Saturday 7 April 2018

No 12285, Saturday 07 Apr 2018, xChequer

Answer and anno of 17A left for a first time commenter till 10 AM.

Across

7. Above same as before, go over the top (6) OVERDO {OVER}{DO}
8. Elite soldier, no doubt initially enlisted (8) COMMANDO {COMMA}{N{Doubt}O}
9. Veteran using former rank to accumulate millions (3-5) OLD-TIMER {OLD}{TI{M}ER}
10. News broadcast breaking north-eastern state's reaction (6) ANSWER {A{NEWS*}R} AR from Arunachal Pradesh. Thanks Col.
11. Joint entry in bank ledger (5) ANKLE (T)
12. Rider outside column in front row (6) BICKER {BI{Column}KER}
14. Invalid daughter, hugely retarded minor, easily contracted illness (3,7,5) THE DREADED LURGY {D+HUGELY+RETARDED}*
17. Land having a space for checked or unchecked entry (6) A?I?H? (Addendum - ALIGHT {A}{LIGHT} - See comments)
18. Lacking feeling on one's uppers (5) STONY (CD) (DD) - See comments
22. Girl wanting boy makes for professional alliances (6) GUILDS {G}{bUILDS}
23. Relevant to probe shady vices of inmates (8) CAPTIVES {VICES*} around {APT}
24. Shed tears starting to see sad closure (8) SHUTDOWN {See}{HUT}{DOWN}
25. Tease bachelor about girl's strip? (6) RIBBON {RIB}{B}{ON}

Down

1. Naval volleys in long barrage (9) AVALANCHE {A{NAVAL*}CHE}
2. Very dry area, land isolated and cruel (6) BRUTAL {BRUT}{A}{Land}
3. Spacious yard fell to the north (5) ROOMY {Y}{MOOR}<=
4. Set sail from bay, remedy ensuring no border controls (8) EMBARKED {rEM{BARK}EDy}
5. Conventional wife's husband and father acquiring gold, son without working getting gold (8) HAUSFRAU {{H}{{AU}{Son}}{FR}}{AU}
6. One milked in fraud derivatives (5) UDDER (T)
8. Stupid charade, cretin acted as fall guy (7,3,3) CARRIED THE CAN {CHARADE+CRETIN*}
13. Fruit from neem long over-refined (4,5) OGEN MELON {NEEM+LONG+O}* Thanks to Google
15. Randomly decide points to protect inexperienced beginner (4,4) DRAW LOTS {D{RAW} {L}OTS}
16. Failed attempt by one frustrating another one's release (8) EMISSION {ONE*} around {MISS}{I}
19. Hat's one pound including tax? Just the opposite (6) TRILBY {TR{I}{LB}Y}
20. With silence for rest and recreation, groom is relaxed (5) CUSHY {CU(+(SH)-(rr))Y}
21. Back to back knocks coming up in a flash (5) SPARK {bacK}{RAPS}<=

Reference List
Millions=M, Daughter=D, Girl=G, Boy=B, Bachelor=B, About=On
Area=A, Yard=Y, Husband=H, Father=Fr, Gold=Au, Working=On, Over=O, Beginner=L, One=I, Pound=Lb, Silence=Sh, Rest and Relaxation=RR

Colour/Font Scheme

DefinitionSolutionComponent lettersEmbedded links, Anagram IndicatorC/C indicatorReversal IndicatorHidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicatorDeletion IndicatorHomophone IndicatorMovement IndicatorPositional IndicatorSubstitution, IndicatorLink/Connector, Extraneous


24 comments:

  1. 18d DD lacking feelings//on one's upper's (upper->drug/stoned). My understanding

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1
      Stony = without feeling & without money [British]
      On one's uppers = without money

      Delete
    2. +1 to KKR.
      Stony from Stone broke = on one's uppers (https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+one%27s+uppers)

      Delete
    3. 'On uppers' would have meant stoned. Here there's an extra 'one's' in the clue

      Delete
  2. "on uppers" - I haven't come across this expression before but I guess it is from "down at one's heels" !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, all that's left are the shoes' uppers, with worn out soles

      Delete
  3. The bouncer and the dancer - Part 2

    After eloping the soon boarded a Megabus deciding to ALIGHT and settle in Las Vegas. The found a not so ROOMY place to stay and had enough money to last for a week. The CUSHY days were coming to an end. The dancer thought she had contracted it. It turned out 'THE DREADED LURGY'. The bouncer had to CARRY THE CAN.
    Dressed like a BRUTAL COMMANDO he EMBARKED on his mission and reached The Palamino.
    Yes. They had work for a dancer and a bouncer.
    He took her along BICKERing on the way that she shouldn't OVERDO her part wearin a RIBBON for a G-string.
    But alas! They did shUDDER when told that a couple can't work together. Did they SHUT DOWN the thought of both working?
    The SPARK!
    The bouncer annuled their marriage and the dancer from a HAUS FRAU became a live-in partner!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. 17A) in crossword, space for checked and unch entry is in LIGHT shade
    A(LIGHT) = ALIGHT is the solution
    Definition: Land

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not because it's in 'light shade'. See the explanation for 'LIGHTS' at the following link

      LIGHTS

      Delete
    2. Thank you sir for clearing my misunderstanding

      Delete
    3. Thank you Col. I seem to have missed reading this in Crossword Unclued. I depend a lot on crossings!

      Delete
    4. Paddy:who doesn't?That's why they are called CROSSwords😀

      Delete
  5. The upper portion went in rather quickly but struggled with the lower one starting with the long one at the centre. The old chestnut of Commando was the favourite. Thanks XChequer & Ramesh.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you Ramesh for the nice (as usual) blog.

    ReplyDelete
  7. XChecker threw a new light with ALIGHT. It as such a delight. thanks, Ramki.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OOPs ! That's why I wonder why setters should use pseudonyms ! I Kriss Krossed and got checked off by EX Whats in a name? so long as its a synonym and the real one is anonymous ? Thanks, Vasant.

      Delete
  8. xChequer true to his nature incorrigible as ever, I can't understand how anyone figured out "THE DREADED LURGY" which is a "nonce" word probably went out of circulation in the day it was used first.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since it was an anagram it was not too difficult to figure out once the crossings were in

      Delete
    2. I got The Dreaded from the crossings. Truysty dictionaries are there for the rest

      Delete

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