Wednesday 6 April 2016

No 11669, Wednesday 06 Apr 2016, xChequer


Stumped by 6D

ACROSS
7   Vest husband wears at home before retiring (6) INHERE {IN}{H}{ERE}
8   Calmed down when position described at depth (8) PLACATED {PLAC{AT}E}{D}
9   Opener, yards away, stranded — falling and getting up (8) WAKENING {WA{KEy}NING}
10 Heavy loss of wickets leaving score below hundred (6) EIGHTY wEIGHTY
11 Changes to copy trend around school (5) EDITS {EDIT<=}{S}
12 Make beloved finish kissing each fingertip (6) ENDEAR {END}{EA}{f...eR}
14 Treating public as foe at head office perhaps (5,2,8) PLACE OF BUSINESS {PUBLIC+AS+FOE}*{NESS}
17 Just when reasonable margins in venture should be returned (4,2) EVEN AS {Er...eV}{EN-AS} <=
18 Award cash for Australian swimmer (5) OSCAR ? [MD] See comments
22 Stuck-up, left lying next to one in desi hang-out (2-2-2) LA-DI-DA {L} with {1} in {ADDA}
23 Constant absence of barriers, say, for wise guys (4-4) KNOW-ALLS {K}{NO}{W-ALLS}
24 Aimless rover, having crossed fifty, pleased — more or less (8) LAYABOUT {L}AY{ABOUT} Anno pending (Addendum - GADABOUT {GlAD}{ABOUT} - See comments)
25 Female swans taking on grooms (6) PREENS {P{RE}ENS}

DOWN
1   People, without exception, fancy land alone (3,3,3) ONE AND ALL*
2   Fraud bound to go up round these days (6) DECEIT {DE{CE}IT<=}
3   Bespoke, centrally vented, tailor-made suit (5) BEFIT {Be...kE}{FIT}
4   Bottom line: census periodically skipped without justification (8) BASELESS {BASE}{L}{cEnSuS}
5   Parasite in spleen infecting pet (6-2) HANGER-ON {H{ANGER}-ON}
6   Mole, black, an eyesore perhaps popping out of skin (5) ?E?T? (Addendum - JETTY {JET}{sTYe} - See comments)
8   Hot dog, panting like crazy over sea dog? (3,2,1,7) PIG IN  A BLANKET {PANTING+LIKE}* over {AB}
13 One mugging silly Latin, stupidly cramming answer (9) ASSAILANT {ASS}{AIL{A}NT*}
15 Religious circle represented by a Liberal (8) CLERICAL {CIRCLE}*{A}{L}
16 Symbol in mathematics, one possibly connecting a number (8) OPERATOR [DD]
19 Satisfied with money collected in welfare drive (6) SLAKED {S{L}AKE}{D}
20 Heart-rending devotional song for one from Barbados (5) BAJAN BhAJAN
21 Manage without posh car (5) COUPE {CO{U}PE}

GRID

22 comments:

  1. 6 Mole, black, an eyesore perhaps popping out of skin (5) {JET}{(-s)TY}

    ReplyDelete
  2. 18 Award cash for Australian swimmer (5) OSCAR

    MD: Award/ Cash(Australian slang)/ Fish

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tough one .. as usual from Xchequer.. took me ages.. esp the SW corner - nearly had it all but lost out on wakening..had it as wavering :( 24a should be Gadabout.. G(-l)ad + about; tanks for the Aussie slang for Oscar .. no idea :) Thanks.. Xchequer.. rather gruelling but rewarding :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. No comment from Mahesh V about this CW?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Missed out on jetty & bajan & got oscar wrong...a long struggle but a satisfying one...loved the entire puzzle & learnt a lot..superb elission of baseless..knowalls(beautiful clue); frankly had to take tech help for pig in a blanket..got gadabout with a huge struggle...la di da was amusing...befit was devious....inhere(nice one)...great work xchequer once again

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  6. Real toughie. Took more than two hours to complete 80 per cent, that too with the help of dictionary.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So tough it was...I could get only half a samosa. :(

    ReplyDelete
  8. ...and hope to get the other half tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At this rate you will soon have to shift to cocktail samosas and fraction thereof.

      Delete
    2. .....something is better than nothing!

      Delete
  9. Today's puzzle was very difficult.
    To me a good puzzle has these characteristics:
    Good puzzle must be approachable, fair and fun to do. This is why I like Rufus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How your inability to solve a certain setter's puzzle or inability to find fun in a puzzle makes that puzzle poor or average? And why today's puzzle is not fair?

      Delete
    2. The comment approachable is subjective and it depends on solvers ability

      Delete
  10. Sorry to bother. Could any of you please explain the clue 7D? Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vest = Definition = INHERE
      husband = H
      wears = Encapsulation ndicator
      at home = IN
      before = ERE
      retiring = Reversal indicator

      Delete
  11. Not to be nit-picky but the picture given (Tesla S) for 21D is not that of a coupe. A coupe is a two door model (or variant as is known in India) where as a sedan (USA) or saloon (UK) is a four dour car. FYI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Technically you are right, but also see the 'Current usage' at the link provided in the main post

      Delete

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