Thursday 11 August 2011

No 10230, Thursday, 11 Aug 11, Buzzer

I am standing-in for the Col., who is preoccupied otherwise this morning and so cannot stick to his schedule. As a blogger of the day, I am adopting my own style and method.

First, the filled-in grid:


Next, the solutions with annotations:

ACROSS


1 A replacement for Tutankhamen's head in thick wrapping cloth (6) SARONG - substituting A for T in strong (thick)

5 Minister lands in wrong port but on time (6) PROMPT – MP inserted in PROT, anag. of PORT
10 Boat driver (9) PROPELLER  - DD

11 Game sailor is into excessively (5) TABOO – AB (short for able-bodied (sailor), sailor) in TOO (excessively)
12 Unprepared halibut gulps a drop of Dee after losing shelter (2-3) AD-LIB – D (a drop of Dee) inserted in ALIB, derived by deleting HUT (shelter) from the word HALIBUT
13 Tide over bay window pronouncedly creates a regular column (9) EDITORIAL – EDIT (rev. of ‘tide’) + ORIAL (homophone of ‘oriel’ a type of window)
14 Concern of new pirate at sea (7) PERTAIN – anag. of N (new), PIRATE
16 Openers from West Indies – Desmond, Gordon take forever but make a duck (7) WIDGEON – W I D G (opening letters of words following 'openers from') + EON (forever)

18 Prepared our marines' arrangement (2,5) IN ORDER – IN (short for Indian Navy, our marines) + ORDER (arrangement)
20 They are mainly crafty! (7) VESSELS – CD  
21 Fantastic tale from a tongue slip of shop member (4,5) TALL STORY – TALL (homophone of ‘tale’) + S (shop) + TORY (member, that is a member of the Conservative Party)
23 Shell-shocked trance where time is lost (5) NACRE – Deleting T (time) from TRANCE and anagraming the letters

25 Worthless fragment of luminous emerald (2,3) NO USE – letter-string hidden in lumiNO/US Emerald
26 Signal to tap into the French phone (5-4) BUGLE-CALL – BUG (tap into) + LE (French for the) _ CALL (phone)
27 New year rates for watery spirits (6)  NYMPHS – NY (new year) + MPHs (rates, that is, speed measurements)
28 About to hear, see and describe (6) RECITE   RE (about) + CITE (homophone of 'sight' (see))

DOWN

2 Everyone admitted to an island (5) ATOLL – TO (to) inserted in ALL (everyone)
3 Do too much and go here (9) OVERBOARD – If you ‘go overboard’, you  do too much.
4 Sri Lankan port is operational for a Spanish ship (7) GALLEON – GALLE (Sri Lankan port) + ON (operational)

5 Six drowned in pristine first waters on the horizon (7) PURVIEW – VI (six) inserted in PURE (pristine) + W (first waters)
6 Best away party (5) OUTDO – OUT (away) + DO (party)
7 People in general look for spotlight (6,3) PUBLIC EYE – PUBLIC (people in general) + LOOK (eye)
8 Graffiti perhaps is an art practised on cars? (5,8) SPRAY PAINTING - DD
9 Dip feet in water when having nothing to do (4,4,5) COOL ONES HEELS
15 French artist repainted 'a loud fury' (5,4) RAOUL DUFY – anagram of ALOUDFURY

17 Smashing doyen's pic is breathtaking (9) DYSPNOEIC – anagram of DOYENSPIC
19 Wild mob rush for a diamond (7) RHOMBUS – anagram of MOBRUSH
20 Probe in space for a journeyman (7) VOYAGER - DD
22 Lash out like the southern high tide (5) SNEAP – S (southern) + NEAP (high tide)
24 Glide smoothly and land at a seashore (5) COAST- DD


Some general comments

Solvers may find words relating to a particular topic, whether the setter intended to incorporate a theme or not. Commenters are encouraged to give their thoughts.

Many definitions seem to be preceded by 'a'.

The pic for 1a SARONG that I have chosen is deliberately disembodied.

