Sunday 22 June 2014

Special, Sunday 22 Jun 2014, Pluralist


As usual three answers per commenter with annotations till 6 PM


ACROSS
6.    P eddle beer on foot, being abandoned (6)
8. O n the rocks from 1AD! (3)
9. E mploy captured soldier, about 50, to turn over (American farm, perhaps?) (4)
10. M etal eating metal? That's hot! (4)
11. S ignified by going after headless campers as well as... (3)
12. ...elite river? (6)
13,18 R ewrite mad recipe, Horace - do it now! (5,4)
14. O ne brings many together by confining her within? (9)
18. [See 13a]
20. B athroom fittings from the Mughal Gardens collection? (5)
21. E cstatic over the green cheese ball? (4)
23. R etaining licence, arrives to provide navigation instruments (9)
25. T he setback in iron imports may be trivial... (5)
28.     ...but deputy law officer detains family for questioning (6)
30.     F orces replacing PC persons on chair and spokes (3)
31. R ook in tender response to avian specimen (4)
32. O pen heart, chant, open eyes - you're in! (4)
33. S tems from one's resolve to get odd floors (3)
34. T ake back sample of remblai rubble for landfill? (6)

DOWN
1. Regularly timed exits cast link leading to North American state capital (8)
2. Stay, little prince, and lament (6)
3. Double creates a dilemma (4)
4. Ill-earned penny given to little creature (4)
5. Tramp's times – or ours (6)
7. Tritium beam on a platter (4)
9. Plan for British version taking on setter (7)
15. Recall part of Caddel's iambic passage (5)
16. Potato dish identified with tag (4)
17. Slips, drops or slips up (4)
19. Mother fish taking student with cartographic features (7)
22. Not a detour? We're off, then (2,3,3)
24. Footwear for a leather supplier (6)
26. Natural DNA ribbon modified to eliminate bad parts (6)
27. Rebuff Bath rolls? (4)
29. Hook-headed giant albacore feeds four (4)
30. Defaces fourth rock (4)

Across Lite version can be accessed at the following link PLURALIST 2

Enjoy.


143 comments:

  1. 29. Hook-headed giant albacore feeds four (4) G A F F (HOOK - DEFN)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 26 Dn . Natural DNA ribbon modified to eliminate bad parts (6) INBORN (dNa RIbBON)* (-bad)

    ReplyDelete
  3. 15. Recall part of Caddel's iambic passage (5) AISLE (T<-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. 13 7 18 A-
    Carpe Diem- (Mad Recipr)*
    Def.-Do it now

    ReplyDelete
  5. ACROSS
    6. Peddle beer on foot, being abandoned (6) {BERE*}{FT]
    13,18 Rewrite mad recipe, Horace - do it now! (5,4) CARPE DIEM* (poet Horace's aphorism 'seize the day')
    DOWN
    7. Tritium beam on a platter (4) {T}{RAY}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Replacing for duplication:
      23. Retaining licence, arrives to provide navigation instruments (9) COM(PASS)ES

      Delete
  6. 7D-Tray
    Def.-Platter
    Tritium-T
    Beam-Ray

    ReplyDelete
  7. 7. Tritium beam on a platter (4) T - RAY

    ReplyDelete
  8. 23A-Compasses- COM(PASS)ES
    Arrives - comes
    retaining
    License- Pass
    Def.- Navigation instruments

    ReplyDelete
  9. 26D: INBORN{ DNA RIBBON(-BAD)}*

    ReplyDelete
  10. Replacing For Duplication:
    31A: BI(R)D

    ReplyDelete
  11. 28. ...but deputy law officer detains family for questioning (6)AS(KIN)G
    ASG: Asst Solicitor General?

    16. Potato dish identified with tag (4) HASH (Tag)
    5. Tramp's times – or ours (6) MODERN [2]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 28 Perfect. In Indian context, ASG could also be Addl Solicitor General.

      Delete
    2. 5. To better understand the first definition:
      Modern Times - a movie by Charlie Chaplin, where he plays the Little Tramp character.

      Delete
    3. NR - Thanks for that explanation! I am satisfied now!

