Thursday 9 April 2015

No 11364, Thursday 09 Apr 2015, Afterdark


If there is something hidden I can't find it. I'm not sure about 11A and 9D.

ACROSS
1   Sadly, goon muted host; one who is persuasive in speech (6-7) SMOOTH-TONGUED*
10 Perhaps, sodium and aluminium are acidic? No, it's basic! (9) ELEMENTAL {ELEMENT}{AL}
11 Spend once on her, when husband is away at last (5) EXERT {EX}{hER}{aT}
12 Mobile is repaired; Lost link with an ecological community (5) BIOME MOBIlE*
13 Monkey's colour fading at the tail, heard you added colour! (9) ORANGUTAN {ORANGe}{(~you)U}{TAN}
14 Exploit erection in part to delay (6) LOITER [T]
16 Not letting say, Ms. Marilyn to complete is mean (4) NORM MONRoe* What is the AInd? (Addendum - NORMa - See comments)
19 A drop of retsina in drink brings a smile (4) GRIN {G{Re...a}IN}
20 Disheartened boy and girl married in the past (6) BYGONE {BoY}{G}{ONE}
25 Sparkling wine for winner with a gin cocktail (9) CHAMPAIGN {CHAMP}{A}{GIN*} Spelling error? Sparkling wine is CHAMPAGNE
26 Good landlady should be invisible like this? (5) GHOST {G}{HOST} &lit. Nitpicking. Shouldn't a landlady be a 'Hostess'?
27 Goodbye present, I ultimately leave you (5) ADIEU {AD}{I}{leavE}{yoU}
28 Bad clue, nothing inside to hold setter's name and delivery (9) ELOCUTION {EL{O}CU*}{T{I}O}{N}
29 Revolt ensues upon entry at the ball for wearing extra things with the outfit (13) ACCESSORISING {ACCESS}{O}{RISING}

DOWN
2   Imprisonment failed, spirit flew off with chip, a device aiding memory (8) MNEMONIC {iMprisONMENt}{IC}
3   Buzzer takes a sip of soup after egg and becomes fat (5) OBESE {O}{BE{Soup}E}
4   That boxer conceals a piece of luggage (6) HATBOX [T]
5   I participated in a plot developed for a picture (3,5) OIL PAINT {OIL PA{I}NT*}
6   For badly losing, golfer's angry about wearing redhead's cap (9) GLENGARRY {GoLfEr}{ANGRY* over Re...d}
7   Book sales initially below threshold in shows (6) EVENTS {EVE}{NT}{S}
8   German boy sick to chop off tail of mammal (6) GERBIL {GER}{B}{ILl}
9   Stop the action (5) STAND [DD] ? STUNT [DD] See comments
15 Partner distressed to join European Union's transport (9) ENRAPTURE {PARTNER+EU}*
17 Wakes up nurse with Elvis dance around a pole (8) ENLIVENS {EN}{LIVE{N}S*}
18 Moin went around mountain by mid-morning to find a place to stay (5,3) MOTOR INN {MO{TOR} IN}{morNing}
21 Kiss accepted by stranger, given by worker is lingering (6) EXTANT {E{X}T}{ANT}
22 Beacon damaged, boy lost in sea (5) OCEAN bEACON*
23 I am coming back with new account of a psychopath (6) MANIAC {MA{N}I<=}{AC}
24 Cool party on 1st October right inside the building (6) INDOOR {IN}{DO}{Oc...r}{R}
26 Horse eats a bit of lettuce and ulluco given by Sikh leader and makes a gurgling sound (5) GLUGS {G{Le...e}{Ul...o}G}{Sikh}

GRID

35 comments:

  1. 9 Stop the action (5) STUNT [DD]

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  2. 26Dn GG or gee-gee is a word for horse used by children or in colloquial speech in UK. The internet provides different explanations for its etymology. Wikipedia says that the term "Gee-Gee" is taken from horse-racing where a Gee-Gee is the first horse out of the starting gate. Other sources say that GG is short for the command given to horses to go: "gee up"
    [Source: Shuchi at http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2011/12/why-is-horse-gg.html ]

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  3. 8D German boy sick to chop off tail of mammal (6) GERBIL {GER}{B}{ILl}
    {G}{ERB}{IL[-L]} I took German - G and boy - ERB

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  4. Col.'s anno looks more plausible.
    Any explanation for the spelling pointed out by Col. for 25A?

