Monday, 12 October 2015

No 11523, Monday 12 Oct 2015, Arden


ACROSS
1   Imposed, if so, perhaps boy will follow (7) FOISTED {IF+SO}*{TED}
5   Politician bores into mind — a bore indeed (7) CALIBRE {CA{LIB}RE}
9   Some covering for pineapple plant (5) ORPIN [T]
10 Quick, dig and hold your ground (5,4) STAND FAST [DD] (Addendum {FAST} under {STAND} - See comments)
11 Support for such a bid comes from him (9) PROPONENT {PROP}{ONE NT}
12 Run away while reclaiming the pole position (5) ELOPE [T<=]
13 Eat nothing — get back to work (4) OPUS {O}{PUS}<=
15 'Way to cover Olympics without taking pictures' — by a know-all (8) POLYMATH {P{OLYMpics}ATH}
18 Spooner's game — horse will do test lap (5,3) DUMMY RUN from {RUMMY} {DUN}
19 Nobody will name an individual (4) NONE {N}{ONE}
22 Readily available upfront — a part within (2,3) ON TAP [T]
24 Live with title, taking the top off (9) BEHEADING {BE}{HEADING}
26 Campaign for proposal (9) PROMOTION {PRO}{MOTION} &lit
27 Enter location code, include work (3,2) POP IN {P{OP} IN}
28 Americans speak about wounded knee, while West bound (7)  YANKEES {KNEE}* in {SAY<=}
29 Expressed surprise over a spy's repatriation — it could be a threat to life (7) MYELOMA {MY}{ELOM A<=}

DOWN
1   Not a success — extremely pricey disc (6) FLOPPY {FLOP}{PriceY}
2   I must have egg — no way it can be just-in-time (9) IMPROMPTU {I}{M{PROMPT}Ust}
3   It takes two to go after Brown, as they say (5) TANGO {TAN}{GO}
4   Hell's fury painted on the wall (9) DISTEMPER {DIS}{TEMPER}
5   Empty container at the back of vessel (5) CRAFT {Co...eR}{AFT}
6   Among boys, say, he is a Lothario (6,3) LADIES MAN {LAD{IE}S} {MAN}
7   Party telling one to be negative (5) BEANO {BE A NO}
8   Players join up in admiration (6) ESTEEM {E}{S}{TEEM<=}
14 Cinematographers carting away, getting mixed signals (9) SEMAPHORE* cinEMatOgrAPHERS*
16 Manual working that is detailed within La (9) LANTHANUM {MANUAL}* around {NTH}?
17 Criminal sent in for playing and getting paid (6,3) TENNIS PRO {SENT+IN}* {PRO}
20 Follow oral invitation to trade (6) COMPLY (~ come ply}{COM}{PLY}
21 Plan for girl to gain knowledge (6) AGENDA {A{GEN}DA}
23 Letter carrying God's name (5) THORN {THOR}{N}
24 They may be taken unknowingly by American in parts (5) BAITS {B{A}ITS}
25 Enough male participation initially arranged (5) AMPLE {MALE+Pa...n}}*

GRID

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16 comments:

  1. Vasant12 October 2015 at 08:34

    I took 16 D as THA(-T) around Manual* with one unaccounted N..perhaps Arden can clarify

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raghunath12 October 2015 at 08:40

      That seems to be the case

      Delete
    2. Chaturvasi12 October 2015 at 08:46

      I thought time and again, to the nth time, and also looked up but I couldn't find an explanation.

      Delete
    3. ranger12 October 2015 at 10:42

      An oversight again on my part. In spite of my best efforts mistakes seem to creep in. Time to stop compiling and do something else.

      Delete
    4. Vasant12 October 2015 at 11:33

      Oh no! I dont think there were any mistakes till now...this is just a one off case...we thoroughly enjoy ur puzzles..keep on sir...

      Delete
    5. Chaturvasi12 October 2015 at 13:06

      Arden sir,
      Take heart!
      As long as there is no crossword editor and we compilers don't have a test solver, these occasional mistakes are bound to happen.
      I have mentioned here as to how our minds leap when we repeatedly check. These slips - rare and relatively low compared to the number of clues in a cycle - can be caught only by a fresh and uncluttered approach from a different person.
      Mainstream UK papers have crossword editors. I don't know if they solve or merely do consulting. Recently when there was a clue that solvers considered offensive, the editor said "if he had seen it he would not have allowed it" - was a last-minute change done by the sub with the setter without his involvement? What happened we wouldn't know.
      Other slips in WP, etc, are also noticed occasionally.
      Yes, I know, the writhing, the heart-wrenching that occurs when we get to know of an error in the printed crossword but it seems we have to live with it and try to take it in our stride.
      One thing for sure: our solvers are more understanding and forgiving than commenters on international blogs of UK crosswords

      Delete
    6. Padmanabhan12 October 2015 at 13:55

      No, don't think of stopping. Already Mohsin has said he is stopping (?) We don't want to keep losing good setters.It is understood that mistakes do creep in, in spite of best efforts.No one is questioning the efforts.

      Delete
  2. Vasant12 October 2015 at 08:39

    Found this equally tough...perhaps a few easier ones...Arden certainly has raised the bar...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Padmanabhan12 October 2015 at 09:20

    All sorts of trouble in the bottom half. After filling in 1A, I thought I am going to have an easy run today!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RameshJ12 October 2015 at 09:36

    I could not parse 10a. I do not think it is a DD.
    10 Quick, dig and hold your ground (5,4) STAND FAST
    Hold your ground = Stand Fast
    Quick=Fast
    dig=Stand?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raghunath12 October 2015 at 09:46

      10 Quick, dig and hold your ground (5,4) STAND FAST

      Hold your ground = Stand Fast
      Quick=Fast, dig=Understand. So Fast comes under Stand. But since Arden doesn't seem to make a diff between Across and Down clue it's right as per his view.

      Delete
    2. RameshJ12 October 2015 at 10:43

      Thanks Raghu. Nice cracking. So it is a charade.

      Delete
  5. Srividya12 October 2015 at 10:33

    Very tough. Managed to get all but needed help a lot from tech and google. Could not parse calibre lanthanum and thorn. Got stuck for a while on proponent ... since i had craft as crate initially. Took a very long yime too. Btw why is letter Thorn??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vasant12 October 2015 at 11:39

      Thorn:a letter in the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic alphabets
      See free dict

      Delete
  6. Ramani12 October 2015 at 10:52

    26/32 only :(((

    ReplyDelete
  7. Padmanabhan12 October 2015 at 11:16

    Much better than mine Ram!
    Thorn- Pl. refer Col.'s link.

    ReplyDelete

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