Saturday 24 December 2016

Special, Saturday 24 Dec 2016, Balderdash


TWO ANSWERS per commenter till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)
Please provide your answers in one comment.            
                
                                             A SPECTRAL SYMBOL FOR X'MAS                                     

As against the two dimensions, which are familiar to crossword solvers, i.e.  ‘Across’ and ‘Down’, this puzzle is 3 dimensional. The third dimension is ‘Away’. The cubical grid is visualised as five layers (each layer being a 5x5 square) of the cube in the grid below. The directions Across, Down and Away are marked alongside the grid for your reference. All answers are 5 letters long, but one of them is made up of two words. Solve like you would solve a regular puzzle – you have crossings from an additional direction as you go along. It might make things easier if you fill in the Across and Away answers first, and then the Down clues.

After solving. if you look around the middle of cube, you may find some connections to the festive season, as indicated in the title. Though at the heart of it, you will find a sweet nothing. These may be mentioned in the blog after the entire puzzle has been solved here.
 


Across





























1  Ace loses first place resulting in strain
4  Joint bowel movement?
7  Run around a fortune-teller’s aid
10  To some extent, bosun cleans relative
13  G-man who treats spirit
14  Sir, returning key terminals can be dangerous
15  Flyer one buried in piece of land
18  Mason arrived carrying sound equipment
19  Look around a zoo initially, and take possession by force































Down





























1  Provide online joke
2  Do better with some luck after old age
3  Time to let out river
4  Slightly moves borders
5  Sportsman brought into this world around first of June
6  Watt consumed right liquid, for example
7  Badly frustrated after loss of well-organised trade in areas under control
8  Initially, respected Indian sadhu having intellect
9  Meth manufactured around end of July for Herb































Away





























1  First lady takes books to convention, perhaps
2  Queen embraces Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. That’s hot stuff!
3  Idiot gobbles egg, for example
10  Old city(German)’s presser
11  Go over religious symbol
12  Portal’s bad net/line
15  Violently opposes, leaving Post Office, to get money
16  Nail broken when travelling around American island
17  Number of Magi’s dimensions found in this puzzle

This format of the puzzle is not supported by AcrossLite. Hence, a printable version is available at
Balderdash9.

Enjoy

Solution Grid


Two Themed entries CROSS and GHOST run across the centre of the central layer, forming the symbol of a cross.  At the absolute centre of the cube is a O or 0 signifying 'Shunya' or nothing.

It is a pangram


55 comments:

  1. 1 Away:(EVE)(NT)
    17Away:THREE DD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can only cold solve the clues from my mobile..even the printable version is not downloading in my mobile
      Can anyone send me the printable version: vasant.srinivasan@gmail.com

      Delete
    2. The printable version us a PDF file. I have sent it to you via email

      Delete
  2. 4 across: ELBOW : anagram of bowel

    10 across: UNCLE BosUNCLEans

    Looks interesting. however, I have done this by cold solving.

    I second request of dear Vasant. Can someone send me a printable copy?

    Reminds me of a colourful crossword created by my good friend BEGGAR (Barry Goode) for Christmas every year in Nairobi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Click on the link provided in the main post and you will get it

      Delete
  3. If this puzzle is too short for some people, a Jumbo is available at

    http://www.1across.org/2016/12/24/and-then-there-was-a-word/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Downloaded the pdf version..shall attempt in leisure..just glanced at the clue sheet...126A!!!!Looks like a feast of clues

      Delete
    2. And the same grid is used that is displayed in the profile picture of Kishore!!!

      Delete
    3. Almost through...heady stuff! Superb grid too

      Delete
    4. done finally.now i have to get treated for the headache.

      Delete
  4. Looks like the comments section here is dying a natural death. But I will still soldier on

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Asking all commentators to participate in full here..old timers & new to join in the fun..

      Delete
    2. Since Incognito will be Incommunicado next week

      Delete
  5. AWAY 12 ENTRY NET*RY
    AWAY 15 PESOS -op POSES*

    ReplyDelete
  6. Solved this unique offering from Balderdash..easy though the x-factor of the puzzle makes it special...
    Now to look for the message

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The unique part of the puzzle is that I have to look down(imagine) the down whites after getting the across & away clues..by doing so you have only to fill in the blank for the down clue..what a unique concept!

      Delete
    2. Yes, the strategy of filling in all the Across and Away clues first helps one get one's bearings correctly

      Delete
    3. Thanks, Vasant, for the hint! Now I could understand the importance of colour codes, so far as down clue answers are concerned.

      A unique puzzle from a unique personality! Thank you, Balderdash! :)

      Delete
  7. 14Ac RISKY SIR<- K(E)y
    5D B(J)ORN

    ReplyDelete
  8. 8D- Rishi (or should I say Gridman?) ACRONYM
    9D-Thyme- (Meth Y)* - Herb

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bjorn was nicely done- one of my all time fav. Just a little late in entering it.
    I am not able to fill on line. Whatever I got was by cold solving without the hep of crossings. I was able to do all 'down" clues except 3 that way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was able to cold solve totally 16 out of 27. Not bad for me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 7Across TAROT T{A}ROT
    3away TO WIT T{O}WIT

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1D Provide online joke {E}{QUIP}
    3D Time to let out river {T}{RENT}

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very interesting layout! Tx for a nice Xmas gift!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Still open:
    Across 1,7,13,15
    Down 2,4,6
    Away 2,10,11,16

    ReplyDelete
  15. 1 A EXERT ( EX p ERT )
    13 A GHOST ( G-German, HOST-person one who treats , def : SPIRIT)

    ReplyDelete
  16. LEFTOVERS

    Across : 10, 15
    Down : 2, 4, 6
    Away : 2, 10, 11, 16

    ReplyDelete
  17. 7d Badly frustrated after loss of well-organised trade in areas under control - TURFS ( anag after deleting anag of trade )

    ReplyDelete
  18. 15A: PILOT ; P(I)LOT
    6D: WATER ; W ATE R

    ReplyDelete
  19. AWAY
    11 Go over // religious symbol CROSS [2]
    16 Nail broken / when travelling around American // island LANAI
    (NAIL)* around A

    ReplyDelete
  20. Pending:
    Across: Nil/None
    Down: 2
    Away: 2,10

    ReplyDelete
  21. 2Away - EMBER {E{MBE}R}
    10Away - URGER {UR}{GER}

    ReplyDelete
  22. Since only 2D is left anyone can take it.
    Does any one have the answers to the hidden connections

    ReplyDelete
  23. Since all the solutions are. Anyone to comment on the hidden connection.
    I will post the solution grid at 6:30 PM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could make out YOU in the middle grid diagonal from east to west...there is a MERRY as well as XMAS but couldnt decipher the pattern..the hidden sweet is still elusive

      Delete
  24. Oh!oh!Cross & ghost was staring at you..cross one could associate with xmas but ghost?Marley's ghost from Christmas Carol or "The Holy Spirit"?
    Sweet nothing was not sweet but nothing...very clever Balderdash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know your spirits well, Vasant!

      Delete
    2. As mentioned in the title, Spectral Symbol, you had a Ghost Cross

      Delete
  25. Thanks all for participating. Special thanks to the Colonel for accommodating at short notice. Let's all enliven the blog as a New Year's present to him. Good night

    ReplyDelete

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