Aspartame needs to refine the wordplay of his cluing in my opinion. Besides having me stumped at some places.
ACROSS
6 Ancient author, one in Paris, clears all bases in one shot
(7) HOMERUN {HOMER}{UN}
7 Girl managed a railway storehouse (7) GRANARY {G}{RAN}{A}{RY}
9 Money beside a little money plant (5) SUMAC {SUM}{A}{C} {Thanks to Kishore)
11 Focus on postal necessity (7) ADDRESS [DD]
13 Cue her to play game (6) EUCHRE*
15 Peculiar tomes about gold, maybe (8,5) PRECIOUS METAL*
20 One from China to live with god (7) TIBETAN {TI{BE}TAN} Some will object to this!
23 She left with an addict and builder (9) DEVELOPER {D{EVE}{L}OPER} Wordplay does not suit the build up of the answer.
24 Dish you and me dish out without a shred of decency (5) SUSHI {S{US}HId}*
26 Ship out aft of ship on ship (7) GALLEYS ? (Addendum - GALLEON {GALLEy}{ON} - See comments)
27 Vehicle may cover western half of Indian mountain range (7) CARAVAN Anno pending (Addendum - {C{ARAValli}N} - See comments)
DOWN
1 Religious leader of Islam’s second student left for Malta (4) IMAM {IslAM}*{M} Where's the Anind ? (Addendum - {I(sl+m}MAM}- See comments)
2 Almost believe revolutionary can produce healing effect (6) TROCHE {TRO?}{CHE} Anno pending (Addendum - {TROw}{CHE} - See comments)
3 Immediately in trouble (2-3-4) ON-THE-SPOT [DD]
4 Master engineer has Skywalker’s sword (8) MAMELUKE {MA}{ME}{LUKE}
5 Armoured rider at waterfall carrying scale (10) CATAPHRACT {CATA{PH}RACT}
.jpg/300px-Ancient_Sasanid_Cataphract_Uther_Oxford_2003_06_2(1).jpg)
6 Old Chinese leader said “King and horseman” (6) HUSSAR {HUSSA}{R} Homophone for HUSSA pending (Addendum - {HU}{SSAR}(~tsar) - See comments)
7 Satiate belly with a bit of lettuce (4) GLUT {G{L}UT}
8 He needs right eye to become a singer (6) YELLER Anno pending (Addendum - Too complicated to explain. Please see comments)
12 Reckless men defied disasters (10) DAREDEVILS {DARED}{EVILS}
14 It’s obscure for girl to point from bottom to top (9) ESOTERICA {ES<=}{OT<=}{ERICA}
16 Arrogant vicar has ale cocktail (8) CAVALIER*
17 Man at sea with sea animal (6) SEADOG {SEA}{DOG} ??
18 Medal for leaders of England at a function being aired (6) ENSIGN {ENgland}{SIGN}(~sine)
21 Brother is having tea inside a café (6) BISTRO {B{IS}{T}RO}
22 Jokes produced through self-action? (4) APES [CD] (Addendum - PUNS - See comments)
25 Bail outbar (4) SAVE [DD]
9 Money beside a little money plant (5)
ReplyDeleteSUM A Cent
27 Vehicle may cover western half of Indian mountain range (7) CARAVAN Anno pending
ReplyDeleteWestern half of range may ref to ARAValli, but the vehicle part is unclear
Vehicle=def
Deletemay=can
can oustide arav
1 Religious leader of Islam’s second student left for Malta (4) IMAM {IslAM}*{M} Where's the Anind ?
ReplyDeleteNot anagram. Substitution
I(-sl+M)AM
27 Vehicle may cover western half of Indian mountain range (7) C(ARAV-alli)AN
ReplyDelete6 Old Chinese leader said “King and horseman” (6)
ReplyDeleteI thought this could be HUSSA R, But could not find any old Chinese leader with similar name (said)...
6 Old Chinese leader said “King and horseman” (6) HUSSAR {HUSSA}{R} Homophone for HUSSA pending
DeleteOld Chinese leader's name could start with HU as in Hu Jintao ...
Reminds me of the joke floating aroung about Condy, Bush and Hu
DeleteWho?
DeleteHu's on the line? I think it's available on Youtube
DeleteSee it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeRjRxYhz6U
DeleteAs Roald Dahl said in Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator:
Delete"It is very difficult to phone people in China, Mr. President," said the Postmaster General, "The country is so full of Wings and Wongs, every time you wing you get the wong number."
