Sunday 20 July 2014

Special, Sunday 20 Jul 2014, Gigabyte


Welcome to our new setter Gigabyte. Bouquets and brickbats welcome with your solutions.
Three answers per commenter upto 6 PM. Annotations compulsory as usual.


ACROSS
1.  Modern extremely showy mélange is an affliction (8)
5.  Strip a bone good in France (6)
8.  A part of a building included within a shadow that provides shade (8)
9.  Teach first child substance (6)
10. First time stake. Is that me? (9)
11. Warm favourite returns with identification (5)
14. Group leader and efficient actor (5)
16. Withered rose is like Cupid (4)
18. Project to secret service (4)
20. Outer fit love etc (4)
21. Half of me? (4)
22. Open melted trove (5)
23. Gossip but without bitterness in a tongue (5)
26. Gallant Indian monkey king in happiness (9)
29. Seat on elephant, deer for rabbit in a place in Bengal (6)
30. Remove under territory (8)
31. Woe returns about CSR activity for a type of account (6)
32. Contrived incentive with debts (8)

DOWN
1.  Glue drug with sky to create through trickery (11)
2.  Rich man is no Robert (5)
3.  Unit converted not green (8)
4.  Indian gardener without injury in General Electric– first refined unknown art of faking illness (9)
5.  Vote replaced victory with rejection as routine (4)
6.  Sew temporarily messy lockless stable (5)
7.  Openings, beginnings of a leaf (5)
12. Foremost properly polish an instrument (5)
13. Concentrated? – makes it less so (11)
15. Colouring process – strike oddly sick (5)
17. Excessively furnish on top of electronic joke (9)
19. Company factory without yield producing non-protein substance (8)
24. Vowels without me and you in two directions for long periods of time (5)
25. Subject to plundering within (5)
27. Potato state where Ida exclaimed ahoy! without limits (5)
28. Switzerland in pain for food? (4)

To access the Across Lite version follow the link 2GIGABYTE.

Enjoy.

109 comments:

  1. 4d Indian gardener without injury in General Electric - first refined unknown art of faking illness (9) MAL[i] IN GE R

    29a Seat on elephant, deer for rabbit in a place in Bengal (6) HOW(+)D(-R)AH

    22a Open melted trove (5) OVERT*

    ReplyDelete
  2. 24 D: AEONS (A E O (WOVELS WITHOUT I AND U) N S)

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1D: SKULDUGGERY(GLUE DRUG SKY)
    8A:UMBR(ELL)A
    2D:NOBOB( NO)( BOB)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Read Anno of 1D as (GLUE DRUG SKY)*

    ReplyDelete
  5. 10A : First time stake. Is that me? (9) DEBUTANTE (DEBUT+ANTE)

    Welcome, Gigabyte!

    ReplyDelete
  6. 9A TISSUE {T (each) issue (child) } def substance
    5D ROTE { (-v ) (+r ) ote} def : routine
    27 D IDAHO { Ida + (a) ho (y) } def : potato state

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1. Modern extremely showy mélange is an affliction (8) SY (NDROME)*
    Extremely showy = S Y with MODERN

    ReplyDelete
  8. CV@ 10:34 : Something seems amiss in 4D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your tip.
      4d Indian gardener without injury in General Electric - first refined unknown art of faking illness (9)
      Revising the answer to MAL[i] IN GE R Y
      Sorry for having been careless at first. Not using the grid.

      Delete
  9. 3. Unit converted not green (8) ROENTGEN* --- a unit of radiation exposure

    ReplyDelete
  10. 25 D. Subject to plundering within (5) UNDER (T)

    ReplyDelete
  11. 13D: DESATURATES (cd)
    30A: SUB(under)+TRACT(territory)
    32A: SPUR(incentive)+IOUS(debts)

    Nice puzzle, great debut. Some comments reserved for later when all solutions are out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks - look forward to your comments!

