Tuesday, 14 July 2015

No 11446, Tuesday 14 Jul 2015, xChequer


Brilliant CW, yet I don't think I will ever tire of saying, "xChequer is as devious as ever!"

ACROSS
7   Wrong of the team to decide on batting (6) INJURY {IN}{JURY}
8   Persecuted? Wrong; Rude? Wrong (8) TORTURED {TORT}{RUDE*}
9   Often thrown on top of couple, it reflects bits of a wedding shower (8) CONFETTI {Co...e}{OFTEN*}{TI<=}
10 Father's nose oddly corresponding to many a hooter (6) SIRENS {SIRE}{NoSe}
11 Essentially pronoun 'it' yields single identity (5) UNITY [T]
12 Recurring expression round long song of praise (6) GLORIA G{L}ORIA Anno pending (Addendum - {GL}{O}{RIA}<= - See comments)
14 Shady, lewd, snide calls, primarily rude, an extremely woeful issue? (10,5) WEDNESDAYS CHILD {SHADY+LEWD+SNIDE+Calls}*
17 Record set in concrete? Void! (6) REPEAL {R{EP}EAL}
18 Public transport subjected to extremely aggressive cursing (5) ABUSE {Aggre{BUS}ssivE}
22 Biography of English doctor aboard space station (6) MEMOIR {M{E}{MO}IR}
23 Third note to be rejected, bill's a fake (8) IMPOSTER {IM<=}{POSTER}
24 Hydrant appears to choke on discharge (8) FIREPLUG {FIRE}{PLUG}
25 Thieves heading away left such footsteps? (6) INCHES pINCHES

DOWN
1   Energy initially negative in opposition meeting (9) ENCOUNTER {E}{Ne...e}{COUNTER} 'in' is misleading See comments
2   Fan belt regularly getting cut — strong winds can do this (6) BUFFET {BUFF}{bElT}
3   Awkward task to receive unknown neighbour's money (5) KYATS {K{Y}ATS*}
4   Acts of obliteration beyond doubt through the ages (8) ERASURES {ERA{SURE}S}
5   Forbidden to come to community welfare programme (8) OUTREACH {OUT}{REACH}
6   Note a trailing layer of dye (5) HENNA {HEN}{N}{A}
8   Pirate swung over line, sailor gives indication that bonds are secure (6,1,6) TRIPLE A RATING {TRIP{L}E A*} {RATING}
13 Pressure continued to keep queen steaming (9) PLASTERED {P}{LAST{ER}ED}
15 Contracted to build new road without closing of tender (8) NARROWED {NEW+ROAD}* around {t...eR}
16 Fabulously artful shades contrasting pure black (8) SUPERBLY {S{PURE*}{B}LY}
19 Divide portion kept dry (6) BISECT {BI{SEC}T}
20 Amber, for instance, requires speed primarily to be held in check (5) RESIN {RE{Sp..d}IN}
21 Part of page inserted in narrow opening (5) SPLIT {S{P}LIT}

Posted by at
Labels: ,

71 comments:

  1. Kishore14 July 2015 at 08:32

    Congratulations to Gita and Deepak Gopinath on the arrival of Viaan, their grandson. I am sure all of you join me in wishing every happiness and success to the young one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lakshmi Vaidyanathan14 July 2015 at 08:45

      Congrats to Col & Gita ma'am !

      Delete
    2. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 08:50

      Grandparents are becoming grander and grander! Congrats.

      Delete
    3. Bhavan14 July 2015 at 08:51

      Congratulations on the new arrival.

      Delete
    4. Mukundala Balasubramanyam14 July 2015 at 08:53

      I too join, Congratulations Col Sir & Gita ma'am !

      Delete
    5. Shuchi14 July 2015 at 09:06

      Congrats to the family!

      Delete
    6. ranger14 July 2015 at 09:20

      Congratulations to you and the family on the birth of your grand child Colonel.

      Delete
    7. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:23

      Thanks for the good wishes

      Delete
    8. Padmanabhan14 July 2015 at 09:56

      Congrats Col Pass on our best wishes to the proud parents.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14 July 2015 at 09:58

      Congrats to the proud grandparents

      Delete
    10. VMA Nair14 July 2015 at 11:05

      Congrats to you and the family Col

      Delete
    11. Suresh14 July 2015 at 11:07

      Great news Deepak. And interesting name also. Wonder what it means.

      Delete
    12. Aakash Sridhar14 July 2015 at 12:55

      Congratulations Colonel !

      Delete
    13. Nadathur Rajan14 July 2015 at 12:58

      Hearty Congratulations to the proud parents and grandparents.

      Delete
    14. D.Srinivasan14 July 2015 at 13:29

      Congratulations, col.

      Delete
    15. D.Srinivasan14 July 2015 at 13:31

      Congratulations, col.

      Delete
    16. RameshJ14 July 2015 at 13:58

      Congratulations Col.

