Thursday, 9 April 2015

No 11364, Thursday 09 Apr 2015, Afterdark


If there is something hidden I can't find it. I'm not sure about 11A and 9D.

ACROSS
1   Sadly, goon muted host; one who is persuasive in speech (6-7) SMOOTH-TONGUED*
10 Perhaps, sodium and aluminium are acidic? No, it's basic! (9) ELEMENTAL {ELEMENT}{AL}
11 Spend once on her, when husband is away at last (5) EXERT {EX}{hER}{aT}
12 Mobile is repaired; Lost link with an ecological community (5) BIOME MOBIlE*
13 Monkey's colour fading at the tail, heard you added colour! (9) ORANGUTAN {ORANGe}{(~you)U}{TAN}
14 Exploit erection in part to delay (6) LOITER [T]
16 Not letting say, Ms. Marilyn to complete is mean (4) NORM MONRoe* What is the AInd? (Addendum - NORMa - See comments)
19 A drop of retsina in drink brings a smile (4) GRIN {G{Re...a}IN}
20 Disheartened boy and girl married in the past (6) BYGONE {BoY}{G}{ONE}
25 Sparkling wine for winner with a gin cocktail (9) CHAMPAIGN {CHAMP}{A}{GIN*} Spelling error? Sparkling wine is CHAMPAGNE
26 Good landlady should be invisible like this? (5) GHOST {G}{HOST} &lit. Nitpicking. Shouldn't a landlady be a 'Hostess'?
27 Goodbye present, I ultimately leave you (5) ADIEU {AD}{I}{leavE}{yoU}
28 Bad clue, nothing inside to hold setter's name and delivery (9) ELOCUTION {EL{O}CU*}{T{I}O}{N}
29 Revolt ensues upon entry at the ball for wearing extra things with the outfit (13) ACCESSORISING {ACCESS}{O}{RISING}

DOWN
2   Imprisonment failed, spirit flew off with chip, a device aiding memory (8) MNEMONIC {iMprisONMENt}{IC}
3   Buzzer takes a sip of soup after egg and becomes fat (5) OBESE {O}{BE{Soup}E}
4   That boxer conceals a piece of luggage (6) HATBOX [T]
5   I participated in a plot developed for a picture (3,5) OIL PAINT {OIL PA{I}NT*}
6   For badly losing, golfer's angry about wearing redhead's cap (9) GLENGARRY {GoLfEr}{ANGRY* over Re...d}
7   Book sales initially below threshold in shows (6) EVENTS {EVE}{NT}{S}
8   German boy sick to chop off tail of mammal (6) GERBIL {GER}{B}{ILl}
9   Stop the action (5) STAND [DD] ? STUNT [DD] See comments
15 Partner distressed to join European Union's transport (9) ENRAPTURE {PARTNER+EU}*
17 Wakes up nurse with Elvis dance around a pole (8) ENLIVENS {EN}{LIVE{N}S*}
18 Moin went around mountain by mid-morning to find a place to stay (5,3) MOTOR INN {MO{TOR} IN}{morNing}
21 Kiss accepted by stranger, given by worker is lingering (6) EXTANT {E{X}T}{ANT}
22 Beacon damaged, boy lost in sea (5) OCEAN bEACON*
23 I am coming back with new account of a psychopath (6) MANIAC {MA{N}I<=}{AC}
24 Cool party on 1st October right inside the building (6) INDOOR {IN}{DO}{Oc...r}{R}
26 Horse eats a bit of lettuce and ulluco given by Sikh leader and makes a gurgling sound (5) GLUGS {G{Le...e}{Ul...o}G}{Sikh}

GRID

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35 comments:

  1. RameshJ9 April 2015 at 08:31

    9d Stunt

    ReplyDelete
  2. Venkatesh9 April 2015 at 08:38

    9 Stop the action (5) STUNT [DD]

    ReplyDelete
  3. Venkatesh9 April 2015 at 08:56

    26Dn GG or gee-gee is a word for horse used by children or in colloquial speech in UK. The internet provides different explanations for its etymology. Wikipedia says that the term "Gee-Gee" is taken from horse-racing where a Gee-Gee is the first horse out of the starting gate. Other sources say that GG is short for the command given to horses to go: "gee up"
    [Source: Shuchi at http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2011/12/why-is-horse-gg.html ]

    ReplyDelete
  4. Venkatesh9 April 2015 at 09:03

    8D German boy sick to chop off tail of mammal (6) GERBIL {GER}{B}{ILl}
    {G}{ERB}{IL[-L]} I took German - G and boy - ERB

    ReplyDelete
  5. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 09:30

    Col.'s anno looks more plausible.
    Any explanation for the spelling pointed out by Col. for 25A?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 09:34

    Chambers gives 'Champaign' as the place where Champagne is made.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Abhay9 April 2015 at 09:47

    16a is not an anagram of Monroe - it is a reference to her real name, Norma (Jean Baker) - not letting NORMA (be) complete would give us NORM.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 09:57

    News to me. Thank you Abhay.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Abhay9 April 2015 at 09:58

    Thank you, Afterdark and DG!

