sunday times 4407

[bonefixer]

17 d - Ruthenium is an element but don't understand the wordplay, and 20a surely must be kinder. Where am I wrong?

[civdm]

20a tender -- nurse without -ry

Nobody seems to understand thenium, Ru = Ur, the biblical city.

[herbage]

I suppose Uranium Ur, symbolically backing gives RU and also Ur is the biblical city but poor clue I think.

Thanks

[civdm]

Uranium = U

I really think the Ru = Ur reversed, no more than that.
But where does thenium come from, that is the big question, and I haven't figured it out yet. Trouble is, it being a ST clue, I suppose it is another mistake.

[bonefixer]

20a I had as kinder from nursery = kindergaten then drop the gaten = street (in german, norwegian???). Can't see Ruthenium at all from the wordplay

[Lie-in King]

What's the clue for 17d?

[civdm]

oh, sorry, it has passed so many times today, that I didn't even notice the clue wasn't mentioned.

17d. Element of symbolically backing biblical city (9)

[boxtops]

Kindergarten has an R in it (well, 2) - the garten part means garden not street (not sure if this is relevant)

[Valanne]

Ur is a biblical city. backing it gives RU, symbolically RU is the element ruthenium

[Lie-in King]

Thanks civdm - then I think herbage has it correct ^^...

[civdm]

Well done Valanne, of course it is as simple as that.

[civdm]

@ Boxtops
I thought RY short for railway, so nursery - RY = nurse = tender

[SammJ]

yes, Ruthenium took me a while too, was trying to work out the Thenium part until finally it "twigged" with Ru being the symbol for Ruthenium as Valanne explained!