Spinner has spun some nice webs today.
ACROSS
1 Fool gets four-point something — That’s not common (7) PRIVATE {PR{IV}ATE} Not sure if Prate and Fool are synonymous. What's the role of something? (Addendum - {PR{IV}AT}{E} - See comments)
5 Man with nothing but uncluttered head in presentation (6) PAUPER {PA{U}PER}
11 Places for the triumphant triumvirate (5) PODIA [CD]
12 Soldiers are not able to capture girl vagabond (9) MENDICANT {MEN}{DI}{CAN'T}
13 Obedient, coiled snakes (6) DOCILE*
14 Fast bowler, extremely steadfast, entering the sewer (8) SEAMSTER {SEAM{SteadfasT}ER}
16 Start off, cook on direct flame and stir up (4) ROIL bROIL
17 Refuse removal of previous boss of America in a rocky period
(10) CRETACEOUS {exCRETA}{CEO}{US}
21 Unemployed Spinner would shortly leave, with no goodbye (4) IDLE {I'D}{LEave}
24 Won’t he do the part exactly? (2,3,3) ON THE DOT [T]
26 Moulds seldom affected (6) MODELS*
28 For him, knocking over is central (9) LARCENIST* Semi&lit
29 Lookout for Caledonian swimming around underwater peak (5) SCOUT {SCO{U}T}
30 Stray off course without a person to set things right (6) MENDER MEaNDER
31 A fly inside me is one with influence (7) MAGNATE {M{A}{GNAT}E}
DOWN
2 Saving to shaving? (9) REDACTION [CD] (Addendum - REDUCTION [CD] - See comments)
3 Practical seaman in hateful surroundings (6) VIABLE {VI{AB}LE}
4 Return to release the spell (4) TIME <=
6 A feminine mongrel with micro-inscription is intolerable
(1,3,4) A BIT MUCH {A}{BIT {MU}CH} I always thought of it as ' A bit too much'?
7 Pigtail tied up in the absence of police officer remains intact
(5) PLAIT PigTAIL*
8 Revenues from homecomings (7) RETURNS [DD]
9 Spinner of webs about falls, rises (6) SPIDER <= (Addendum -{SPID}{ER}<= - See comments)
10 Receive conditioned reappointment without pomp (9) ENTERTAIN REAppoINTmENT*
15 Genomic or otherwise, it’s for human good (9) ERGONOMIC*
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| Courtesy Kishore |
19 Little things give it the slip (5,3) NAKED EYE [CD]
20 Alternate ballet in the dance night might be a cause for worry
(7) PROBLEM {PRO{BaLlEt}M}
22 Reproduction in panthers at zoo (6) ERSATZ [T]
23 Jesus Christ perhaps sponsored child (6) GODSON {GOD}{SON} Not sure of anno [DD] See comments
25 I sequentially arrived at Italian city (5) TURIN {TUR{I}N} Not sure how this anno works? See comments
27 Raise stakes on fiery Sicilian fountain (4) ETNA <=
25 I sequentially arrived at Italian city (5) TURIN {TUR{I}N} How does this anno work?
ReplyDeletesequentially arrived= in turn
I sequentially arrived= ‘i’ in ‘turn’= TUR(I)N
23 sponsored child=godson, one with a godfather, like Don Corlene behind him !
Thanks Kishore
Delete7 Pigtail tied up in the absence of police officer remains intact (5) PLAIT PigTAIL*
ReplyDeleteNice use of tied as Aind. Clue reminded me of WM Thackeray's poem A Tragic Story
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8454049-A_Tragic_Story-by-William_Makepeace_Thackeray
9 Spinner of webs about falls, rises (6) SPIDER <=
ReplyDeleteMy take: ({SPID}{ER})<-
23 Jesus Christ perhaps sponsored child (6) GODSON {GOD}{SON}
I tok it to be a DD
You're spot on with 9 Down
Delete1 Fool gets four-point something — That’s not common (7) PRIVATE {PR{IV}ATE} Not sure if Prate and Fool are synonymous. What's the role of something?
ReplyDeleteFool = prat
point = e
def = something that's not common = pr(iv)at + e
Wow!
