i Cryptic Crossword 3367 Poins
November 22, 2021
Difficulty rating (out of five): 🌟🌟
A nice accessible puzzle to start the working week from Poins today. This crossword took me rather less than my typical time, and was completed without any need to resort to the dictionary or the internet (with one minor caveat). As such it was heading for a one-star difficulty rating. Except that I couldn’t parse EN MASSE at all, and I havered between “off” and “out” in 5 across, until a thitherto elusive FORWARD decided for me.
I consulted the internet only to see exactly where in west London Acton is. Obviously I trusted our setter to be accurate in describing it as part of Ealing – but there is something irresistible about maps, and I can get lost in them (as it were) very happily, so need only the slenderest of excuses to consult one.
From a selection of pleasing, if largely simple and straightforward clues, my choice for Clue of the Day goes to 36 with its good surface reading: “Italian writer covering for the most part one cause of food poisoning (1,3)”.
Here’s the link to Fifteensquared for all the answers and explanations: http://www.fifteensquared.net/2017/09/10/independent-on-sunday-1437poins/
Borodin
batarde
Saboteur
Denzo
flashling
jonofwales
Cornick
sprouthater
uiytjhgmj
willow1235
idothei 
About as fast as they get here, with no hold ups or questions at the close, and enjoyed while it lasted.
Yes, mostly smooth & quick here, though I couldn’t parse EN MASSE either.
Only quibble – surely you oughtn’t to have the word ‘doubt’ in the clue to 10ac when it’s the major component of the answer to 11ac? (and similarly ‘Labour’ in the clue to 6dn when it’s a major component of the answer to 2dn?)
Fair point. I didn’t notice myself, but then again I didn’t need to dwell too long over any of those, so didn’t really have time to notice
I was convinced 5d had to be CURDS, which held me up a bit, but otherwise a pleasant and quick solve.
As a one-time member of the Ealing and Acton Young Liberals (my father responded by threatening to join the Churchill and Congresbury Old Fascists),
that one brought a smile. Don’t hold it against me!
Yes – a nice solve to start the week. No problems, although I was puzzled by the number of left wing references. I suppose Brexit wrangling was at its height four years ago, but left/right political manoeuvring is perennial.
Surely some mistake here: C, con,Tory etc. appear in clues with metronomic regularity and without comment here. IMHO Brexit had very little to do with left/right political manoeuvring, much more with right/extreme right political manoeuvring. NDY
Yes, writing CURDS instead of KURDS held me up too, for far longer than it should have. Funny how experiences differ so much between solvers – I found this the toughest puzzle for a while, yet found Maize’s puzzle on Saturday fairly straightforward. Never mind, got there in the end.
Pondered awhile over 13ac, I’ve not come across the ‘cane’ meaning of swish before; or am I missing something obvious?
…the OED has the 4th noun meaning of swish as “a cane or birch for flogging; also, a stroke with this.” Chambers has much the same.
Interesting. I seem to remember my mother referring to that as a switch.
Yeah I think I would as well, TBH