Notes

5a: I am not sure if we can derive MP from 'Minister'
11a: Taboo is a word-guessing party game, so I learn from wikipedia.
14a: Smooth surface reading, good deception in use of 'concern'.
16a: I don't know much about cricket. Fans will tell me if Desmond and Gordon are openers from WI.
20a: Good CD, as 'mainly' and 'crafty' are combined together. 'main' means 'sea' and 'craft' means 'vessel'.
23a: A good clue. Disguised definition, good anagrind.
25a: Good surface.
27a: Surface reading not convincing.
2d: Smooth surface.
3d: A varying clue-type but I don't like it much.
6d: Great surface.
8d: Setter has just about managed a clue for the phrase.
9d: Wordplay OK but I am not sure if the definition for word required is quite accurate.
15,17,19d: Three anagram clues in a row.
15d: Do google search images for this painter's colourful works.
17d: Uses a cryptic def, but what exactly is 'dyspnoeic'? "being able to breath only with difficulty"
22d: A new word, but easily gettable.

Trivia

The grid does not use the letters J, K, Q, X and Z.
Note that the letter string RO appears in the first three Across clues.
Three grid entries use the reverse of RO, i.e., OR.
Two words begin with PRO.
Two have AIN.
Two have TOR.
Three have ALL.
Two end in EON.

Finally, apologies for not including any cartoons as the Col. does  and also for not including any links.

39 comments:

  1. 16a reminded me of Freddie Widgeon and the Widgeon 7 car, both figments of Plum’s imagination.

    Had reservations about:
    22d: S NEAP, since a neap tide is a low tide and not a high tide as mentioned in the clue. A high tide is also called a spring tide.
    5a: Agreed minister, in India, has to be an MP (of course, PM is an exception). But is this ok for crossword cluing?

    Liked use of MPHS in 27a.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice presentation, CV.

    10 Boat driver (9) PROPELLER - DD

    DD?

    A theme:

    Vehicles?
    Widgeon (fictional car), Vessels, Voyager, Galleon

    Water?
    Vessels, Widgeon, Galleon, Nymphs, Nacre, Atoll, Overboard

    ReplyDelete
  3. The pic for 1a SARONG that I have chosen is deliberately disembodied.

    The hollow woman? I expected more from you, CV ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do think 10a is DD.

    propeller, a steamer with a screw-propeller

    propeller, a driving mechanism, so 'driver'

    ReplyDelete
  5. I took it as CD or E, but still uncomfortable with boat=steamer=propeller translation

    ReplyDelete
  6. Whoa! What an analysis! Really breathtaking, CV Sir... Hats off to you :)

    BTW, how did you arrive at those trivia? Used some software or just by observing?

    Also, it is understandable why the usual standby for Col did not blog this one :P

    ReplyDelete
  7. An aside:

    TH reports that Qais has sent an email apology to Jangoo Engineer's daughter. Jehangir Engineer, while flying a civil aircraft, was shot down by Qais. Jangoo (along with brothers Aspy, Minoo and Ronnie, all DFC winners) were all with the IAF and Minoo, to my knowledge, continues to be the most decorated officer of the IAF, having got a DFC and a MVC.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sudalamani, your last question begs the answer ;-)

    Theorem:

    B=B

    QED

    ReplyDelete
  9. 4D: Was searching for a SL port, the 'IS' seems redundant.

    12A: Didn't like this surface at all.

    15D: Another painter I have never heard of!

    Is ship/sea/coast the theme?

    ReplyDelete
  10. 21 Fantastic tale from a tongue slip of shop member (4,5) TALL STORY

    I did not quite understand this. Surely TALE and TALL are not homophones? May be B means a tongue slip of TALE=TALL. And why is S=shop? Is it an acceptable substitute? And is tale doing double duty?

    ReplyDelete
  11. 14A: My fave clue of the lot.

    16A: Is take okay for charades? I was trying to get something like WID*G and failed.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tall and Tale are not exactly homophones. That is why it is slip of the tongue.

    ReplyDelete
  13. That clue may not still work, Suresh. It says 'tongue slip of shop' rather than 'tongue slip of tale'. There is an 'of' which we are supposed to ignore. Too many issues with that.

    BTW, you had asked me if I was happy with the theme yesterday. Today is more like it. A lot of clues talking of the seas, coasts, pirates, Navy and what not. Besides the clues, even the fodder in 14A is relevant to the theme. Good work by the setter.

    ReplyDelete
  14. CV,

    Thanks for standing in for me.

