Thursday 11 June 2015

No 11418, Thursday,11 Jun 2015, xChequer


I told the Colonel yesterday that I would write today's blog so that he can have a hassle-free journey to CBE. At his destination, he might perhaps tackle this crossword unhurriedly. 

I invite reader participation in this blog. Please see queries/suggestions below.

Across

7 Successive punches numbering a dozen (3-3) ONE-TWO :: I didn't bend down to buckle my shoe; I think 12 (ignoring the hyphen) gives 'a dozen'; 'successive punches' are lost on me. What indeed is the def. here? Reader comment welcome

8 Alarm spread by legend - empty talk (8) MALARKEY :: (ALARM)*KEY :: 'key' / 'legend' as in maps and charts

9 Crude oil's end overcoming universal misconception (8) DELUSION :: U in (OILSEND)*

10 Radical breaks result in cinch (6) ENSURE :: Anno to be provided by any reader (Addendum - R in ENSUE - See comments)

11 Embroiled chief of company controls anger (5) MIRED ::  IRE in MD

12 Leader leaving Oriental behind (6) ASTERN :: deleting E from Eastern

14 Easy pickings with little effort involved, poorly done from beginning to end (5,3,3,4) MONEY FOR OLD ROPE :: new phrase for me; there are many old ropes lying around and I must try exchanging them for dollars  ::had to do some paper work for the anno - (POORLYDONEFROM)* plus E (beginning to 'end')

17 Runs in, smashes, goes off (6) BURSTS :: R from runs in BUSTS

18 Arbitrary command in Alaska backfiring in operation (5) UKASE :: rev of AK in USE

22 Composite picture of seaman first class wearing medal (6) MOSAIC :: M (OS AI)C

23 Concerning the patient man at work (2,3,3) ON THE JOB (ref. to the Biblical character) :: In a crossword that I set recently, I wrote a clue for this very phrase but I am now unable to recall the WP that I used.Thank God for this short memory, for clues in my crosswords or others' still have freshness

24 Souvenirs essentially to recollect moments gone past (8) MEMENTOES MEMENTOS ::  I see where the setter is coming from but.. Anno to be provided by any reader (Addendum - [souv]E[nirs] in anag of MOMENTS and an &lit - See comments)

25 Revolutionary medicine provided a stimulus (6) FILLIP :: rev of PILL IF

Down

1 One with right to receive, maybe heir to one essentially? (9) INHERITOR :: anag of HEIRTO [o]N[e]

2 Harmonize VAT in consumed food (6) ATTUNE :: Anno to be provided by any reader (Addendum - TUN in ATE - See comments)

3 Reportedly stitch top having three dimensions (5) SOLID :: hom. of 'sew' plus LID :: Don't think of women's tops. Are there tops for men?

4 Sad ringer made a bloomer (8) BLUEBELL :: straight cha. of blue bell :: Can we put a comma after 'sad' and slightly empathise with the church official?

5 Publicity is about queen becoming hostage (8) PRISONER :: cha of PR is on ER

6 Picked up acceleration, drove around (5) HEARD :: a in herd 

8 Scaled-down way to distribute society's aid (13) MINISTRATIONS :: Had to think a little for the anno but no prob. :: cha of mini st. ration s

13 Occasional small photo included when stylish (9) SPASMODIC :: as mod in s pic :: I had first seen the anno wrongly but checked myself later

15 Need intermittently suppressed, married couple hugged (8) EMBRACED :: m. brace in [n]E[e]D

16 Set fire to colony evacuated in violence (8) FEROCITY :: Anno to be provided by any reader (Addendum - Anag of TO and FIRE and C[olon]Y See comments

19 Cry left mouth of youth with enthusiasm (6) KEENLY :: cha of keen L Y :: The surface reading doesn't seem to make much sense, does it?

20 Chap's tense with desire (5) COVET :: cha of cove T

21 Formal body (5) STIFF :: DD :: stiff,  not just the upper lip, Kishore?


58 comments:

  1. Thank you CV. Though I got in by 4AM, I was too sleepy to tackle a xChequer CW and seeing it now I am sure I would have been found wanting today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks CV for the blog. XC is to be tackled only after a dozen (one-two?) strong kaapis...

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    2. Or for thise who indulge, a couple of stiff uns

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  2. 21d CV, Reminds me of a joke ... will try to get the exact wording
    16d FIRE TO C(olon)Y*

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    Replies
    1. One version on the net: A middle-aged man takes up ballroom dancing but turns out to be quite bad. During one disastrous two-step he treads all over his partner. He apologises, saying, ‘I’m so sorry, but I’m a little stiff from badminton.’ His partner replies, ‘I don’t care where you’re from. Keep off my bloody feet.'
      There was another version playing on the name of the town Reading,but I cannot recollect it

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  3. Anno for 2D

    Harmonize = Definition = ATTUNE {AT{TUN}E}
    VAT =TUN
    in = Inserticator
    consumed food = ATE

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  4. 10 Radical breaks result in cinch (6) ENSURE : ENSU(R)E
    24 Souvenirs essentially to recollect moments gone past (8) MEMENTOES : E from souvEnirs in MOMENTS*. Is it an &lit?