      Delete
  12. 14A One brings many together by confining her within? (9) ---- GAT(HER)ING

    30D Defaces fourth rock (4) ---- MARS (DD)

    4D Ill-earned penny given to little creature (4) ---- P ELF

    ReplyDelete
  13. 12.Ac ...elite river? (6) FLOWER (To blossom) (Not the one that flows i.e. Flower) Def ; Elite
    4Dn. Ill-earned penny given to little creature (4) PELF (P ELF)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flower could be DD
      1) elite (in the meaning of best or most outstanding thing in class);
      2) river? (flow..er), as you have correctly identified

      Delete
  14. LV - You've solved a good clue. Here is another that I loved solving:

    11. Signified by going after headless campers as well as... (3) AND

    Anno: [c]AMPERSAND = & which is a symbol = as well as

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Excellent clue for such a commonly used three letter word.

      Delete
    2. Cryptic & Double Definition
      1) Signified by going after headless campers
      2) as well as...

      Delete
  15. 10a FIRE - iridium IR in iron FE Definition - that's hot
    2d BE WEE P
    11d MA P(L)IKE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not 11d, it is 19d.
      Annotation: {mother MA} + {fish PIKE taking student L}
      Definition: with cartographic features

      Delete
    2. 19a: WP is OK but surface reading is poor.

      Delete
    3. The above should be 19d. Apologies.

      Delete
  16. For future solvers -

    Ac: 9, 20, 21, 30

    Dn: 1, 3, 9, 17, 22, 24, 27

    (E&OE)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The down list seems to be right, but the remaining across clues are:

      9, 20, 21, 25, 33

      Delete
    2. 30d is solved, but 30a is still open.

      Delete
    3. My apologies - you are right.

      Delete
  17. Compensating for 4Dn

    9Ac. Employ captured soldier, about 50, to turn over (American farm, perhaps?) (4) PLOT {P(L)O}{T} Def : Employ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am afraid PLOT is not the correct answer.
      Warning: Uses an unusual spelling of a familiar word.

      Delete
    2. NR and CV are right. PLOW is the American spelling. It's used here for a specific reason!

      Delete
    3. When a solver has entered his quota of three, I don't understand how he can give a fourth answer in the guise of correcting someone else's wrong answer. I pointed out gently and politely that the entered answer is wrong but here is a member who gives no chance to the original solver to rethink and revise.
      This does not seem to be in the best interests of this blog.

      Delete
    4. MB,
      Please go ahead and give the anno as advised by CV.

      Delete
    5. OK. Here it goes!

      Compensating for 4Dn

      9Ac. Employ captured soldier, about 50, to turn over (American farm, perhaps? PLOW {P(L)OW}

      Delete
    6. MB, Sorry if I inconvenienced you in thinking through to the right solution. It was done on the spur of the moment. CV has given the right guidance to make you think on the right lines. I am sure you would have worked out the purpose hinted by Pluralist.

      Delete
    7. 9Ac Definition : Turn over = Plough British/Plow American version.

      Delete
    8. NR @12:26 : NR, No problem at all. Everything is OK with me :) Yes, CV Sir's reminder about the wrong answer would have certainly made me re-think about it.

      Delete
    9. Is it just 'P' for prisoner. I read it as
      P- Prisoner
      fifty- L
      To return- OT<=

      Delete
    10. ...but captured soldier is generally known as POW meaning 'prisoner of war'!

      Delete
    11. That's correct.

      captured soldier - Prisoner of War (POW)
      about - Containment Indicator
      fifty - L
      Defn: employ .... to turn over (American farm, perhaps) P(L)OW

      Delete
  18. Thanks to Col for putting this up! And thank you to all solvers and commenters...

    ...and especially to CV for both the bouquet and the brickbat - the latter is well deserved!

    (Although some solutions are yet to come in,) this might be a good point to ask if anyone has spotted the theme! Please don't specify it till all the solutions have come in, but do look for it if you haven't already spotted it. I'll put up the details once the answers come in.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think I have got an idea of what the so-called theme is.
    I had a suspicion - which is now confirmed with an answer by Gita who has tackled some of the difficult ones here.
    However, I am not disclosing it.
    I am merely
    WOWING
    O
    R
    D
    S

    ReplyDelete
  20. 8a is good but I would expect a space between 1 and AD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BTW, do we say 1 AD or AD 1 ?

      Delete
    2. The space is there in the Across Lite version

      Delete
    3. 8A- Is the answer given above as 'ICE' correct or not? I am now confused with AD.

