Warm welcome to Xchequer who starts off with a good puzzle - nice surfaces and wordplay. I particularly like the quirky reference in 27A.
ACROSS
1 Scope for inspiration to captivate a large number (7) BREADTH (BREATH outside D)
5 Computer manufacturer joins pen producer, outcome acrimonious (7) ACERBIC (ACER + BIC)
9 A grand GRE portal for all put together (9) AGGREGATE (A + G + GRE + GATE)
10 Starters of bacon and noodles consumed uncooked to get strength (5) BRAWN (B N outside RAW)
11 Missile exercise providing cover for fashion magazine (6) PELLET (PT outside ELLE)
12 Using old coin to discharge, financial obligations can be met (7) SOLVENT (SOL + VENT)
14 Bare-bodied Eastern horse goes west (4) NUDE (E + DUN)<=
15 Place lodger alongside a mid-ranking officer (10) LIEUTENANT (LIEU + TENANT)
19 Extensive feast occurring almost everywhere (10) WIDESPREAD (WIDE + SPREAD)
20 Worry from France and in France (4) FRET (FR + ET)
22 Query Church about article with disbelief (7) ASKANCE (ASK + CE outside AN)
25 With a kind of lease occupies island (6) ITHAKI (T)
27 Premier given scout sign and song of praise (5) PSALM (PM outside SALute)
28 Odour-suppressing substance, a point idiot to rave about (9) DEODORANT (E inside DODO + RANT)
29 Discovers steed galloping outside court (7) DETECTS (STEED* outside CT)
30 Those who revel in others’ pain affected by sorrow, good man is captured (7) SADISTS (SAD + IS outside ST)
DOWN
1 Beast’s calibre spoken of (4) BOAR (~BORE)
2 Intellectual that got laid, chief journalist (9) EGGHEADED (EGG + HEAD + ED)
3 Lives possessed by dread, well secured though (6) DWELLS (T)
4 Fitter to mend their switches (9) HEALTHIER (HEAL + THEIR*)
5 Helps Lincoln on the way up (5) ABETS (ABE + ST<=)
6 He undertakes to disguise member the French uprising held prisoner (8) EMBALMER (MEMBER* outside LA)
7 Note idle burst of fire (5) BLAZE (B + LAZE)
8 Set up criminal institute, not popular (10) CONSTITUTE (CON +inSTITUTE)
13 Topped, topped by crack, like Mt. Blanc maybe? (10) SNOWCAPPED (CAPPED after SNOW)
16 All agreed that international body found love mingled with hatred (9) UNANIMOUS (UN + O inside ANIMUS)
17 When starstruck from afar, Sanskrit, a mystical language’s revealed (9) AFRIKAANS (AFAR SANsKrIt a)*
18 In my opinion con is deplorably given equal legal status (8) ISONOMIC (IMO CON IS)*
21 Conceal with silence and dour expression (6) SHROUD (SH + DOUR*)
23 Reptile artist packed with baggage (5) KRAIT (RA inside KIT)
24 Ideas change, love takes over a distinctive intellectual character (5) EIDOS (IDEa(+O)S)*
26 Native Americans caught in a shootout, especially in Colorado (4) UTES (T)
ACROSS
1 Scope for inspiration to captivate a large number (7) BREADTH (BREATH outside D)
5 Computer manufacturer joins pen producer, outcome acrimonious (7) ACERBIC (ACER + BIC)
9 A grand GRE portal for all put together (9) AGGREGATE (A + G + GRE + GATE)
10 Starters of bacon and noodles consumed uncooked to get strength (5) BRAWN (B N outside RAW)
11 Missile exercise providing cover for fashion magazine (6) PELLET (PT outside ELLE)
12 Using old coin to discharge, financial obligations can be met (7) SOLVENT (SOL + VENT)
14 Bare-bodied Eastern horse goes west (4) NUDE (E + DUN)<=
15 Place lodger alongside a mid-ranking officer (10) LIEUTENANT (LIEU + TENANT)
19 Extensive feast occurring almost everywhere (10) WIDESPREAD (WIDE + SPREAD)
20 Worry from France and in France (4) FRET (FR + ET)
22 Query Church about article with disbelief (7) ASKANCE (ASK + CE outside AN)
25 With a kind of lease occupies island (6) ITHAKI (T)
27 Premier given scout sign and song of praise (5) PSALM (PM outside SAL
28 Odour-suppressing substance, a point idiot to rave about (9) DEODORANT (E inside DODO + RANT)
30 Those who revel in others’ pain affected by sorrow, good man is captured (7) SADISTS (SAD + IS outside ST)
DOWN
1 Beast’s calibre spoken of (4) BOAR (~BORE)
3 Lives possessed by dread, well secured though (6) DWELLS (T)
4 Fitter to mend their switches (9) HEALTHIER (HEAL + THEIR*)
5 Helps Lincoln on the way up (5) ABETS (ABE + ST<=)
6 He undertakes to disguise member the French uprising held prisoner (8) EMBALMER (MEMBER* outside LA)
7 Note idle burst of fire (5) BLAZE (B + LAZE)
8 Set up criminal institute, not popular (10) CONSTITUTE (CON +
13 Topped, topped by crack, like Mt. Blanc maybe? (10) SNOWCAPPED (CAPPED after SNOW)
17 When starstruck from afar, Sanskrit, a mystical language’s revealed (9) AFRIKAANS (AFAR SAN
18 In my opinion con is deplorably given equal legal status (8) ISONOMIC (IMO CON IS)*
21 Conceal with silence and dour expression (6) SHROUD (SH + DOUR*)
23 Reptile artist packed with baggage (5) KRAIT (RA inside KIT)
24 Ideas change, love takes over a distinctive intellectual character (5) EIDOS (IDEa(+O)S)*
26 Native Americans caught in a shootout, especially in Colorado (4) UTES (T)
Welcome, XC. Novel name. One to cheque mate solvers?