      Delete
    2. Congrats Gita. Liked many a clue and the wordplay variations. Just a couple of points if I may -- do look at surface reading even after finishing the clues, sometimes it helps in making the story more plausible. 13D was a longish word, and since it was a CD (in fact probably just an E), some wordplay may have helped. As it is, I had to wait for all the crossings to be in place before I could enter it with confidence. And 19D seems to have almost all the letters in the same order in the clue itself. It kind of made it easier, but then was left wondering whether it could really be so!
      Nice work, look forward to more

      Delete
  12. 14A Group leader and efficient actor (5) {G}{ABLE} Clark Gable - actor

    ReplyDelete
  13. 5A : Strip a bone good in France (6) RIBBON {RIB+BON} Def : Strip. Rib = A bone, Bon = Good in France

    ReplyDelete
  14. 17A : Excessively furnish on top of electronic joke (9) OVEREQUIP (OVER+E+QUIP) Def : Excessively furnish.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 18. Project to secret service (4) TO SS

    ReplyDelete
  16. 26. Gallant Indian monkey king in happiness (9) CHE (VALI) ER

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  17. 21 A : AYE

    IYER (THIS ANSWER NEEDS NO ANNO !!)

    GITA IYER says so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! I thought GB was Gita Iyer and Half of her is Iyer.

      Delete
    2. We have quite a few Gitas in this forum in the form of members and spouses...

      Delete
  18. Superb Debut, GB!
    A doubt on 15D; will wait for the solution to clarify.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 19. Company factory without yield producing non-protein substance (8) CO FACTOR (-Y)

    ReplyDelete
  20. A fine debut, GB! Gita ki kasam...

    ReplyDelete
  21. 23a: YAKUT = "a tongue" (a language spoken in Siberia)
    {YAK}{bUT} from 'gossip' and 'but without bitterness'

    ReplyDelete
  22. 21a: BYTE
    Although CGB got the word wrong, his comment about this not need annotation is right - it is literally half of the setter's pseudonym.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Both the "ME" clues, 10A & 21A, were very good!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Pre-empting any doubts from MB

    The me in 10 & 21A clue is not Me !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not a catcall, this. We have been hearing a lot of me-ows these days...

      Delete
  25. 15d: BATIK = colouring process
    {BAT}{IK} from 'strike' and (doing double duty) 'strike oddly'= [strike odd letters from] sick'

    ReplyDelete
  26. 23A - YAKUT - YAK (Gossip) +(-B)UT ( But - B) - Def - Tongue
    15D BATIK - BAT (Strike) + (-S) I (-C) K - Def - Coloring process, (Wouldn't oddly be S C though?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sowmya you have duplicated the answers. Pl try the leftovers, if any.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, not much left now:( but will try

      Delete
  27. Welcome to the amateur setters' club, Gigabyte. Enjoyed your debut crossword. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you all for being so encouraging. Was a trifle nervous when the clock hands approached 10:30 this morning

    ReplyDelete
  29. 28D CHOW - CH (Switzerland) + OW - (Pain) -Food (Def)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Leftovers

    Across - 20

    Down - 6, 7, 12

    ReplyDelete
  31. Abhay's anno has cleared the doubt of 15D which makes the clue even better; you do expect red herring in clues!

    ReplyDelete
  32. 6D- Baste- (Stable)*- L
    Def- Sew temporarily

    ReplyDelete
  33. 6D - BASTE - (Stable-l)* - Sew - Def

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Three of you posting the same answer almost together! Telepathy? ;-)

      Delete
  34. Just like we used to hear of Cong (O), Cong (R), Cong (R) or JD(S), JD(U), we have many Gitas here, as I said earlier - Gita D, Gita K, Gita R, Gita I and so on.

    I suggest that GB add an initial to her moniker in this blog for immediate identification.

    It is just a suggestion. No offence please. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will do but don't know how to add an SB after Gita That will be Gita Sarma Balakrishnan

      Delete
    2. I think you can edit it in your blogger profile. Some expert may please come in and guide.

      Delete
  35. I guess only two are left to be solved:

    20A Outer fit love etc (4)
    7D Openings, beginnings of a leaf (5)

    ReplyDelete
  36. 6D Sew temporarily messy lockless stable (5) --- BASTE [anagram of STABLE - L ; def = sew temporarily]
    7D Openings, beginnings of a leaf (5) --- OCULI (DD)
    12D Foremost properly polish an instrument (5) --- PHONE [P(roperly) HONE ; def = an instrument]

    ReplyDelete
  37. 20A ECTO Anag of Etc and O for love
    7D OCULI Anno anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Welcome Gita. More Gigabytes please. Enjoyed your (belated?) debut.

