Sunday, 24 July 2011

No 2644, Sunday 24 Jul 11

Toughie today, but what a relief after NJ's gibberish.
ACROSS
1   - Identify one abbreviated US state (11) - {CONNECT}{I}{CUT}  CONNECTICUT
9   - Bell tower in barracks by a river in Africa (9) - {CAMP}{A}{NILE}  CAMPANILE
10 - Saw a daughter decline (5) - {A}{D}{AGE} ADAGE
11 - Man staff caught out (4) - {RO{O}D} ROOD
12 - Jazz pianist's number I put in post (5,5) - {COUNT} {BAS{I}E}  COUNT BASIE 
14 - Replace wonderful watch studded with diamonds (9) - {SUPER}{SE{D}E} SUPERSEDE Why diamond in plural?
15 - Nonsense written about origins of Orkney and Shetland tidal current (5) - {RO{OS}T} &lit ROOST
16 - Sketch front of nightclub that's closed (5) - {DRAW}{N} DRAWN
17 - Music-makers playing in scarlet (9) - CLARINETS*
20 - Flat in which Frenchman entertains girlfriend? (4-1-5) - {PIE{D-A-TE}RRE} PIED-A-TERRE
21 - Deer concealed crossing far side of plantation (4) - {HI{N}D} HIND 
23 - Blade's small talk (5) - {S}{WORD} SWORD
24 - Carry out a utensil (9) - IMPLEMENT [DD]
25 - More considerate, old patrolman in part of the Peak District (6,5) - {KINDER} {SCOUT} KINDER SCOUT
DOWN
1   - In which to make a note of run-of-the-mill reserve? (11,4) - {COMMONPLACE} {BOOK} COMMONPLACE BOOK
2   - Note organ close by (4) - {N}{EAR} NEAR
3   - Typical example of European religious book (7) - {E}{PI}{TOME} EPITOME
4   - Couple adopting tiny new child (7) - {T{WEE}{N}IE} TWEENIE 
5   - Room temperature, cool for a burgundy? (10) - {CHAMBER}{T}{IN} CHAMBERTIN 
6   - It's better now you're talking (5,4,4,2) - THAT'S MORE LIKE IT [CD]
7   - He drowned in the Aegean, one tenor after love spurned (6) - {I}{CARUSo} ICARUS 
8   - Desert fault (6) - DEFECT [DD]
13 - Group in golf club on first (4,6) - {IRON} {MAIDEN} IRON MAIDEN
16 - Oust extremely demure model (6) - {DemurE}{POSE} DEPOSE
17 - Pharmacist's short eastern dress (7) - {CHEMISt}{E} CHEMISE
18 - With reference to a shore, very large (7) - {A}{PROP}{OS} APROPOS
19 - Not very exciting appointment in the Kent area? (6) - {SE}{DATE} SEDATE
22 - Freezer on? There's nothing in it! (4) - ZERO [T]
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27 comments:

  1. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 08:46

    Was a toughie alright. And Roodmas is still far away!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 09:12

    Paddy sent me the following link. It's well worth a visit by friends here:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian

    Before you copy the above and paste it in the address field of your browser, can you guess what that neologism at the end means?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 09:19

    I know that, is something I can say after I read the page.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 09:39

    Wow... a real toughie... gave up with around 60% filled. But I just got curious about one thing. Even this celebrated Brit setter sometimes gets a bit lax about the surface, I felt. Short clues like 23A, 24A or 8D didn't make any sense to me as normal sentences.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 09:47

    Col, could you please tell me why you have marked 15A as &lit? Also 19D's anno is also not clear. Kent=SE, because it is in South East England? If yes, doesn't the instruction lead us to S{DATE}E?


    As an aside, my paper today didn't print the last row and last column :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 09:51

    Well, I would agree that 8d doesn't make much sense (though even that one can be justified in a way by saying that it's a fault that is made in (or that is of) a desert.

    As for 23a, 'blade' there is a dashing fellow.