ReplyDeleteRegarding Richard’s non endorsement yesterday, it reminded me of an episode of Inspector Eagle (any one remember that serial) where the criminal uses poisonous agarbathis to get rid of victims.
Vinod Sharma and Yunus Parvez respectively were the voice of Inspector Eagle and Hav. Naik.
23 Reptile artist packed with baggage (5) KRAIT (RA inside KIT)
ReplyDeleteReminded me of Riki tiki tavi.
2 Intellectual that got laid, chief journalist (9) EGGHEADED
ReplyDeleteAny prizes if I guess the sex/gender of the said intellectual/chief journalist?
Nice one today. Couldn't get anno of 27A till I got here.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Guessed it with the def. "song of praise"
DeleteA very good puzzle.
ReplyDeletefound some and bungled some. over all, nice puzzle. kishore , i hope u are ok now. @ col. thanks , understood 14 A , yesterday.
ReplyDeletegood day all.
Welcome Ninety ( as Kishore put it- XC) or should it be the FM (that is what they call him in UK- Chancellor of the Exchequer)An absorbing puzzle and a nice way to start off.
ReplyDeleteGood starter. Going by Kishore's investigative logic would Xchequer's real name be Xavier?
ReplyDeleteQuery Church about article with disbelief (7) ASKANCE (ASK + CE outside AN)
ReplyDeleteShouldn't it be "CE about AN" ?
Query Church would be ASK CE, which is about article.
DeleteIn this context read:
Deletehttp://www.crosswordunclued.com/2012/11/3-segment-container-clues.html
Thanks Suresh and CV Sir
DeleteExcellent puzzle today. One of the unique aspects that a newbie like me found in today's puzzle was a complete absence of "pure anagrams" (my term for denoting anagrams where all the letters of the word are directly available in the clue itself). All anagrams in today's puzzle were either for part of the word or needed some of the constituent letters to be derived.
ReplyDeleteThis handicapped me somewhat, as I generally tend to look for anagrams to solve before using the crossings to help derive answers to other clues, but the nice surfaces made the puzzle enjoyable.
A very shrewd and pertinent observation from a comparatively fresh solver who is not to be confused with the veteran solver Sridhar on the Orkut communities. I don't know whether the latter visits here; in any case I could figure out from this Sridhar's earlier Comments that he is a different person.
DeleteYes, this crossword does not have a single instance of what I know as "whole word anagram". Sridhar has termed it "pure anagram" and it is apt.
I am not holding this against the setter. Just an observation.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteJust got back after spending the whole morning at the hospital and have been diagnosed with an attack of Cellulitis (foot), really painful while walking.
Welcome to xChequer. I hope The HINDU spreads out the new setters rather than bunching them up all together, we could have two each before and after Sankalak, Gridman and two in between with teh rest distributed elsewhere.
Regarding 25A, as per Wiki, the island is Ithaca or Ithaka and the capital is Vathy or Ithaci, though their website is www.ithaki.gr. Could xChequer clarify? See ITHACA
Just curious. Any particular reasons for wanting this change?
DeleteIt's better that way otherwise we have 6 from Sankalak followed by 6 from Gridman coming together, by having the new setters spaced out there will be variety
DeleteYep, seems better
DeleteWriting as xChequer:
ReplyDeleteThanks for comments and feedback first of all.
Interesting observation from Sridhar, I did not consciously aim for it, nor did I even realise it till I saw his post. I think that a couple of them, though involving abbreviations or deletions were not difficult to figure out.
Col: apropos your comment, I initially had some worries about that too, but I've found it accepted in many places as a variant spelling of Ithaca. Ref this link from Wiki for elaboration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_Islands. In fact it suggests that Ithaki is now written as Ithaca!
Excellent puzzle from xChequer, immensely enjoyed solving it though I missed out on a couple.
ReplyDeleteCol, wish you a speedy recovery - I have heard that its a very painful problem.
Agree that it would be nicer not to have new setters bunched together.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyable CW from XChequer - though I did not get Ithaki and Eidos.
Wonder who the setter is tomorrow?
