Monday 7 September 2015

No 11493, Monday 07 Sep 2015, Arden


ACROSS
1   Writer's ambition to be a storehouse of data (8) PENDRIVE {PEN}{DRIVE}
5   'I'd avoid tamarind' — perhaps it's an oft-repeated sentence (6) MANTRA TAMARiNd*
10 Starts with energy conservation — a subject which is out of place (7) ECTOPIC {En...y}{Co...n}{TOPIC}
11 Material in newspaper on South Africa (7) ORGANZA {ORGAN}{ZA}
12 Bar over a business, split fifty-fifty (5) LOCAL {L}{OC}{A}<={L}
13 Stoically develop thick skin (9) CALLOSITY* &lit
14 Wayside inn where one can arrive as a replacement (12) CARAVANSERAI*
18 American art critic, so straight and noble (12) ARISTOCRATIC {A+ART+CRITIC+SO}*
21 Inspiration to promote auto component (5,4) SPARK PLUG {SPARK} {PLUG}
23 Outburst of trainee-in-charge (5) FLARE {F{L}ARE}
24 In pain, skips one US city for another (7) CHICAGO {CHIC}{AGOny}
25 Pirate set up exclusive group (7) BRIGAND {B{RIG}AND}
26 After mass, say it under your breath (6) MUTTER {M}{UTTER}
27 Nurse admitted tense old woman in old city (8) CARTHAGE {CAR{T}{HAG}E}

DOWN
1   Dish may be palatable, if tab's ignored (6) PAELLA PALAtabLE*
2   See, it isn't frozen! (6) NOTICE {NOT}{ICE}
3   Loathsome on skin — an insect (9) REPELLANT {RE}{PELL}{ANT}
4   University administrator's very cool — will risk putting up the list (4,10) VICE CHANCELLOR {V}{ICE} {CHANCE}{LLOR<=}
6   Trouble for Greece in the past (5) AGGRO {AG{GR}O}
7   Inert gas used in an African city (8) TANGIERS*
8   Broadcast action replay, rope removed on examination (8) ANALYTIC {ACTIoN repLAY}*
9   Voice disapproval, allege an error, and support a subject (7,7) BOOLEAN ALGEBRA {BOO}{ALLEGE+AN*}{BRA}
15 Scrooge fell on stone (9) SKINFLINT {SKIN}{FLINT}
16 Top music composition may be hot (8) CAPSICUM {CAP}{MUSIC*}
17 A haze follows — gross violation of union laws by him (8) BIGAMIST {BIG}{A}{MIST}
19 State borders of China, Namibia and Dominica (6) CANADA {ChinA}{Na...iA}{Do...cA}
20 May be pressing the French obelisk (6) NEEDLE {NEED}{LE}
22 Villain said to be somewhere inside church (5) KNAVE (~nave)

GRID

25 comments:

  1. Off topic (craving indulgence of the Colonel)

    Two interesting articles I happened to stumble upon:

    http://thewire.in/2015/09/06/in-the-sheena-bora-case-let-us-not-forget-the-law-10096/

    http://scroll.in/article/736845/first-person-the-story-behind-how-sanjay-gandhi-slapped-indira-six-times-at-a-dinner-party?ref=yfp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I discount the second story since it comes from across our often transgressed border!

      Delete
  2. Beautiful CW.. Had to rely on 'net' for 14Ac & 9Dn. Just a couple missed in SW corner. Overall an enjoyable solve. .Thank you, Arden.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 24: I like the switch 'in' does in its role as part of surface and as subsidiary indication.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I took "In" as a component, Here is how I parsed the clue.
      24 In pain, skips one US city for another (7)
      In=Chic // Fashionable
      Pain=Agony
      Skips = Deletion Ind
      one US city=NY
      for Another=Defn

      I am still trying to figure out "subsidiary indicator" part

      Delete
    2. Subsidiary indication (SI) is word play (WP).
      In surface reading, 'in' is - what's the grammatical term? - prposition? Sorry, I am hopelessly ignorant of grammar.
      In WP it is an adj meaning chic.
      This is what I meant.

      Delete
    3. Ramesh's anno is correct. Charade followed by deletion to get the def. There is no sub ind.

      Delete
    4. Tks for the explanation. I did not refresh the page before posting.

      Delete
  4. Does the use of many images slow down the downloading of page on your device as it does on my iPad?
    Should I go in for 4G on a mobile?
    Have razors with four blades come?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Delightful xword..the long ones were superbly handled..learnt new words..ectopic & callosity....My COD..chicago

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We usually hear of ectopic pregnancy. One such occurs when an embryo implants somewhere other than the uterus, such as in one of the fallopian tubes.

      Delete
  6. Could not get a few new long ones, but still enjoyed the exercise/ Thank you Arden.
    Learning new words is always a pleasure, though it was pointed out once that we may not be able to use them. But at least we can understand if we come across the words while reading.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Doing an MB...
    In 24a, 'another' is to be in bold ital. US city isn't the def.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Paella is ceretainly not paatable for vegetarians

    ReplyDelete
  9. Phew ... had to rush on this one and recourse to tech more than usual but enjoyed it ... did like 23a .. 12a was interesting.. 18a has a good surface... 17d a laugh... overall piquant xword... thanks Arden

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  10. Well GRIDMAN, has at-last succeeded in forcing THE HINDU to publish the crossword ina particular page.
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't say it loud, boss. They might change their mind...

      Delete
  11. MB@10:33 triggered this question. Is there a whatsapp group for the THCC folks? Does it make sense to create one?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's stick to commenting here rather than shifting to a Whatsapp group, as it is comments are far and few between

      Delete
    2. Ramesh@5:29: I am already jostling with 6 groups...its very difficult to manage...but would b game to join one if someone initiated

      Delete
  12. Started on the crossword at 9 p.m. - great way to unwind after a long day at work :) Thanks Arden. "Exclusive" as container ind was new for me.

    ReplyDelete

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