Friday 25 January 2013

No 10679, Friday 25 Jan 13, Arden

 On the tougher side from Arden today. Learnt some new words and meanings in 12A and 15A. Stumped in the NE again today.

ACROSS
1   Grab some chicken…. (6) CLUTCH [DD]
4   …and put a bird on eggplant (8) LARKSPUR Anno pending (Addendum - {LARK}{SPUR} - See comments}
9   Iron maiden caught playing at short distance (6) MICRON {IRON+M+C}*
10 Arrived with joey at north country (8) CAMEROON {CAME}{ROO}{N}
12 A guide to take one forcibly over a country (8) DRAGOMAN {DRAG}{OMAN}
13 Extra police to guide the members in an organisation (6) BYELAW ? (Addendum - {BYE}{LAW} - See comments)
15 Characters love state with too many abbreviations (8,4) ALPHABET SOUP {ALPHABET S}{O}{UP}
18 Count bars — it would make you conform to norms (4,8) PEER PRESSURE {PEER} {PRESSURE}
21 Package on vehicle not coming back (6) CARTON {CAR}{TON<=}
22 Old trader put maid in an accommodation (8) INDIAMAN*
24 Put down in the book (8) REGISTER [DD]
25 Look…without victory you will have nothing to eat (6) STARVE {STAR{V}E}
26 Dumdum in the news (8) BULLETIN {BULLET}{IN}
27 Please finish and give attention (6) ENDEAR {END}{EAR}

DOWN
1   Invitation as back up help for new actor (8) COMEDIAN {COME}{DIA<=}{N}
2   As he is related mostly to snakes, one lets go (8) UNCLASPS {UNCLe}{ASPS}
3   Dessert is cold — some use hot cola as substitute (9,6) CHOCOLATE MOUSSE {C}{SOME+USE+HOT+COLA}*
5   Open just a tad for an ex-minister to be elevated (4) AJAR {A}{JAR <=} Raj and ex-minister?
6   Yorkshire put one off…. calm down (4,4,5,2) KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON*
7   The dog died in the channel port (6) POODLE {POO{D}LE}
8   Bird said to have fame (6) RENOWN (~wren}{REN}{OWN}
11 Wine produced by outfit (7) MADEIRA {MADE}{IRA}
14 As an aristocrat she had reserves holding chemical weapon (7) TSARINA {T{SARIN}A}
16 Oddly bomber came in a wave for dive (8) SUBMERGE {SU{BoMbEr}RGE}
17 Rudolph perhaps will keep control over growing grass (8) REINDEER {REIN}{DEER<=}
19 Second vehicle, a black beetle (6) SCARAB {S}{CAR}{A}{B}
20 Frequently it is acceptable for a girl to be spartan (6) FRUGAL {FR}{U}{GAL}
23 Part of a religious school (4)(Addendum - LEVI [GK] - See comments)


42 comments:

  1. 4 …and put a bird on eggplant (8) LARKSPUR Anno pending

    bird=lark
    egg=spur
    plant larkspur

    like yesterday, word splitting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liked this one. To egg = spur.

      Delete
    2. This is crosswordese, I think.

      To urge someone, we would rather egg him on rather than just 'egg' him.

      Delete
    3. Word splitting is fine. But having the definition as part pf a word which is to be split?

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. 23 Part of a religious school (4)

      I took it as SEMInary

      Delete
    2. You can bet a math expert to take care of parts of a whole and the whole of parts.

      Delete
    3. In your opinion, is it LEVI or SEMI, or something else?

      Of course, unless Arden logs in, we will know tomorrow only

      Delete
    4. Until then, total or SEMI LEVItation for us...

      Delete
    5. You have 'floated' a new idea.

      Delete
  3. 13 Extra police to guide the members in an organisation (6) BYELAW ?

    Extra= bye
    police=law
    bal part of clue is the def

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is BYLAW not a more commonly used and a more appropriate word. 'By' could be a prefix like in bylane.

      Delete
    2. English is peculiar.

      Bylaw or bye-law (the former w/o the hyphen, the latter with it) is OK.

      But bylane is only bylane, never bye-lane.

      It will be interesting to delve into these two words.

      Delete
  4. 5 Open just a tad for an ex-minister to be elevated (4) AJAR {A}{JAR <=} Raj and ex-minister?

    Could Raj be a ref to the giant killer of '77, Raj Narain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AJAR<- (Former telecom minister Raja)

      Delete
    2. Importation of the Indian element is interesting.

      While a simple soul like me can think only of the immediately past Minister, our resident encyclopaedist can go to that dark and backward abysm of time and fetch Narain.

      But it works!

      Reversal of
      an - A
      Minister - RAJ

      Delete
    3. Our ex-ministers do not need anything to be opened just 'a tad' to be elevated, they are capable of being elevated through closed doors as well!!!

      Delete
    4. There will be umpteen followers to hoist the man on their shoulders!

      Delete
  5. SOS

    OT

    I have painted myself into a corner.

    Is ARMADILLA a valid word?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchidella_armadilla

      It is, if we reckon taxonomic names, though I personally don't like them. Though Tigris as a river is fine, I would probably not like it much if a tiger was referred as panthera TIGRIS in a crossie.

      Delete
  6. Sandy is probably right ! As Thomas Hood, in I remember, I remember said , "...is living yet". And hence, I discounted the telecom minister.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whats with the key in your new profile icon? You becoming Asst CCE?

      Delete
    2. Bus again !

      Delete
    3. Nope, I am quite far from being ACCE. I just throw a few random pebbles

      Delete
    4. The second graphic looks like a chunk of stone. Does it stand for KEYSTONE, the name of a firm?

      Delete
    5. Let me make a guess-

      Key- Ki
      support as in 'shore up' (as in the picture)- shore

      Delete
    6. Paddy's got it (and you know how crossword enthusiasts interpret 'it'), tho' its just shore and not shore up.

      Delete
    7. Thank you Col. & Kishore.It is always tricky deciphering Kishore.
      Kishore,
      You mean it is shore (coast)? (as indicated by the blue colour?)

      Delete
    8. So that's chaabi kinara.

      Delete
  7. Can I go into the commercial world for defining armadilla?

    See

    http://www.armadilla.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think that would be right

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Deepak.

      ARMADILLO,it will be.

      I have made resultant changes in other crossings; just need to chuck out a clue and rewrite. Luckily clues for other original entries were not written.

      Delete
  8. Found it tough as well today and ended up with a few blanks. Was trying (futilely) for a long while to think of a word for eggplant to the fit the crossings for 2A.
    Nice run from Arden.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Byelaw & bye-law: Nice to get into familiar territory for me.

    I had once pointed out to the Nairobi Club Chairman, a British' native' in Kenya, on the use of the word under way-- in the minutes where some projects of the Club were under way. However it was spelt as underway as one word and after my challenge, the OED confirmed that under way is the right spelling whereas, an underway could be deemed to be an underpass in a road ( Now, Don't drag me into: whether it should be underpass or under-pass or simply an Underpass !). Thereby correcting the minutes with a mutter that we natives are to' teach a thing or two ' on English usage.

    It is another matter later on for me to be told that the hyphen is passe' in English usage as the Americans always do the exact opposite of what the British does !

    So in the usage of English, there is no hard and fast rule to say' It will be my way or take the highway' !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hope every one has under stood this...:-)

    ReplyDelete

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