Rather 26a crossword from AD... I am just .... 29a
A rather quick entertainer from AD. Though I am not able to figure if there is anything special in here ...
Across
9 Pray to a destroyer, perhaps to spare academician with love (7) WORSHIP (WARSHIP-A+O)
10 Silicate compound I dug out is flexible (7) ELASTIC (SILICATE-I)*
11 A flat-bottomed barge is more weightless (7) LIGHTER (2)
12 Induce heart attacks, maybe in the shakeout (7) ATTRACT (HEART ATTACKS -SHAKE)*
13 Valued the estate of a friend's daughter (9) ESTIMATED (EST I MATE D)
15 About a Hindu leader in a country... (5) CHINA (C H IN A)
16 ... communist maybe, badly cursed, having no money, degraded (7) REDUCED (RED (CURSED-RS)*)
19 Postponed dance inauguration to end of June, acted without brain (7) DELAYED (Dance junE pLAYED)
20 Good article written on orchestra leader's instrument (5) PIANO (PI AN Orchestra)
21 Takes away vehicle reversing at junction, right before work on Sabbath (9) SUBTRACTS (BUS< T R ACT S)
25 Extra played antihero without ego (7) ANOTHER (ANTIHERO-I)*
26 Next remedy somewhat radical (7) EXTREME (T)
28 Moving player to boundary for finals (7) ENDINGS (SENDING with S sent to end)
29 Pretending as king did confuse (7) KIDDING (KING DID)*
Down
1 Let back wife inside by five, sweetheart by midnight (6) TWELVE (LET< with W inside, VswEet)
Is the wife being let in or sent out when the sweetheart arrives? A ménage à trois?
2 Bay during summer end is sunny (6) BRIGHT (summeR in BIGHT)
3 Close shave, had unknowingly thrashed leaders (4) SHUT (acrostic)
4 Phantom's a special setter, right on top in teasers (6) SPIRIT (SP I R In Teasers)
5 King has drawback, England's deputy head will be decorated (8) REWARDED (ER< DRAW< E Deputy) Though I am not sure whether reversal for Edward Rex has been sufficiently indicated ...
Incidentally the onstage round at the Grand Finale of the IXL yesterday had the wordplay "king versus queen" leading to ER+V+ER, and a doubt was expressed by some how king could be ER. Can't forget ole Eddie can we?
6 Fastidious character with one dog roaming around Los Angeles (10) PARTICULAR (PART I +CUR around LA)
7 Yes, tidal waves are seen regularly (8) STEADILY (YES TIDAL)*
8 Supreme Court to come back on the state of the nation (8) SCOTLAND (SC TO< LAND)
14 Instrument for second umpire, to essentially indicate run out call (10) MICROPHONE (uMpire indICate RO PHONE)
16 Replayed dance tape, tripping in grass (8) REPEATED (TAPE* in REED)
17 Suit princess with a doctor, new at outskirts of Damascus (8) DIAMONDS (DI A MO N Da..uS)
18 Anguish of daughter is, trees being felled without bearing on society (8) DISTRESS (D IS (TREES-E)* S) Strictly speaking felled as anagram is not necessary but does well for the surface
22 Suspends first meal of the day, to avoid fat (6) BREAKS (BREAKFAST - FAT)
23 Caught Rosy taking setter's shirt and money in bank account (6) CREDIT (C RED I T) Though this is correct in normal English usage, accountants here might say money in a bank account will be DEBIT and not CREDIT. Borrowing from a bank would be CREDIT. But this is just nitpicking ...
24 Sweden guided on original design of electronic vehicle (6) SLEDGE (Sweden LED Design Electronic) Not sure if S for Sweden is ok ...
27 The innovative divisional engineer sources current (4) TIDE (acrostic)
9 Pray to a destroyer, perhaps to spare academician with love (7) WORSHIP (WARSHIP-A+O)
10 Silicate compound I dug out is flexible (7) ELASTIC (SILICATE-I)*
11 A flat-bottomed barge is more weightless (7) LIGHTER (2)
12 Induce heart attacks, maybe in the shakeout (7) ATTRACT (HEART ATTACKS -SHAKE)*
13 Valued the estate of a friend's daughter (9) ESTIMATED (EST I MATE D)
15 About a Hindu leader in a country... (5) CHINA (C H IN A)
16 ... communist maybe, badly cursed, having no money, degraded (7) REDUCED (RED (CURSED-RS)*)
19 Postponed dance inauguration to end of June, acted without brain (7) DELAYED (Da
20 Good article written on orchestra leader's instrument (5) PIANO (PI AN O
21 Takes away vehicle reversing at junction, right before work on Sabbath (9) SUBTRACTS (BUS< T R ACT S)
25 Extra played antihero without ego (7) ANOTHER (ANTIHERO-I)*
26 Next remedy somewhat radical (7) EXTREME (T)
28 Moving player to boundary for finals (7) ENDINGS (SENDING with S sent to end)
29 Pretending as king did confuse (7) KIDDING (KING DID)*
Down
1 Let back wife inside by five, sweetheart by midnight (6) TWELVE (LET< with W inside, V
Is the wife being let in or sent out when the sweetheart arrives? A ménage à trois?
2 Bay during summer end is sunny (6) BRIGHT (
3 Close shave, had unknowingly thrashed leaders (4) SHUT (acrostic)
4 Phantom's a special setter, right on top in teasers (6) SPIRIT (SP I R I
5 King has drawback, England's deputy head will be decorated (8) REWARDED (ER< DRAW< E Deputy) Though I am not sure whether reversal for Edward Rex has been sufficiently indicated ...
