Thursday, 7 February 2013

No 10690, 07 Feb 13, Skulldugger

I feel this is an overreach effort from Skulldugger.

ACROSS
1   Engineers inclined to plan what 15 is inclined to make (6,3) RELIEF MAP {RE}{LIE}F {MAP} Anno pending (Addendum - {RE}{LIEF} {MAP} - See comments)
6   Crock discovered among my things (4) MYTH [T]
8   Vessel arrangement in Victorian England – a state kicking out the Irishman. (8) ?E?A?I?N (Addendum - VENATION {VE}{NATION} - See comments) But why kick out the poor Irishman?
9   Deal with gear (6) TACKLE [DD]
10 Setter used to be a drug peddler, supplying seed of Anguish (6) MEDDLE {Me}{pEDDLEr}(Addendum - ISOLDE - {I}{SOLD}{E} - See comments}
11 Regal bender leading to many a bender (5-3) BOOZE-UPS Anno pending (Addendum - LAGER<= or BOOZE-UP  - See comments)
12 Whitey reportedly glib about litter (3-3) FLY-TIP {FL{Y-T}(~whitey)IP}
15 Inspector takes in perverted voyeurs (8) SURVEYOR {VOYEURS*}R Anno not clear (Addendum - {SU{R}VEYOR*} - See comments)
16 Contestants’ introduction to the audience (8) ENTRANTS (~entrance)
19 Popular passes for pecuniarily challenged productions (6) INDIES {IN}{DIES} Why pecuniarily challenged ?
21 Coiffure displayed by well-built soldier reportedly not in (8) BOUFFANT Anno pending (Addendum - {B{O}UFF}{ANT} - See comments)
22 Consumer price rise radical! (6) FEEDER {FEE}{DER<=}
24 New country houses remedial centres (6) UNUSED {coUNtry}{hoUSes}{remEDial}
25 Dad leaves despairing, unsettled by the fight (8) RINGSIDE DESpaIRING*
26 Setter lacking in confidence, it’s said (4) ?R?L (addendum - ORAL {mORALe} - See comments}
27 Ludicrous way he does make-up (9) EYESHADOW*

DOWN
1   Is redolent of rubbish and essentially dirty given atleast a fortnight without wife (5) REEKS {R}{wEEKS} ? (Addendum - {diRty}{wEEKS} - See comments}
2   Page permitted to provide propagandistic paper (7) LEAFLET {LEAF}{LET}
3   Crack brought out after the cops left (5) ELITE Anno pending (Addendum - ELIciTEd - See comments)
4   Climbing underneath car or other conveyance (7) MINIBUS {MINI}{BUS<=}
5   Limitless corruption after acquiring power may make a mess of things (9) POTPOURRI {cORRUPTIOn+P}*
6   West adopts innovative tech that’s cutting-edge (7) MACHETE {MA{TECH*}E}
7   Ringtone restrained tusker squashing social worker! (9) TELEPHONE {T{ELEPHant}ONE}
13 Network is not functioning there in the absence of the freeholder (9) LANDOWNER {LAN}{DOWN}{thEre}
14 Beg in a region of Texas (9) PANHANDLE [DD]
17 Prohibition is basically about Capone demonstrating a quick temper (7) REFUSAL REFUS{AL}Anno pending (Addendum - {RE}{FUSe}{AL} - See comments)
18 Released fixed price to be introduced around the middle of March. (3,4) SET FREE {SET F{R}EE}
20 Disconsolate, have lost record, but not in the altogether (7) DRESSED DepRESSED
22 High-flying singer besieged by riffraff in Cherrapunji (5) FINCH [T]
23 Effect notarised distribution of wealth primarily (5) ENDOW {E}{N}{D}{O}{W} &lit

LINK TO SOLUTION

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63 comments:

