Coot usually appears in the Indy around once a month. The original puzzle is at https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/?puzzleDate=20261008.
Some amusing surface images today: a piano-related injury, a dodgy lawyer, and a sneaky coffee. I also liked the misdirection of “otherwise inclined” and “butcher’s counter”.
23a tells us that we need to look for eight KANGAROO WORDS (1a 5a): not a concept I’d come across before, but easy enough to find online. These are words that contain a shorter word meaning the same thing (or something very similar), by analogy with a mother kangaroo carrying its baby in a pouch. The rules say that the letters of the shorter word must appear in the correct order, but don’t need to be consecutive. I’ve found eight examples, though I’m not sure whether all of these are the ones Coot intended:
- CHICKEN contains HEN
- INDOLENT contains IDLE
- ENTWINED contains WIND (= twist); it also contains TWINED but that seems trivial
- CHOCOLATE contains COCOA
- CONTAINER contains both CAN and TIN
- STEALTHY contains SLY
- CURTAIL contains CUT
- BY GEORGE contains GEE (gee! = an expression of surprise)
Thanks Coot for the fun.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | KANGAROO |
Native Australian, reportedly, may fish with spectacles (8)
|
| Sound-alike (reportedly) of CAN (may, as in “you can go now”) + GAR (a fish) + OO (spectacles = slang for two zeros; especially in cricket, where “a pair” = short for a pair of spectacles = out for a score of zero in both innings of a match).
An animal native to Australia. |
||
| 5 | WORDS |
Argue about doubtless empty promises (5)
|
| ROW (as a verb, rhyming with “now” = to argue) reversed (about), then D[oubtles]S (empty = inner letters removed).
As in “I give you my word” = my promise. |
||
| 9 | LUMBAGO |
Back condition precisely since shifting piano (7)
|
| [p]LUMB (as in “plumb centre” = precisely) + AGO (since), without P (p, in musical notation = abbreviation for Italian piano = quietly).
Now usually called “low back pain”. |
||
| 10 | CHICKEN |
Cowardly church batsman at last covers exposed stumps (7)
|
| CH (abbreviation for church) + last letter of [batsma]N, covering [w]ICKE[t] (stumps, in cricket) without the outer letters (exposed).
Slang for cowardly. |
||
| 11 | INDOLENT |
Lazy local layabout finally receiving benefit (8)
|
| INN (local = a nearby pub) + final letter of [layabou]T, containing DOLE (slang for unemployment benefit). | ||
| 12 | EVOKE |
Call up Roger the day before drinks (5)
|
| OK (Roger = radio signalling word to indicate that a message has been received and understood), contained in (. . . drinks) EVE (as in Christmas Eve = the day before). | ||
| 14 | ENTWINED |
English journalist catches new couple wrapped around each other (8)
|
| E (abbreviation for English) + ED (abbreviation for editor = journalist), containing N (abbreviation for new) + TWIN (couple, as a verb = link together). | ||
| 15 | ICE CAP |
Cold walk westwards on island’s frozen region (3,3)
|
| C (abbreviation for cold), then PACE (walk) reversed (westwards = running right to left), all after I (abbreviation for island). | ||
| 19 | INDIES |
Non-mainstream labels pass to enter popular stage at the front (6)
|
| DIE (pass), inserted into IN (popular = fashionable) + front letter of S[tage].
Short for independent record labels, as distinct from the big music corporations. |
||
| 21 | ATTORNEY |
Lawyer, rotten, somehow always defends (8)
|
| Anagram (somehow) of ROTTEN, contained in AY (archaic or poetic word for always). | ||
| 23 | EIGHT |
Auditor’s swallowed the number of 1A 5 found here (5)
|
| Sound-alike (auditor’s = as it would be heard) of ATE (swallowed).
The grid contains eight KANGAROO WORDS (1a 5a); see the introduction to this blog for more details. |
||
| 26 | DIAGONAL |
Glad Iona’s otherwise inclined (8)
|
| Anagram (otherwise) of GLAD IONA.