Finally cracked it (reasonably !):
Delete6 Old Chinese leader said “King and horseman” (6) HUSSAR {HUSSA}{R}
Chinese leader=HU
said king= SSAR + ~tsar
horseman=defn
I don't what old stands for. By Chinese standards Hu is quite a young leader. Unless there was another HU I don't know about
Just checked Google, Hu Jintao is 70. So above objection is withdrawn. However, he(Hu) does not look anything like that.
DeleteProbably she intended ~CZAR rather than ~TSAR
DeleteShe ?
DeleteCzar or Tsar should not matter since this is a homophone clue. The English spelling is irrelevant. What is relevant is the pronunciation which would be the same in Russian irrespective of how we spell it in English.
Delete25 Bail outbar (4) SAVE [DD]
ReplyDeleteThis breaks as 1) bail out, 2) bar
8Dn He ELLERY
ReplyDeleteright Anagram Indicator
Defn: singer (slang)is YELLOW
Eye dialect spelling of yellow is YELLER (Anagram of Ellery)
Eye dialect is written dialogue that uses nonstandard spelling but doesn't indicate an unusual pronunciation.
'Right' as anagram indicator?
DeleteIn any case if you are right. This is highly far fetched.
DeleteIf it is anagram of ELLERY, it is an indirect anagram. However, if right anno, I think the clue is inadequate.
Delete2 Almost believe revolutionary can produce healing effect (6) TROCHE {TRO?<=}{CHE}Anno pending
ReplyDeleteUnless revolutionary is on double duty, can either be CHE or rev. indicator, not both
I've removed that reversal indicator
Delete{TRO[-w]}{CHE}
DeleteTROW v. i. & t. - To believe; to trust; to think or suppose.
CHE revolutionary
He (YELLER) with right eye (=OD How?) becomes YODELLER (a singer)
ReplyDeleteThat makes it even more far fetched!!
DeleteFar fetched ...
Deleteright - CODE
eye (centre) - cODe
I like this line better than the previous one.
DeleteNow a conjecture:
Right eye in Latin would be oculus dexter (or something similar), or OD. Would our resident eye doctor confirm if this usage is prevalent.
However, it is still far fetched, IMO.
This conjecture appears to be correct:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_abbreviations_used_in_medical_prescriptions
Leads me to another conjecture:
DeleteIs this setter a medical person ? I am not specifically naming an eye doctor who is not presently present here, but any doctor would probably use this.
overdose for OD is better than right eye. It is better known.
DeleteMany blanks for me today. :(
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a quote from P. G. Wodehouse
Delete...if men were dominoes, he would be the double blank.
The above is not a ref to any person here.
DeleteHU is Hu Jintao, Chinese leader
ReplyDeleteSSAR ~SR may be for Stephen Rex (King Stephen)
Kishore @9.25
Delete~tsar SSAR appears to be the intended clueing.
I also had a problem on the wordplay for 16D Cavalier.
ReplyDeleteIf cocktail is the anind it does not point to both vicar and ale. I do not see 'has' as a proper joiner.
If arrogant was doing double duty as anind and def with has being used for insertion, then the anagram of ale cannot be split up while entering.
Vicar HAS ale . Vicar consumes ale : VICA(ALE)R* Cocktail: CAVALIER*
DeleteBut ALE* appears as AL and then an 'I' followed by the 'E'. I do not think this is okay
DeleteI see it as ALE inside VICAR and then *
DeleteDo not like it. Jarring.
Delete7 Girl managed a railway storehouse (7) GRANARY {G}{RAN}{A}{RY}
ReplyDeleteG abbrv for girl? Not found in any dic.
26 Ship out aft of ship on ship (7) GALLEYS ?
Answer ends in plural. The clue words seem to suggest ans could be singular?
21 Brother is having tea inside a café (6) BISTRO {B{IS}{T}RO}
How is T for Tea?
22 Jokes produced through self-action? (4) APES [CD]
Would not 'through self action' lead to APE?
GALLE[-Y](+ON)
ReplyDeleteSPUN* (Anag of PUNS)
Good morning all,
ReplyDeleteLuckily it's a Saturday, so I can post comments.
First of all, 20 and 23 a had different cluing,but has not got published
20 A - one from chine to live inside god(7)
23 A - she left guarded by addict and builder(9)
These should be acceptable , I presume
As for the others,
26 D is wrong .Not a far-fetched solution
6 D is Hussar - Hu coming from Old Chinese leader(who is no longer there) and king= Tzar.
22 D - The answer posted is wrong. The solution will make the solvers rise up in arms.
26 A - The answer is wrong, but there is a proper anno for it.
I admit I have been adventurous while setting this crossword(Figuring out the boundaries of acceptable).