  1. Anonymous7 February 2013 at 08:38

    26 Setter lacking in confidence, it’s said (4) ?R?L

    It is said= oral, but I dont have the full anno

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7 February 2013 at 08:40

    1 Engineers inclined to plan what 15 is inclined to make (6,3) RELIEF MAP {RE}{LIE}F {MAP} Anno pending

    lief= inclined to, plan= map

    hence, RE LIEF MAP

    ReplyDelete
  3. SandhyaP7 February 2013 at 08:41

    1 Engineers inclined to plan what 15 is inclined to make (6,3) RELIEF MAP {RE}{LIE}F {MAP} Anno pending

    {RE}{LIEF} {MAP}

    Lief: inclined, willing to, ready

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7 February 2013 at 08:42

    3 Crack brought out after the cops left (5) ELITE Anno pending

    Brought out = elicited, cops left = cid dropped out
    ELIciTEd

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 08:43

    8 Vessel arrangement in Victorian England – a state kicking out the Irishman. (8) ?E?A?I?N

    VENATION (n) : A system or arrangement of blood vessels or of the veins of a leaf or an insect's wing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 08:54

      I don't know what's going on with the wordplay though. Even if I assume Victorian England is VE and state = NATION, I don't know who and why was the Irishman getting the boot.

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 08:58

      Same question here

      Delete
    3. Bhalchandra Pasupathy7 February 2013 at 13:51

      I didn't get to the word despite the crossings (could have looked up but would defeat the purpose). However with all that has been mentioned, a possible anno could be:

      Anagram of VICTORIAN+EN less RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary)

      Delete
  6. Anonymous7 February 2013 at 08:44

    17 Prohibition is basically about Capone demonstrating a quick temper (7) REFUSAL REFUS{AL}Anno pending

    about=re
    quick temper=short fuse=fus
    Capone=al

    RE(FUSe)AL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:01

      What is 'is basically' doing in the clue?

      Delete
    2. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 09:05

      I'm not very convinced but, Prohibition is basically = def ?

      Refusal to allow might be prohibition but can refusal by itself mean prohibition?

      Delete
  7. Rengaswamy7 February 2013 at 08:45

    26 Setter lacking in confidence, it’s said (4) ?R?L

    M(ORAL)E - ME
    SETTER = ME

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 08:45

    15 Inspector takes in perverted voyeurs (8) SURVEYOR {VOYEURS*}R Anno not clear

    take = R (from the Latin recipe), so R inside VOYEURS*

    I don't particularly think this is fair on the solver to have to read "takes" as "take is" without the apostrophe

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 08:48

    10 Setter used to be a drug peddler, supplying seed of Anguish (6) MEDDLE {Me}{pEDDLEr}

    This is ISOLDE

    Setter = I
    used to be a drug peddler = SOLD E(cstasy)
    seed of Anguish = def

    ISOLDE is the daughter of King Anguish of Ireland

    ReplyDelete
  10. SandhyaP7 February 2013 at 08:51

    10 Setter used to be a drug peddler, supplying seed of Anguish (6) MEDDLE {Me}{pEDDLEr}

    {I}{SOLD}{E}

    ISOLDE: daughter (seed) of King Anguish

    ReplyDelete
  11. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:02

    In 24 A 'UN' is not the centre of COUNTRY

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:05

    I've added a byline in the main post as I feel this is the result of an overreach effort by Skuldugger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 09:20

      I feel similarly.

      There were quite a few good clues - TACKLE, ENTRANTS, ORAL, EYESHADOW, LEAFLET, ELITE, POTPOURRI, ENDOW

      But I found these unconvincing:

      12A Isn't it "Glib about whitey reportedly" ? for the wordplay?
      15A Takes = take is, assuming that was the intended parsing
      7D, 13D surface readings.

      Delete
    2. Bhalchandra Pasupathy7 February 2013 at 12:27

      15A: If take=r, then r is in (inside) voyeurs* -- this would be my take.

      Got through most in the end, even if I could not always parse. Hats off to those who did crack the more elusive ones, Bouffant being a case in point (the anno I mean).

