Monday, 9 December 2013

No 10951, Monday 09 Dec 2013, Skuldugger

Few iffy clues today.
ACROSS
1   Matt finish? (6,3) POLISH OFF [CD]
6   Theatrical technique that is used by Marcel Marceau primarily (4) MIME {M}I{M}E As per the clue this becomes {M{IE}M}
8   Frenchman opposed to bringing back every single headscarf (8) MANTILLA {M}{ANTI}{LLA<=}
9   Reportedly popular brand of perfume’s aroma is a distinguishing mark (6) ACCENT (~ axe scent)
10 Cheap, like Camembert? (6) CHEESY [DD]
11 Galvanise popular mood (8) INSPIRIT {IN}{SPIRIT}
12 Medicine’s a science, but not entirely (6) PHYSIC PHYSICs
15 Key dive for astronauts? (5,3) SPACE BAR [DD] Nice one
16 Cordial telegram received by French friend (8) AMICABLE {AMI}{CABLE}
19 Aspects of news chief editor concealed (6) FACETS {FAC{E}TS}
21 Replacements that sit out for the most part, ironically enough (5-3) STAND-INS [CD]
22 Marital discord — man breaks off tethering rope (6) LARIAT mARITAL*
24 The social event to end all social events (6) BURIAL [CD]
25 Completely certain you can come out now (3,5) ALL CLEAR {ALL} {CLEAR}
26 Left-arm unorthodox spin ball cut part of the face (4) CHIN CHINaman 
27 In theory, crooked and corrupt leaders disrupt government system (9) THEOCRACY {THEORY+C+A+C}*

DOWN
1   Puddle remains after case of passing rainfall (5) PLASH {P}{L}{ASH}
2   Landlords' mail (7) LETTERS [DD]
3   Condiment, extremely fiery and piquant (5) SALTY {SALT}{fierY}
4   Egg departs from these (7) OVARIES [CD]
5   Where standards are set? (9) FLAGSTAFF [CD]
6   Speed of sound not achieved by contraption (7) MACHINE {MACH}INE Anno pending (Addendum - {MACH}{1}{NE} - See comments)
7   Begging recidivist’s lament? (9) MENDICANT {MEND} {I} {CAN'T}
13 The hot rum brought out unpleasant fact about oneself (4,5) HOME TRUTH*
14 Problematic Prime Minister done away with — butchered in open top car (9) CABRIOLET pROBLEmATIC*
17 Hand over criminal evidence (7) CONSIGN {CON}{SIGN}
18 Trap magnificent seven sprung outside of Los Angeles (7) ENSLAVE {ENS{LA}VE*}
20 All or nothing: penultimate chance to get back to inner circle (7) COROLLA {ALL+OR+O+chanCe}*
22 Dangerously ill accountant nearly makes a bloomer (5) LILAC {ILL*}{AC}
23 Winged, in the manner of Raiju and Yalangur primarily (5) ALARY {A LA}{R}{Y}

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30 comments:

  1. Bhavan9 December 2013 at 09:14

    6 Speed of sound not achieved by contraption (7) MACHINE {MACH}INE Anno pending

    I think this is:
    Speed of sound = Mach 1
    Not = Ne (Chambers lists this equivalence as an obsolete adverb)
    which leaves
    achieved by contraption = def

    I might be wrong with the parsing, but if the split is as I indicated, I doubt that the definition (which suggests an adjective) is accurate for the noun form machine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 10:08

    8A- Why French man? Just to mislead?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 10:09

    Accent,corolla,cabriolet... car special?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 10:11

    26A- Is part doing double duty? Part of the face/ part to be removed from chinaman.Then is the def. part of the face?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown9 December 2013 at 10:53

    Fairly stumped today. No joy in trying to solve this CW. Barely solved half.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 December 2013 at 11:09

    My skull has been muddled with too many unsolved clues :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath9 December 2013 at 11:29

      Whenever that happens leave the crossword get involved in some other activity and come back to the CW after about 10 minutes and you will find some more answers which when you get you will wonder why you didn't see it earlier.

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 December 2013 at 11:38

      Well, it seems, that is the 'manthra' I should follow ! Thanks, Col Sir.

      Delete
  7. PKPSwami9 December 2013 at 12:01

    Thanks Col. Already following the same.Anyway . No skullduggery today.All clues leading & thoughtprovoking esp.8,21,24a .of course,2d.Reg.15a,its a skip type clue.isnt it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 December 2013 at 12:36

    7D : Begging recidivist’s lament? (9) MENDICANT {MEND} {I} {CAN'T}

    Recidivist is a convicted criminal who re-offends. So his lament is I CAN'T MEND* myself. Begging = Mendicant = Beggar

    This is how I interpreted the Anno of 7D. I may be wrong too. Corrections are welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laxman9 December 2013 at 12:44

    How is Landlords' related to LETTERS in 2D ?

    ReplyDelete
  10. mohsin9 December 2013 at 13:16

    20D (corolla) seems to be a reversal, not an anagram
    I had 22D as {LIL}* {ACc}

    And i believe 27A (theocracy) was intended as an interspersed insertion clue (not sure if it's kosher), not an anagram [THEO (C) R (A) (C) Y]

    ReplyDelete
  11. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 14:17

    Col.,
    !5A- Can you pl. explain how 'Dive for astronauts' leads to space bar?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sujatha9 December 2013 at 15:08

    Could you explain 5D please? Didn't get that. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 December 2013 at 15:26

    Standard = A military or ceremonial flag. Flagstaff, where flags are hoisted.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 15:37

    Thank you Suresh & MB. I find that I am rather poor with slang. I should pick up the lingo to do well in CW's !

    ReplyDelete
  15. Unknown9 December 2013 at 15:50

    Thanks, Col. This is what I did do, and fared much better!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Richard9 December 2013 at 17:13

    Hi, logging in late.

    Re elections in the national capital. A majority of Delhi-ites appear to have sung: AAP jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye, toh baat ban jaaye....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suresh9 December 2013 at 17:16

      Magar AAP nahin aaya. Buys daraaya sabko. To ab kya karen?

      Delete
    2. Richard9 December 2013 at 17:20

      JhaDoo dikhake?

      That is why I said 'A majority of ...' and not 'All of ...'

      Delete
    3. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 December 2013 at 19:19

      "Aap ne yaad dilaya toh mujhe yaad aaya" ki aap AAP ke 'panka' hain !!!

      Delete
  17. Padmanabhan9 December 2013 at 17:59

    Jhadoo is the best part of this election and they showed what it can do!

    ReplyDelete

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