Saturday 26 September 2015

No 11510, Saturday 26 Sep 2015, Aspartame


Across

6 Free from relative finally leaving to receive spa treatment (7) UNCLASP {UNCLe}{ASP*}
7 Detectives return with pest control to be free from germs (7) ASEPTIC {A{SEPT*}IC<=}
9 Bodily discharge doctor got back from restroom (5) DROOL {DR}{OOL<=}
10 A temple is shot to show a cinematography technique (4-5) TIME LAPSE {A TEMPLE IS}*
11 Jujitsu Namibians showcase is a force to be reckoned with (7) TSUNAMI (T)
13 Studying for a bachelor’s degree with a political group in Africa (6) UGANDA {UG}{A}{NDA}
15 Boy, after starting to enjoy a pork product, takes second helping by showing a sign (7, 6) BELISHA BEACON {B}{rELISH}{A} {B{hElping}ACON} Needed the net for this

19 Challenge work attitude (6) OPPOSE {OP}{POSE}
20 Spooner’s son leaves for England probably to find a promoter (7) SPONSOR {SPOON(-e+S)R*}
23 Same as knack,// skill (9) TECHNIQUE (DD)
24 Report on food joint in the city (5) DELHI {~DELI}
26 Flower found in France, central Greece and most of Asia being cultivated (7) FREESIA {FR}{grEEce}{ASIa*}

27 One line composed into a verse (7) LEONINE {ONE LINE}*

Down

1 Repeat // a phonetic alphabet (4) ECHO (DD)
2 Dial a helpline primarily to order flower (6) DAHLIA {DIAL A Helpline}*

3 See brilliance at centre stage (9) SPOTLIGHT {SPOT}{LIGHT}
4 Ailment that’s relapsing in vulgar gal — leprosy (8) PELLAGRA (T<=)
5 Salary one spent for posh house with broken walls. It’s unreal! (10) STUPENDOUS {ST(-i+U)PEND}{hOUSe}
6 Notify and // improve standards (6) UPDATE (DD)
7 Top star got top medal (4) ACME {AC{Medal}E}
8 Timely relation that twins share? (6) COEVAL (CD)
12 Surprisingly, peacekeepers (except editor) are trading PC components (10) UNEXPECTED {UN}{EX(-c+P)E(-p+C)T}{ED}
14 Embarrassingly awful delay while holding party (9) ABASHEDLY {A{BASH}EDLY*}
16 Inn’s eats used most nuts (8) INSANEST {INN'S EATS}*
17 Approximately half of sorbet and toffee is consumed (4, 2) SORT OF {SORbet T OFfee}
18 Highest promotion and salary increment? Congratulations! (6) PRAISE {Prom...n}{RAISE}
21 Film // an alumnus (3, 3) OLD BOY (DD)
22 Band // colour (4) AQUA (DD)
25 Network carrying current has been placed (4) LAIN {LA{I}N}

Reference list

Detectives=CIA, Doctor=Dr, Political group=NDA, Boy=B, Work=Op, Son=S, England=E, France=Fr
One=I, Posh=U, Peacekeepers=UN, Editor=Ed, Network=LAN, Current=I

Color/Font Scheme

Definition,Solution,Component letters,Anagram Indicator,C/C indicator,Reversal Indicator,Hidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicator,Deletion Indicator,Homophone Indicator,Movement Indicator,Positional Indicator,Substitution Indicator

GRID

21 comments:

  1. Tomorrow onwards for the next 10 Sundays there will be no Sunday specials in view of IXL 2015. However those who are interested can keep sending them to me and I will keep them in stock for publication after completion of the online rounds of IXL

    ReplyDelete
  2. 12 Surprisingly, peacekeepers (except editor) are trading PC components (10) UNEXPECTED

    Should def have been 'Surprised' or ans UNEXPECTEDLY?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enjoyable crossword. Doubt regarding -
    20 Spooner’s son leaves for England probably to find a promoter (7) SPONSOR {SPOON(-e+S)R*}
    Doesn't 'son leaves for England' indicate -s, +e ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly my thought when I saw the parsing here - I hadn't been able to parse it myself.

      Delete
    2. It works if it's:

      20 Spooner’s left England probably to find a promoter (7) SPONSOR* -E

      Delete
  4. Exactly. I was also confused and in doubt.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 16D was nice- all 4 letter words, making it difficult to find the anagram fodder. Insanest is 'most nuts' or 'most nutty'?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nuts and nutty are both adjectives meaning the same thing in this context. Also, the surface wouldn't work with "nutty."

      Delete
  6. This took some doing! A few clues were tough to parse, especially 20a and 5d - thanks for sorting those out, Ramesh, and of course for the blog. Like you, I had turn the Net for help with 15a.

    Some cleverly constructed clues here, Aspartame - thank you for the puzzle!

    Three clues seem to have a mismatch between definition and answer:

    - 12d: the definition "suprisingly" would give us UNEXPECTEDLY, not just UNEXPECTED. ("...trading PC components" was a nice touch in the clue, though.)
    - 14d: ABASHEDLY does not mean "embarrassingly", it means "embarrassedly" - the two adverbs have very different meanings.
    - 25d: "LAIN" (variant of "to lie") does not mean "placed" or "been placed"; that would be LAID (variant of "to lay"). E.g., "it has LAIN there" = "it has been lying there"; "it was placed there/it has been placed there" = "it was LAID there."

    ReplyDelete
  7. In 26a, is there a need for the anind at the end? Isn't SIA also "most of Asia"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Another way of looking at it, though it's not commonly used in that sense. I think that's OK.

      Delete
  8. I took it exactly like you said- SIA from asia, which does not need Anind. I think post needs to be corrected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The post is right because the clue as it appears *does* have the anind at the end.

      Delete
    2. But the setter wanted it that way.

      Delete
  9. Solved the puzzle travelling in a train! Downloaded clues from the HUB at 8:30
    Found NE Corner toughest; BELISHA BEACON needed net as it did for most; nice set of clues; TIMELAPSE, COEVAL , INSANEST were my favorites..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lost samosas by a whisker - because of COEVAL :(( - Same pinch Vasant for North East coner tough

    ReplyDelete
  11. Didnt get much focus time but managed most except belisha beacon... was playing with b relish but didnt think to cut of edges of relish :( a good clue.. had doubts on 20a and 25d. 23a...not very convincing as dd ...enjoyed 13a parsing 14d also liked 7a. Tks aspartame

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely cw.smooth surfaces.I could almost complete (except8d)thanks to wonderful orchestration & well laid-out clues.Thank you aspertame.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 24Ac.How to appreciate the answer of Delhi?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deli is a fast food joint and it's a homophone of Delhi

      Delete

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