Friday 12 April 2013

No 10745, Friday 12 Apr 13, Sunnet

Challenging Measure for Measure@

ACROSS
1 An argument about a river flowing around a club (6) DEBATE (DEE around BAT)
4 Perhaps flying towards the North (8) SCOTSMAN (CD) Flying Scotsman the train that goes north. For some time I had the Flying Dutchman in mind and got into trouble
10 Angry worker consumes a roll (9) CROISSANT (CROSS ANT around 1)


11 News you finally sift to pick threads (5) UNSEW (NEWS+U)*
12 Every second around Aryan god (5) RUDRA (aRoUnDaRyAn)
13 Cup with cocain mixed drink (9) CAPUCCINO (CUP+COCAIN)* See comments
@14 Measure the limit of sound (7) MAXWELL (MAX+WELL)
@16 Unit is somewhat slow at times (4) WATT (T)
@19 A quick move to suppress soldiers from mutiny (4) VOLT (reVOLT)
21 Infantile language spoken when the king knocks off the unknown (7) KIDDISH (YIDDISH-Y+K)
@24 A measure for Liberal Quebecer constituents (9) BECQUEREL (L+QUEBECER)*
@25 Scientist’s woman wearing filleted topaz (5) HERTZ (HER+TopaZ)
26 Warning // for // a mermaid (5) SIREN 2


27 Can pigeon recollect a sorrowful state? (9) POIGNANCE (CAN PIGEON)*
28 Halts purchases around America (8) SUSPENDS (SPENDS around US)
29 Ed’s cry to brew beverages (6) CYDERS (EDS CRY)*

DOWN
1 Conventions of polite behaviour, style and spirit seen along the South (8) DECORUMS (DECO RUM S)
2 Woman to drastically reduce timber producer (8) BROADAXE (BROAD AXE)
@3 Ready to lose a pound over a measure (5) TESLA (ALL SET) (SET< A L<) Not sure if clue talks of two reversals. As it stands it becomes SET AL <  = LATES  See comments
5 Tool maybe cast by hand (4,3) CATS PAW (CAST* PAW)

6 Short nut traced correctly (9) TRUNCATED (NUT TRACED)*
7 An iron press in other words (6) MASHIE (MASH I.E.)
@8 A scientist is running after a merman (6) NEWTON (NEWT ON)
@9 Pressure to lift up secretions (6) PASCAL (SAP< and LAC< two secretions, nicely done)
15 Persuasive speech to replace a series’s top two spots with a rating (9) ELOQUENCE (ELO +seQUENCE)
17 Animation shown by deputy taking in cereal (8) VIBRANCE (BRAN in VICE)
18 Awful shrew, I encountered, snoring in the centrifuges (8) WHIZZERS (SHREW+I)* around ZZ
20 Part with Rip? I’d rather fly! (7) THRIPID (T) Nicely hidden


@21 Perhaps absolute knowledge about Jacob’s son who lacked energy (6) KELVIN (KEN around LeVI)
22 Belittles a scurvy scoundrel at first (6) ABASES (A BASE S)
23 Did this ambitious flier go too far? (6) ICARUS (CD,GK)
@25 Gas escaping from poultry farm unit (5) HENRY (HENneRY) Gas is Ne for Neon


63 comments:

  1. 4A to my mind is a little obscure and needed a little more in the clue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doesn't 13A have a double PP or is there a variant to the spelling

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not a double PP, which PPPP. A double P or a PP. But you are right. A Politician with initials A P (~a pee) will make good the shortfall

      Delete
  3. 7 An iron press in other words (6) MASHIE (MASH I.E.)

    Reminded me of M*A*S*H

    ReplyDelete
  4. 3 Ready to lose a pound over a measure (5) TESLA (SET< A L<) Not sure if clue talks of two reversals. As it stands it becomes SET AL < = LATES

    Ready = all set
    lose a pound = al set
    over = <=
    a measure = tesla

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lot of energy related clues: PASCAL, NEWTON, HENRY, VOLT, WATT, MAXWELL, HERTZ etc. TO NAME A FEW

    ReplyDelete
  6. Admirable, the way Sunnet has worked in so many themed entries. Probably his trickiest yet.

    But not so sold on some of the surfaces (croissant, poignance, broadaxe, vibrance)

    ReplyDelete
  7. +1

    Samosa hoggers in cities without the print edition will be happy they didn't get the paper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Had a tough time today. Without Bhavan's link to the grid, I would have been all at sea, as the Orkut app could not pull the grid.

      Delete
    2. The app showed up properly through Facebook

      Delete
    3. When I tried it the last time I had problem with Orkut, it did not work on FB too, hence I presumed that it would happen again. Should check in future.

      Delete
    4. I checked just now. It is working in Orkut and displaying your solution.

      Delete
    5. I too have often noticed that on a given day there is a time (quite early in the morning) when the THC app is unable to display the day's grid and clues and there is another time (a little later on the same day) when it shows these up.

      It is probable that the app creators do something for it to work subsequently - or the website is late in producing the needed whatever for the app to do its work.

      Delete
    6. Samosa hoggers:

      Time to rename our meets as Slogger, Bloggers and Hoggers

      Delete
    7. Where is he print edition not available? Appetite for samosas is a different issue altogether.

