ACROSS
1 - As a mouth is when one is agape (4,4) - WIDE OPEN [CD]
6 - Be a bad helper? (4) - ABET [CD]
9 - Prior the peasant heard (6) - FORMER (~farmer)
10 - Notes I despatched to a Baltic state (7) - ESTONI*{A}
1 - As a mouth is when one is agape (4,4) - WIDE OPEN [CD]
6 - Be a bad helper? (4) - ABET [CD]
9 - Prior the peasant heard (6) - FORMER (~farmer)
10 - Notes I despatched to a Baltic state (7) - ESTONI*{A}
13 - The fellow naive? Cruel, in fact! (9) - {HE}{ARTLESS}
14 - Song of praise office attendant voiced (5) - PAEAN (~peon)
15 - Stimulate with the spinning (4) - {W}HET*
16 - Dillydally… a wit might turn up! (4,6) - WAIT* {AROUND}
19 - You may finger it in a book for a reference (5,5) - {THUMB} {INDEX}
21 - Linen hue (4) - ECRU [DD]
24 - Came to a conclusion: to M it's fixed (5) - (-m)ENDED
25 - Are they used for some cool writing? Not exactly! (3,6) - ICE SHEETS [CD]
26 - Seat of empire (7) - OTTOMAN [DD]
14 - Song of praise office attendant voiced (5) - PAEAN (~peon)
15 - Stimulate with the spinning (4) - {W}HET*
16 - Dillydally… a wit might turn up! (4,6) - WAIT* {AROUND}
19 - You may finger it in a book for a reference (5,5) - {THUMB} {INDEX}
21 - Linen hue (4) - ECRU [DD]
24 - Came to a conclusion: to M it's fixed (5) - (-m)ENDED
25 - Are they used for some cool writing? Not exactly! (3,6) - ICE SHEETS [CD]
26 - Seat of empire (7) - OTTOMAN [DD]
27 - Alternate look at tool (6) - {SEE}{SAW}
28 - Barbarian regretted, by the sound of it (4) - RUDE (~rued)
29 - Think again about fools starting to swagger (8) - {RE}{ASSE{S}S}
DOWN
2 - Time to test one's mettle (4,3) - IRON AGE
3 - Hatred of mine dissipated on the borders of Teliserry (6) - ENMI*{TY}
4 - Pearl icon smashed in China (9) - PORCELAIN*
5 - Necessarily these must be met if one is not to be in poverty (5) - NEEDS [CD]
7 - Moreover, dandy goes round to get narrow bikini top (7) - B{AND}EAU
8 - She is taught to give patient attention (7,5) - {TRAINED} {NURSE}
11 - They fail to pass the bar (6) - TOPERS [CD]
12 - Sent out (5,3,4) - SHOWN THE DOOR [E]
17 - Tree shade cast in the Middle East (3,3,3) - {THE RED SEA}*
18 - I hang out with Frenchman in the same place (6) - {I}{BIDE}{M}
20 - Without having had a girl friend? Not exactly! (7) - UNDATED [CD]
22 - Hundred loaves distributed to persons of the same age (7) - {C}OEVALS*
23 - A clinking follows this word from a toaster (6) - CHEERS [CD]
25 - Victor doesn't begin to get personal (5) - (-w)INNER
28 - Barbarian regretted, by the sound of it (4) - RUDE (~rued)
29 - Think again about fools starting to swagger (8) - {RE}{ASSE{S}S}
DOWN
2 - Time to test one's mettle (4,3) - IRON AGE
3 - Hatred of mine dissipated on the borders of Teliserry (6) - ENMI*{TY}
4 - Pearl icon smashed in China (9) - PORCELAIN*
5 - Necessarily these must be met if one is not to be in poverty (5) - NEEDS [CD]
7 - Moreover, dandy goes round to get narrow bikini top (7) - B{AND}EAU
8 - She is taught to give patient attention (7,5) - {TRAINED} {NURSE}
11 - They fail to pass the bar (6) - TOPERS [CD]
12 - Sent out (5,3,4) - SHOWN THE DOOR [E]
17 - Tree shade cast in the Middle East (3,3,3) - {THE RED SEA}*
18 - I hang out with Frenchman in the same place (6) - {I}{BIDE}{M}
20 - Without having had a girl friend? Not exactly! (7) - UNDATED [CD]
22 - Hundred loaves distributed to persons of the same age (7) - {C}OEVALS*
23 - A clinking follows this word from a toaster (6) - CHEERS [CD]
25 - Victor doesn't begin to get personal (5) - (-w)INNER
Hello everyone
ReplyDeleteSome good examples of play with words and anagram-based clues. E.g., 13A, 2D, 8D, 12D and 17D.
My observations:
Not much convinced about 9A. FORMER and FARMER cannot be considered similar-sounding, although the former is pronounced 'faarmer' in Indlish in a few parts of India. Can the same be said of 14A - PAEAN and PEON?
'Not exactly !' is a good expression in a clue, but it is being used too often in recent times.
Had trouble with 7D, 11D and 22D.
Richard
Very good X-Word today. Was able to solve all the clues. Only coevals 22Dn needed a confirmation from the Oxford Dictionary.
ReplyDeleteI have been blindly using "ibid." in my published research papers and never really researched what it truly means or represents until today - "IBIDEM" was a good lesson in that regard.
ReplyDeleteLiked 11D a lot - Though "TOPERS" was a dictionary word for me, I cottoned on to what was being implied after staring at the clue for a long time and enjoyed the subterfuge and word play.
Addendum to my first post:
ReplyDeleteA check on audio version of online dictionary says that PEON can be pronounced like PAEAN.
I stand corrected.
Richard
"Former" and "Farmer"
ReplyDeleteI happen to pronounce 'em just the same and I thought it's quite the same with everybody. Well it's possible that pronunciations differ based on dialects. So I think clues like these could be excused.
Good morning. Yes 18D was tricky.
ReplyDeletegood clues not interesting though.
ReplyDeleteChalk down the sub-10 today to the Oscars. Hurt Locker was a big surprise - not much of a military movie person but maybe I will see this one. Light posts on the Orkut forums as well.
ReplyDelete22 D.COEVALS . I CAME ACROSS THIS WORD IN FREERICE.COM , A VERY GOOD SITE FOR IMPROVING YOUR VOCABULARY AND ALSO YOUWILL BE DONATING TEN GRAINS OF RICE TO THE NEEDY FOR EVERY CORRECT ANSWER.
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ReplyDelete10 Ac Estonia's national flag is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black (middle), and white (bottom). The flag given by Colonel appears to miss out the bottom band perhaps because it is white. Historically blue represents ancient freedom, black symbolizes lost independence (during first Soviet, then German and again Soviet occupation) and white, the promise of a brighter future.
ReplyDelete