      Delete
    4. The convention is AD space number (e.g., AD 1) while for BC, it is number space BC (e.g. 60 BC).

      I could work out the theme which was confirmed from the clue sheet.

      Abhay, don't put up the details yourself. Let members first try to guess the theme.

      Delete
    5. Just now saw the acrostic from the Ac.clues!

      Delete
    6. Paddy, CE is an alternative form of usage for AD. It stands for Christian/Common/Current Era.
      So, (1)(CE) is right.

      Delete
  21. 33. Stems from one's resolve to get odd floors (3) F O R
    (Acrostic is FOR and odd f (l) o (o) r is also FOR) ?
    Compensating for TRAY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Single definition ("to get", in the sense of "try TO GET the prize" = "try FOR the prize"), but two sets of wordplay.

      Delete
  22. Just came back after attending half the General Boday Meeting of our Apartment association. Left halfway through as it has transformed into a shouting match!!! A pity considering that our association was a model one till just about two years ago. Pity.
    Just goes to show how one rotten egg can spoil the whole basket of eggs!

    ReplyDelete
  23. 3D - MIND [CD]
    20A - ROSES [DD]
    25A - {MINOR} <=

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 3D needs rethinking! :)

      Delete
    2. 25Ac : MINOR : Superb Reverse 'T' clue! Wonder how, many of us could not notice it?!

      Delete
    3. Yes, it IS. Bind is a difficult situation or dilemma.

      Delete
    4. Bingo! One can be of two "minds", but a dilemma is a "double" BIND!

      Delete
    5. BIND it is. However 'double mind' is indecisiveness which is also a dilemma so the answer is not way off

      Delete
    6. When I was setting it, I *did* wonder if the clue could suggest MIND (since the first letter is unchecked), but decided after checking a few references that "double bind" was a common enough synonym for dilemma, while the phrase using the word "mind" is normally "in two minds". I should have taken more care to avoid confusion.

      Delete
  24. Leftovers

    Across - 30

    Down - 1, 17, 24, 27

    ReplyDelete
  25. Now that we are close to the end I take the liberty of taking a pot shot at the theme-
    Poems-ROBERT FROST
    as seen from the first letters of all Ac. clues.
    Titles and words from the poems of Robert Frost.
    Good one from Abhay aka 'Pluralist'.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Good one from Pluralist. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  27. When I was a student, Frost's poems were not 'prescribed'. You know the heavy bias to British literature our educationists had in those decades! Yet I bought complete collection of Frost's poems for my reading pleasure. That book I have just taken out of my library. Some of my favourite poems: Mending Wall; Birches; Out, out -; Mowing; The Tuft of Flowers; Apple-picking...
    Another Complete Collection that I bought was Emily Dickinson's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here - both with Frost and Dickinson! The only Frost poem we learnt at school was the cliched "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening". I discovered the gorgeous "Moon Compasses" when my wife (then my girlfriend) sent me a collection of Frost with this poem marked out. This led to a journey of discovery. Frost can often be annoyingly moralistic and/or self-conscious, but at his best (e.g., "Moon Compasses", "Minor Bird", "Tree At My Window", "Acquainted With The Night") he is, quite simply, among the best!

      Delete
  28. Here is the link to Frost-
    http://www.poemhunter.com/robert-frost/

    ReplyDelete
  29. Very entertaining & quite a challenging puzzle!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Great solving, Paddy.

    Pluralist,

    Thanks for an absorbing cryptic. It is difficult to imagine it is only your second attempt at setting. It has the touch of an experienced setter. Very crisp clues.

    It will be good to keep imagery in mind (19D), what the clue conjures up, as advised by our Crossword Clue Explicator.

    ReplyDelete
  31. 1. Regularly timed exits cast link leading to North American state capital (8)
    MEXICALI
    tiMEdeXItsCAstLI (regularly after every two letters)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Incidentally MEXICALI is North Mexican state capital and not North American state capital

      Delete
    2. "North America" is not equivalent to the USA alone. It is a continent that contains several countries including Mexico which in turn contains the state of Baja California, of which Mexicali is the capital. Misleading, I agree, and deliberately so, but quite accurate!

      Delete
    3. MEXICALI - Got the answer with the help of Net but was unable to parse it. Now with Renga's explanation, it looks so simple !

