Wednesday 9 December 2015

No 11570, Wednesday 09 Dec 2015, Gridman


ACROSS
1   Looking at it one way, our navy personnel have a Pole seen in a different light (2,1,5) IN A SENSE {IN} {A} {S}{SEEN*}
5   Delicate atmosphere around boy on drug (6) FEEBLE {FEE{B}L}{E}
9   Machine part requiring some footwork (7) TREADLE [CD]
10 On party in meditation location (7) RETREAT {RE}{TREAT}
11 What you do when your head drops off (2,2,5) GO TO SLEEP [CD]
12 Fast breaker? (5) EATER [CD]
13 Saw try, lacking originality repeatedly, going off the mark (4) AWRY {sAW}{tRY}
14 Overextend oneself, though with hesitation, for ambulance equipment (9) STRETCHER {STRETCH}{ER}
17 M or F? Put out to allow for one of six (9) SEXTUPLET {SEX}{PUT*}{LET}
19 That woman's old idol (4) HERO {HER}{O}
23 Banish to former French island (5) EXILE {EX}{ILE}
24 Canadian short story on metropolis's comeback is stimulating (9) CATALYTIC {CA}{TALe}{YTIC<=}
25 I said party demands lookover (7) EYEBALL (~ i){EYE}{BALL}
26 Swarm of circling bees stopping policeman, say (7) BESIEGE {SI}{EG} in {BEE}* or is it {I}{EG} in {BEES}* with I for Inspector?
27 Clear access to main course (6) ENTREE [DD]
28 Bar lines? (8)  LEGALESE [CD]

DOWN
1   Absolutely necessary altering provided for (8) INTEGRAL*
2   A wager on an eminence being an aide (7) ABETTOR {A}{BET}{TOR}
3   First-born held estate in part (6) ELDEST [T]
4   Almost clear, posterity will turn out to be lacking originality (13) STEREOTYPICAL {CLEAr+POSTERITY}*
6   Centre in trouble gets new chief of hardliners to dig in (8) ENTRENCH {E{N}TRENC*}{Ha...s}
7   Brother, heater's kaput. Take in air (7) BREATHE {B}{HEATER*}
8   Blackmail former wife for wrong (6) EXTORT {EX}{TORT}
10 Introduce again one — clever and worthy of being acting as agent (13) REPRESENTABLE {REPRESENT}{ABLE}
15 How old bovine is in cheap ocean passage (8) STEERAGE {STEER}{AGE} 
16 Real cold on Greek island (8) CONCRETE {C}{ON}{CRETE}
18 Treasure in hospital department is highly regarded (7) EMINENT {MINE} in {ENT}
20 Once meter worked way out there (7) EXTREME {EX}{METER*}
21 Look here, take in last month's rise, and pull out (6) SECEDE {SE{CED<=}E}
22 Palm off, including a small TV screen type (6) PLASMA {A}{S} in {PALM}*

19 comments:

  1. Ek dum mast puzzle..enjoyed thoroughly

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  2. For 26 A i annotated as the second version that Col did

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  3. 26 Swarm of circling bees stopping policeman, say (7) BESIEGE {SI}{EG} in {BEE}* or is it {I}{EG} in {BEES}* with I for Inspector?
    ---
    A very good question and a very good resolution.
    While re- rechecking this puzzle yesterday, this escaped my attention.
    Whatever breakup I had was not executed properly by indicating components carefully - this happens when our eye looks at the components - we adopt one and when we look at the breakup we again pick up part of the component already taken into account. When that allows us to write a neat clue, we go ahead and write the clue. Only a subsequent careful letter by letter check will discover the discrepancy.
    Originally 'policeman' was supposed to be SI but this S had already been accounted for by the anag of BEES.
    I keep on doing these checks. It was at 5-55pm that I noticed the problem. I called TH desk but the sub had left by then after having finished her work. So I could not revise the clue.
    Later I consoled myself that the clue still works if we take I for policeman - a stretch no doubt but that's a face-saver.
    I am glad that the Col too caught on to it.
    As long as there is NO mistake, it's fine.
    A mistake would have made me restless at least for 24 hours.

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  4. First time samosas in this cycle of Gridman! Thank you. Enjoyed.

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  5. As a matter of interest...this grid is the 10th type in my collection of Gridman's Grids...CV Sir..how many types of Grids have you created?

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  6. I am glad to answer this question.
    When I started out in 2001 to set puzzles for The Hindu, I gave them a set of six grids.
    These grids were originally created by me.
    Grid one has words of 10 letters and under.
    Grid 2 - 11 and less
    and so on to
    Grid 6 with 15 letters and less.
    Today's Grid is Grid 6.
    As crossword software can create grids in a jiffy, nowadays we are not compelled to use grids repeatedly (in the days of hot metal press, we had to make blocks out of diagrams and as it's a long process press people preferred to use grids repeatedly with same blocks being used until they were so worn out that fresh ones had to be made).
    Despite this, I preferred to stick to six grids as any fresh grid had to be created on the paper's system and careless staff could make mistakes.
    Despite all this careful thinking, today's printed grid has an error - why this had to be remade I can't tell and as I fear above the designer has made a mistake.
    If in your collection you have 10 grids under Gridman, the extra four must be ones I used for thematics - special puzzles requiring bespoke grids.
    You can identify the six grids and delete the other four as they are not likely to be used.
    These grids are always used cyclically.
    If today's grid is 6, the previous ones would be 5,4,3,2,1. The next one will be 1.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks sir..very interesting..I also read with great interest the process of how a setter fills out grid in crossword unclued..one of the most instructive ones for all young setter

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  7. My first solve was EX TORT but was aghast on looking at the grid. I then looked at the other extreme and filled up the square below the last letter "T".

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    1. About which see
      https://www.facebook.com/thc7115/?fref=nf

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    2. CGB I didn't get your point. What were you aghast about?

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    3. There is a blank cell below the letter 'T' of EX TORT

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    4. Ok, seen. Very rarely do I look into the print edition

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  8. Quite an enjoyable puzzle. Happy solve today too. Thank you Gridman. :-)

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  9. Thanks CV sir for an entertaining puzzle. Loved the use of "short story" in 24A :)

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