I personally found Arden tough going today. The bar is really going up. I had to peep in to Orkut to get some answers.
ACROSS
1 Salt remains under grass (6) POTASH {POT}{ASH}
4 Soldier under fire for a dance (8) FLAMENCO {FLAME}{NCO}
9 Visa arranged — includes doctor and writer (6) ASIMOV {ASI{MO}V*}
10 Can let some grass bales chopped up (8) LEASABLE {LEA}{BALES*}
12 Complaints from women who follow the learned one (8) MALADIES {MA}{LADIES}
13 Leaves left inside keep us warm (6) QUILTS {QUI{L}TS}
15 Pompous fellow ate like a pig right in this building (7,5) STUFFED SHIRT {STUFFED} {{SHI{R}T*}
18 Even depart before time — it is good for health (8,4) BALANCED DIET {BALANCED} {DIE}{T}
22 Lead or representation? It is beside the point (8) GRAPHITE {GRAPH}{IT}{E}
24 Record initially, leave an instant message to deny (8) DISCLAIM {DISC}{L}{A}{I}{M}
25 A king crazy to lead a fleet (6) ARMADA {A}{R}{MAD}{A}
26 Under river current you see fish bodies, it’s said (8) CAMISOLE {CAM}{I}{SOLE} (~bodice)
27 It’s evergreen and will melt away round the year (6) MYRTLE {M{YR}TLE*}
DOWN
1 Diviner takes a second to become a composer (8) PSALMIST {P{S}ALMIST}
2 Adversity before a single road test (5,3) TRIAL RUN {TRIAL} {RUN}
3 Code from sod’s law could be an ever present danger (5,2,8) SWORD OF DAMOCLES*
5 The boy’s up, right? (4) LIEN <=
6 Do pretend…. it may be SAD (10,5) MASQUERADE PARTY {MASQUERADE} {PARTY}
7 Unable to form a cloud (6) NEBULA*
8 Does a small turn around port (6) ODESSA {DOES+A+S}*
11 Can’t make out anything from expired card, perhaps (7) DEADPAN {DEAD}{PAN}
14 Choice between fashion and ponytail — it often goes with coffee
(7) CHICORY {CHIC}{OR}{Y}
16 Fellow protecting one who is drunk, cross and belligerent
(8) MILITANT {M{1}{LIT}AN}{T}
17 Cattle class pertains to cattle, period (8) STEERAGE {STEER}{AGE}
19 Scandinavian way to toss coin all around (6) NORDIC {NO{RD}IC*}
20 Stupid problem with some oriental fare (3,3) DIM SUM {DIM} {SUM}
23 Place to keep money up to a period of time (4) TILL [DD]
Fully agree with the Col's opening comment.
ReplyDeleteCuriously, 1A {POT}{ASH} is the example given for charades in the annotations list on the left side of the blog. It came so handy! ;-)
Normally, when it is Arden, I manage to get a few at first look. But today, I could get only 7D -- NEBULA. Not a Cloud Nine day. :-(
Further to my 8:52. Yet, today the word-play and clue formations take the cake.
DeleteCould you finally eat the cake though?
DeleteLunch-time is inching in. Didn't want to ruin the appetite... ;-)
Delete17D - Remembered Shashi Tharoor's comment on the economy class in air travel...
ReplyDeleteIt got the poor guy busted for mouthing the truth
DeleteI had to peep into Orkut to get some answers.
ReplyDeleteDeepak, you had the gumption to TOMtom it with honesty....;-)
Woke up late and was running out of time so I had to do that :-)
DeleteRichard, that is not gumptio. It's savoir faire
DeleteMerci beaucoup, monsieur...
DeleteDon't want to Harry you guys after Dick mentioned Tom in his 922, but looks like he was referring to DG's peep with his Tom reference
DeleteWith weed becoming legal in some US states, DEA will not burn them in future. So no pot-ash will be available.
ReplyDelete(from the last Sun puz)
ReplyDeleteWas the word 'extracting' in an ac. clue doing double duty?
Read the Comments under the blog here:
http://www.fifteensquared.net/2014/01/05/everyman-no-3508-29th-december/
CV Sir, I've gone through that blog reg 'extracting' on double duty.
DeleteMy doubt : Pound = Lb (as given in Dic) In that clue it's shown as Pounds = L. Is it correct please ?
Unlike the weight 'pound' inciated by 'lb', the currency pound's symbol is £. So, pound is used to clue in 'L'. Normally, pounds would be LL. But, here it has been taken as L.
DeleteThanks, NR Sir.
DeleteDelightful stuff from Arden, very clever
ReplyDelete26A Under river current you see fish bodies, it’s said (8) CAMISOLE {CAM}{I}{SOLE} (~bodice)
ReplyDeleteWhat is teh purpose of 'UNDER' and "YOU SEE' in this clue?
Under is to indicate that you see fish (SOLE) below river (CAM) current (I)
Delete'Below' would have fitted in a 'down' clue. This is an 'across' clue. So, 'after' would have suited better.
DeleteArden was too tough for me - just got a few. Certainly not a cloud nine day!
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoy the banter on this blog - thank you all!
Very tough CW, but clever and satisfying, though didn't get too many. 23d is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteDifficult one today, maybe so due to the wordplay. Arden does not usually distinguish reversals for A & D clues.
ReplyDeleteToday reversal clues for down clues:
Delete4 & 26
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ReplyDelete11 Can’t make out anything from expired card, perhaps (7) DEADPAN {DEAD}{PAN}
ReplyDeleteWhat is the link btn CARD and PAN please ? I am a DEADPAN !
Look at your PAN Card!
DeleteMB, there are worse things that one can be other than Deadpan, like bedpan!
DeleteThanks, Kishore. So one can choose anyone of these cards, like Credit card, Debit card, Pan card etc, depending on the clue ! No bedpan for the present :)
DeleteArden has used 'perhaps' to indicate that we need to think a bit out of the ordinary. A bedpan may be a good present ...
DeleteIf it can help to get rid of the past
DeletePerhaps !
DeleteI was getting around 50-80% the last couple of weeks but not today. Really tough one from Arden!
ReplyDeleteHappy that I am not the only one who found this one unusually hard: Ard(en)uous.
ReplyDelete