      Delete
    4. The definition of regularly does not cover the way the letters have been selected.

      Delete
    5. Why not? It is two letters regularly after every two letters. It is okay.

      Delete
    6. I fully agree with you Abhay, your clue is perfect and your intention to deliberately mislead the solvers has succeeded well!

      Delete
    7. In sated of alt. letters, it is a set of 2 letters with a 2 letter break. It is even right through. Though we have not come across this so far, I feel it is fair since he uses the term 'regularly'.

      Delete
    8. "Mexicali" and its adjacent sister city in Imperial county of California, “Calexico”, are portmanteaus of California and Mexico.

      Delete
  32. That was great, Renga. I tried my best at all single letter alternatives. Nice wordplay by Abhay.
    Thank you NR for your complements. I was led along the right path more than half way across.

    ReplyDelete
  33. 24. Footwear for a leather supplier (6)
    OX SHOE (CD)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very nice clues, Abhay. Quite tricky too.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Could never have cottoned on to the theme, being far removed from poetry, literature etc.

    Is something missing from the clue 3d?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 3d has been discussed above starting with DG's comment at 12:55pm.

      Delete
    2. I often have problems with themed crosswords when the topic is out of my range of interests/knowledge, so I framed the clues for the themed entries to ensure that no knowledge of the poet or his poems was required to solve them. I hope it worked!

      Delete
    3. Yes, it did, Abhay. Got 27Dn alright but struggling with 30Ac and 17Dn, as of now!

      Delete
    4. 3d: I meant should there have ... after Double?

      Delete
  36. I think that leaves 30a, 17d, and 27d.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Where are our late Lateef's Suresh and Raju? Kishore is also missing today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...so is (not late Lateefs) Richard and regular Sunday visitor C A Prasad.

      Delete
  38. 17. Slips, drops or slips up (4)
    ERRS ----> ERRORS dropping OR
    For a long time I was carried away by another slip which was not supportive for a change!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yet one more tricky clue where most of us were forced to err!!!

      Delete
  39. Do we still wait Col. or any of us can go ahead?

    ReplyDelete
  40. 33a. The def 'to get' is in the middle so not sure whether that's OK. I know that it leaves the sentence incomplete, without odd floors

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hunted around for guidance on this while setting a clue, and found a few references that said it was okay in the odd instance. The clearest statement comes Shuchi at http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2011/08/unusual-positions-for-clue-definition.html where says:

      "A clue with the definition in the middle can be tricky to solve (more so since we aren't used to it), but it is considered fair as long as the wording tells the solver unambiguously how to decipher it."

      In my opinion, that last condition is met in the clue in question - but the final word, of course, has to come from the people solving it!

      Delete
    2. It's not convention, so I had a doubt. What about my 2.29 comment?

      Delete
    3. Sorry for all the typos in the earlier post!

      "...while setting *the* clue..."

      "The clearest statement comes *from* Shuchi at http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2011/08/unusual-positions-for-clue-definition.html where *she* says..."

      Delete
    4. Oh, I had a doubt too, hence the reference checks!

      Sorry to have missed your question at 2:29pm. I think putting the "..." after "double" would have made it a fairly simple fill-in-the-blank question! Going by the responses starting with DG's post on it, it seems to work as a CD as it stands.

      Delete
    5. What Col might have meant is 'to be double-minded' which is, of course, to be in two minds on a subject. In the US, they say, 'to be of two minds'.
      To be in two minds is to be unable to decide about something.

      A double bind , on the other hand, is an emotionally distressing dilemma in communication in which an individual (or group) receives two or more conflicting messages, and one message negates the other.

      Delete
  41. 27 DOWN:Rebuff bathrolls: SNUB- REVERSE OF BUNS

    30 ACROSS:men CHAIRPERSONS AND SPOKESPERSONS-- Persons -men

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abhay,
      Did you mean "Men are from Mars..."?

      Delete
    2. Nothing so elaborate, I'm afraid: with (armed) "Forces" as the definition, the wordplay, as Raju has shown, involves replacing "persons" in the "Politically Correct" words with the non-PC 'MEN'!