    I enjoyed the puzzle, although the NE corner was quite a struggle! EXERT and STUNT were my last ones in - it's some consolation to see that the same pair proved problematic even for Col! :)

    25A was indeed a surprise - Champaign (also called Champaign-Urbana) is a town in Illinois. It also apparently means open, level countryside. The drink - and the region in France from where it originates - is Champagne.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Abhay9 April 2015 at 10:24

    The clue involving Marilyn Monroe's real name got me thinking about norms (pun unintended!) for setting crosswords for Indian newspapers. I have seen setters referencing Western actors, singers, and music groups in their clues. What would the reception be, I wonder, if one were to use similar references to Indian actors/singers/other artistes? For instance, ever so many Indian actors go by assumed names (e.g., Rajinikanth, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Kishore Kumar) - would it be acceptable if clues used their screen names for wordplay involving their real names?

    This is not a complaint about Afterdark's clue - I am just wondering how far one could stretch these kind of references.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Col_Gopinath9 April 2015 at 11:14

    AD tells me there's something hidden in the highlighted letters of the solution grid uploaded in the main post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sumit9 April 2015 at 11:41

      Something to do with first and last letters!

      Delete
    2. Col_Gopinath9 April 2015 at 11:47

      Sumit you are halfway there

      Delete
    3. Sumit9 April 2015 at 12:26

      First and last letters of setters that appear before AD

      Delete
  12. Sujatha9 April 2015 at 11:14

    Got 'em all after a very long time. Not that I have done many thus far but feels happy to know the progress I have made in the one and half years since I started. Thanks to this blog and the many who contribute to this. You have helped me a great deal on this journey.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 April 2015 at 12:16

    Nice one from Afterdark. Found South-East corner tough. Now moving on to some detective work to find what is hidden in the highlighted letters of the solution grid!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 April 2015 at 12:42

    Phew! I give up. Am neither a Sherlock Holmes nor a Hercule Poirot!! :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 April 2015 at 12:45

      Am just MB only!

      Delete
    2. Suresh9 April 2015 at 12:51

      Sumit has already given the answer

      Delete
    3. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 April 2015 at 13:01

      Saw that but the tubelight didn't function properly then! Now it's glowing alright!!

      Delete
    4. Mukundala Balasubramanyam9 April 2015 at 13:08

      ...with a little push from Paddy's entry @ 12:51 pm !

      Delete
  15. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 12:51

    Got it Col., thanks to the clues given by you & Sumit.
    Here is the list of setters whose first & last letters are there
    Gridman
    Incognito
    Lightning
    Vulcan
    Sunnet
    Arden
    Buzzer
    Neyartha

    ReplyDelete
  16. Chaturvasi9 April 2015 at 14:47

    It is Anon, not Arden.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 15:10

    I now realise I have missed the sequence.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Chaturvasi9 April 2015 at 19:03

    No, it's not the sequence. I was just kidding. While you interpreted A*N as Arden, I was suggesting mischievously why it shouldn't be Anon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 19:16

      Pl. refer sumit @12.26. Order is that of all setters who precede AD in the order their CW's appear.

      Delete
  19. VMA Nair9 April 2015 at 19:08

    Easy one from AD. Got all but 3.
    Any role for acidic and no in 10 A? Also think it should be *are basic*?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Padmanabhan9 April 2015 at 19:14

    No. It IS 'Or'. Wordplay- acidicx basic- what is not acidic has to be basic. This way both no & acidic have a part to play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VMA Nair9 April 2015 at 19:24

      I don't get you :-( . In cryptic reading ?

      Delete
  21. Kishore9 April 2015 at 20:19

    Thanks, AD for the mention. What have poor Scintillator and Skulldugger done to miss the mention?! Just jokin' ! Btw noticed an odd 'oxymoron' in Sumit's 12:26 : " before After Dark" ... Good spotting by Sumit!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chaturvasi10 April 2015 at 06:55

    Yes, AD has mentioned you, Incognito. But it's a heartless Incognito!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore10 April 2015 at 08:56

      All the setters mentioned here are heartless, G.....N, and you lead the list ... Maybe yhe other setters will turn up tomorrow...

      Delete

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