Inclined = sloping. |
||
| 28 | CURTAIL |
Put an end to brief trouble (7)
|
| CURT (brief = speaking as few words as possible) + AIL (trouble, as a verb). | ||
| 29 | TRAINEE |
Apprentice‘s exhausted tutor coming to the fore in racecourse (7)
|
| AINTREE (racecourse in Liverpool), with the letters T[uto]R (exhausted = emptied out) moving to the front. | ||
| 30 | FEAST |
Secure ecstasy lines spread? (5)
|
| FAST (secure, as in “hold fast”), with E (abbreviation for the drug ecstasy) inserted (lining it).
Feast = spread = a large amount of food served at one time. |
||
| 31 | BY GEORGE |
No way Princess Charlotte could be seen here! (2,6)
|
| Double definition. No way! = By George! = expression indicating surprise and disbelief; or Charlotte, daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales, may well be seen next to her brother George. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | KALE |
Bolstered by beer, Kelvin leaves (4)
|
| K (abbreviation for Kelvin, scientific unit of temperature), before (above, in a down clue = bolstered by) ALE (beer).
A leafy vegetable. |
||
| 2 | NOMINATED |
Proposed and married at home, American’s celebrated outside (9)
|
| M (abbreviation for married) + IN (at home) + A (abbreviation for American), with NOTED (celebrated = well-known) around the outside. | ||
| 3 | ANATOMISE |
Closely examine text from addenda NATO misedited (9)
|
| Hidden answer (text from . . .) in [addend]A NATO MISE[dited]. | ||
| 4 | ODOMETER |
Recording device Ted Moore deployed (8)
|
| Anagram (deployed = arranged) of TED MOORE.
A device for recording the distance travelled by a vehicle. |
||
| 6 | OXIDE |
Maybe cow hide stripped back in cattle compound (5)
|
| OX (usually a castrated bull, but the word can be used more generally for any bovine animal, so maybe a cow) + [h]ID[e] (stripped = outer letters removed) + last letter (back) of [cattl]E. | ||
| 7 | DEKKO |
Butcher’s counter, missing section, fine propped up (5)
|
| DE[s]K (counter = area where customers are served) without S (abbreviation for section), then OK (fine = satisfactory) reversed (propped up = upwards in a down clue).
Dekko (derived from Hindi) = butcher’s (from Cockney rhyming slang butcher’s hook) = slang for a look: “Let’s have a butcher’s at that”. |
||
| 8 | UNDERPAY |
Withhold earnings from any prude at work (8)
|
| Anagram (at work) of ANY PRUDE. | ||
| 10 | CUTE |
Pretty prompt time being kept (4)
|
| CUE (prompt = a signal to do or say something), containing (keeping) T (abbreviation for time). | ||
| 13 | VIE |
50% from European capital struggle (3)
|
| 50% of the Austrian capital city VIE[nna]. | ||
| 14 | EMINENCE |
Celebrity artist, discarding wrapper, brandishes foil? (8)
|
| EMIN (British artist Tracey Emin), then [f]ENCE[s] (brandishes a foil = takes part in the sport of fencing) without the outer letters (discarding wrapper). | ||
| 16 | CHOCOLATE |
Sweet little engine going back through Switzerland at end of fête (9)
|
| LOCO (short for locomotive = little engine) reversed (going back), inserted into CH (abbreviation for Switzerland) + AT (from clue text) + end letter of [fet]E. | ||
| 17 | CONTAINER |
Manoeuvre crane into storage vessel (9)
|
| Anagram (manoeuvre) of CRANE INTO. | ||
| 18 | STEALTHY |
Furtive latte arranged during fling (8)
|
| Anagram (arranged) of LATTE, inserted into SHY (fling = to throw). | ||
| 20 | ISH |
Hope wife’s left note of reservation (3)
|
| [w]ISH (hope) without W (abbreviation for wife).
