Tuesday, 16 October 2012

No.10595, Tuesday 16 Oct 12, Skulldugger

I apologise for the half baked blog. Was stuck in a meeting. Thanks Colonel for stepping in with the formatting.

ACROSS
1 Soccer brouhahas end in intense finale (9) CRESCENDO (END inside SOCCER*)
6 Unending darkness doomsayer’s end? (4) NIGH (NIGHt)
8 Sailors finding land difficult to understand? (8) ABSTRACT (ABS + TRACT)
9 King, 25, expresses impatience (3-3) TUT-TUT (TUT reechoed)
10 Do they graze in cyberspace? (6) ELANDS (E-LANDS)
 11 Game soldier, stationed in the borders of Algeria, provides defense (8) APOLOGIA (POLO + GI inside AA)
12 Confused young babes end up in cloisters (6) ABBEYS (Y BABES)*
15 Forgotten, strange knot inside Gold Spot? (4,4) FORT, KNOX (KNOT* inside FOR got X)
16 Cripple’s shoe marked by wear and tear (8) SABOTAGE (SABOT + AGE) Thanks Sandhya
 19 Without hesitation, carry out duty (6) EXCISE (EXerCISE)
21 Designed the decks (8) SKETCHED (THE DECKS)*
22 Strained Oriental, with Parvati’s protection, heads West (6) SIEVED (E inside DEVI'S<=)
24 Where they buried man in olden daze reportedly (6) DOLMEN (M inside OLDEN*) Thanks Sandhya
25 Hollow instrument ’e held made repetitive noises (8) REECHOED Anno pending (ECHO inside REED)
26 Calves skinned and dressed (4) VEAL (cALVEs)* &lit
27 Discerning Premier goes down to receive subjects (9) ELECTIVES (SELECTIVE with S moving to the end)

DOWN
1 They plot inqilab, accepting turncoats in their midst (5) CABAL (T<=)
2 Specialists getting close to peace treaty (7) ENTENTE (ENT + ENT + E)
3 Seafood gives bellyaches (5) CRABS (DD)
4 If it’s this bad, it can’t be that bad (3,4) NOT, HALF (CD)
5 Send off course (9) OUTSOURCE (COURSE)*
6 Circuitry indicative of functioning broadband in the plural? (7) NETWORK (NET + WORK)
7 Sort of rice bowl engulfed by flood in America (9) GLUTINOUS (GLUT + IN + US outside O)
 13 Singularity or coal pit (5,4) BLACK,HOLE (BLACK + HOLE)
14 Striking transformation from Black to Red, say (3,6) SEA, CHANGE (CD)
17 Endlessly disingenuous diplomat’s best suited for the job (7) OPTIMAL (dIPLOMAT)*
18 Legend or sell-out? Embraced sport for money! (7) ENDORSE (T)
20 Reportedly, a European of Russian literary importance (7) CHEKHOV (~CZECH OF)
22 Woman accosted by alien! Headline in scandal _____ (5) SHEET (SHE + ET)
23 Pointless fighting with them! (5) EPEES (CD)

LINK TO GRID



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46 comments:

  1. Dr.gayathri Sreekanth16 October 2012 at 08:43

    lol. THC sure is a roller coaste ride. yes @ rita, missed out going through blog yesterday, since i had few early morn surgeries. but yes, i did get everything right and was on cloud nine.but todays was so tough, i felt my cranial cavity is packed with clay.i didnt know a SINGLE answer. having said that,i now realise CW is more about understanding the layers than just anagram solving and in between the word clues. i hope to do well in future, as and when i solve clues every day.

    good day all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mathu's memoirs16 October 2012 at 17:17

      rightly said..i got only two today but a full grid yesterday..good evening..