DeleteI was fooled by the hyphen
DeleteAgree with the opening line. Mostly good clues and thought put into surfaces.
ReplyDelete5a: 'but' is redundant
17a: cretaceous is an adjective, but rocky period is a noun?
28a: knock over = upset. knock off = steal. If 'over' was replaced by 'off', it would still work and be semi &lit
2d: Could be 'reduction' too?
10d: ideally 'pomp' also needs an anagram indicator
23d: for Jesus, is god son = god's son?
B is right. 2D is indeed reduction. It was also intended as (Reduction = Addition of H = Hydrogen ).
ReplyDeleteAs for knocking over, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knock%20over.
And 'The Cretaceous', is a rocky age, which is what I had in mind while writing the clue. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous ) Maybe it doesn't work as a noun once you drop the 'the'. Point taken.
About,10D, this occured to me as a drawback, but I convinced myself this way- Since there are only 2 Ps, 1 O and 1 M in the word reappointment, there is only 1 way to remove pomp after rearranging reappointment. And this should satisfy the definition 'Receive'.
Re: pomp, I just mentioned the normal custom to be fair to the solver.
DeleteIMO, being solvable should not be the only criterion for a clue. It needs to stand up to all sorts of scrutiny - surface sense, grammar, validity of the cryptic instructions, accuracy.
23D, You're right, god's son is not the same as god son. I included perhaps hoping it will help.
ReplyDeletePerhaps should not be used as a catch-all indicator for "anything goes" before it :)
DeleteTaken
DeleteA nice tutorial from Bhavan to Srivathsan Santhanam ! No offence please ! :)
DeleteEnjoyable crossword.
ReplyDeleteRe CRETACEOUS. It is also a noun to refer to the Cretaceous period, normally used with a 'the' before it. So there is no problem with the clue.
I'm a Bat(s)man alright but while facing a Spinner I get cold feet ! No wonder, I got out for a paltry score today !!
ReplyDeleteHope to do better next time :)
That's because you're on your back foot. Play with your front foot forward ;-)
DeleteYou mean dancing down the pitch ? Shall try that too Sir !
Delete"Dancing down the pitch" - Wasn't this a famous expression by a cricket commentator of yore on the radio?
DeletePresent day commentators too use this expression, CV Sir.
DeleteWhen you do, you just have to watch out for the wrong'un, so that you're not stumped.
ReplyDeleteOK, shall watch out for wrong'un and doosra too ! If you have in your armoury :)
Delete18 Do mend these misfits (3,3,3) ODD MEN OUT {DO+MEND}* {OUT}
ReplyDelete{ODD MEN}*= DO MEND (OUT is AnagrInd)
Reverse Anagram here.
Defn: these misfits = ODD MEN OUT
I was thinking of raising my doubt about OUT and you have cleared it. Agreed it's Anagrind. I dont't get Reverse Anagram part. Could you please enlighten me ?
DeleteActually from where did this OUT come ?
Deletehttp://www.crosswordunclued.com/2010/06/reverse-anagrams.html
DeleteThat should throw some light on the matter.
DeleteThanks SS. Reverse Anagram is really a tricky one ! It takes lot of thinking. Shall have one more visit to this site later.
DeleteMB If 'Odd men Out' was the clue it would lead to 'Do mend'. That is what a reverse anagram is about.
DeleteThanks Suresh. I'm a bit slow to understand the intricacies of Annotations(not all but a couple of them). From time to time I do visit Suchi's blog and could make some progress.
DeleteThanks Suresh. Just now finished going through Suchi's blog containing Reverse Anagrams. Could get some idea about it. Not so easy to get answers for such clues ! One has to rely on other crossings too.
DeleteWhat type of clue is 7D?
ReplyDeleteI'm totally clueless ! I don't know about others :)
DeleteI'm lost for a particular name for this type, too. Referred definition, maybe?
DeleteI take it as a Deletion + Anagram. Don't know whether there is a single term to it..
DeleteI guess the comments for today are done,so Id like to reveal something that no one seems to have spotted. Theres a song/game - Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy,
ReplyDeleterich man, poor man, beggar man, thief!