    2 Harmonize VAT in consumed food (6) ATTUNE AT(TUN)E TUN= Vat/ cask
    16 Set fire to colony evacuated in violence (8) FEROCITY :: FIRE TO+ C...Y anagrammed. Set: signal for that

    Tough one.

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  5. Sorry. A couple of annos repeated by me.

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  6. Thanks, mates.
    Now i have to go to hospital for a routine.
    Meanwhile, re 8dn, how can we be expected to get the plural sol from the singular def 'aid'?
    ***
    Did anyone notice that for second day running the setter has used the same fill-in grid?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think he did so last time around also

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    2. You're right about the sing def getting the ans in plural. The 's does count in the def, as was pointed out in an earlier THC puz

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    3. Aid used with s becomes something quite different. Aid encompasses more than one act of help. All the best for your ketchup, CV!

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    4. The good reverend's effect?

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    5. Yes, he was cooking kitchen in the chicken ...

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    6. Same grid as in Wednesday's used forThursday. ! In fact, I did the one of Thursday on Wednesday itself as the THCC
      online produced it !! I have not seen the one for Wednesday in THCC Online., though I had gone through he blog comments. Does it mean that I'm now on Friday? I'm in a Time warp !!

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  7. 24 Ac= The 8-letter solution will be MEMENTOS, without the extra E.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Appears to be an inadvertent typo. I have corrected it

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  8. A good learning experience. It was a tough job (patient?)
    Thank you CV. Happy to note you are back to normal and fit enough to tackle Xchequer (at his devious best, as Col. put it yesterday)

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  9. CV's comment for 3d- "Are there tops for men?"
    Men can easily be 'topless' and no one will notice!
    T shirt?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fared much better than yday. Still it was not without a fight. Some lovely clues. 15D was the best IMO. Also shows how setters think differently and spend lots of effort to get an interesting surface.

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  11. Do not quite get 1D. Where do the 'I' and 'R' come from?

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    Replies
    1. One with right to receive is doing double duty. Never enjoyed doing it.

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    2. This one is & lit. So it is fine

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    3. In fact, it is damn good

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    4. Actually I and R receive/take in the anagram NHERITO

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    5. Exactly what I noticed and wrote in my10:38

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  12. Re CV's remark about the stiff upper lip, not just that can be stiff ... I mean neck, of course, if anyone had any doubts ... well, a correspondent's joke is stated below, a bit paraphrased ...

    A husband and his wife, always at logerheads, both got epitaphs carved for each other in advance.

    Husband's contribution: HERE LIES MY WIFE, COLD AS USUAL

    Wife's version: HERE LIES MY HUSBAND, 21 AT LAST.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some KONAR notes required. Tube light.

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  13. And another one from that very same correspondent, duly edited ...

    A young socialite, with a deep-necked dress, happened to be tapped for a dance by a middle-aged miner who had rather conservative views on how deep a neck could plunge..

    After introducing himself and mentioning his calling, he -wanting to bring up the boldness of the dress- whispered 'Ma'am, I like everything about you. But I must confess I have just one thing to hold against you....'

    'Yes, I can feel it -it's that stick of dynamite and it's about to explode,' she replied.

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  14. The said correspondent, no doubt, was aiming to get me rusticated from this forum, so I had to edit the jokes ... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do I hear a tut-tut from halfway around the world

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    2. I think you are referring to a Particular Person ...

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    3. To save that person's trouble of stepping in, I say it now, 'Incorrigible boys!'

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    4. Sounds music when it comes from a Particular Person ...!

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  15. Kishore in his elements.. or is it the (imaginary?) correspondent?

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    Replies
    1. Paddy: You will find his mention in the comment below this and the comment above yours ...

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  16. You might be wondering who the shy correspondent is ... Tom, Dick or Harry ? Well, Dick is his short form, and when it is expanded, Dick (note: this is not false capitalisation that you people are used to) becomes .....

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    Replies
    1. He wanted me to go easy on the tabasco ... easy, I just replaced with piri piri /peri peri ...

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    2. It is well that you changed the comment at 1148. I did see some other meaning in that.

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    3. That meaning is still there, couched in some padding ...

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    4. I had to go to the dictionary to know that tabasco is a hot sauce.(brand name?)

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  17. A riddle wrapped in a mystery in an enigma!

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  18. Re 23a, in India, we use this phrase to mean that somebody is working on it, but British slang has other connotations. One of my newly married juniors was repeatedly using that phrase to tell a British client that he was working hard on their assignment. Reaching a point of frustration, i got a call from London, complaining about it. When I mentioned to him that this chappie was recently married and hence constantly on the job, the Englishman had a good laugh.

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  19. Glad to see Kishore breaking loose from his self-imposed exile!

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  20. Christopher Lee (Dracula, Scaramanga, Saruman, Count Dooku and Jinnah) is no more. RIP. Hope Dracula rises again!

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  21. One-two is boxing terminology, a combination of punches

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