Incidentally the onstage round at the Grand Finale of the IXL yesterday had the wordplay "king versus queen" leading to ER+V+ER, and a doubt was expressed by some how king could be ER. Can't forget ole Eddie can we?
6 Fastidious character with one dog roaming around Los Angeles (10) PARTICULAR (PART I +CUR around LA)
7 Yes, tidal waves are seen regularly (8) STEADILY (YES TIDAL)*
8 Supreme Court to come back on the state of the nation (8) SCOTLAND (SC TO< LAND)
14 Instrument for second umpire, to essentially indicate run out call (10) MICROPHONE (
16 Replayed dance tape, tripping in grass (8) REPEATED (TAPE* in REED)
17 Suit princess with a doctor, new at outskirts of Damascus (8) DIAMONDS (DI A MO N D
18 Anguish of daughter is, trees being felled without bearing on society (8) DISTRESS (D IS (TREES-E)* S) Strictly speaking felled as anagram is not necessary but does well for the surface
22 Suspends first meal of the day, to avoid fat (6) BREAKS (BREAKFAST - FAT)
23 Caught Rosy taking setter's shirt and money in bank account (6) CREDIT (C RED I T) Though this is correct in normal English usage, accountants here might say money in a bank account will be DEBIT and not CREDIT. Borrowing from a bank would be CREDIT. But this is just nitpicking ...
24 Sweden guided on original design of electronic vehicle (6) SLEDGE (S
27 The innovative divisional engineer sources current (4) TIDE (acrostic)
1D Menage a trois?? Looks more like menage a sept to me (if you include e)
ReplyDeleteQuestions
DeleteWhat was the wife doing outside of the home? OK, maybe she went out for shopping maligai saaman or mallippoo. Forget it.
The sweetheart is let back at midnight. Now, where did she go for coming back so late in the evening?
If she is also 'let back' Kishore's question in tiny font is quite relevant.
These crossword clues set us thinking. The preposterous ideas that they raise, the awful pictures that they evoke!
What is the crossword clue writer's/solver's mind made of?
:P
DeleteMaybe it takes 7 full hours on return for a wife to become a sweetheart ??
DeleteWhat a two-timer the chap in the clue is?
Deleteat Five and Seven ...
15 About a Hindu leader in a country... (5) C H IN A
ReplyDeleteWhat is 'a', the, first 'a' doing in the clue?
In the def part, we sometimes use 'a',
For CHINA, the def could perhaps be 'a country'.
However, here, the second 'a' play a part in WP.
The first 'a' is needed for surface reading.
My question is: can we have 'a' in WP merely for surface reading?
I may be excused for raising such questions here from time to time. All towards a record of principles of crossword clue writing.
I asked a similar question on Saturday about sticking in a word ('the') only for the surface. I don't think it is very fair on a solver to expect to ignore parts of the clue in parsing.
DeleteWould a setter insert a 'bigger/longer' word into a clue just for surface? Then why 'a' 'an' 'the' 'of' 'for' etc? Because they look innocuous?
In this case the first 'a' could have been dropped.
DeleteI believe that theusurface reading suffers by mere dropping of the first 'a'.
DeleteAbout Hindu leader in a country ... (5) Sounds ok to me
DeleteI think what CV means is, without "a," what comes after in the next clue, is not sufficiently qualified. Well, 15A is just one part of the surface.
DeleteIn this particular clue (as Raghu pointed out to me separately, 'the' in 12A is definitely superfluous), if both 15A & 16A are read together, the surface reading definitely suffers without 'a'.
DeleteLiked 14D re MICROPHONE and 22D: BREAK.
ReplyDeleteWas 4 D an unintended compliment? Thanks anyway, AD.
ReplyDeleteWhy unintended? It is a compliment :)
Delete:)
DeleteThanks again.
DeleteThe two CWs used in the Prelims at the IXL Finals will be posted in next Sunday's Sunday Special and the two used in the on-stage round will be posted on the Sunday after that
ReplyDelete28 Moving player to boundary for finals (7) ENDINGS (SENDING with S sent to end)
ReplyDeleteThere are four players in SENDING. Captain/ leader would have been better.
25 Extra played antihero without ego (7) ANOTHER (ANTIHERO-I)*
ReplyDeleteThat's how it is. He dare not have ego, or else he does not even get the role outlined in the def.
Where did the g in 24 ac come from.? S led d e?
ReplyDeleteSorry..thats 24d.
ReplyDeleteThat's an error from AD in my opinion
DeleteI am not very sure now. Looks like an error. But I am also keen to know what led Kishore to pick G. Maybe its in the crossing. Something is rankling though.
DeleteMy mind had turned to sludge
DeleteA bright start to the day! Quite an entertaining puzzle from AD. My COD 5Dn REWARDED. Liked 17Dn DIAMONDS too. Thanks a lot Afterdark. :-)))
ReplyDeleteSo you were rewarded?!
DeleteYes :)
DeleteIs 2d cryptically right ?
ReplyDeleteI think X during Y would suggest X is in Y, if that's what you mean.
DeleteYes
DeleteAgree with Ajeesh and CV
DeleteSo should it be end of summer in bay? It could still be bright.
Delete23d Remarks of K: It depends upon whose books the accountant is looking into - Banker's or Customer's, IMHO
ReplyDeleteMy own books
DeleteThanks AD for a nice crossie. Though I could not get MICROPHONE and SCOTLAND, enjoyed solving the rest.
ReplyDelete