All of these gentlemen can be found in disguise, in todays grid.
Tinker, MENDER
ReplyDeletetailor, SEAMSTER
soldier, PRIVATE
spy, SCOUT
rich man, MAGNATE
poor man, PAUPER
beggar man, MENDICANT
thief, LARCENIST
Wow ... Bravo Spinner
DeleteCouldn't attempt today's puz. Good intricate cluing. The clue on Reduction, is it apt, as it's applicable only in case of chem reactions?
ReplyDeleteRaghu,
ReplyDeleteYour talking of aptness recalls to mind a recent clue where you had given MAMMAL as definition in clue for ANIMAL as solution.
No doubt some dictionaries do mention mammal as one of the meanings of animal.Howerver, even a school student knows that mammals are one of 5 classes (others being fish, amphibia, reptiles and birds) in the Phylum Chordata (vertebrate animals). This phylum along with nine others constitutes the animal kingdom.
Hi Venkatesh,
DeleteThe same school student knows that reduction with H addition is a chemical process and no conn with shaving.
SS, I remember Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor ...... from my childhood. 60 years ago! Delighted to see it represented in your CW to day! Made me oh so nostalgic!.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Have a good evening.
Remember George ;-) ?
DeleteGeorge Smiley, the character created by John le Carré, is an intelligence officer working for MI6 (referred to as "the Circus"). He appears in Call for the Dead; A Murder of Quality; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; and Smiley's People. His last appearance was in The Secret Pilgrim.
DeleteStudent of Cryptics will certainly make out:
ReplyDeleteAdding H to SAVING, we get S(H)AVING.
Addition of H(ydrogen) is called Reduction (as opposed to Oxidation).
To clarify : A saving = A reduction, And to shave= to cut down = reduce. I was looking for two words that both led to reduction while at the same time had a difference of one letter, H, so that I cold incorporate this 'Reduction' as well. But from the way it's been interpreted, I understand that shaving = reduction is a stretch, so only the Chemical part of it has been useful in solving the clue.
ReplyDelete22 Mammal in Manila harassed (6) ANIMAL*
ReplyDelete(from THC 10866 of 31.8.13)
The other fault was the use of 'in' as the link word, which gave an impression that it was a T(elescopic) type (i.e., hidden in Manila harassed). A better choice may have been 'from'.
'in' is a perfectly valid link word. These two types of constructions are very common and are not faulty.
Delete[word] in [wordplay]
[wordplay] in [word]
Kishore,
ReplyDeleteYet another timely cartoon.
Did you know that a Vastu Expert was consulted on the seating arrangement for the Chair (SG) when UPA was voted to power?
Kishore might tread on some wrong feet and get hauled for contempt some day.
DeleteA fine web by Spinner . Trapped all the flies intact in no time. Spin on, Spinner !! We are here to untangle all the webs !
ReplyDeleteGot a new cable and restored power to my Notebook.
All is fine in the best of all possible world of crosswords. In the absence of the comp, could complete 45 cryptic crossies clipped from the Economic Times in one day !! Yet to beat my own record of 62 sometime in 2004 .
;-)
ReplyDeleteRichard, I take humour quite seriously (does that remind you of Dr. Strangelove -"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!").
Yes, you are right. I have to be careful. Let me assure you that I have considered all aspects and can send you (or Deepak) a detailed note on my take on it. I have only proposed improvement of the system, based on actual incidents (plural), reported in the press and televised, without mentioning who has transgressed, falling prey to a failing which is only too human (I have done it and hope you have too) compared to many other more serious transgressions that happen, and not even mentioned who is moving the proposal. No person or party has been mentioned as the transgressor or the proposer. After all, I am not a Danish cartoonist and our Parliament, you will agree, is not the Taliban. That's another word which has had a sad twist in its meaning. Taleem is knowledge and Talib is a student, so Taliban just means students.
Anyway, some days back, I have requested Deepak, as owner of the blog, to chose either not to publish or to take down a published cartoon, if he feels it transgresses.
Kishore,
DeleteAll that went over my head. I didn't know you were a lawer as well ;-)
Do you want me to prepare and send you a detailed note ? Not(-e), I think !
Delete