    24a, when you 'implement a task' you carry it out. And you can carry out a utensil from say the inside of a hut to out in the open.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 09:55

    Re SEDATE
    The Col's anno is spot on.
    An appointment in the Kent area is an SE DATE just as a banian made in Tirupur is a Tirupur banian.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Suresh24 July 2011 at 09:56

    11A is (-C)ROOK

    ReplyDelete
  9. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 09:58

    Re the truncated grid.

    Some strong observations have been made in the Orkut community: The Hindu Crossword Solutions. Chaturvasi's note is Copyright Chaturvasi and is not to be reproduced anywhere and no permission will be granted in that regard.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 09:59

    Man in the sense of chessman or chess coin.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Suresh24 July 2011 at 09:59

    Incomplete printing of the grid added to the time required to complete the puzzle. This CW may not be for Everyman -- a toughie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 10:02

    Thanks, CV Sir. I'm clearly outwitted in 19D! But reg the surface explanations I need to take them with a pinch of salt. I've never heard of 'blade'. I do not think anyone will use 'carry out' in the manner you've indicated. 'Take this utensil out' or at the max only 'Carry this utensil out' is plausible.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 10:19

    In 'D is for diamonds' the word is in plural form because it denotes the cards bearing that pip in a pack.
    So also 'hearts' for H; 'clubs' for C...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 10:23

    'Desert fault' could be interpreted as a geo or earth 'fault' in the desert area.

    What do you say, Sudalamani?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 10:37

    Raju and CV,

    Replied to your questions in yesterdays post in the same post.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Padmanabhan24 July 2011 at 10:52

    8D-
    Desert-verb form of defection? DD since fault is defect.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 10:56

    I have this tendency to defend clues in a UK puzzle.

    I believe that by and large my explanations resolve doubts expressed by others.

    Yet -

    A charge can be laid against me by vested interests (even when they are not wearing Tirupur banians). They might say that I have a colonial mindset.

    I don't think so but having observed me for the past so many years what would my friends say?
    Is it true?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 11:02

    CV 1023: My geologic knowledge is a total zero. But Google Saab says that you are on the spot. But I really need to read wiki to understand what a 'fault' means.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bhavan24 July 2011 at 11:03

    A clue is a clue. Irrespective of its origins, references and connotations its job is to be - accurate, meaningful, unambiguous and optionally entertaining.

    It is easy to defend such clues secure in the knowledge that they wouldn't appear in public domain without undergoing at least one independent review.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 11:04

    Desert fault

    Surface reading suggests that there is a fault in the desert.

    In surface reading 'desert' may be taken as a nounal adj. and 'fault' as noun that it qualifies.

    In wordplay,

    'desert' is n. = defect ( as a party member may desert a party and defect to another) and 'fault' is n. - defect

    ReplyDelete
  21. Suresh24 July 2011 at 13:32

    Fault on surface reading can also mean a crack in the earth's surface, like the San Andreas fault

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 13:37

    Suresh
    That is what I meant at 1023.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Chaturvasi24 July 2011 at 13:39

    Bhavan

    You're wearing a nice choker!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Suresh24 July 2011 at 15:36

    Yes CV I saw your msg later

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 15:59

    Bhavan, I second CV's 1339 ! Nice new pic. Regards to the choker and the chokee !

    ReplyDelete
  26. Bhavan24 July 2011 at 16:18

    Yeah I know the choke's on me : )

    ReplyDelete
  27. raju umamaheswar25 July 2011 at 12:46

    This Sunday's was a bit tough, no doubt. Many of us 'natives' may not know the topography of UK and the terminology and acronyms they use. I could manage some how, but gave up to figure out rood-- staff-rod ;yes, out-ut=o? Doesn't seem ok. Even a British solver will have difficulty.

    Daimonds was a misleading clue. The compiler may be a distant cousin of NJ?

    COMMONPLACE BOOK was a new one to me, although I had jotted it down in my Normal Pulsford-- means I had done it once eons ago and hence added on.

    It took me the whole of two hours on Monday `10-12pm to complete this and hence this late posting.

    Thanks Kishore for your response. Any chance of visiting Namma Coimbatore? To me it is not Namma but Unga Coimbatore still.!!

    Raju Umamaheswar

    ReplyDelete

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