Col, is the top 'improved cluing' in general or with ref to 20 A and 23 A? I would like a bit more explanation on the areas I can improve upon.
Now you have confused me terribly, Aspartame:
DeleteWhat's really new in 20a - other than the typo for China (at both ends of the word) and 'inside' god?
You have said 26d is wrong... but where is 26d in the puzzle. 26a has been mentioned separately in your post anyway.
6d has already been annotated. Old could be previous or just the age.
I hope friends can get 22d and 26a before we look at it further.
Your anno for 8d, please.
DeleteYELLER Y(OD)ELLER, OD = the right eye: oculus dexter (In prescriptions)
DeleteBut who the hell is YELLER? Is he the 'he'?
DeleteYou've already posted the ans at 916, which was confirmed by Asp... earlier in his deleted post, which I conveyed in my post above.
DeleteAspartame is 25D an indirect anagram for the right answer? I am thinking something naughty here
ReplyDeleteYour right on track.
DeleteI just saw that Nadathur Rajan has already posted the answer.
Delete"Your" ???
Delete25D is Stop ?
ReplyDeleteNow its more confusing!
Delete26A - Deckers ?
ReplyDeleteClues in question are 26 A and 22 D.
ReplyDeleteRajan has given the ans at 1018
22 D ans looks iffy.
DeleteSorry. Asp said the answers were wrong. I was taking some long shots :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I saw Rajan's answers after posting mine only. Still it leaves us with 25D
ReplyDeleteWhat wrong with it: Bail out: SAVE, also bar. Save as 'minus' = except. [DD]
DeleteAsp says its wrong though
DeleteWhere?
DeleteRajan gave the answer at 848, which I think is correct, if iffy, and AD at 1020 went on another line of thought, which was confirmed by A at 1046 as being on the right track (implying Rajan was wrong) and AD went to further think that it was SPOT.
DeleteThough Raghu reconfirmed Rajan's answer at 1111, AD is correct in saying A said the answers were wrong.
Over to A ...
Got only a few .Lot of blanks. )-:
ReplyDelete+ 1
DeleteOh my aching brain!! Got only half the answers - when will Gridman and Sankalak return?
ReplyDeleteSoon ! I think they heard your S O S !!
DeleteMonday :-)
DeleteKishore with ref. to the comment at 10:48. Pardon me for the spelling mistakes(past present and future). Other than that, the inside part indicates that BE should be inside TITAN (with is not the right word for a containment indicator).
ReplyDeleteAnd Raghunath - I was going for the angle of Yeller being a person who cannot sing. On hindsight, it seems to be a stretch
AD - It was 26 A not down(typo, now corrected).
All of us commit typos, so nothing wrong with that.
DeleteMy grouse was, when a setter tries to explain, should he not be more careful ?
Raghu says you confirmed my 916 anno of 8d in a deleted post. How do I access that ?
Kindly let us know your version for 26a and 22d.
I almost felt 16d was an apt description of that explanation.
DeleteNow someone is really mad!
DeleteMy madness, and not in the idiomatic sense of the word, is there for everyone to see and I rejoice in it ;-)
DeleteKeep it up (your madness, I mean)!
Delete26 A - Ship = Galley
DeleteShip out aft - remove the last letter
Galle+on = galleon which is another ship
22 D - I was going for 'SPUN SPUN to get puns'. Jokes=puns . SPUN acts on itself ...SPUN SPUN and got puns. It is indirect anagram , but since it was just 4 letters, I thought it would not be too offbeat. This was one clue even I was skeptical about,to be frank.
Raghu at 1245.
DeleteOh, I will. Till I propel the proverbial pail with my pedicured part.
Col. Saheb,
ReplyDeletePardon my inquisitiveness ! Earlier, under contributors column, only your name (in two places) used to be shown in Red Letters. Now Bhavan's name too appears in Red Letters !! Anything attached to this development !?
Nadathur at 959 (under yr first 839) alluded to Asp... being a 'she'?
ReplyDeleteFemale asps are more deadlier ;-)
DeleteFeel like biting the bait about the double comparative..will it be more better?
DeleteAsk Cleo !
Delete"But who the hell is YELLER?" (Raghu 1102)
ReplyDeleteReminds me of an anecdote I read in RD. Cannot trace it on the net. It went something like this:
A Harvard chap was going to a Harvard-Yale football match with a friend called Hale. When asked where he was going, he replied: To yell with Hale !
It was President Charles W Ehot taking Edward Everett Hale to the Harvard Yale football game.
DeleteEliot (not Ehot)
DeleteSource: Goodman & Rice. Wish I had said that p.65
Can you reply to my 1250?
