Saturday 12 June 2010

No 9867, Saturday 12 Jun 10, Nita Jaggi

ACROSS
4   - Unique flavour that may be used in a candy (8) - LICORICE [CD]
8   - One knight is in front of an artist in the capital city (6) - {AN}{K}{A}{RA}
9   - Single out the developed code link possessed by the boy in an enclosed area (10) - {LA}{N{D}LOCKEDi*}
10 - A lasso or lariat (4) - ROPE [CD]
11 - Criticise mother, overheard (4) - DAMN(~dam)
13 - Trade in an old jetty (6) - {EX}{PORT}
15 - Infection spread in the ligament is not good (7) - AILMENTg*
17 - First lady's first man (4) - ADAM [E]
18 - Beginning word in a fairy-tale (4) - ONCE [CD]
19 - Photo published out on time in an American daily reviewing the hurricane (7) - (semit){T{Y}PHOO*}{N}<-
21 - Single line cracked on the side of the rock formation (6) - {I}{NLIE*}{R}
22 - Kick the ball in the boat (4) - PUNT [DD]
25 - To encourage an animal (4) - BUCK [DD]
26 - Tax levied on an optician at the organisation (10) - CAPITATION*
27 - Hold out the dead fish (6) - {D}{ANGLE}
28 - Religious education in the East is set in a new way (8) - {RE}{ORIENT}
DOWN
1   - Arabs settle in this city (5) - BASRA*
2   - Congo critters are alright in the ship moving out of the harbour in front (6) - {OK}A{{PISh*} Where is the A from?
3   - Spicy tomato sauce (5) - SALSA [E]
4   - Revolutionary kind of linen (5) - LENIN*
5   - Assemble for the short prayer (7) - COLLECT [DD]
6   - It may be held as an honour for the newlyweds (9) - RECEPTION [CD]
7   - King can talk inside the church with permission (9) - {C{LEAR}AN}{CE}
12 - It may be wrapped from head to toe in the tomb (5) - MUMMY [CD]
14 - Pay-off for the weather gauge (9) - ADVANTAGE Anno pending
15 - Sound device provided for one in a large room primarily (9) - AMPLIFIE{R} Anno pending
16 - Jacket? May be for a leader (5) - NEHRU [DD]
19 - Somehow recreate out the eastern promenade (7) - TERRACEe*
20 - Something hastily put together (6) - KLUDGE [CD] Like this crossword is
22 - Instant information cut short in the New Testament (5) - PRI{NT} ?
23 - Bread for the short Dutch bird (5) - {NAN}{DU}
24 - Start off to inquire about an odd event in this kind of sport (5) - {aSK}{E}{E}{T}

70 comments:

  1. Good morning

    14D - Have a look at this - WEATHER GAUGE

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  2. What is the implication in 'first man' of first lady clue? Did the lady have a second, third, fourth and so on??? Just kidding! The meaning is quite obvious.

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  3. Mrs PP,

    Who knows? Maybe she did if you consider the snake also :-)

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  4. 15D - My take: It's a play with 'provided' (IF), 'big' (AMPLE), a = 1=I, 'room primarily' R

    Does it make sense? To some extent, surface reading too suggests AMPLIFIER.

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  5. Richard I did think of that but by then I had given up trying to reverse engineer the annotations

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  6. 14 D Advantage and weather gauge may have a link, but pay-off? It seems a stretch to link pay-off to advantage.

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  7. 15D: Why can't it be a direct clue? Well, in large rooms and arenas, you definitely need amplification to make the sound signal big enough for you to hear.

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  8. 28A Shouldn't there have been a 'primarily' or 'initially' after 'education'? (REORIENT)

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  9. 15 - Sound device provided for one in a large room primarily (9) - AMPLIFIER

    Richard
    While I do agree with your working out the various components, I do not think the clue works overall.
    Let me parse it:
    Sound device - def
    provided - IF
    for
    one - I
    in
    a - A
    large - AMPLE
    room primarily - R
    So the solution is A AMPL (IF I) E R

    I would like to clarify that I don't care who the setter is. I always look at the clues and if it is defective I will say it is defective.

    Anyone who has carefully read my comments here and anywhere else will vouchsafe that for me the clue is the thing. I will look at the clue's components minutely and everything must come out just right.

    Richard, answer me. Do the components come out correctly here?

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  10. PP @0838 - Liked your poser. Quite genuine and legitimate. Looks like the clue gives a new dimension to the story of the Genesis in the Holy Book.

    Deepak, when I saw the mention of the snake, remembered a conundrum heard in childhood days.

    Q: 'How many apples were eaten in the Garden of Eden?'

    I don't want to keep anyone in suspense.

    A: In all, eleven. Adam 8 (ate), Eve 2 (too) and the Devil 1 (won).

