Tuesday, 15 December 2015

No 11575, Tuesday 15 Dec 2015, Arden


ACROSS
1   To return to work seat (7) OTTOMAN {OT<=}{TO}{MAN}
5   Evens out — does cool drink stand for propriety? (7) DECORUM {DoEs+CoOl}{RUM}
9   By nine, student is spread out on bed (5) LINEN {NINE+L}*
10 Rebuilding nuclear reactor — no clear account from him (9) RACONTEUR {NUclear+REACTOR}*
11 They care about writing novel with guile (9) TREACHERY {THEY+CARE}* around {R}
12 Thin, but prepared for heart transplant (5) REEDY RE(-a+e)EDY
13 Strike openers — batsmen in full flow (4) BIFF Acrostic
15 Being plain and bare, without doubt (8) IMPLICIT sIMPLICITy
18 Capital — like his new composition (8) HELSINKI {LIKE+HIS+N}*
19 Record will narrow shortly (4) TAPE TAPEr
22 They sit around bearing arms (5) POSSE {POSE} around {S} &lit
24 Cheese has to be firm — time wasted in restaurant (9) BRASSERIE {ASSERt} in {BRIE}
26 Serenade daily, in the heart of Paris after four (9) CHARIVARI {CHAR}{IV}{pARIs}
27 Put up with remorse after initial sex change (5) BUILT (-g+b)BUILT
28 Cross final hurdle — danger at sea (7) ENRAGED {h...lE}{DANGER*}
29 For surface protection he will wear a lining (7) SHELLAC {SAC} around {HE'LL}

DOWN
1   No more down river, like the earth (6) OBLATE {OB}{LATE}
2   Fruit such as Argentine bananas (9) TANGERINE*
3   Machine breaks down, he goes wild (5) MANIC MAChINe*
4   National rejection for wearing pants (9) NORWEGIAN {NO}{WEARING}*
5   Decline to use ring for a bait (5) DECOY DEC(-a+o)OY
6   Crook — his heart in contrast is crooked (3,6) CON ARTIST {hIs} in {CONTRAST}*
7   Fire every one including the magistrate (5) REEVE [T]
8   Try out after a month? One may be late (6) MARTYR {MAR}{TRY*}
14 Clip — send contents during lent (9) FASTENING {sENd} in {FASTING}
16 Victorian sign at the hustings (9) PRIMARIES {PRIM}{ARIES}
17 Just teach — a regular miracle (9) IMPARTIAL {IMPART}{mIrAcLe}
20 American chappie perhaps isn't religious, but brave (6) APACHE {A}{CHAPpiE*}
21 Decay starts in cesspit after a month (6) SEPTIC {SEPT}{In}{Ce...t}
23 Fred in Hollywood essentially kept step (5) STAIR aSTAIRe
24 Gentle Bob Dylan playing 'lost boy' (5) BLAND {boB+DyLAN}*
25 Black coat (5) SABLE [DD]
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19 comments:

  1. Chaturvasi15 December 2015 at 09:32

    Today I comment on 13a
    https://www.facebook.com/thc7115/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ramani15 December 2015 at 10:44

    19/29 only :(( - Very toughie for me

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chaturvasi15 December 2015 at 11:09

    ram
    There are more than 29 clues today!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Padmanabhan15 December 2015 at 11:15

    Yes, there were a few gaps for me also, but I enjoyed whatever I got, esp. the Argentinian tangerine, it is no bananas!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Padmanabhan15 December 2015 at 11:16

    4D- 'Pants' an anind?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chaturvasi15 December 2015 at 11:40

    Not those trousers or underpants.
    When A pants, A is breathless, jumps, is agitated.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Padmanabhan15 December 2015 at 11:45

    I understand, but still was wondering if it is a stretch. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. unsequitur15 December 2015 at 11:53

    I am just getting started solving these crosswords. Your blog is very helpful! Out of curiosity what do the asterisks mean when you post your solution?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Chaturvasi15 December 2015 at 12:04

    TANGERINE (Argentine)* means that if you jumble the letters ARGENTINE you get TANGERINE.

    ReplyDelete
  10. PKPSwami15 December 2015 at 12:28

    Very interesting puzzle. First seemingly difficult but could be solved thanks to clues with warmth and ardour. 1,11a - amazing disposition.2d- relished both the fruits.17d- 'just' dealt with justice.21d- first I put sepsis(decay being noun)&switched to septic tallying the intersecting 't'.27a - amused at the sex change. In short, very interesting &also pushing and prodding our thought process.Thank you, sir.

    ReplyDelete
  11. PKPSwami15 December 2015 at 13:01

    11a - 'r' representing writing is worth a special mention.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath15 December 2015 at 13:44

      Swami, it's one of the 3 R's (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic)

      Delete
  12. Vasant15 December 2015 at 13:51

    Could get to solving during lunch break...Lovely puzzle...Lots of beautiful clues...26A: A new word but the instruction was so clear that you could get it easily; 16D:A very good one indeed; my COD is the rather simple but extremely well constructed 27A{ for a long time I was trying to get a word with F or M & substituting vice-versa(!) until I searched for a synonym of remorse & got Guilt then G For B...nicely done Arden!}

    ReplyDelete
  13. Srividya15 December 2015 at 21:50

    Could get to this seriously classy puzzle very late today but quite a stunner.. was a bit groggy so simple ones took longer but enjoyed a lot of the clues - Brasserie, charivari, Guilt becoming built was a wow, couldnt discern a clear theme but the words do seem to hv an old world charm to me..

    ReplyDelete

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