DeleteRaghu, it is not a green cod, methinks
Delete???
DeleteKishore, tough time since morning, you are making it tougher.
Colourful fish...
Delete"To put (someone) on the spot" is "to place (that person) in a difficult situation". This has been in use since 1928.
ReplyDeleteIn Stevenson's Treasure Island, poor old Billy Bones is presented with the dreaded black spot and promptly dies of fright.
Edgar Wallace has authored a thriller, 'On the Spot: Violence and Murder in Chicago' published in 1931.
Here is what CV had mentioned in Orkut forum and the follow-up responses:
DeleteCV's initial remark:
When someone is in trouble, he is IN A SPOT. I think the second def in 3d doesn't work really.
Precision in clueing can come only when a setter has complete command over the language or does careful work with dictionaries.
My comments:
3 Immediately // in trouble (2-3-4) ON THE SPOT [2]
Correctly clued.
1) Immediately
2) Fig. in trouble; in a difficult situation.
CV's response:
Re 'on the spot'.
I withdraw my earlier comment.
I thank NR for enlightening me.
Of course, 'in a spot' is correct. But 'on the spot' too is!
Apologies to the setter and readers.
Somehow I am not convinced. The examples give by you @3:19 are also not apt.
DeleteWrt to Treasure Island read this
The Black Spot is a literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, pirates are presented with a "black spot" to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a circular piece of paper or card, with one side blackened while the other side bears a message and placed in the hand of the accused. It was a source of much fear because it meant the pirate was to be deposed as leader, by force if necessary—or else killed outright.
Your second example is just a title of a book.
I think Rajan has referred to thefreedictionary.com:
Delete1. Lit. at exactly the right place
2. Fig. in trouble; in a difficult situation.
1. Lit. at exactly the right place; at exactly the right time
Delete2. Fig. in trouble; in a difficult situation.
on the spot
1. immediately If you're caught without a ticket, you're fined on the spot.
For the average physician- od-is once a day:
ReplyDeleteHav'nt seen this used by opthalmologists too
So, my anno was just fishing in troubled waters ;-)
Delete20 A - TIBETAN - DALAI LAMA & other Tibetans outside China will not agree!
ReplyDeleteThat's why Deepak put in the comment
Delete100 comment as of now. But will probably get demoted to Einstein* (remember it?) when Deepak deletes the detritus
ReplyDeletePlease read 'th' after 100
DeleteKishore 4:07 Nothing to feel nervous about...
DeleteAfter deletion of detritus, this is the 100th :-)
DeleteI am not unseating you by deleting another post...
DeleteOut of 100 comments, Kishore has taken the lion's share of 36 comments ! So he's the winner ! Runner up is Raghunath with his 18 comments !! Consolation prize to Nadathur Rajan with 15 comments !!! There were many Also-rans with single digit comments !
DeleteDifficult to keep up with one whose comments come thick and fast!
DeleteArs Gratia Artis !
DeleteRoarrrrrrrrr !
Empty vessels make most noise ...
DeleteHa ! Listen to Leo, the Lion of MGM Roarrrring from Chennai !!
DeleteWow!!! Too much activity today. Surprising for a Saturday I thought. Reminds me of old days - people questioning and discussing the legitimacy of clues endlessly. At least we now got the setter here to clarify what she/ he had in her/ his mind
ReplyDeleteWas done in by the multiple uses of 'with' as insertion indicator, not to mention the other clues that had even the aces in a knot.
ReplyDeleteThis setter , ASPARTAME has set the cat amongst the pigeons. If one went by the number of comments,it shows how many cats got how many pigeons !! So the number of comments is not a yardstick, barring Kishore's SPUN -gold puns. One can always 'justify' any clue with the answers, ex-post- acto-but does that make the right puzzle? I for one, would say: I initially found the clues to be very terse and crisp and braced myself saying' ah, here's a CRYPTIC crossword of my day !' but then I realized how wrong I was . I'm sure, even if the setter himself were to attempt his own creation after a few days, the annotations would find him baffling !! Hence, does not fulfil my "daily dose". Any solution to any cryptic crossword must fulfil at least a few basics, though I did find some to start with.I'd say to this setter: Abetment to even attempted suicide is a criminal offence ! If none of us attempted, we are still sane and sober.
ReplyDeleteThose left with some sanity will wait, for ' tomorrow is yet another day ' !
TIBETAN: I was surprised that though I had solved this clue just the other day in a Business Standard crossword, I couldn't recall to do so here ! I have no quarrel with TITAN as a god who creates all BEings
.
I thank the setter for the word : MAMELUKE -- any connection with an ARCHDUKE?