Tuesday 3 March 2015

No 11332, Tuesday 03 Mar 2015, xChequer



Across
7      Fine offer attracting soldiers to bar (6) FORBID - F (OR) BID - C/C
8      Eagerness of a councillor uniting ordinary people (8) ALACRITY - Anno to be given by any reader (Addendum - {A}{LA{CR}ITY} - See comments)
9      Uplifting song with and without a curse (8) ANATHEMA - AN(A)THEM A - C/C cum cha
10    Run from either side keeping dead straight (6) LADDER - L (DEAD)*R - C/C with anag
11    Temperamental doctor, oddly absent at intervals (5) MOODY - MO O[d]D[l]Y - Cha with letter   picking
12    Permit to trap local bird (6) LINNET - L(INN)ET - C/C
14    Dilemma in front of others, not prepared to pledge loyalty in marriage (6,4,5) PLIGHT ONE'S TROTH - PLIGHT (OTHERSNOT)* - Cha with anag
17    Continue summary (6) RESUME - Two meanings
18    This aunt gives advice for pain (5) AGONY - AGONY [aunt] - Elliptical
22    Affair around the palm tree (6) RAFFIA - (AFFAIR)* - Anag
23    Unusual thing, flying close to sound barrier (4,4) RARE BIRD - Anno to be given by any reader (Addendum - {sounD+BARRIER}* - See comments)
24    Instrument to cut, trim and also pound (4,4) EDGE TOOL - EDGE TOO L (pound, the currency) - Cha
25    Gradually collects in area between valleys (6) GLEANS - GLE(A)NS - C/C

Down
1      Sentimental about toy, a decorative figure in straw (4,5) CORN DOLLY - CORN(DOLL)Y -  C/C
2      Sailor dined and died - sank (6) ABATED - AB ATE D - Cha
3      Did extremely little at work? (5) IDLED - CD (Addendum - {DID+LittlE}* &lit - See comments)
4      Enterprise sheltering large and small pets (8) DARLINGS - DAR(L)ING S - C/C cum cha
5      One owed praise for cancelling function (8)  CREDITOR - CREDIT OR - Cha (Addendum - {CREDIT}{fOR} - See comments)
 *** Do you think the def, as it appears, is quite apt?
6     Sheer pace overcoming one in the end (5) STEEP - ST(E)EP - C/C
8     Digital representation of exceptionally rare animal cub? (6,7) ARABIC NUMERAL -    RAREANIMALCUB)* - Anag
13   Travelling in time through Tintin comic (9) ITINERANT - ERA in (TINTIN)* - C/C with anag
15   Beasts (howlers) eating bird without wings (8) GIRAFFES - G([b]IR[d])AFFES - C/C with letter picking
16   Person willing to check upcoming duty list (8) TESTATOR -  TEST ATOR<- - Cha with rev
19   Spit obstruction in wine glass (6) GOBLET - GOB LET - Cha
20   Helpful, splendid husband for first daughter (5) HANDY - [-D+H]ANDY -  Letter sub
21   Grounds to switch limits of usage in medicines (5) DREGS - DR[-u][+E]GS - Letter sub

GRID

28 comments:

  1. Isn't 3D & lit too ? Did + l (ittl)e

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, if you take 'at work' as anag signal, that clue is the clue type "read the clue again for def". Don't ask me if it is &lit, full or semi.
      However, most solvers will look at it as a CD.
      Only those with some interest or experience in parsing will see anything beyond CD.
      This is my humble opinion.

      Delete
  2. Unusual thing, flying close to sound barrier (4,4) {RARE BIR}*{(-soun)D}

    ReplyDelete
  3. 8 A Eagerness of a councillor uniting ordinary people (8) ALACRITY
    {A}{LA{CR}ITY}

    ReplyDelete
  4. 8 Eagerness of a councillor uniting ordinary people (8) ALACRITY - Anno to be given by any reader

    My take: {A}{LA{CR}ITY} A councillor (CR) uniting broken LAITY.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kishore, sorry to hear about your problem. Get well soon and get going. Otherwise, we won't have spine.

    Not meaning to aggravate it, I recalled a mock headline coined by a media colleague a few years ago, when I had a similar complaint.

    Richard's Back in Trouble

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better than your getting someone 'in trouble'

      Delete
    2. Hmmm..! Got what you had in mind. :)

      Delete
    3. Things can balloon up without a balloon too...

      Delete
  6. 5 One owed praise for cancelling function (8) CREDITOR - CREDIT OR - Cha

    This is I think: CREDIT (-f)OR. If I owed money am I a debtor or Creditor? CAs/ auditors like the setter may answer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'One who is owed' should have been OK.

      Delete
    2. These responses confirm my doubt.
      Raghunath, thanks for your parsing which indeed is better.
      I took 'for' as a connector and 'cancelling function' as OR as in men or women, humans or animals. But that is rather far-fetched.
      Happy to have keen readers looking at these annos carefully and setting them right if warranted.

      Delete
    3. Apart from the anno, I did not think the setter would use 'for' as a connector. As a link between def and WP is fine

      Delete
  7. Re comment at 18A. What is 'elliptical'?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dic says it also means concise, terse, compact etc.

      Delete
  8. The term is 'agony aunt'.

    When the clue writer has this in mind and writes a clue not for the phrase as a whole but rather for AUNT with just an intimation for the preceding word - expecting you to pluck the word 'agony' from the air as it were, I use the classification 'elliptical'.
    Something missed out, so to speak.
    A dict meaning for elliptical is "using few words".

    ReplyDelete
  9. All annotations come to me even as I read these clues.

    Sometimes it happens that that just doesn't happen.

    It is at such times that I, without scratching my head or staring at the space or waiting for the spark to fall from the early morning sky, I leave it to my gentle, learned readers to step in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sir, with due respect, we are not learned readers, .... reading learners might be more apt

      Delete
  10. 21D- Is it 'Drugs'- substituting U for E? 'Medicines' has been indicated as Def. Also, 'Grounds' has to be 'Dregs'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Col. Now clarified. I seem to have mixed up the two.

      Delete

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