Nice one from Exa. Liked 11a 16a 21a 26a 2d
Across
1 Transfer certificate's fit in, many need hard covers (11) TABLECLOTHS (ABLE=able LOTS=many Hard in TC)Is the insertion of LOT H indicated sufficiently? (on the presumption that the 'in' applies to ABLE) See comments
9 Stress to get back son across the current (7) TENSION (NET< SON across I)
10 It heats or tears apart (7) ROASTER (OR TEARS)*
Reading this with 17a made me think that Exa was cooking something ...
11 Leave late one time (4) EXIT (EX I T)
12 Surprised to find doctor into wearing blue shades (10) ASTONISHED (INTO* in SHADES*)
13 Shakes taste extraordinary on adding ginger in bits (8) AGITATES (TASTE* on A G I)
16 Gently touch bare girl inside (5) NUDGE (G in NUDE)
17 It may be used for cooking Pesto Veggie sandwiches (5) STOVE (T)
19 Damage outside ship is not easy to understand (8) ABSTRUSE (ABUSE outside STR for steamer)
21 Cycles pick up next to the first route and second (10) HEARTBEATS (HEAR=pick up, T=the first, BEAT S)
23 Digital camera captures a rare mineral (4) TALC (T)
26 Get back on vessel after an examination (7) REGRESS (RE GraduateRecordExaminations SS)
27 Idea of working at home's popular with the old (7) OPINION (OP IN, IN with O)
28 Sent a short note to help dear get adjusted (11) TELEGRAPHED (HELP DEAR GET)*
Remember the use of the 'telegraph' in The Count of Monte Cristo?
Down
1 Will I let out after a dose of torture? (5) TITLE (T + I LET*) not sure if defn. is enough
2 Twisting book’s introduction/conclusion (7) BENDING (B ENDING)
3 … are rejected as offensive (4) EVIL (LIVE<)
4 Roads, one for a plan (5) LANESAnno not sure See comments Looks like the answer may be LINES
5 For slow ones: 'supply' is 'to store' (9) TORTOISES (IS TO STORE)*
6 Publisher's son to retain novel (9) STATIONER (S TO RETAIN)*not sure if publisher=stationer?
See comments
7 Scratched out chit; ultimately some note (6) ITCHED (CHIT* E D)
8 Game link (6) BRIDGE (2)
14 Present tense describes men getting medical attention (9) TREATMENT (TREAT T around MEN)
15 Bill takes a left moving across (9) TRAVERSAL (TRAVERS A L)
I personally like Uncle Tom (Travers) and his wife better
17 Field a ball perhaps (6) SPHERE (2)
18 Mineral’s concealing a good colour (6) ORANGE (AN in ORE)is a=an or should it have been 'a new' instead of 'a good' a=AN, good=G See comments
20 Language to stretch his jargon (7) SPANISH (SPAN HIS*)
22 Leather item I stripped for love (5) THONG (THING-I+O)
24 Break dance hit (5) CANED (DANCE*)
25 Singer used up help with vocal intro (4) DIVA (AID< with V introduced)
Across
1 Transfer certificate's fit in, many need hard covers (11) TABLECLOTHS (ABLE=able LOTS=many Hard in TC)
9 Stress to get back son across the current (7) TENSION (NET< SON across I)
10 It heats or tears apart (7) ROASTER (OR TEARS)*
Reading this with 17a made me think that Exa was cooking something ...
11 Leave late one time (4) EXIT (EX I T)
12 Surprised to find doctor into wearing blue shades (10) ASTONISHED (INTO* in SHADES*)
13 Shakes taste extraordinary on adding ginger in bits (8) AGITATES (TASTE* on A G I)
16 Gently touch bare girl inside (5) NUDGE (G in NUDE)
17 It may be used for cooking Pesto Veggie sandwiches (5) STOVE (T)
19 Damage outside ship is not easy to understand (8) ABSTRUSE (ABUSE outside STR for steamer)
21 Cycles pick up next to the first route and second (10) HEARTBEATS (HEAR=pick up, T=the first, BEAT S)
23 Digital camera captures a rare mineral (4) TALC (T)
26 Get back on vessel after an examination (7) REGRESS (RE GraduateRecordExaminations SS)
27 Idea of working at home's popular with the old (7) OPINION (OP IN, IN with O)
28 Sent a short note to help dear get adjusted (11) TELEGRAPHED (HELP DEAR GET)*
Remember the use of the 'telegraph' in The Count of Monte Cristo?
