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 hurdledanger 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]

19 comments:

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

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  2. 19/29 only :(( - Very toughie for me

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  3. ram
    There are more than 29 clues today!

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

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

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

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  7. 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?

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

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  9. 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.

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  10. 11a - 'r' representing writing is worth a special mention.

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

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  11. 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!}

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  12. 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..

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