Great, Bhala. Waiting to see more of you.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Colonel!
ReplyDelete'eggheaded' reminded me of Hercule Poirot!
+1
DeleteWho lse?
Welcome Bhala! Loved the crossword on the whole, but had a few issues:
ReplyDelete26D: The fodder is too long, especially the "in Colorado" part plays no role in the wordplay.
17D: Can't see the anagram indicator. If it's 'revealed' it's rather weak; also the definition is in the middle.
18D: The grammar of "given" looks wobbly. "Getting" instead of "given" makes it better.
27A: Another problem with "given" - too weak again for containment, I'd reckon.
25A: Grammar issue with the hidden clue - It is island that occupies "With a kind", and "of lease" plays no role.
On second thoughts, I see 'occupy' can be used for containment and containing.
DeleteI think some redundant words are ok in T clues. Moreover Utes live mainly in UT and CO.
DeleteHi Shyam,
DeleteI was just wondering.
I read someplace that it's all right to have extraneous words in the fodder, particularly if it's a hidden clue - i.e. if it helps the surface. Ain't it so?
In case of 25A, apart from the extraneous words in the fodder, what really is the problem? I thought occupies, if taken as "owns" works as a containment indicator.
Otherwise I agree with whatever you've written.
Also, what's your take on 16D and 21D? Is it all right for a clue to have a format like "Definition that wordplay" or "Definition with wordplay?"
Shyam, some points already addressed by others, on the telescopic clues. And Yes, Colorado included because of Utes native place.
Delete17D: anagrind in mystical. definitions for mystical include 'enigmatic' and 'obscure' which I feel are valid anagrinds.
18D: given should be read along with the rest of the definition, only then the adjectival form will be obtained. And this way there won't be any superfluous words in the clue also
27A: I don't understand why given cannot be a container, but I will look into this a bit more. Comments from others on this would be helpful
Hi again Bhala
DeleteSorry re 17D and 18D, I was misled by the emboldening, I think. Looks fine now, except possibly for the elision required in star-struck. However that is the setter's choice.
Words like has, have, get and give are generally accepted as charades; people expect strong and unambiguous indicators for containment because it represents a more complex operation than charade (which is just placing side by side).
VJ: In quality crosswords, one generally does not find extraneous words in T clues. I am okay with the extra "a" in "a shootout especially", but the Colorado reference is stretching it too far.
I personally do not have a problem with "definition with wordplay", as it is not entirely different from "definition in wordplay". But "that" in 16D is padding; also there seems to be an issue with the past tense 'found' for charade indication.
Okay, I think I've seen extraneous words used in some of the UK puzzles as well. I think I might have found such cases in NIE crosswords. Not sure.
DeleteHi Shyam, some incisive observations, much appreciated, actually when solvers take trouble to analyse in detail, it does help.
DeleteI too did not notice the definition part wrongly highlighted in the original solution, hence was a bit surprised at that query. But OK, that's a minor issue.
As regards telescopic clues, I have seen so many clues with additional words, maybe because the setter does not want it to be a gimme. I personally don't want to pad up with a lot of fluff. But the sentence can't end with 'especially' (which is required for the answer). I added a couple of words so that it is both OK on the surface and also somehow meaningful in context. I will however check up on best practice on this and also look at other puzzles (not just THC) to see how it's generally done.
On 27A: Like I said I will check a bit more on this. But grammatically and otherwise I feel it is OK. I could have possibly used 'Receives' (which is listed somewhere as a valid containment indicator) instead of 'Given'. But like someone said earlier it is the job of the setter to misdirect, conceal and create doubt, so on those grounds alone 'Given' should not be invalid
One T clue of Everyman
Deletesubject :foot-and- mouth emergency cases
Here, "foot-and-mouth" being hyphenated the whole thing could be treated as a single word.
DeleteThanks ;-)
DeleteDeepak: Sorry to hear about your foot problem. Wish you a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteTo the new setter: Good beginning. Kar Bhala Toh Ho Bhala...
Bhala/ X chequer,
ReplyDeleteTo think that I missed the oppotunity to meet such a good setter increases my regret manyfold! Thank you once again for a very nice CW, which makes us look for more.
Col.
Take care of your health and our best wishes are always with you.
Get well soon Deepak. One more itis I had not heard of.
ReplyDeleteMust be painful.
"Col: apropos your comment, I initially had some worries about that too, but I've found it accepted in many places as a variant spelling of Ithaca. Ref this link from Wiki for elaboration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_Islands. In fact it suggests that Ithaki is now written as Ithaca!"
ReplyDeleteThe atlas that I have gives it as "Ithaki"(printed in 2006)
Reply
Good one Bhala
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late but congratulations Bhala on a wonderful debut.
ReplyDeleteHi Col: Sorry to read about your foot problem. Hope it is healing? Have you tried Homeopathy? There is a doctor by name Hoogar in Vijayanagar who is good at such things. My cpusin's gout was out with week's treatment.
ReplyDeleteTake care and get well soon.