Saturday 7 May 2016

No 11694, Saturday 07 May 2016, xChequer


Lots of holes left today

Across

7 Pathetic after a point when nothing's left (6) ABJECT {A}{oBJECT}
8 Framed like one wasted, least developed in outline? (8) SKELETAL {LiKE+LEAST}*
9 Open and close with this act before soldiers call for one's head (8) DOORKNOB {DO}{OR}{~NOB}
10 Take in, say playfully (6) INGEST {~IN JEST}
11 Somewhat high society finally on lists (5) TIPSY {TIPS}{societY}
12 Page to contact advocate (6) PREACH {P}{REACH}
14 Use camp, fake a tag and vote (4,9,2) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF {FAKE A TAG AND VOTE}*
17 Indian withdrawing a spearhead, spouse in retreat (6)  APACHE? NAVAHO {NAV A<=}{HO<=| See comments
18 Very uncommon true love of art (5) VERTU {V}{TRUE}*
22 Shrewd move using leg drop (6) GAMBIT {GAM}{BIT} See comments
23 Storyline primarily or a cine setting (8) SCENARIO {Stor..e}{OR A CINE}* &lit
24 Senior experiencing heart seizure in Metro — get pacemaker? (8) CELERITY C{ELdER}ITY} See coments
25 Born dead, not normal to expire, witnesses called for (6)  NEEDED {NEE}{D}{ED}? {NEE}{D}{EnD} See comments

Down

1 Salt, oil, damn bad for stomach (9) ABDOMINAL {AB}{OIL DAMN}*
2 Gems in rings worn by king (6) PEARLS {PEA{R}LS}
3 Hum and tango, escorted by founder (5) STINK {S{T}INK}
4 Snatch second to third place at sports — note, it's uncertain (8) HESITANT {HEIST}with S in 3rd place + N in AT
5 Superiority that Paramount in Humphrey Bogart films exhibited — a well-defended position (8) HEDGEHOG {H{EDGE}{Humphrey}OG}
6 Pinhead in length of rope (5) LASSO {L}{ASS}{O} See comments
8 Negotiate, buy, tie both ends off, sear skin, stuff hot dog (8,5) SIBERIAN HUSKY {BUY+tIe+SEAR+SKIN}* around H
13 False arch very often noticed (9) CONTRIVED {VR+NOTICED}*
15 Stop pressurizing peer to be dignified (8) ENNOBLED {EN{NOBLE}D} See comments
16 Match over, victory through technicality (8) DOVETAIL {D{O}{V}ETAIL} See comments
19 Uplifting story, journalist is happy (6) ELATED {ELAT<=}{ED}
20 Chip, with temperature brought down, succeeding (5) AFTER? WAFER {W}{AFtER} See comments
21 Inherently normal time eye blinks per minute (5) TEENY {T}{EE{N}Y*}

42 comments:

  1. 6 Pinhead in length of rope (5) L ASS O(f)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 17 Indian withdrawing a spearhead, spouse in retreat (6) {{NAV}{A}<-}{HO<-}
    OT: Other half - spouse

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. other half = OH.. is this done before??

      Delete
  3. 17 Indian withdrawing a spearhead, spouse in retreat (6) APACHE?
    Could be NAVAHO
    spearhead = van<
    yet to anno for AHO

    ReplyDelete
  4. 16 Match over, victory through technicality (8) DOVETAIL
    OVER VICTORY = O V
    TECHNICALITY = DETAIL

    ReplyDelete
  5. 24A Senior experiencing heart seizure in Metro — get pacemaker? (8)C{EL(-d)ER}ITY

    ReplyDelete
  6. 20 Chip, with temperature brought down, succeeding (5) AFTER? LATER?
    REAL< T = TEMPERATURE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems to be an error here as TALER is a chip

      Delete
    2. 20 Chip, with temperature brought down, succeeding (5) AFTER? chip=WAFER ... W(ith) + AF(-t)ER

      Delete
    3. Sorry Bhavan, my message at 9.14 was in response to Deepak.
      Your anno is right

      Delete
  7. 21 Inherently normal time eye blinks per minute (5) TEENY

    ReplyDelete
  8. 25 Born dead, not normal to expire, witnesses called for (6) NEEDED {NEE}{D}{ED}?

    {NEE}{D}{E(-n)D}

    ReplyDelete
  9. Pongappaa, naan attaththukku varalai...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks KKR, Sandhya, Col. & Bhavan

    ReplyDelete
  11. 23 Storyline primarily or a cine setting (8) SCENARIO {Stor..e}{OR A CINE}* &lit
    What is anind here pl if 'setting' is taken as definition? Is 'setting' to be taken as anind too?

