Y]) E (AS) Y |
| 6 | Female in front of district judge (4)
FIND (to determine after judicial inquiry; to judge) F (female) + IN + D (district) F IN D |
| 10 | Caught Frost with tips trom vigilante after a rise in felonies? (5,4)
CRIME WAVE (sharp rise in the level of criminal activity) C (caught) + RIME (hoarfrost) + W (with) + A + VE (outer letters of [tips from]) VigilantE C RIME W A VE |
| 11 | Summer for one academic mostly trouble (5)
DONNA (reference DONNA Summer [1948 – 2012], American singer-songwriter) DON (academic) + NAg (to trouble) excluding the final letter [mostly] G) DON NA |
| 12 | Beluga essentially very dear, commonly (3)
LUV (informal [common] term of affection) LU (middle letters of [essentially] beLUga) + V (very) LU V |
| 13 | Perfect groove for film’s music? (10)
SOUNDTRACK (SOUND accompaniment to film) SOUND (perfect) + TRACK [groove on a vinyl record]) SOUND TRACK |
| 16 | Neckwear from Herts town – it makes a comeback in Home Counties (6,3)
STRING TIE (a narrow necktie of uniform width; neckwear) (TRING [town in Hertfordshire) + IT reversed [makes a comeback]) contained in (in) SE (South East) S (TRING TI<) E |
| 18 | First of all, actress narks discomfited ITV presenter Peters? (4)
ANDI (reference ANDI Peters [born 1970] is a British television presenter) ANDI (initial letters of [first of all] each of Actress, Narks, Discomfited and ITV) A N D I |
| 20 | Erling’s header missing, anger behind City dugout? (4)
LAIR (den or retreat of a wild animal; dugout) LA (Los Angeles; American city) + IRe (anger) excluding (missing) E (first letter of [header] Erling) LA IR |
| 21 | Crooked sort evicted for nicking record (9)
DECEPTIVE (dishonest; crooked) Anagram of (sort) EVICTED containing (nicking) EP (Extended Play record) DEC (EP) TIVE* |
| 23 | Leaves with bags of Quavers? (5,5)
SHEET MUSIC (MUSIC written on SHEETS [leaves]) SHEET MUSIC (quavers are musical notes that appear frequently on SHEET MUSIC) The whole clue is a cryptic definition SHEET MUSIC |
| 25 | Periodically uncouth? Anything but (3)
NOT (anything but) Letters 2, 4 and 6 (periodically) of uNcOuTh NOT |
| 27 | Small source of light behind papers did nothing (5)
IDLED (did nothing) ID ([identity] papers) + LED (light emitting diode; source of light) ID LED |
| 29 | Deputy not feeling anything in Yorkshire on returning? (6,3)
NUMBER TWO (deputy) NUMBER (more deprived of feeling; not feeling anything) + OWT (Yorkshire term for ‘anything’) reversed (returning) – I have put the ER with NUMB in the wordplay as I can’t see how it is referenced otherwise. I suppose it could refer to the East Riding of Yorkshire, but I can’t find an abbreviation of that form in a dictionary. NUMBER TWO< |
| 30 | Creep‘s bitterness (4)
EDGE (move forward gradually, creep) EDGE (keenness; sharpness; bitterness) double definition EDGE |
| 31 | Monitors from East End schools in conversation (4)
EYES (keeps track of; monitors) EYES (sounds like [in conversation] ‘IGHS (Cockney/East End pronunciation for high schools [schools] where the leading H is omitted) EYES |
| 32 | Try every other piece from Strauss then? (5)
TASTE (try) TASTE (letters 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 [every other piece] from sTrAuSs ThEn) T A S T E |
| Down | |
| 1 | Tells cast off, beginning to yell in a rude way (10)
TACTLESSLY (in a manner that ignores the feelings of people being dealt with; in a rude way) Anagram of (off) TELLS CAST + Y (first letter of [beginning to] Yell) TACTLESSL* Y |
| 2 | Under arrest, run inside exit and cover “Fingers” with this? (4,7)
NAIL VARNISH (a solution used as a cosmetic to decorate finger NAILs and toe NAILs) NAIL (catch or secure; arrest) + (R [run] contained in [inside] VANISH [disappear; exit]) NAIL VA (R) NISH |
| 3 | Service one’s given when one leaves unhappy (8)
EVENSONG (church service) Anagram of (unhappy) ONE’S GiVEN excluding (leaves) I (Roman numeral for one) EVENSONG* |
| 4 | Cleared, and acted vague about missing grand (9)
EVACUATED (clear) Anagram of (about) ACTED VAgUE excluding (missing) G EVACUATED* |
| 5 | Esoteric society boosted career (5)
SPEED (race; career) (DEEP [esoteric] + S [society]) all reversed (boosted; down entry) ( S PEED)< |
| 7 | People from Helsinki possibly fleeced hotel (3)
INN (small hotel) fINNs (people from Helsinki are Finns), excluding the outer letters [fleeced; shorn] F and S INN |
| 8 | College official advanced into study (4)