    I agree with Kishore @ 8:39. 'Boat driver' cannot be a DD it has to be just a CD. The first meaning for Propeller given by you says 'A Steamer with a screw_propeller', that cannot mean Propeller, which is something driving the steamer which by itself is a boat.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sudalamani @ 9:09

    Bhavan could not stand in for me as he is having problems logging in here and at the Orkut group besides having a crashed laptop, that is why I asked CV to stand in for me today. So that cannot be taken as proof for Kishores theorem at 9:11

    ReplyDelete
  16. The anno for Tall story appears as a 'Tall story' to me!! unless Buzzer drops in and tells us otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Deepak : 11:11 on 11:8:11

    :-)

    What's your take on Neap in S-NEAP ? That's a short story too !

    Continuing theorem in enu mode:

    (6)=(6)

    Not conclusive proof, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Strong circumstantial evidence?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Or is it a tongue slip of MALL STOREY? or something similar which defines "shop member"?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kishore @ 11:37,

    No problems with 'Neap' which is defined as

    "A tide that occurs when the difference between high and low tide is least; the lowest level of high tide. Neap tide comes twice a month, in the first and third quarters of the moon"

    ReplyDelete
  21. But the clue talks of high tide!

    Or should southern have double duty to mean 'lowest' high tide?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Whether the High tide is at its highest or at its lowest it is still a high tide, so in that aspect calling a 'neap tide' as 'high tide' should pass muster.

    ReplyDelete
  23. For that matter

    Lash out like the southern tide (5) would also have been sufficient to get SNEAP.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Kishore doing Kirikiri today?

    ReplyDelete
  25. More like Harakiri!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hello everyone.

    Thanks to Chaturvasi sir for dissecting the puzzle.

    I'll try and answer some of the BoC

    5A In the context of THC, minister = MP was easy enough or so I thought.

    10A Propeller was intended as a CD.

    16A references are to openers who are obviously much better known as Haynes & Greenidge

    21A There is no way I'm getting out of this am I ? The tongue slip (in one of its better known forms as Spoonerism) reference of shop member or STALL TORY was meant to lead to TALL STORY. Lesson learned.

    22D When I wrote the clue I had the same reference in mind as the esteemed Colonel - NEAP for high tide

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks Buzzer. Now at least we know you are from Hyderabad ;) All of us missed the Spoonerism, bad...

    In the meantime, I have a hot news! Maybe cold for some... I accidentally stumbled upon this while rummaging through the latest social network... Anyone knows this guy?

    https://plus.google.com/118431428833597854098/about

    ReplyDelete
  28. He is my friend made via the now-defunct Yahoo groups on THC and who started an Orkut community on THC and invited me to join it. And for the past several years it has not missed a single day's crossword.
    He has come to my home. I have attended his wedding in Chennai. I have visited him in CA.
    He is involved in some chip industry, though not of the iyer mamis or the marauding MNCs in the food sector.
    He is a studious, serious-minded person. Quiz buff.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sudalamani

    Would like to know things on which you intentionally stumble upon...

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks to Sting Operator Buzzer explaining the clues.

    Putting together Buzzer, Sting Operator and Hyderabad and getting one Bee,...

    Well, that lets other B off ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks CV Sir. Nice to have a face to Neyartha. My statement had a tautology.

    ReplyDelete
  32. CV,
    Nice presentation of the solution. I liked the descriptive annotations. Appreciate your efforts.
    Being a WI cricket fan, I loved the WIDGEON clue.
    If I may, going off topic, for any of the 70s and 80s WI cricket fans, there is a new documentary that showcases the rise of the invincibles... it's called "Fire in Babylon"... here's the link if anyone is interested.

    http://fireinbabylon.com/

    Manju

    ReplyDelete
  33. Sudalamani, 1529. Capital! But Its Not Google, Oh! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Well, that lets other B off ;-)

    Are you sure. Or is Hyderabad a decoy

    ReplyDelete
  35. Let us take it on trust, Suresh. I would like to believe that none of our friends here would deliberately put us off the track by feeding us incorrect info.

    Let us delegate it to Sir Richard, who will be in Hyderabad shortly, to unravel the same.

    ReplyDelete
  36. DYSPNOEA in Medical terminology is the term used for difficulty in breathing or breathlessness. DYSPNEOEIC is the term used when a person is breathless.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Lovely analysis of the puzzle. Thanks, Buzzer

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hello Gita,
    Long time no see around these parts!

    ReplyDelete

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