    ReplyDelete
  12. 13d False arch very often noticed (9) CONTRIVED {VR+NOTICED}*
    Is arch Anag Indicator?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, 'arch' meaning 'clever' which is often used as an anag ind.
      Aattaththilae illai, paatam kondaatam idhilae irukeenga pola.

      Delete
  13. Boy was Xchequer out for blood today :) managed all after a long struggle (though now i look at it most seem obvious hee hee) - except was undecided btw wafer vs later.. and put it down as later..since i thought succeeded has to be def .. else do not see what is the role of the word - if w af (-t)er then Temp brought down would be T is somewhere down the order - not deleted. Isnt it? Some easy ones took me time coz i misread the surface :) but this xword was a class apart :) more difficult than the Guardian prize today.. Xchequer !!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps Xchequer's interpretation for "T brought down" could be the 4th one from the list shown below?...a copy post from Free Dic?
      "bring down"
      1. To cause to fall or collapse: a shot that brought down a bird; a demolition crew that brought down a building.
      2. To force to the ground, as by tackling.
      3. To cause to lose power or leave office: The scandal brought down the prime minister.
      4. To kill.
      5. To disappoint or dispirit: The cancellation of the ballgame brought us down.

      Delete
    2. Typo : Pl read it as 'a copy paste from Free Dic'

      Delete
  14. Toughie. Missed out on WAFER

    ReplyDelete
  15. I was feeling a bit blessed all these days until xChequer punctured my self confidence. No thanks to him
    I am not an ace solver like chaturvasi, srividya, mukundala et AL but I feel many of the clues are far too contrived. I do not mean to hurt anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Defeated by exchequer today..morning 1 hour yielded a mere 4..lunch time further 8 & later in the afternoon rest except wafer..navaho..dovetail..
    Can admire the cluing after reading the blog....must have been hard work for the setter too

    ReplyDelete
  17. Feel down as I could fill ELATED alone. After viewing the blog, I canappreciate the effort that went into the setting of this crossword. Perhaps, I have to collect all the past puzzles by xChequer and solve them at a continuous stretch to understand his style of cluing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Extremely tough but satisfying solve. Missed 3.
    Since we've come to expect very high quality cluing from Xchequer, and not having clearly understood the setter's intention in some clues, I have a few queries:
    8A Is framed an anind? Or developed? Or both (LKE* in LEAST*)? Can't see how that parses properly.
    17A: OH for spouse ok?
    24A: celerity = pacemaker?
    25A: [Not X to Y] same as [no X in Y]? And [wordplay] witnesses [definition]?

    15D: Using noble as a wordplay component for ennobled?
    20D: [X brought down Y] for [X removed from Y]?
    21D: Purpose of "per"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mohsin, it's good to see you here, and hope to see you more often. Thanks for the comment and you've phrased it ever so sweetly. Shall attempt to clarify:

      8A Is framed an anind? Or developed? Or both (LKE* in LEAST*)? Can't see how that parses properly
      The correct anno for this would be (LEAST)* outside (LiKE)* leading to an overtly defined &lit

      17A: OH for spouse ok?
      It's there in Oxford, so I would expect it's OK and good enough for me. Refere
      https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/oh?q=OH

      24A: celerity = pacemaker?
      Cryptic definition, hence the question mark

      25A: [Not X to Y] same as [no X in Y]? And [wordplay] witnesses [definition]?
      'to' is not a connector, it is part of 'Y'. expire = 'to end'. 'witnesses' as a connector with meaning such as 'shows', 'evidences'

      15D: Using noble as a wordplay component for ennobled?
      A valid point you raise, but personally I have no issue with treating one part of a word in it's original meaning, as long as you are not just splitting the word into all its original components and putting it back again as the definition. I use it, occasionally and sparingly. Consider a clue from a recent Guardian puzzle: Make hale (4), and you could hardly say this is a cardinal sin

      20D: [X brought down Y] for [X removed from Y]?
      Thought this had been clarified in some earlier comment. Synonyms would be 'toppled' 'ousted' 'deposed' etc

      21D: Purpose of "per"?
      Connector, same as 'as per' translates as 'according to'

      Do let me know if they work for you

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the reply.
      8A: Ah, thought it might be an &lit attempt. The def is a bit stretched, I feel.
      24A: But isn't celerity just 'pace'? Would it not be akin to defining, say, hunger as desire-maker?
      25A, 20D: My issue was with the construct of [Not X Y]/ [X removed Y]. I believe you intend the "not X" bit as an adjective for Y. I'm hard pressed to find elegant examples where that would work.
      15D: I personally disagree. And I don't see the parallel b/w this clue and the HEAL anagram. More like cluing JAILOR as (can) + (army men)
      21D: I can just about see it working the other way around (def as per wordplay). In this form (wordplay as per def), it seems iffy.

      Delete

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