    20D - Liked your comment on KLUDGE.

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  11. RE is an accepted abbr. for Religious Education (in UK schools).

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  12. @VJ,

    In any case the surface reading of 15D makes no sense. NJ may have as well have just written "Sound device" why write "provided for one in a large room primarily".
    What is 'provided for one'? and why 'primarily'?

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  13. Giridhar, if your investment's paid off, it means you've made a profit. In that sense, yes, pay off could be linked to advantage.

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  14. CV 0901

    Sorry, I added an extra A there.

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  15. Mrs PP
    You raised a valid question. Though you said you were kidding, it's a serious matter.

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  16. 7D King can talk inside church...

    I would have thought King (LEAR) would be inside church 'C(LEAR)E'based on the wording above. Am I missing something here? I, of course, didn't know what to do with 'can talk'.

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  17. @Deepak @9.04

    I thought 'primarily' in this context meant 'take the first letter' i.e R. I guess it is not standard usage.

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  18. Giridhar
    You have a point!
    The wordplay of CLEARANCE is not in proper order and 'talk' is intrusive.

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  19. Giridhar, 7D: I think something's wrong with the clue.

    It's not clear whether LEAR is inside CAN or CE. If it's the former, the sentence is incorrect. If latter, why is CAN anagrammed? Does setter expect us to consider "talk" as the anagram indicator?

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  20. We now need to mass-appeal to The Hindu bosses to add an additional tag-line E&OE ('Errors and omissions excepted') to NJ crosswords, as they do in bills and invoices.

    But there is a risk of its being taken as 'Errors
    and omissions accepted'.

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. VJ
    Sound device provided for one in a large room primarily (9)
    I am afraid this cannot be considered a straightforward clue. It has far too many pointers to be branded a cryptic clue. And my opinion is that as a cryptic clue it is defective for reasons that I have already stated above.

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  23. CV,

    Thanks for clarification re RE.

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  24. @VJ,

    Pay-off -> profit is fine, but profit is not the same as advantage.

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  25. "First lady's first man"

    LOL, what a funny way of putting it.

    Maybe the setter wants us to equate "first man" with "significant other."

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  26. 22 D Here again I thought that N and T would be the first and last characters in the solution word because of '.. in'.

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  27. 17 A - may be it was a double clue.

    First man - ADAM. Just kidding.

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  28. A profit is an advantage. I think it's all right.

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  29. Chaturvasi, I got your explanation. I think you're right. If NJ wanted it to be a straight-forward clue, she could have constructed it in a much simpler way.

    I saw it as a straight clue 'cause I solved it just by reading the surface. There was "sound device" and "large room" so I immediately took it be "AMPLIFIER." Didn't read much into the clue.

    Need more help here....

    Can't "a" in "a large...." just be a connector to give us {AMPL{IF}{I}E} {R}

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  30. Well, I don't think a serves as a connector.

    If it were "a room" we might get, say, PAD where we might ignore the article.

    But, when the clue-writer has "a large room", large room will give a synonym, say, HALL. We will have to take into account the article a.

    Clue-writing is an art and it does not come easily.

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  31. Congo critters are alright in the ship moving out of the harbour in front (6) - {OK}A{{PISh*} Where is the A from?

    Apart from the qn raised by the blogger -

    a) Is 'Congo' still in use?

    b) Is the use of 'alright' all right?

    c) "the ship moving out of the harbour" - how would you really interpret this? What is deleted from what?

    I would be interested in knowing what the learned commenters here think.

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  32. If it were "a room" we might get, say, PAD where we might ignore the article.

    But, when the clue-writer has "a large room", large room will give a synonym, say, HALL. We will have to take into account the article a.


    Absolutely. An article before a noun is usually acceptable as connector, not before an adjective or verb.

    To compare it with 10A (leaving aside comments on other aspects of the clue), "a" before "lasso" is all right, but not in 15D.

    More on this here: Same connector, unequal impact

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  33. Shuchi
    Thanks for your input.
    I am glad that my argument has been buttressed.

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  34. Just 15 more comments to go to make a half century! Nita must sure be laughing all the way to the bank in her chauffeur-driven Cadillac.

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  35. Charturvasi,

    2D:

    a. Congo: I googled the name and it seems like it's still in use.

    b. Alright: Non-standard but commonly used. So all right I reckon.

    c. Ship moving out of the harbor: This kinda reversal happens pretty often with this particular setter. NJ perhaps feels it's all right.

    d. Don't know where A comes from.

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  36. Chaturvasi and Schuchi,

    Thanks for your clarification on the subject of connectors. I think I get it now. It was helpful.

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  37. @Satya,

    I wish the number of comments were linked to money going to my bank in which case I wouldn't mind torturing myself with NJ's CW's

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  38. At least 3 crazy people here, at last count ! What say G & VJ? Pardon the late log in, blame it on SA.