DEAN (college official) A (advanced) contained in (into) DEN (study) DE (A) N |
| 9 | Climbing part of Munro, dalesman, trim (5)
ADORN (decorate; dress; trim) ADORN (reversed [climbing] hidden word in (part of) MuNRO DAlesman) ADORN |
| 31 | 14 Charlie, at home around 7, cheers up American statesman in Rome once (11)
CINCINNATUS (Lucius Quinctius CINCINNATUS was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic; statesman in Rome) C (Charlie is a slang term for cocaine, as is capital C) + IN (at home) + C [circa; around] + INN [the entry a 7 down] + TA (thank you; cheers) reversed (up; down entry) + US (United States; American) C IN C INN AT< US |
| 15 | Is rent money short, reallocated for food? (10)
MINESTRONE (a thick, mixed-vegetable soup containing pasta or rice [food]) Anagram of (reallocated) IS RENT and MONEy excluding the final letter [short] Y MINESTRONE* |
| 17 | Former copper seems awkward in dances (6-3)
EXCUSE MES (dances during which one may change partners) EX– (former) + CU (chemical symbol for copper) + an anagram of (awkward) SEEMS EX CU SE MES* |
| 19 | Most risqué image infiltrates short nap (8)
SPICIEST (most risqué) PIC (picture; image) contained in (infiltrates) SIESTa (midday or afternoon nap) excluding the final letter (short) A S (PIC) IEST |
| 22 | Elbows Crouch close to cameras (5)
BENDS (elbows are BENDS) BEND (crouch) + S (last letter of [close to] cameraS) BEND S |
| 24 | Woman captivated by Jokerman (Dylan) (5)
MANDY (woman’s name; woman) MANDY (hidden word in [captivated by) jokerMAN DYlan) MANDY |
| 26 | Story includes fine sentence (4)
LIFE (a prison sentence) LIE (story) containing (includes) F (fine) LI (F) E |
| 28 | “Stage left”, for example (3)
LEG (a stage of a relay race, for example) LEG (the on or left side of a cricket pitch as seen by the batter) double definition LEG |
Morning, Duncan, and thank you for the usual comprehensive blog. We are in 10cc territory – others who know their music better than I do will fill in the detail, but I can see LIFE [is a] MINESTRONE, [I’m} MANDY [fly me], and an allusion to the band in the top row.
A good Tuesday themed puzzle from Deri – something else all Indy puzzle fans will miss.
No chance with the theme (thanks Pierre! TEN SEA SY!!!), but the clear wordplay allowed everything to be worked out. Agree with blog on all counts… particularly the sense of impending doom…
Thanks Deri n duncansheill …
Thanks Deri and DS
As well as those mentioned, 10cc had albums SHEET MUSIC, The Original SOUNDTRACK and DECEPTIVE BENDS and a single The DEAN AND I. There may be more.
I think the “er” in NUMBER TWO is “re” = on reversed.
I also had NUMB = ‘not feeling’ + reverse of OWT + RE.
DONNA was their debut single in the uk.
I think LEG may be simpler. L plus e.g. – for example.
Enjoyed this, missed the theme as usual
I parsed LEG as Doofs @7. Nice, neat puzzle with some lovely surfaces throughout. A lovely CD for SHEET MUSIC: not really that often that we get an out and out standalone cryptic def and this one works very nicely.
Thanks both
Thank you Deri, Duncan, and Pierre. And Good Morning to those who’ve spotted 6a’s definition is Judge.
Hi all. Thank you for solving and commenting, and thanks to Duncan for the comprehensive review and explanations.
Apart from the homophone and songs/albums mentioned in comments 1, 3, 6 and 9, there’s also (I’m) NOT INN LUV.
Many thanks to editor Mike Hutchinson for maintaining the Independent cryptic thus far in difficult circumstances – and for spotting that NUMBER TWO (29a) was the peak position in the UK charts for their debut single Donna, something I completely missed!
Ah, 10cc! Would have got it if Dreadlock Holiday or Rubber Bullets had been there. STRING TIE was pretty nice and the last one I got.
You could claim the I’M is in crIMewave, surely? I missed the theme, despite singing the title of “Life Is A Minestrone” to myself as I entered 15D. D’oh!
Nice one, thanks both.
^ [Captain Mainwaring voice] Ah, I was wondering when one of you would notice that.
Digger @11, I experimented with a few that didn’t make it, Rubber Bullets being a particularly fine banger.
A pity the band couldn’t do more, but I think having four strong-willed songwriters became more difficult the more successful they became.
Very late to this. No chance with the theme; I’m too American. “I’m Not in Love” was a hit here, but that’s about it.