      Delete
  42. At last Raju wakes up!
    Now, is it 'Buns' or is it 'Snub'? Pl.Check again with crossings.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I think Raju's contributions complete the puzzle. Requesting Col to upload the solution with the themed clues marked out clearly.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I found this crossie extremely excruciatingly painful to my cells. As a late Latif , I start working on them post-lunch when the mind is at its worst soporific mode. I give up if I get burnt too much and go at ait post dinner after 2300 hrs when again, one is ready for the Land of Nod.

    Deepak roused me up literally to respnd.

    ReplyDelete
  45. To all those who have posted above: many thanks for participating, and for all the feedback and suggestions - all very useful indeed!

    As many of you have worked out, the theme is poems of Robert Frost: *all* the Across entries are titles of his poems. I started out trying to fit in only my favourite ones, but fitting them into a symmetrical grid started becoming a problem, so I dropped a couple of favourites and brought in the titles of some (IMO) very-good-but-not-great pieces.

    For neatness, I separated the words formed by the openings of the Across clues by starting the intervening clues with an ellipsis ((Poems...Robert...Frost), but the design got a bit of a knock with the clue of 18a being clubbed with an earlier clue - a parenthesis suddenly came up in the middle of Robert - RO[BERT! I tried to find a way around it but finally decided to let it go.

    I thoroughly enjoyed setting the crossword, and am glad to find that many of you have enjoyed solving it. A few clues could have done with tightening or rewording - will work more on that next time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will work more on that next time? I'm still untangling my coiled nerves =Puh=lease spare me ! I'm sure none of us will have Alzheimer's with setters like ABHAY.

      Delete
  46. SNub it is-- as BURIAL fits in for 34 across.as an embedded reverse in REMBLAI RUBBLE.

    Abhay: Thanks for an excellent metal work out. You know how to wake up sleeping dogs !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am a firm believer in letting sleeping dogs lie!

      Delete
  47. My only niggle: Please keep the 3,4,and 5 letter words from running riot ! CLue of my day" HASH--it made my brains into a potato podimash !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about that - trying to keep the poem titles intact necessitated using works like THE and AND, as well as the 4-letter American spelling of PLOW!

      Delete
  48. Solution grid added and clue Acrostic highlighted

    ReplyDelete
  49. Thank you for putting up the solution grid, Col!

    As the colour-coded grid shows (one colour per title), the 19 'across' entries come from the titles of 9 poems:

    - BEREFT
    - FIRE AND ICE
    - PLOWMEN (split into two words to fit it into the grid)
    - CARPE DIEM
    - FLOWER GATHERING
    - MOON COMPASSES
    - MINOR BIRD
    - ASKING FOR ROSES
    - HOME BURIAL

    ReplyDelete
  50. Good job Abhay. it's not easy to ensure that all the Across lights form part of the theme while maintaining symmetry and all the other requirements for a grid

    ReplyDelete
  51. +1.
    Some sort record for no. of posts?

    ReplyDelete
  52. DOUBLE MIND DOUBLE BIND put me in a Duvhdha-- I put it in first as BIND , tying it up with Double creates a dilemma . So decided to get out of the BIND and put in MIND !

    ReplyDelete
  53. A big thank you once again for all the comments!

    I am heading out for the evening and may not be able to respond to any posts till late at night, so please don't take it amiss if a question/comment goes unacknowledged.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Keep up the good work. Enjoyed solving it and the comments added THE spl. flavour. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Nice work, Abhay. Looking forward many more brain teasing puzzles from you. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Good one, Abhay. I did this puzzle yesterday by taking a sneak peek, in the blogger, at the post that was scheduled for today 1030. Mexicali was referred by me in my 1st May cartoon, so I was familiar with the Calexico/Mexicali combos.

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-chovhPsblnY/U2GyAQKQ_JI/AAAAAAAABXg/lqtGrjeJKh8/s1600/Cartoon+Open+Border.jpg

    http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/2014/05/no-11073-thursday-01-may-2014-gridman.html


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to admit I missed the acrostic and the theme altogether ;-)

      Delete
    2. One reason I could not comment earlier was that I was stopping by the woodside on a Sunday morning ...

      Delete
    3. Yes, but not 'Frost'y ... it was not a winter morning you see ;-)

      Delete
  57. Awesome work! Haven't solved the puzzle yet but looks like a lot of hard work has gone into creating the grid. Not easy at all

    ReplyDelete

deepakgita@gmail.com