Not very happy with some of Gridman's clues today. 19D beats me
ACROSS
1 - Sad about street circles’ aggressive talks (11) - BLU{ST}E{RINGS}
9 - Early periods of existence on fashionable inclinations (9) - {IN}{FANCIES}
10 - Mimicking pea-shelling by discontented Rudy (5) – {APE*}{R(-ud)Y}
11 - Terms star Agassi for one (5) – ANDRE [CD] First word in clue is Tennis and not Terms.
12 - Frolicking mates play about circular boat vessel (9) {STEAM*}{B{O}AT} Boat appears in clue as well as answer, seems to be an error here.
13 - Noodle holders? (5) - NECKS [CD] From noodleneck straps of blouses?
15 - Set up his stable in a different style (9) – ESTABLISH*
18 - A number declared: redo dais, as previously mentioned (9) – {A}{FORE}(-four){SAID*}
21 - Should have looked for and dropped Spithead (5) - (-s)OUGHT
22 - What a smoker may do with his cigarette (4,1,4) – TAKE A DRAG
24 - Half of them suffer a means of communication (1-4) – E-MAIL
26 - She begins merrily with a song (5) – {M}{ARIA}
27 - By a measure see large, leading expeditioner free to go anywhere (9) - {FOOT}{LO}{OS}{E}
28 - Good-for-nothings have horribly sore end around spring (4-2-5) - NEER-DO-{WELL}S*
DOWN
1 - Copper for a biscuit brand (9) - BRITANNIA [DD]
2 - Such a baby must be hungry (5) - UNFED [CD]
3 - Teens seen cavorting in U.S. state (9) - TENNESSEE*
4 - Old foreign money given to a girl to send out again (7) - {REIS}{SUE}
5 - Bun at last with primarily alluring aroma coming into being (7) - {N}{A}{SCENT}
6 - Crowd with arms waving (5) - S{W}ARM* W for with?
7 - Last month Leader of Opposition had urge for spy’s activity (8) - {DEC}{O}{DING}
8 - Track books for Indian peasant (4) - {RY}{OT}
14 - Service music performer within the limits of chancery (8) - C{ROCKER}Y Never thought of Crockery as a service
16 - With which one might get awl - one is convicted for having…... (6,3) - BROKEN {LAW*} [DD]
17 - He loiters around with managers of inns (9) – HOTELIERS*
19 - Pin Indian tourist city following extreme malpractice (7) - {AGRA}FFE ?
20 - What a canine will eat with relish (7) - DOGFOOD [CD]
22 - Stomachs obscene writing that’s on the rise (4) - TUMS<- )
23 - Chief elected once more (5) - {AGA}{IN}
25 - A payment demanded to go round the lagoon (5) - A{TOLL}
Like the proof mistake 'Terms' for 'Tennis' in one clue, I guess there is another proof mistake in another clue - the word 'boat' is obviously an intruder.
ReplyDeleteNoodle means 'head' and the clue-writer seems to imagine that it is held by 'neck'.
ReplyDeleteAs for the noodle straps of blouses, I think it is from the string- or ribbon-shaped kind of pasta.
I thought it was from noodlestraps of blouses some of which go around the neck to hold up the blouse. Mandira Bedi's a good example for that!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought so too about the boat.
ReplyDeleteYes, in 6d, one is supposed to anag w (from 'with') and arms. Gridman never used to write clues of this kind where one had to substitute a letter from a word for part of anag fodder but that seems to be the trend now as can be seen in crosswords of others like Sankalak as well as UK setters. The stipulation is that they must be well-known abbrs. May I invite Shuchi to confirm this trend.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Priyanka Chopra in the Nokia ad?
ReplyDeleteChambers has
ReplyDeleteservice a complete set, eg of dishes for a particular meal
You must have heard of 'tea service'
IN 19d, 'following' gives ff. (as in pp. 63ff. in references where ff. means 'following')
ReplyDeletee is from extreme malpractice
Look up 'agraffe' in Chambers.
I did find 'agraffe' and it's meaning and have provided the link to it also, but the annotation eluded me. I had not heard of ff
ReplyDeleteAs regards taking 'w' from with, I feel that it's being unfair to the solvers. One could write it as "Crowd wrapped arms waving (4)" would that also imply the same solution?
I looked up service and found it in my dict. also
May I invite Shuchi to confirm this trend.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall an instance from FT, they usually manage it with a complex clue type - direct anagram combined with other letters as charade or container.
I do see indirect anagrams in the Guardian. Going by the comments on fifteensquared, something standard as California = CA does not raise eyebrows but anything wider than that stirs controversy.
"Crowd with arms waving (5) = SWARM*" is fine in my view, as "with = W" is a standard abbreviation and the other parts of the clue are easy to work out. I think we struggle with the annotation more because we aren't expecting an indirect anagram, than because of any inherent difficulty with the wordplay.
One could write it as "Crowd wrapped arms waving (4)" would that also imply the same solution?
As "W" is not a conventional short-form for "wrapped", I guess not.
I didn't know that W is a standard abbreviation for 'with', in which case there is no problem with the clue.
ReplyDelete7 - Last month Leader of Opposition had urge for spy’s activity (8) - {DEC}{O}{DING}
ReplyDeleteLast month and Leader of Opposition, was simple part to get DEC O.
How Ding = Urge? I followed the link given by you for 'ding'. But it did not help to match Ding with Urge.
Aim,
ReplyDeleteLook under DING (verb) in the link where it is shown as classified under verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling. Feeling is an urge
Thanks col.
ReplyDeleteBut I still feel it was an HPC (Hair Pulling Clue)