      Delete
  13. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:08

    19A and 21A need resolution

    ReplyDelete
  14. veer7 February 2013 at 09:19

    19A is {IN}{DIES} from Popular passes.. Indie productions are generally low budget and hence pecuniarily challenged is my thesis on this clue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:34

      Low budget need not necessarily mean 'pecuniarily challenged'

      Delete
    2. veer7 February 2013 at 09:52

      I agree, it works only in comparison to big budget movies which are almost exclusively made by major studios. If I am pecuniarily challenged I probably would not be making a movie. Anyway, the setter by the definition may be implying that movie makers that make movies on the cheap may be pecuniarily challenged which may not be the case.

      Maybe the movie maker of Paranormal Activity which reportedly cost $15000 to make but brought in anywhere from 100 to 200 million dollars was pecuniarily challenged at one time!

      Delete
  15. Raghunath7 February 2013 at 09:25

    7 Ringtone restrained tusker squashing social worker! (9) TELEPHONE {T{ELEPHant}ONE}

    What sort of clue is this? &LIT?

    ReplyDelete
  16. veer7 February 2013 at 09:34

    21 Coiffure displayed by well-built soldier reportedly not in (8) BOUFFANT Anno pending

    Can it be: Well built soldier: BUFF ANT
    reportedly not: ~naught which can be abbreviated as "o"
    IN being the insertion indicator to give you

    {B{O (~naught)}UFF}{ANT}

    Skulduggery, I know..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 09:36

      Sounds convincing

      Delete
    2. Raghunath7 February 2013 at 09:46

      Hence, should'nt there be a placement indicator for O to be in BUFF and not in ANT?

      Delete
    3. Raghunath7 February 2013 at 09:47

      ...or is it fine?

      Delete
    4. Bhavan7 February 2013 at 09:49

      +1 looks like the right anno

      @Raghu that is explained here in an article by Shuchi

      Delete
  17. Raghunath7 February 2013 at 10:02

    Credit to Skulldugger here for a good clue.

    ReplyDelete
  18. D.Srinivasan7 February 2013 at 10:08

    Except for the experts here, it is a day of Halwa and not samosas, IMO

    ReplyDelete
  19. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 10:55

    Msg from Ajeesh

    Quote

    11 Regal bender leading to many a bender (5-3) LAGER<= or BOOZE-UPS

    Unquote

    Good cracking Ajeesh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhalchandra Pasupathy7 February 2013 at 12:34

      Innovative both for clueing and unscrambling, yet wouldn't this just give BOOZE UP?

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 12:40

      That's why Skuldugger has added 'many a'

      Delete
    3. Bhalchandra Pasupathy7 February 2013 at 13:02

      True Col, but coming as it does after 'leading to' I take it as part of the def and not the wordplay.

      Delete
    4. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 13:10

      In that case 'many a' is on double duty

      Delete
  20. Suresh7 February 2013 at 11:27

    Just got through without several annos except for FLY-TIP.

    Enjoyable crossword. Nice and challenging (not pecuniarily).

    ReplyDelete
  21. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 11:56

    See this BBC program on Araucaria and about the CW where he announced his affliction to Cancer

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21347467

    ReplyDelete
  22. VP7 February 2013 at 12:04

    Phew ! Left with a few blanks after well over an hour on this.
    My COD is the & lit, perhaps just for its simplicity :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 12:42

    Raghunaths reply to a comment he deleted got deleted when I deleted his comment which he had deleted ;-) The comment that thus got inadvertently deleted is
    1D Anno pending

    ReplyDelete
  24. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 13:00

    After some thought

    Is redolent of rubbish = Definition = REEKS
    and
    essentially dirty = (-di)R(-ty)
    given
    atleast a fortnight = WEEKS (since WEEK is 7 days WEEKS can be taken as a fortnight)
    without = Deletion indicator
    wife = W

    {(-di)R(-ty)}{(-w)EEKS}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhalchandra Pasupathy7 February 2013 at 13:03

      A small addition: at least a fortnight would mean 2 weeks or more. Hence 'Weeks' in the plural

      Delete
    2. Raghunath7 February 2013 at 13:36

      Col,

      I had put up exactly the same anno as you have, but I deleted it as I felt it to be wrong. I had added that Skul... could have added nearly instead of at least a fortnight.