      Delete
  2. Jayaseelan16 October 2012 at 08:52

    Oh! still under a state of shock

    ReplyDelete
  3. David Jayaprakash John16 October 2012 at 08:52

    You've got company doc! Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  4. SandhyaP16 October 2012 at 09:02

    16 Cripple’s shoe marked by wear and tear (8) SABOTAGE {SABOT}{AGE}
    24 Where they buried man in olden daze reportedly (6) DOLMEN DOL{M}EN*
    25 Hollow instrument ’e held made repetitive noises (8) REECHOED REE{CHO}{E}D (CHO?)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rengaswamy16 October 2012 at 10:06

    25 Hollow instrument ’e held made repetitive noises (8) REECHOED REE{CHO}{E}D (CHO?)

    RE(ECHO)ED

    ECHO - Hollow
    REED - Instrument
    Held - fodder indicator - REED held ECHO
    made Repetitive noises - REECHOED

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhavan16 October 2012 at 10:27

      I have updated the blog with the annotation.

      REED = hollow instrument
      ECHO = e, from the phonetic alphabet

      Delete
  6. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 10:12

    I was more than half way across the well and felt I was doomed. Glad I am not alone!

    4D- filled in 'not very' and got stuck in that corner.

    Glad I nwas able to get BLACK HOLE,SKETCHED,CRESCENDO,SABOTAGE,ENTENTE,TUT TUT (was not sure),ENDORSE,EXCISE to name a few.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 10:12

    Richard missing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown16 October 2012 at 10:22

    Hats off to all those who solved the CW today!! My upper storey felt pretty clogged! Could only get Cabal, Nigh, Abstract, Tut Tut, Abbeys, sea change, Black hole, sketched, endorse and sheet. After that - blank.
    Anyway, good to exercise those grey cells....
    Good morning all.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Suresh16 October 2012 at 10:32

    Great, Bhavan, Rengaswamy, Sandhya et al for the annos I could not get. And missed out Dolmen, wrote Common instead, and trying to figure out how it could have been a grave.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Richard16 October 2012 at 10:35

    Hi all

    Had to leave early in the morning and drive over 80-plus kilometres of country roads towards my project site. Did not get the print version in time. Reached the spot some time ago.

    I too would have had the same woes like the ones poured in the above posts. Only wizards like Bhavan, SandhyaP and some others could have solved this.

    Thanks Paddy for remembering me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard16 October 2012 at 10:37

      Wizards, the Col included.

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath16 October 2012 at 11:13

      I don't think I am in the same league as Bhavan, Sandhya and CV

      Delete
    3. Richard16 October 2012 at 11:15

      Oh, I missed CV's name, which should have appeared first.

      Delete
    4. Suresh16 October 2012 at 11:35

      Deepak is in a different league with his ability to finish any crossword by 8:30. Bhavan did it today but he may have an advantage since he is in a different time zone.

      Delete
    5. Deepak Gopinath16 October 2012 at 13:02

      Irrespective of the time zone the total time available to complete the crossword by 8:30 is still 2 hrs 15 min if the same is up at 6:15 IST

      Delete
    6. Suresh16 October 2012 at 13:31

      Oh! I was not sure when the online crossword comes up. Guardian's is up very early. That is why I said 'may'.

      Delete
  11. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 11:34

    Compared to the rest of us all of you (incl.Richard,Suresh) are way above and we are still learning.Mastering all setters is really tough and it needs a lot of time,patience and good memory.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mohsin16 October 2012 at 11:51

      delightfully tough.
      loved tut-tut, veal, fortknox, outsource and chechov.
      24A- why reportedly?

      Delete
    2. Suresh16 October 2012 at 12:12

      I had the same doubt. I took it as olden days and missed the anagram. This way the clue can become an & lit perhaps?

      Delete
    3. VMA Nair16 October 2012 at 12:26

      daze doing double duty as anag ind and ~ days ?

      Delete
  12. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 12:28

    Fort Knox is my COD.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 12:31

    24A-
    Bhavan's ref. leads to - "tol men",perhaps incorrectly,leads to "dolmen". Perhaps, that is where reportedly comes from.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bhalchandra Pasupathy16 October 2012 at 12:33

    Toughie all right, surfaces tend to lead one up the garden path. Very interesting though.