    @ Richard: Q.After all the apples in Eden were eaten, how many remained?

    @ Col: You can't bank on it !

    ADAM is A DAM?

    Reminds of palindrome: MADAM I'M ADAM. (NOT COUNTING THE "'")

    @ Richard: A: One, Adam's apple.

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  39. Kishore
    Somewhere we mentioned that the soccer goalie always wears shirt No. 1. (Indeed that was my impression when the subject came up.)
    If I am not mistaken, in the opening match yesterday the goalie of one side indeed had no. 1 but his opponent had no. 16.
    Any expln? (I am not a keen follower so I could be wrong.)

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  40. @CV
    19 - Photo published out on time in an American daily reviewing the hurricane (7) - (semit){T{Y}PHOO*}{N}<-

    The Anno appears to require correction.
    I took the anno as:
    Photo - t(ime)= PHOO
    in - insertion indicator
    an Americal daily - NYT (New York Times)
    reviewing (showing reversal) - TYN
    Defn (Hurricane)
    PHOO in TYN = TYPHOON

    Please advice.

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  41. Venkatesh
    Your anno is just fine.

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  42. Vasi sir @13:23

    Though there have been instances when players other than a goalkeeper have worn the No 1 jersey in the past, Present rules for FIFA tournaments like the world Cup state that the it should mandatorily be worn only by the team's goalkeeper. If you did see a goalkeeper wearing any other number, he must be the team's substitute goalkeeper( a team has more than one goalkeeper, three in a squad of 23). However, there may be rare exceptions to this rule for club tournaments which do not come under FIFA regulations

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  43. I just now noticed that Vasi sir's query was addressed to Kishore, My apologies for speaking out of turn :)

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  44. Thanks, Richard, for posting that brilliant snake conundrum! I'm tempted to post it in the Hub's ;share what you enjoyed reading thread'! Kishore's Adam's apple puzzle is also equally brilliant! Must thank NJ for opening avenues for our creative thinking and memorable stories!!!

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  45. maddy
    Thanks. One may address a query to someone but any visitor is quite welcome to reply as we are all members of the same club sharing knowledge and having fun. I bet Kishore and Deepak too view this from the same angle (can't say whether it is acute or obtuse but must be right!)

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  46. VUVUZELA

    You may have heard it on the opening day of FIFA World Cup.

    Are you up to writing a clue for it?

    If so, go here:

    http://boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?&user=dharrison

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  47. A stadium horn (8)

    You can't go wrong with that, can you?

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  48. We and You and We and You laze around with an instrument (8)

    What about a click language puzzle?

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  49. Anyone seen the great Coke ad about goal celebrations?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M3Q54rPjQw&feature=PlayList&p=8615E0B17E93E933&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=7

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  50. Maddy@14:42 and CV@15:27,

    No problems, anyone is welcome to answer any query.

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  51. Kishore, LOL, funny clue....

    I wonder what would happen here if NJ comes up with a clue like that.

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  52. Kishore,

    Roger Milla also holds a World Cup record.

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  53. Rating an Eastern country just won one nothing !(9) DAM, the hand of God, could be seen on the fringe.

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  54. @VJ: Col would expand his vocabulary of symbols put at the top of the crossword. :-)

    Qongqothwane songless sound of a camera (5)

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  55. song available at:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tSJ7L_IRBs

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  56. Thank you, Kishore. Just returned from a meeting of the Madras (yes, Madras) Book Club. Took all your suggestions.
    BTW, saw your clue at crossword centre. Wondered how while I was the first entrant, you preceded me.
    No prob, but the wonderment is still there!
    Good night!

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  57. @ CV 1527: I dont view angles, only curves !

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  58. @CV 2210: It sets latest entrant first ! Just like an elevator or an SMLE (Smelly) magazine.

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  59. @CV 1527: Liked the pun on 'right'

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  60. @ Maddy 1440: No offense taken, no defense required. To quote the Col, 'Bash/bang on regardless' :-)

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  61. @CV 2210: Madras, aaah ! reminds me of the times we used to write it conjoined with calcutta.

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  62. Kishore,

    Argentina and Maradona

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  63. Diego Armando Maradona (DAM), right you are Giri. One more to crack at 2200: Hint: Plum's -----ing of Cuthbert.

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  64. @CV:Wonder how you would write a clue for Qongqothwane

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  65. Kishore

    CLICK

    Youtube link had the solution :-) PGW fill up the blank was straightforward. (though I am not a fan of PGW).

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  66. @ Giri: Did you also get the final score in my clue? One-Nothing !

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  67. Yes I did, Argentina-Nigeria, but even without that the Maradona reference kind of led one to think of Argentina.

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  68. Is this a record for number of comments?

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  69. Nigeria net without an eye, say, form another country

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