Down
1 Will I let out after a dose of torture? (5) TITLE (T + I LET*) not sure if defn. is enough
2 Twisting book’s introduction/conclusion (7) BENDING (B ENDING)
3 … are rejected as offensive (4) EVIL (LIVE<)
4 Roads, one for a plan (5) LANES
5 For slow ones: 'supply' is 'to store' (9) TORTOISES (IS TO STORE)*
6 Publisher's son to retain novel (9) STATIONER (S TO RETAIN)*
See comments
7 Scratched out chit; ultimately some note (6) ITCHED (CHIT* E D)
8 Game link (6) BRIDGE (2)
14 Present tense describes men getting medical attention (9) TREATMENT (TREAT T around MEN)
15 Bill takes a left moving across (9) TRAVERSAL (TRAVERS A L)
I personally like Uncle Tom (Travers) and his wife better
17 Field a ball perhaps (6) SPHERE (2)
18 Mineral’s concealing a good colour (6) ORANGE (AN in ORE)
20 Language to stretch his jargon (7) SPANISH (SPAN HIS*)
22 Leather item I stripped for love (5) THONG (THING-I+O)
24 Break dance hit (5) CANED (DANCE*)
25 Singer used up help with vocal intro (4) DIVA (AID< with V introduced)
6 Publisher's son to retain novel (9) STATIONER (S TO RETAIN)* not sure is publisher=stationer
ReplyDeleteStationer = Publisher (archaic)
18 Mineral’s concealing a good colour (6) ORANGE (AN in ORE) is a=an or should it have been 'a new' instead of 'a good'
ReplyDeleteIf 'a new' had been used, G would be missing.
Good puzzle.
ReplyDelete1 Transfer certificate's fit in, many need hard covers (11) TABLECLOTHS (ABLE=able LOT=many Hard in TC'S) Is the insertion of LOT H indicated sufficiently? (on the presumption that the 'in' applies to ABLE)
I took it as T(ABLE)C + LOT(H)S with many=LOTS.
Whether 'need' suggests containment or not is debatable
Exactly. 'need' is debatable.
DeleteIs not 'in' for container? TC (fit=able) or 'Able' in TC
Delete4 Roads, one for a plan (5) LANES Anno not sure
ReplyDeleteLINES = Plan. A comes in for I
ONE for A. Is it the other way round and the defn is plan=LINES?
DeleteWe'll have to wait for Exa's view.
DeleteExa'ctly
DeleteSome comments and questions
ReplyDeleteIn 22d is the solution item "Leather strip that forms the flexible part of a whip"?
18d - I too thought something was missing
4d LINES/LANES - Does the letter substitution work correctly?
1d - I agree 'will' doesn't quite suggest 'title' immediately.
1a I think the insertion works if we look at 's as 'has'.
Is 16a pornographic?
16a again: Come on...Can't a man be bare?
16 A: It is a simple sweet sixteen clue !!
DeleteCV, 1A if 's is insertion, then we have no source for the last letter S
DeleteCGB, 16a, Sweet sixteen? Under-age?
CV is right, I took the 's as has. The last S comes from LOTS(=many)
DeleteGot it, thanks
DeleteIf 'S is 'has' as a container, then isn't 'in' that's following misleading? Feel 'in' is a container
Delete'TC has ABLE in' sounds valid to me to get T(ABLE)C
DeleteExactly!
DeleteOn second thought, agreed
Delete1A: Even then the punctuation kinda makes it unclear.
DeleteWell, "in many, need hard" is a better instruction than "in, many need hard."
Felt this puzzle was not of the usual Exa standard
ReplyDelete+1. Could complete the puzzle with a couple of doubts regarding annos here and there. I too filled in LANES for 4Dn. Otherwise a nice puzzle.
Delete+2
Delete+3. I liked the puzzle & completed it pretty quickly.
DeleteIn 15 D inferring TRAVERS from Bill was a stretch.
ReplyDeleteG: Girl, STR: Ship and T for Tense. Are these abbrvs from a source other than Chambers?