Suffix meaning “sort of but not exactly” = expressing reservation. |
||
| 22 | IDOL |
Fan favourite left international cricket match uplifted (4)
|
| L (abbreviation for left) + ODI (abbreviation for One-Day International cricket match), all reversed (uplifted = upwards in a down clue). | ||
| 24 | GORSE |
Cutting from pollinating or seeding plant (5)
|
| Hidden answer (cutting from . . .) in [pollinatin]G OR SE[eding].
Thorny flowering shrub. |
||
| 25 | TOADS |
Where TV director might cut amphibians (5)
|
| A TV director might “cut TO ADS” = pause a programme for an advertisement break. | ||
| 27 | HE-HE |
Most amusing male couple? (2-2)
|
| Two HE (that male) = a male couple.
Sound of laughter expressing amusement: or one might comment “Most amusing!”. |
Many thanks to Coot. This was great fun. I found 9 examples of KWs – all the ones listed by Quirister except BY GEORGE and I had FEAST / EAT and ODOMETER / METER as well.
Thanks too to Q.
RD @1: I think you’re probably right that FEAST should be in the list instead of BY GEORGE, but there may be others: let’s see if Coot drops in to confirm. [ODO]METER is perhaps not distinctive enough to qualify, like [EN]TWINED.
nho KANGAROO WORDS but, as Quipster says, easy enough to look it up though I wasn’t very good at then spotting the words within words. A nice approachable puzzle with some amusing surfaces and some super anagrams. INDOLENT, CONTAINER and STEALTHY my faves today.
Thanks both
Many thanks Quirister for a super blog. Together with RD@1 you have found my intended list, i.e. including FEAST but not BY GEORGE or ODOMETER. I do like BY GEORGE, though, but maybe that’s a kangaroo phrase. Incidentally, FEAST is also an anti-kangaroo word, with FAST its joey!
One other minor thing: I had TIED as ENTWINED’s joey.
If this is to be my last Indy puzzle, as seems likely, it would be remiss of me not to thank Eimi for publishing my puzzles, and all the bloggers and solvers for spending their time on them.
Nice puzzle except for the reference to 1ac in 23ac, which confused me somewhat… quite used to confusion, so didnt look it up. The crossers left no doubt as to the number, which I took to be the number of letters in 1ac, and the number of 8 letter answers.. which is actually 9 (or 10 if you count BY GEORGE). It seems there are more than 8 actual “kangaroo” words also.. hmm.. didnt diminish the fun.
Thanks Coot and Quirister
A lovely puzzle from Coot, with lots of impressive surface constructions.
I am, as usual, equally impressed by Ms.Q’s blog.
I did not even cotton on to the (superb) theme as instructed in 23(ac), much less find the hidden words. That’s a novel and really well-executed device, hats off to Coot.
BY GEORGE was clever enough ( loved it ) , but to hide the GEE too! Awesome. I’m guessing an awful lot of setter-hours went into this crossword, and it is much appreciated.
It’s top-notch as a stand-alone cryptic, but it jumps up a notch with the kangaroo trickery.
Simply superb stuff, Coot and Ms.Q
Well I read the parsing of EIGHT completely differently. Bit similar to Undrell. ‘The number of 1A’ is (8) (enumeration) and ‘5 found here’ because the enumeration here is (5). It works for me, even though horrendously wrong. Ah well!
[Apologies to our blogger for the typo in my comment earlier which I have just noticed. The site autocorrects Quirister to Quipster every single time I write it and most times I pick it up. Today it snuck through.]
Absy decades since hearing dekko, which I thought was an Ozism, but apparently not. [Gink was another one, ‘take a gink at this’; anyone remember it? (It’s with a hard g)]
DEKKO = butcher’s is absolutely beyond the ken of an American, even an Anglophile one like me; two different slang words are involved that we don’t have. Fortunately the clue was utterly clear about what had to be done, so I managed to finish.
I spotted about five of the KANGAROO WORDS before deciding to retreat here for the full list. Thanks to Quirister and of course to Coot.