The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi everyone. I found this one quite challenging in places, starting sluggishly and running aground for a while at the end in the NE corner. The middle part was ok though, and good fun throughout. I enjoy a challenge when the quality is as good as it is here.
The clues on my podium are 10a (CONSPIRE), 19a (JESUS) and 11d (STAGE FRIGHT), an impressive &lit. Thanks Filbert!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Wedding party so nearly having start delayed (3,5) |
| HEN NIGHT — THEN (so) and NIGH (nearly) with the first letter moved to the end (having start delayed) | |
| 6a | Turn odd bits of bomber jacket green (6) |
| BECOME — The odd letters of (odd bits of) BoMbEr surround (jacket) ECO (green) | |
| 9a | 19C novelist amends chapter in Curious case of Oliver Twist (3,6,5) |
| SIR WALTER SCOTT — ALTERS (amends) plus C (chapter) in an anagram of (curious) the outer letters of (case of) OliveR and TWIST | |
| 10a | Short cone and tall cone share an end (8) |
| CONSPIRE — Without the last letter (short) CONe + SPIRE (tall cone) | |
| 12a | Company outing abandoned by Jack with indifference (6) |
| COOLLY — CO (company) + [j]OLLY (outing) without (abandoned by) J (Jack) | |
| 13a | Bumper possibly clipped by old lady (4) |
| MEGA — EG (possibly) contained in (clipped by) MA (old lady) | |
| 14a | Bill wandering into Aldi further (10) |
| ADDITIONAL — AD (bill) + an anagram of (wandering) INTO ALDI | |
| 16a | Enjoy security? Commission bespoke tech (4,2,4) |
| HAVE IT MADE — A literal interpretation of the answer using IT = tech | |
| 19a | Jesus lives forever (1,3) |
| I SAY — IS (lives) + AY (forever) | |
| 21a | Grand, opulent, almost plush? (6) |
| FABRIC — FAB (grand) + RICh (opulent), almost | |
| 23a | Snappy save that stops high shot? (8) |
| CROSSBAR — CROSS (snappy) + BAR (save) | |
 (Click for the YouTube video) |
|
| 24a | Refuse to move bowl containing dead fish from outside (3,4,5,2) |
| DIG ONE’S HEELS IN — DISH (bowl) containing GONE (dead) + EELS (fish) + IN (from outside) | |
| 26a | Punches landed excessively on your ear (3-3) |
| ONE-TWO — Sounds like (… on your ear) WON (landed) TOO (excessively) | |
| 27a | Suspect solitary enemy of Republican (8) |
| ROYALIST — An anagram of (suspect) SOLITARY | |
| Down | |
| 2d | Notable experience swimming so deep around island (7) |
| EPISODE — An anagram of (swimming) SO DEEP around I (island) | |
| 3d | Pig’s head turning 180 degrees unlike before (3) |
| NOW — [s]OW (pig) whose first letter (head) is changed from S to N (turning 180 degrees) | |
| 4d | Four brave nurses go out for a good time (9) |
| GALLIVANT — IV (four), which GALLANT (brave) holds (nurses) | |
| 5d | Did 25 fully pay attention to getting shirt on? (7) |
| TEE-HEED — HEED (fully pay attention to) with TEE (shirt) put on. 25 = 25d, LOL | |
| 6d | No-frills airline defective but let’s go with it (5) |
| BASIC — BA (airline) + SIC (defective but let’s go with it) | |
| 7d | Addicts who frequent bars never weary? (11) |
| CHOCOHOLICS — A cryptic definition: people who might never tire of frequent bars of chocolate | |
| 8d | Original guy bored by literature mounted musical (7) |
| MATILDA — ADAM (original guy) with insertion of (bored by) LIT. (literature) all reversed (mounted, in a down entry) | |
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| 11d | One put off from playing gig after this? (5,6) |
| STAGE FRIGHT — I (one) removed from (put off from) an anagram of (playing) G[i]G AFTER THIS | |
| 15d | Bum drained extremely hot brew in NY’s skid row (3,6) |
| THE BOWERY — An anagram of (bum) ExtremelY without inner letters (drained …) and HOT BREW. From the 1940s – 1970s, the Bowery in Manhattan was New York City’s “Skid Row” | |
| 17d | Nearly everyone puttin’ on show at Christmas (7) |
| ALADDIN — Nearly ALl (everyone) + ADDIN’ (puttin’ on) | |
| 18d | Copper section in Dell rival’s charger (7) |
| ACCUSER — CU (copper) and S (section) in ACER (Dell rival) | |
| 20d | Spaniard’s so long collecting silver pieces (7) |
| ADAGIOS — ADIOS (Spaniard’s so long) taking in (collecting) AG (silver) | |
| 22d | Eager to help both sides in Congo (3-2) |
| CAN-DO — C AND O – both sides in CongO | |
| 25d | See face of lunatic that slays me (3) |
| LOL — LO (see) + the first letter of (face of) Lunatic | |
The online version has been incorrectly completed (at 7d) by the Independent itself, so anyone who completes it correctly will be told that they have got something wrong.