18d a=an looks fine to me
ReplyDelete22d I don't understand how the 'O' goes inside
item = thing in which I is stripped or removed for O(love)
DeleteI'm not sure just 'leather' is enough as definition for THONG unless 'item' is on double duty?
Indeed, item seems to be on double duty
DeleteThanks.
Delete6d may need an archaic indicator
ReplyDelete27a is excellently written
Lots of other neat clues 9,10,11,16A
But the puzzle didn't feel consistent on the whole, which goes to say that a good puzzle is not about good clues being fit in individually
Completed it, but somehow unsatisfactory experience. Is it just me? No aha moment?
ReplyDeleteCan't say this puzzle is without its aha moments.
DeleteFor instance, as PH factors in, 27ac is a superb clue.
The WP is perfect and the surface is too good.
The statement "a good puzzle is not about good clues being fit in individually" raises an interesting question.
Does one fill in the grid and write clues?
Or does one first write interesting clues for pliable words over a period, comes to the grid and fits these or some of these into a grid, then lets checking pattern take over and completes the grid and finally copy-pastes the already written clues and proceeds to write clues for the other lights?
I know that some UK setters have this practice - that is, of first identifying topical terms or words/phrases capable of yielding excellent clues and writing finished clues for them to be included in their grid before further work on it.
I don't know if any THC setter does this.
I, for one, never have a ready-made clue when I proceed to grid-filling.
The clues are always written for the lights that the grid is populated with.
Sir,
DeleteLike you said, I prefer to fill the grid in before setting clues. But there are instances where during the course of the gridfill there may be a possibility to fit in a word for which one might have a clue/idea beforehand. There was a puzzle in which one of my clue acrostics was broken by some uninformed edition. I had an idea for a clue referring to this in my next puzzle.
'Broken acrostic sequence? Properly sort out with silent acceptance!' (12)
Incidentally I was able to fit this as 1across in the next puzzle.
But such instances are rare. By and large I prefer filling the grid first.
12 Surprised to find doctor into wearing blue shades (10) ASTONISHED (INTO* in SHADES*)
ReplyDelete27 Idea of working at home's popular with the old (7) OPINION (OP IN, IN with O)
Well written clues.
27A is very nice
DeleteYep, 27A is nice... But to be fair, even the young prefer to work at/ from home these day. :)
DeleteVJ
DeleteThat thought struck me too but I refrained from airing it.
'op' = 'work' (ref opus). Also 'working'?
Deleteop= operate/ operation.Hence working I have seen it being used before.
DeleteI generally don't use 'a' in clue to give 'an' in wordplay. I say 'generally' because I am not absolutely certain about it and may have used it unconsciously or at a pinch. Can't trace this in my dB because no WP/anno is entered.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this often in clues in UK crosswords, though.
For me a = one = an is a stretch.
I am not criticising the practice or the setter. What I am saying is setters have their personal preferences, predilections and prejudices.
To each his own.
CV Sir ,
DeleteCan we substitute *a fruit* with *an orange* ?
When sub'ing 'A IT' for 'An Italian' then I' think it's fine. I don't prefer 'a' for 'an' otherwise nor a = 1.
DeleteAVM
DeleteI understand that you are looking at these two phrases as a whole.
Personally I won't use that device.
AFAIAC, a = a :: an = an.
As I said, it's a personal thing.
I have the same opinion regarding a=an. It cannot be a standalone substitution.
DeleteThanks for the comments so far... I will return in the evening with my points of view to allow time for others to put forth their 'opinions' if they wish ....
ReplyDelete12A Doctor as anagrind of into is clever but blue as anagrind of shades is new to me.I am a new comer to THC.
ReplyDelete3D A clever clue in having are= live but rejected does not seem to be a clear enough indicator for reversing and also offensive does not seem to be a good definition of evil.
I am slowly finding my feet in THC.
Jargon as anagram indicator is a first for me. How does it indicate movement/rearrangement?
ReplyDeleteTough one Exa. Finally managed to get all but EVIL and TABLECLOTHS. Not sure of ARE ~ LIVE. Some excellent surfaces 27ac stands out. Not sure how bits denotes taking top of letters... maybe just me. Overall good and hard.
ReplyDelete