Saturday 14 February 2015

No 11318, Saturday 14 Feb 2015, Buzzer


Buzzer had me on my toes today with this enjoyable one. 

ACROSS
1   Aim of reviewing clues regularly (5) FOCUS {FO<=}{ClUeS}
4   Fabulous being in romance, it rocks (9) MANTICORE*
9   Apparatus providing oxygen in region around high hill (7) AERATOR {AERA<=}{TOR}
10 Work on a bill? (4,3) NOSE JOB [CD]
11 Story is mostly far off reality (5,4) FAIRY TALE {FAr}{IRY TALE*}
12 Auditor's tax fixes (5) TACKS (~tax)
13 Network broadcast in Australia is erratic (6) LIAISE [T]
15 It is Christmas. Pessimism for instance has no place (8) NATIVITY NegATIVITY
18 Imagine going round pub for a beer (8) GUINNESS {GU{INN}ESS}
19 Dormant snake seen outside shelter (6) ASLEEP {AS{LEE}P}
22 Bird, say rook, oddly lacking in nest (5) EGRET {EG}{R}{nEsT}
24 Cafes all over the place declare it helps keep reputation intact (4,5) FACE SAVER {FACE S*}{AVER}
26 Circular to abolish a rule (7) ANNULAR {ANNUL}{A}{R}
27 Futile to cut costs (3,4) USE LESS {USELESS}
28 Repugnant and revolting earthborn (9) ABHORRENT*
29 Path or line for new public transport (5) TRAIL TRAI(-n+l)L

DOWN
1   Frightened fellow crying head off (7) FEARFUL {F}{tEARFUL}
2   Bones in fish avoided essentially (5) CARPI {CARP}{avoIded}
3   To see or not see, yes questionable (3,4,2) SET EYES ON*
4   Mobile milk shop returns in millions (6) MYRIAD {M}{YRIAD}<=
5   He is one navy male not at sea (8) NONMETAL {N}{MALE+NOT}*
6   It includes different directions as a map feature (5) INSET {I{N}{S}{E}T}
7   Being fair is my thing? (9) OBJECTIVE [DD] (Addendum - {OBJECT}{I'VE} - See comments)
8   Going around Middle East on a somewhat deep mission (7) EMBASSY {EM<=}{BASSY}
14 Nowadays I agree with Sikh's ultimate sacred text (3,6) ADI GRANTH {AD}{I} {GRANT}{sikH}
16 Playing tennis? It's demanding (9) INSISTENT*
17 Pressurize is American English for this in French (3,5) USE FORCE {US}{E} {FOR}{CE} My COD
18 Half of Greece, nothing but an island (7) GRENADA {GREece}{NADA}
20 On average, a very large umbrella (7) PARASOL {PAR}{A}{SOL} (Correction - {PAR}{A}{SO}{L} - See comments)
21 Conduct of a queen, one sitting in court (6) ACQUIT {A}{C{QU}{1}T}
23 Floor covers left for a construction worker (5) TILER {TI{L}ER}
25 Instrument held up during aeroplane evacuation (5) VEENA [T<=]

GRID

24 comments:

  1. Lovely set of clues again today - thank you Buzzer!
    Really liked 11A, 5D, 16A. 10A made me laugh :) My COD would be 15A.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The crossword game can be refreshing even after repeated cropping up of solution words. Nice to see REGRET being clued by Buzzer in a non-hackneyed manner.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tough one today.

    Re CV's comment. For ASLEEP I had written nearly a similar clue: Dormant snake taking shelter, but changed it to an anagram

    ReplyDelete
  4. 20 On average, a very large umbrella (7) PARASOL {PAR}{A}{SOL}

    I think this is: PAR A SO L

    ReplyDelete
  5. My COD is 22A for the reason cited by CV Sir @ 8:37. I got it but couldn't parse. It being one of many clues with beautiful surface readings. Failed to solve 15A and 5D. Satisfied to repeat yesterday's performance today as well ! Thanks, Buzzer. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. A great collection of delightful clues in a single puzzle

    ReplyDelete
  7. 7d: don't think it is DD, believe it should be CD. I parsed it as 'Object I have' ie my thing

    ReplyDelete
  8. OT

    Leased tiny van, rickety on occasion (10,3)

    Check out this week's special Here

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a delight :) was stuck in the NE Corner for a long time. Thought of manticore, but wasn't convinced of the definition. so lingered around a bit more. Too many good clues for a single puzzle :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy Valentines day

    Wife to santa....
    You will give me a ring on valentine's day na...?
    Santa.. 1 or 2?
    Wife . your wish..
    Santa- in mobile or landline?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :-) What a ring! Will it be a missed call too?!

      Delete
  11. A delight ful classic had me on my toes, as in the preamble. Still I could not get a few, esp. in NE & SW corners. No regrets since they were way above me and glad to learn a few new things like 'Nativity' for birth of Christ,Manticore etc.
    Buzzer made me realise that TT's also should know a few things about beer & other ales!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely puzzle again Buzzzer! Thank you..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Are these brilliant clues written first and the words/phrases put in the grid? Or are they written only after the lights are placed in the grid?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A bit of both, I suspect, but it is for Buzzer to answer.

      Delete
    2. Had a chance to pick Buzzer's brain when we met. He doesn't do it anymore I am told. Coz he can hardly fit a few of what he has written already in a grid. But how does it matter ! Invariably only good clues gets churned out.

      Delete
  14. Absolutely brilliant - hats off to Buzzer! Made my day. Thanks a ton to him, and to DG.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Brilliant indeed! Buzzer's in a different league, seems to be in the zone here, to coin a sports metaphor or two...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Buzzer's had a fantastic run with some delightful clues. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good Job, Buzzer !! NOSE JOB : You know your job !! did you have Shilpa Shetty and Sridevi in mind? Fantastic and very pithy !! Clue of my day !!

    Happy Valentines day to one and all all ye-bloggers !! It is still saturday here in NY !!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Again, HE as a NONMETAL is a brilliant red herring !! The LED blinked a bit but then it shone HEE HEE !!

    ReplyDelete

deepakgita@gmail.com