Yes, I was a bit befuddled to be told that the correct answer to 7d was CHOCOLOHICS. Ah well, these things happen. Another great Filbert puzzle. I was especially impressed by STAGE FRIGHT and GALLIVANT. Thanks to F and Kitty for the excellent blog (c.w. obligatory kitty vid – that is some goalkeeping! Reminded me of the great Chelsea goalie, Peter ‘the Cat’ Bonetti.)
This was rather a struggle, but enjoyable nonetheless. I was defeated by 3D and also baffled by the 7D error, while my favourite was STAGE FRIGHT.
Apologies to those who’ve seen this before, but 9 reminded me of the anagram A NOVEL BY A SCOTTISH WRITER (7,2,3,6,5).
Thanks Filbert and Kitty (hope you enjoyed International Cat Day yesterday).
I SAY! Hard nut to crack, initially. My favourites include BECOME, ‘eg’ for ‘possibly’ in MEGA, HAVE IT MADE, and TEE-HEED. LOL. Another ‘spire’ has popped up in a Filbert puzzle. Thanks to Kitty and the maestro.
Thanks both. Typically excellent, though I gave up trying to decode SIR WALTER and ONE-TWO sounds wholly different to ‘won….’ to my ears. Dire Straits lyrics for Your Latest Trick helped me to get THE BOWERY, and CROSSBAR went in very late, as did England’s 1966 disputed World Cup goal – it didn’t stop that one, did it?
Had to reveal a couple here including HAVE IT MADE. But the clues were fine.
Enjoyed the cat video. You have to wonder how many failed saves didn’t make the cut. I notice that, like me, everyone so far has hyphenated “tee-heed”.
It’s bad form to mention times, but I will say, I took longer to get my first solution, than my best time for completing a puzzle.
Whew! Tough, tough, tough, but very clever.
16(ac), I’m more familiar with ” got it made”, but no VAR.
7 (d) CHOCOHOLICS: I do a paper/printout version, so the online error didn’t pose a problem. But the clue did…what’s “never weary” doing?
So much sugar, that they’re always active?
There is a good clue to be had, but this isn’t it.
I’m not too impressed by “TURN” = “BECOME”, either, 6(ac).
Petty moans, it is another Filbert cracker; outplayed by Kitty’s blog. Damn you, I’ve watched that video 3 times!
Two thumbs up, Fil + Kitty
Chocolohics was my typo, sorry, particularly to anyone whose stats are spoiled. Quite difficult to spot in checking – at least you know it’s made by a human.
Not the least strange thing about that video is that someone has astroturfed their living room.
ENBoll& @8 – I just took it as chocoholics never weary of frequent bars of chocolate. (Maybe they are chocolohics when they have their mouths full … and chocololics when laughing?)
More from the goalkeeper cat (who I see is appropriately called Indy) in this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r1fdLmrpog
Re 7d, ENB @8, would it’ve been clearer if he’d asked “whom?”?
Kitty@10 Please, no more! Another hour of my life watching the second video. Wonderful.
grant@11, good point, I am no grammarian, but using “whom” makes the clue work. I think.
I put CHOCOLOHICS into CHambers assuming I had missed a step to get to a unheard of word. Thankfully I’m not one for the stats.
Fun as always. Favourites today SIR WALTER SCOTT and HAVE IT MADE.
Thanks Filbert and Kitty
Thanks Filbert for a splendid set of clues with my top picks being HEN NIGHT, BECOME, COOLLY, I SAY, DIG ONES HEELS IN, ONE-TWO, GALLIVANT, STAGE FRIGHT (COTD), and CAN-DO. I missed a few but that didn’t spoil the fun. Thanks Kitty for the blog and the cat vid of course 🙀
Am I the only one struggling to change S to N ? Is it two 90degree moves about different axes? Or have I missed something?
As always, great stuff from professor F. Hard going for me but enjoyed a lot.
Thanks both
Beaten by this but no shame in that and enjoyable nonetheless.
Xmac@15 – it’s not a rotation of the letters, it’s an about turn from South to North.
Thanks DuncT. Another rabbit hole I got lost in!
PS I thought BASIC was great. Simple and smooth. Perfect clueing.
I took “never weary” as a reference to the caffeine in chocolate.