    ReplyDelete
  39. "oculi" is a plural form of "oculus": the organ of sight. ... [botany] the leaf bud or beginnings of a leaf in a plant | [architecture] a circular aperture

    ReplyDelete
  40. GitaSB aka GB:

    Try this way.

    Click your name that appears here. On top right, click EDIT PROFILE.

    Under EDIT USER PROFILE, after Privacy, you have Identity. Add the initials to the Display name.

    Don't miss to go to the bottom of the page and click Save profile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And happy to see that you are a part of the ITC family, where I worked for10 years

      Delete
    2. We have been with ITC for 27 years now!

      Delete
    3. I left ITC in 1988. Last with Travel House (Financial Controller) Delhi

      Delete
  41. 29a Seat on elephant, deer for rabbit in a place in Bengal (6) HOW(+)D(-R)AH

    I think here 'deer' is used for D and 'rabbit' for R.

    Perhaps in this crossword there are other instances too where a single letter component is indicated by a word that begins with that letter.

    I am not sure if this is an accepted practice in clueing.

    I invite others to chip in with their opinion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would love to hear from experts on this. I hesitated on these but found this practice in quite a few Hindu Crosswords and hence thought it to be standard practice.

      Delete
    2. It can be used only if it is a standard abbreviation in use in some field.

      Delete
    3. I too was initially thrown off by this, then saw the pattern regularly appearing. Don't think it is a standard practice, and am quite sure it doesn't appear in The Hindu. There would be some cases where it appears so (eg o = old, s = small), but these are accepted abbreviations that would be found in a dictionary

      Delete
    4. Will remember for future -
      Authorises support of boxer to second English school (9) LEGALISES {LEG}{ALI}{S}{E}{S} This appeared on 17th July. Could not find second and school being abbreviated as S in dictionary Maybe there is some other explanation that I am missing. There were others like this too.

      Delete
    5. Don't know about 'school', but 'second' (the unit of time) for S is standard. For starters, this link might be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword_abbreviations

      Delete
    6. S for school is there in abbreviations.com. Like we write St. Joseph's H.S., I guess

      Delete
    7. Nice debut Gita.

      A purist will frown on the 'Legalises' clue. Apart from the abbrv issue, there are connectors like 'of' and 'to'. These have no role in the wordplay. It's difficult but attempt should be made to avoid these.

      Delete
    8. 'of' is iffy, but I don't see the problem with 'to' as a connector [X to Y --> XY]

      Delete
  42. Bit all the Bytes of GIGABYTE-- thanks . Too late to post as all have been solved .

    Welcome to the breed of setters, Gita. Good construction of clues especially, BYTE and OCULI. and above all CHEVALIER-- I had inserted BALI( Vengali style?) and then I realised, MAURICE CHEVALER and bowed to him gallantly.

    Isn't it NABOB? is there a variation-- NOBOB?

    I wonder, why all compilers still quote names of old Hollywood stars-- More familiar with them?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Bit all the Bytes of GIGABYTE-- thanks . Too late to post as all have been solved .

    Welcome to the breed of setters, Gita. Good construction of clues especially, BYTE and OCULI. and above all CHEVALIER-- I had inserted BALI( Vengali style?) and then I realised, MAURICE CHE-VALI -ER and bowed to him gallantly.

    UMBRELLA is a tool of the day in this monsoon season !! very well devised !

    Isn't it NABOB? is there a variation-- NOBOB?

    ReplyDelete
  44. But 'No robert' in the clue leads to NABOB. I also hesitated. Do we take 'Na' for no? (like Ya for Yes)

    ReplyDelete
  45. I am sorry for the typo.
    I wanted to say ",,,leads to Nobob'

    ReplyDelete
  46. The clue as written directly led to NOBOB; perhaps a hindi indicator would have been more apt like The rich man is no delhi robert?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Na is and enclitic form on No.

      S for school is not there in Chambers.

      Well done Gita, a good debut.

      Delete
    2. ... and a 105 comments to boot

      Delete
  47. A century & n.o.- more to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, I did not notice yr comment when I filled the earlier one at 3.21.

      Delete
  48. Has been a good tutorial for me. Thank you all. Special thanks to Col Gopinath for egging me on

    ReplyDelete

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