      Delete
  25. D.Srinivasan7 February 2013 at 13:11

    It appears that today's crossword had Col working overtime

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 13:12

      Always happens with Skuldugger and Scintillator

      Delete
  26. Padmanabhan7 February 2013 at 13:23

    Are we anywhere near a record for the no. of comments on a single day?
    Never have I seen Col. leaving so many to doubt & so many question marks in the original post. Not even in the days of 'you know who'!
    As for my filling up the less said the better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suresh7 February 2013 at 13:53

      Deepak was an expert at tackling Voldemort.

      Delete
    2. Suresh7 February 2013 at 15:22

      Nowhere near the largest number of comments. That was over 100 during 'those' days.

      Delete
  27. Shyam7 February 2013 at 15:57

    I SOLD E == Setter was a drug peddler, and I do not see why there is 'used to be' in place of 'was'. ENDOW has been generously called an &-lit, but I can't see the role of either 'notarised' or 'primarily'.

    Forget the numerous wordplay issues (which may entail an entire thesis for explanation!), the self-appreciatory exclamation marks in 22A and 7D and the out-of-place full stops in 8A and 18D, what I found the most galling was to see "atleast" written as a single word. -100 to the Hindu for publishing college-mag standard puzzles without the slightest of vetting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shyam7 February 2013 at 16:06

      BTW many '&-lits' like ENDOW can be formed for fun. I remember one from my schooldays:

      Somberi boys of Annanagar, primarily (4)

      :P

      Delete
  28. Deepak Gopinath7 February 2013 at 17:29

    Shyam,

    I am sorry to say that your comment that this was a 'college-mag standard puzzle' seems a bit too harsh.

    Aren't you aware that The HINDU does not have a Crossword editor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shyam7 February 2013 at 17:59

      Sorry if it was harsh, Col. But I do not think a crossword editor is needed for these. MS Word would display a red squiggly line beneath "atleast" - either the setter should have been careful or the person copying from the setter's document should haven taken care.

      Delete
  29. SKULLDUGGER7 February 2013 at 18:51

    Shyam, your standards are high but considering that this is a National newspaper, you're right to expect setters to at least not say 'atleast'. Comments on punctuation also quite a lesson.

    Vessel arrangement in Victorian England – a state kicking out the Irishman. ( victor = v. so Ian, the poor Irishman, has got to go).

    Regal bender leading to many a bender ( regal = booze-up. bender = s many a bender = booze-ups)

    24a should have read 'county' and not 'country'.

    'Basically' in 17d was added just for better surface.

    Phew ! One of those days I'll make one of these black and white things and the THCC comments board won't flay me alive. I guess I got a lot of polishing to do. - Your crow-eating cruciverbalist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shuchi7 February 2013 at 19:20

      While you're soaking up all the gyaan Skulldugger, let me add a bit more to your checklist.

      - Verify the cryptic grammar in clues such as this one:

      20d Disconsolate, have lost record, but not in the altogether (7)
      The wordplay needs 'has lost'. An easy way to make it work is to use 'having'.

      - Throw in a few starter clues around the grid. If every clue is tough, the puzzle risks becoming unfairly hard to the solver even if all is 'correct' with the clues on their own.

      All the best!

      Delete
    2. Shyam7 February 2013 at 20:13

      Ha ha mate! My standards are indeed high, but I am sure you will rise to those in your future attempts :) This was an improvement over your previous attempt and hope the quality keeps moving up.

      Delete
    3. SKULLDUGGER7 February 2013 at 21:01

      Oh that was a typo on the newspaper's end. My version indeed has " Disconsolate, having..." But advice about easier clues noted

      Delete

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