      Delete
    17. Vasant14 July 2015 at 18:11

      Congrats col..nice name too

      Delete
  2. Kishore14 July 2015 at 08:32

    On a separate note, and this just might spur someone to expand this idea - the crossword addiction seems to percolate into the family members of the aficionados. I am sure you all know that Bhavan unveiled a different kind of Nina when he named his daughter. Now, the Colonel’s granddaughter’s name Avni just got anagrammed with an extra a to become Viaan. I am sure the Colonel can tell us the ‘inside story’ or is it just a serendipitous discovery (or as Anon recently put it ‘trouvaille’).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:00

      Trouvaille it certainly is as far as I know and as far as percolation of the addiction I'm afraid the filter in my house is totally blocked as nothing has percolated down!!
      Thanks for all the good wishes.

      Delete
    2. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 09:03

      'Viaan' means full of life and energy.

      Delete
    3. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:11

      It certainly does and he displays it by keeping his parents awake at night!!

      Delete
    4. Kishore14 July 2015 at 09:33

      I was just pulling your leg, Deepak. Regarding keeping awake at night, it might be jet lag ... He is still following IST which is in his genes.

      On a lighter note, Sunnet might produce some pangrams!

      Delete
    5. Kishore14 July 2015 at 09:46

      CV, suspect the word vivacious probably comes from the same root

      Delete
    6. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 09:53

      When I came across 'trouvaille' I suspected it must be from 'trouver' - which means to find.
      It turned out to be correct.
      A little knowledge of the foreign languages by our study of roots of English words helps. Can't be dangerous, in any case.

      Delete
  3. Nadathur Rajan14 July 2015 at 08:33

    1 Energy initially EN
    negative COUNTER
    Defn: in opposition meeting (EN)(COUNTER)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nadathur Rajan14 July 2015 at 08:36

      Encounter = to meet in opposition or with hostile intent;

      Delete
    2. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 08:43

      I would side with the Colonel in his Comment on this clue without trying to justify the use of 'in' as NR has done.

      Delete
    3. Bhavan14 July 2015 at 08:52

      I saw no problems with this clue:

      Energy = E
      initially Negative = N
      in opposition = COUNTER (adverb)

      meeting = ENCOUNTER

      Delete
    4. Shuchi14 July 2015 at 08:54

      I didn't get the issue with the clue, it looks fine to me.
      in opposition = counter
      e.g. 'acted in opposition to popular demand' = 'acted counter to popular demand'

      Delete
    5. Shuchi14 July 2015 at 08:55

      @Bhavan: Our comments crossed :-)

      Delete
  4. SandhyaP14 July 2015 at 08:37

    12 Recurring expression round long song of praise (6) GLORIA

    [{GL}{O}{RIA})<-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 08:49

      Qns: How do we get LG from long? Is 'recurring' an apt rev ind? How do we get AIR (v.) from 'expression' (n.)

      Qns. raised merely for provoking discussion. Respect for setter's work remains.

      Delete
    2. SandhyaP14 July 2015 at 08:58

      LG: acronym for LONG (Freedict)

      Delete
    3. SandhyaP14 July 2015 at 09:56

      Air (n): public expression (Freedict)

      Delete
    4. SandhyaP14 July 2015 at 12:00

      Recurring: Coming back (wordweb)

      Delete
  5. Nadathur Rajan14 July 2015 at 08:40

    19Dn dry = sec. This may be new for most solvers. Champagne's sweetness is varied by the amount of sugar (dosage) added after the second fermentation, this determines how sweet a Champagne will be.
    ◘ Extra-Brut 0-6 g of sugar per liter (the driest of the dry, unsweetened)
    ◘ Brut less than 15 g of sugar per liter (dry, this is the typical style of Champagne with no sweetness)
    ◘ Extra-Dry 12-20 g of sugar per liter (still dry with a hint of sweetness or slightly sweet)
    ◘ Sec 17-35 g of sugar per liter (medium sweet)
    ◘ Demi-Sec 33-55 g of sugar per liter (sweet)
    ◘ Doux more than 55 gram of sugar per liter (Sweetest, very rare and is considered as dessert wine)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 08:45

      Many people beyond a particular age are diabetes prone and these degrees of sweetness are just a matter taken from the Internet and republished.

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:03

      Sec is not new, it has appeared in THC n a number of occasions

      Delete
    3. Nadathur Rajan14 July 2015 at 12:55

      Yes, it has appeared in Everyman X-word carried in The Hindu on 28 June, 2015:
      Dry time for religious group (4) SECT {SEC}{T}
      Has any local setter used it earlier?