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  5. Chambers gives 'Champaign' as the place where Champagne is made.

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  6. 16a is not an anagram of Monroe - it is a reference to her real name, Norma (Jean Baker) - not letting NORMA (be) complete would give us NORM.

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  7. Thank you, Afterdark and DG!

    I enjoyed the puzzle, although the NE corner was quite a struggle! EXERT and STUNT were my last ones in - it's some consolation to see that the same pair proved problematic even for Col! :)

    25A was indeed a surprise - Champaign (also called Champaign-Urbana) is a town in Illinois. It also apparently means open, level countryside. The drink - and the region in France from where it originates - is Champagne.

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  8. The clue involving Marilyn Monroe's real name got me thinking about norms (pun unintended!) for setting crosswords for Indian newspapers. I have seen setters referencing Western actors, singers, and music groups in their clues. What would the reception be, I wonder, if one were to use similar references to Indian actors/singers/other artistes? For instance, ever so many Indian actors go by assumed names (e.g., Rajinikanth, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Kishore Kumar) - would it be acceptable if clues used their screen names for wordplay involving their real names?

    This is not a complaint about Afterdark's clue - I am just wondering how far one could stretch these kind of references.

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  9. AD tells me there's something hidden in the highlighted letters of the solution grid uploaded in the main post

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    Replies
    1. Something to do with first and last letters!

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    2. Sumit you are halfway there

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    3. First and last letters of setters that appear before AD

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  10. Got 'em all after a very long time. Not that I have done many thus far but feels happy to know the progress I have made in the one and half years since I started. Thanks to this blog and the many who contribute to this. You have helped me a great deal on this journey.

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  11. Nice one from Afterdark. Found South-East corner tough. Now moving on to some detective work to find what is hidden in the highlighted letters of the solution grid!

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  12. Phew! I give up. Am neither a Sherlock Holmes nor a Hercule Poirot!! :(

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    Replies
    1. Sumit has already given the answer

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    2. Saw that but the tubelight didn't function properly then! Now it's glowing alright!!

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    3. ...with a little push from Paddy's entry @ 12:51 pm !

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  13. Got it Col., thanks to the clues given by you & Sumit.
    Here is the list of setters whose first & last letters are there
    Gridman
    Incognito
    Lightning
    Vulcan
    Sunnet
    Arden
    Buzzer
    Neyartha

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  14. I now realise I have missed the sequence.

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  15. No, it's not the sequence. I was just kidding. While you interpreted A*N as Arden, I was suggesting mischievously why it shouldn't be Anon.

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    Replies
    1. Pl. refer sumit @12.26. Order is that of all setters who precede AD in the order their CW's appear.

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  16. Easy one from AD. Got all but 3.
    Any role for acidic and no in 10 A? Also think it should be *are basic*?

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  17. No. It IS 'Or'. Wordplay- acidicx basic- what is not acidic has to be basic. This way both no & acidic have a part to play.

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    Replies
    1. I don't get you :-( . In cryptic reading ?

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  18. Thanks, AD for the mention. What have poor Scintillator and Skulldugger done to miss the mention?! Just jokin' ! Btw noticed an odd 'oxymoron' in Sumit's 12:26 : " before After Dark" ... Good spotting by Sumit!

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  19. Yes, AD has mentioned you, Incognito. But it's a heartless Incognito!

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    Replies
    1. All the setters mentioned here are heartless, G.....N, and you lead the list ... Maybe yhe other setters will turn up tomorrow...

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