    A very minor flaw in 18D? Tense not in agreement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VJ16 October 2012 at 12:56

      I think it's all right... "sport for money" is the definition and embraced is the hidden word indicator

      Delete
  15. VJ16 October 2012 at 12:55

    "21 Designed the decks (8) SKETCHED (THE DECKS)*"

    Am I missing somethin' or the clue is????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RameshJ16 October 2012 at 12:56

      Designed is both the Defn & Anagram Indicator

      Delete
    2. VJ16 October 2012 at 13:04

      I thought so, but not sure if it's considered fair.

      Delete
  16. RameshJ16 October 2012 at 12:56

    Lovley tough one today. Faced difficulty in the southwest grid. Ended up looking here for Dolmen. Lots of clues putting their hands up to be picked as the Cod. Randomly picked Sea Change as my Cod.

    ReplyDelete
  17. SandhyaP16 October 2012 at 13:15

    @Richard & Colonel: Please don't include me your league - I just manage to figure out annos once in a while - many times after you wizards put in the answers!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Padmanabhan16 October 2012 at 13:36

    Col.

    Page review no. is back to normal(nearing 9 lacs).Great !! Any idea about reason for the goof up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath16 October 2012 at 13:39

      No idea at all. Blogger has these glitches once in a way

      Delete
    2. Suresh16 October 2012 at 17:04

      Wonder if "Get Idea" will work here

      Delete
    3. Richard16 October 2012 at 19:32

      You've got to be Abhishek to get it...

      Delete
  19. VP16 October 2012 at 14:05

    Could not finish today's CW - got stuck with some clues and decided to look here. But liked it nonetheless. I particularly like Skulldugger's references to some of my favorite topics (Black Hole/Singularity from today, Half life/Schrodinger's Cat from the last CW).

    ReplyDelete
  20. mathu's memoirs16 October 2012 at 17:22

    after seeing the answer it look easy..otherwise...appaadaa...romba kashtam....my day was unmade..

    mathu

    ReplyDelete
  21. Rengaswamy17 October 2012 at 06:41

    Orkut is not allowing to post today 17.10.12
    10596 Klue Klux Klan
    Across
    1 Fire up, hustle, and then droop pace (11)
    9 Goddess at artist’s heart (3,2,2)
    10 Tool one fires audibly (3,3)
    11 A month of expedition? Not for yours truly! (5)
    12 Fish wrongly diagnosed without initial neck examination (7)
    15 Commission left stumped? Precisely so! (4)
    16 Restrain fish by trapping in close confines (10)
    18 Mutinies irritate, rile nobles (10)
    20 Position line-up with no problem initially (4)
    23 Rum — a rarity for you and I (7)[b]CURIO US[/b]
    24 Bar headless spectre from rally (5)
    26 Not right to throw tantrum in sport (6)[b]MUTANT(-r)*[/b]
    27 Reminder of the culture one is not into (7)
    28 Turnouts at PM’s address for ballets, say (11)
    Down
    2 Yak, say, crossing U.K. town (6)
    3 Ease up, woman! The girl’s back (4)
    4 Vitalities of adult boasting in state’s housing (10)
    5 Ornateness of mercurial chorister short of Bach’s works (8)
    6 Badger and assess thought (7)
    7 Hold on to agent hauled up from the grave (9)
    8 Cigarette advert overwhelms Elizabeth (6)
    13 Intimated in hell, you fed daughter (10)
    14 Conquest of the French trapped in department (9)
    17 Supreme, directionless, last-minute mayhem (8)
    19 Smell of boutiques is not dreadful (7)[b]BOUQUET(-is)*[/b]
    21 Old fiddle’s tales of the lizard (6)
    22 Block withholds feisty mierkat (6)
    25 A sign of love for valets (4)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhavan17 October 2012 at 07:16

      I can already hear the howls of protest coming for this puzzle :)

      Delete
    2. Rengaswamy17 October 2012 at 07:46

      28 Turnouts at PM’s address for ballets, say (11)

      My COD. Lovely surface reading

      Delete
    3. Richard17 October 2012 at 07:53

      Agree with you, Renga. I have already prepared a post on today's date (Wed Oct 17) xpressing the same, to be submitted at 8-30 am

      Delete
    4. Richard17 October 2012 at 07:55

      Bhavan, I am stuck with some clues in the upper half. Cleared all in the lower half, many of which I got at first look.

      Delete

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