      Delete
    4. RameshJ14 July 2015 at 14:02

      http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/2012/02/no-10382-friday-10-feb-12-mover.html

      Delete
  6. Bhavan14 July 2015 at 08:53

    +1 for the byline

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 09:01

    In Chennai fire hydrants such as the one in the pic in this blog are things of the past.
    There must have been a time when these were on city roads but as I grew up in Madras I never saw them in use.
    Even today rare unused fire hydrants such as this one may be seen as vestiges of the past, perhaps pre-Independence days. Paddy will confirm this. I think there is/was one near the CSI church on Cathedral Road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:04

      Even if there are any fire hydrants, I have my doubts if any of them will work

      Delete
    2. Kishore14 July 2015 at 09:35

      I can testify that have seen fire hydrants in use .... By dogs

      Delete
  8. Shrikanth14 July 2015 at 09:15

    Woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Couple of wrong entries. Then it was all over the place. Decided to peep in here than to break my head further. And as usual , brilliant CW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 09:24

      Shrikanth
      Will be grateful if you can please tell me which is the wrong side of the bed so that I may be aware of it and can try and avoid it.

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 09:33

      Wrong side is that side which is not right, but it can be either left or right

      Delete
    3. Kishore14 July 2015 at 09:36

      It is the wrong side of the bed when Mother Superior ends wearing the Bishop's slippers ...

      Delete
    4. SandhyaP14 July 2015 at 09:57

      :D

      Delete
    5. Richard14 July 2015 at 10:13

      For southpaws, right-hand side could be the wrong side - and for others the right is the wrong side...;)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14 July 2015 at 10:49

      It is good as long as it is not waking up in the wrong bed .. forget the side

      Delete
  9. Padmanabhan14 July 2015 at 10:05

    Yes CV. I have seen a fire hydrant (not sure if it was in working condition) in our road corner on Tirumalai Pillai Road, T.Nagar. But that was decades back. We cannot think of fire hydrants now in Chennai for the simple reason that there is no water!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Padmanabhan14 July 2015 at 10:09

    On Col.'s byword-
    When surfaces get interesting (just as surface reading,e.g."...decide on batting..") parsing gets difficult and devious. I loved many of the surfaces, though I could not crack them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Richard14 July 2015 at 10:14

    Congrats to Deepak and Gita on becoming grandparents yet again. May you and the child's parents remain as vivacious as ever...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chaturvasi14 July 2015 at 10:17

    For the past two days the paper has shifted the crossword with other companion features to the back page. It is in an inconvenient position. We can as well bang our heads against the wall before the designer subs know what is convenient to crossword solvers.
    They title the page LIFE.How miserable it can be!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 10:54

      +1

      Delete
    2. Aakash Sridhar14 July 2015 at 11:08

      Lol!

      Delete
    3. Suresh14 July 2015 at 11:11

      Maybe TH could employ a UX professional.

      Delete
    4. Rishi14 July 2015 at 11:39

      Suresh
      Just found out what a UX professional is.
      Don't know about UX but the paper does have a design editor.
      Somtimes designs can be bad, it seems.

      Delete
    5. Suresh14 July 2015 at 12:14

      Just a passing comment, Rishi ji. My daughter happens to be a UX professional. Software designers also use them to ensure that the applications designed are friendly to users. What the design editor missed out here apparently is the convenience of the reader solving the crossword.

      Delete
  13. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 10:56

    Today's Metro Plus in the Banged has an article on 'Ear cuffs' never knew that there was such an item even though the articles says that making a reappearance

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rishi14 July 2015 at 11:27

    When I read your Comment on ear cuffs, I did not know what you meant by ear cuffs.
    But after I saw the pics on the Internet, these were not seen in use when I was in college and some decades later.
    Then I noticed them.
    I think rich women sport just one of these, besides the usual ear ring or drop.
    But women in poorer sections of the city tend to use ear cuffs liberally. I think there it is considered a sort of status symbol. Some of them fave a whole lot of them on the entire length of the ear flap.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rishi14 July 2015 at 11:31

    Read 'have' for 'fave'.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Srividya14 July 2015 at 14:34

    Congratulations DG sir and Gita maam :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Raghunath14 July 2015 at 16:17

    Congrats Col on becoming a granddad again.

    ReplyDelete
  18. C.G. BHARGAV14 July 2015 at 17:08

    Congrats Col.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Vasant14 July 2015 at 18:23

    Brilliant xword it was...missed out on 7a & 2d & annos of 10 & 12 a...it was very hard work

    ReplyDelete
  20. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 19:13

    Thanks again for all the good wishes. Suresh @11:07 the name means 'Full of life and energy' as mentioned by CV in his comment @9:03

    ReplyDelete
  21. raju umamaheswar14 July 2015 at 19:47

    Congratulations to dear Col and Gita on this upgradation to another rung in the ladder of succession with the arrival of Viaan, a brand new grandson. May your tribe increase. Does this mean that you both have to attend and tend to Viaan for his viands and diapers , nocturnally? May this procreation by your progeny bring lots of prosperity and vivacity in your family. May Vian become Ivan the lovable to all !! God bless the mother and the child and may Viaan's father's chest expand to 45'' chowdai !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath14 July 2015 at 20:10

      Thanks Raju. Well we don't have to attend and tend to Viaan at the moment, as he is halfway across the world in Austin, TX

      Delete

deepakgita@gmail.com

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)