      Delete
    8. No print edition in Bangalore.

      Delete
  8. Learnt a few new things, for good measure, like the alternative spelling of Cocain for Cocaine.

    Re A P 8:41 - Kishore is at it again, on irrigating the hinterland! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cocain is just cocaine without ecstacy

      Delete
    2. Then, no cocain at all :-)

      Delete
  9. This Kishore has no taste at all in selecting a nice pic for a siren. I am not at all attracted by the pic of the woman that he has put up above.Smack your lips a little before you visit

    http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn/?n=sirenqcmetro

    and see the image of the siren there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Wick-ed to be set on fire

      Delete
    2. See

      http://www.wicked.ie/about/

      Delete
    3. Measure the limit of sound (7)

      Measure is the def.

      the limit of sound - MAX WELL

      We get MAX from the limit. Of course, it's the upper limit!

      From 'sound' the clue-writer expects us to derive 'well'.

      E.g., 'He is well' - 'He is of sound health' or even 'He is sound'.

      I am just trying to read the workings of the mind of the clue-writer. Ultimately, it may not be great clue.

      Delete
    4. Why do you say it may not be a great clue?

      The maxwell, abbreviated as Mx, is the compound derived CGS unit of magnetic flux.

      Delete
    5. My contention is that 'the limit of sound' is not a good, likeable wordplay to get MAX WELL.

      Delete
    6. Tks CV. I should have got that. I h\put in the answer but did not apply my mind to the anno.

      Delete
  10. 14A MAXWELL anno is a bit unclear. Something to do with Mach being the limit of sound?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Max. for maximum could be the limit. But well? well....

      Delete
    2. Just saw Bhala's comment. 'Well' as of sound health, I suppose.

      Delete
  11. Nice to know of people getting alarmed by the sirens...

    ReplyDelete
  12. I did not MEASURE up to today's cw.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 25ac: woman should have had an apo to get HER in ans? It would mar the surface, however.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A good question.

      That sets me thinking and I wonder how I have indicated HER in my clues.

      I am not searching my dB as yet, but to indicate HER why should we necessarily use 'woman's'?

      I went to see that woman = I went to see her. So HER could perhaps be indicated by that woman?

      In any case, just 'woman' may not really work, as you say.

      I invite comments from other setters around here.

      Delete
    2. Well, I searched for the phrase "that woman" in my dB. Got many returns where the phrase was used to get HER.

      Just a sampling:

      27 Key is in that woman's bodice (6)
      11 Different book given to that woman (5)
      1 Discover I and that woman in there are through (8)

      Delete
  14. Just 'woman' leads me only to 'she' & not 'her'. 'Her' should actually be "woman's". For e.g 'her bag' etc.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Replies
    1. Yes, she does not have 'it' ...

      Delete
    2. ... or shall I say

      That woman! She does not have 'it' in her

      Delete
    3. Interesting discussion. I was pondering CV's example where 'that woman' seems to be a substitute for 'her'. But 'that woman' could easily be substituted with 'a woman', and then you're back to square one.

      'Her' could be used either as an object or as a possessive pronoun. So just making it 'woman's' would have solved all the problems?

      Delete
  16. Yes, I agree with Bhala. It could simply be a typo.
    "Scientist woman's wearing filtered topaz" could well have been the clue.

    Scientist- Def.- Hertz
    Woman's - Her
    Filtered topaz- TZ

    On surface reading it would be "Woman is wearing...."

    ReplyDelete
  17. Kishore,

    How did you not commnct about Newt in 8D with Tuppy Glossop of Newt fame?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a choice between putting the picture of a newt and a siren and guess which one won? But seriously, I was a bit short of time trying to put up the blog after having gone with the Flying Dutchman and trying to piece up the scraps of that accident that I plain forgot about Hildebrand.

      Delete
    2. And after that I was left licking my chaps at the sight of CV's siren!

      Delete
  18. Also am not sure whether fillet can mean to empty out? Unless it's taken to mean to remove bones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Filleting = removing bones, is fine. But, topaz being non living would not be amenable to filleting. On the other hand, if you ordered fish fillet and got just the skin with everything else removed (like in today's clue), you'd feel shortchanged.

      Delete
    2. Also, is "wearing" the aptest of position indicators (adjacenticators)?

      Delete
    3. @CV: I get your point, generally one takes 'wearing' to mean something around or covering

      @Kishore: But if everything else is removed and you get the central portion of meat/flesh, it would be just fine? However, as an indicator, not so sure if it goes well here

      Delete
    4. Central portion may not be flesh, but bone, in some cases...like in fish

      Delete
    5. For a veg analogy, think of a mango. The centre would not be edible. If you wanted only the edible portion , you would have to get rid of the skin and the seed. In today's example only the skin remains and the flesh too is discarded as a part of he fillting process.

      Delete
  19. I had that non living issue in mind too when posting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Online dictionary lists topaz as one of the birds from the hummingbird species. In that case, filleting would be plausible for surface, although it seems a bit gross !!

      Delete
  20. Racking my brains how to get T Z using the decoring technique. Probably have to use some other deletion method

    ReplyDelete
  21. Heartless would be a simple but effective way. But then, how can an inanimate object be heartless? Maybe,coreless?

    ReplyDelete

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