Thursday, 6 November 2014

No 11233, Thursday 06 Nov 2014, Skulldugger


Some great surfaces like today by Skulldugger, liked 6A, 4D and 12D. Struggled for some time in the SW corner. Wonder if this will convince Subbaraman to keep on getting hold of The Hindu :-)

ACROSS
1   Tea Party politicians embracing radical supporters? (9) CHAMPIONS {CHA}{MP{ION}S}
6   Old Scottish apothecaries use lower dosages initially (4) AULD Acrostic
8   Unlimited cannabis, hash setter smoked primarily for stress (8) EMPHASIS {hEMP}{HASh}{i}{Sm...d}
9   Love's Labour's Lost in recklessness (6) DARING DARlING
10 Rampaging roaches leave sow cuckoo (4,1,5,5) HAVE A SCREW LOOSE*
11 Source of Biblical tall tale: infant at the heart of Bethlehem (5) BABEL {BABE}{bethLehem}
13 Online swindle with endless money and Cleopatra, perhaps (8) EGYPTIAN {E-GYP}{TIn}{ANd} Not sure about anno
15 Aroused, embraced, close to release...depleted (8) WEAKENED {W{r...sE}AKENED}
18 ‘Bien’, ‘Adieux’ regularly feature in list (5) INDEX {bIeN aDiEuX}
20 Some malefic ring fabrication with the sporting line “You shall not pass.” (4,2,9) LINE OF SCRIMMAGE*
23 Being sequential is all the rage in Shakespearean tragedy (6) LINEAR {L{IN}EAR}
24 Partner admits poetry writing is not very radical (8) MODERATE {M{ODE}{R}ATE}
25 Zeus' and Ares' last two exploits (4) USES {zeUS}{arES}
26 Parts of speech that 3 has 5 of and 14 4? (9) SYLLABLES  Definition  by examples

DOWN
1   Man falling into stupor — that might stop you mid-sentence (5) COMMA {COM{M}A}
2   The strange and curious tale of Oscar Pistorius, for instance (7) ATHLETE {THE+TALE}*
3   Puts forward models (5) POSES [DD]
4   Espy first lady topless putting on robes in a tizzy (7) OBSERVE {ROBES*}{eVE} ;-)
5   Say, right methods arrived at obliquely (8) SIDEWAYS {SIDE}{WAYS}
6   Atmosphere by harbour makes it a good place to land (7) AIRPORT {AIR}{PORT}
7   Exceptional places and scenery (9) LANDSCAPE*
12 Spirits-besotted pirate taking IMFL regularly gets cirrhosis at the end (9) APERITIFS {PIRATE+ImFl}*{c...iS}
14 Suits college types (8) UNIFORMS [DD]? (Addendum - {UNI}{FORMS} - See comments)
16 Football players are people you should consider marrying (7) KEEPERS [CD]
17 Rats! Revolutionary bloke from the South circles has base in Number 10 (7) DECIMAL {D{ECIM<=}AL<=}
19 New corrupt Earl smuggling Frenchman in Number 10 is a case in point (7) NUMERAL (~ new){NU}{M}{EARL*}
21 At sea, I made out ancient Asian land (5) INDIA Anno pending
22 Gargoyles at the enchanted sepulchre's openings which might keep you out (5) GATES Acrostic

GRID

30 comments:

  1. 13 Online swindle with endless money and Cleopatra, perhaps (8) EGYPTIAN {E-GYP}{TIn}{ANd}

    GYP: swindle

    ReplyDelete
  2. Took 14d as {uni}{forms}=suits

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  3. 19 New corrupt Earl smuggling Frenchman in Number 10 is a case in point (7) NUMERAL (~ new){NU}{M}{EARL*}

    Homophone ind?

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  4. Good puzzle. Struggle notwithstanding, could complete. 8D in my opinion should have been cannabis/hash or a similar device as there is only one indicator (unlimited)

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  5. 21 Down At sea = INDIAn ocean ??

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  6. Is 20A fair in India, without any ref. to American sport/ football? It may interest bloggers to know that the reason for calling it 'Football' in U.S. (They use anything but foot!) is that the oval ball is a foot in length!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is a 7 letter word.
    If you remove one letter from it, it remains the same.
    If you remove two letters from it, it remains the same.
    If you remove three letters from it, it remains the same.
    If you remove all letters from it, still it remains the same.
    What is it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. E Online reports:
    That sound you heard when you woke up this morning was the sound of millions of fangirls and fanboys shrieking in pain and then suddenly falling eerily silent. Why?
    Because Benedict Cumberbatch is betrothed to be married to Sophie Hunter, and he announced his engagement in the most Benedict Cumberbatch-y way possible. No Instagram featuring the ring. No press release. No official statement from his publicist. Nope, just a short announcement in The Times' classified section. It was all super-casual.
    The reaction to the engagement, however, was not at all casual. People's lives are over now because Cumberbatch will soon put on a cummerbund and walk down the aisle.

    Cumbernatch in a cummerbund!

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. What about
    (At Indian ocean I) - (ancient +o +A) if out is on double duty and if Asian is A ;-)😎

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  11. could someone explain the 16D CD? I only understand that football players can be keepers.. what does the rest of it mean?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People you should consider marrying are people who will keep you and not discard you ...

      However, keep does have other connotations...

      Delete
    2. seems a bit far-fetched, but I get it! thanks! :) ..
      I think skulldugger would have intended it as a DD and not a CD..

      Delete
  12. 2D - {THE}*{TALE}* does not ATHLETE make.

    16D - It's a DD. A goal keeper; someone/something that you would not like to lose.
    http://www.thefreedictionary.com/keeper (informal)

    My interpretation of 21D: it's a boo-boo on the part of the setter. MEDIA is a region in Iran with some historical significance ('out' is probably a connector).
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_%28region%29

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Padmanbhan@09:36,
    They do have a kick-off during which one person must use the foot. (And no, I don't watch the sport, if you can call it that. It's from watching cartoons. :-))

    ReplyDelete
  14. 19d should read "Reportedly, new ...." Missed out the homophone indicator in transcription.

    21d : "At sea" is merely a reference to the NATO alphabet, used on ships, in which I stands for India. Fair?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But the NATO alphabet is not restricted to the seafaring community alone. I'm on the fence with regard to fairness. The idea is nice, but I'm not sure I would call it fair. Also, what role does 'ancient' play?

      Delete
  15. 24a- very nice.enjoyed 'r'brought in from three 'r's.26a- equally nice.15a&16 d failed me.Overall qiite enjoyable. No skullduggery from skilldugger.thanks sir.

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