Wednesday, 30 December 2015

No 11587, Wednesday 30 Dec 2015, xChequer


ACROSS
7   Fortune beset, so flipping hairy (6) PILOSE {SO<=} in {PILE}
8   Explosive sound in axle breaking at rear of lorry reflecting terrible fit (8) APOPLEXY {POP} in {AXLE}*{Y}
9   It is not considered witty to bow comically in pairs (3,2,3) TWO BY TWO {WitTY+TO+BOW}*
10 Temperament of child longing to return (6) KIDNEY {KID}{NEY<=}
11 Petitions to pay tribute heard (5) PRAYS (~praise)
12 Hammered Black? Bingo! (6) BLOTTO {B}{LOTTO}
14 Needing specific order, how to pour, say, is the ultimate point of question! (5,4,6) WHAT'S YOUR POISON {HOW+TO+POUR+SAY+IS+q...oN}* &lit
17 Content in hole, ant obtains shelter (4-2) LEAN-TO [T]
18 Favourite knocking out rookie in fair contest (5) FIGHT (-l+f)FIGHT
22 Lawyer gathering abuse for code of conduct (6) DHARMA {D{HARM}A}
23 Innovative names to describe the German waffles (8) MEANDERS {DER} in {NAMES}*
24 Nobility crushed under a united Greece (8) GRANDEUR {GR}{A+UNDER}* (Addendum - {A+UNDER}* in {GR} - See comments)
25 Adjusting VAT on foreign gin (6) TUNING {TUN}{GIN*}

DOWN
1   Good to take off casual clothes, throw on change (9) AIRWORTHY {AIR{THROW*}Y}
2   Threaten son and he may punch (6) COWBOY {COW}{BOY}
3   Against shifting seat in match (5) VESTA {V}{SEAT*}
4   Upright officer kept marching, saving seconds in marching style (8) LOCKSTEP {COL<=}{K{S}TEP*}
5   Happy pouring oil over one's bloomers (8) GLADIOLI {GLAD}{1}{OIL*}
6   Larger than large, said to stand out (5) EXCEL (~xl)
8   Chilled-out person of course, too calm to get agitated (1,4,8) A COOL CUSTOMER* &lit
13 Bugging the inhabited flat (9) BOTHERING {BO{THE}RING}
15 Available for hire, hosts dashed liberal (8) TOLERANT {RAN} in {TO LET}
16 Ever the optimist, unmarried Mary eyes a bum (8) YEASAYER {mARY+EYES+A}*
19 Bid to keep study in order (6) INDENT {DEN} in {1 NT}
20 Smart contract form to protect right (5) SHARP {SHA{R}Pe}
21 Compartment to store dry nuts (5) BATTY {BA{TT}Y}


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15 comments:

  1. ranger30 December 2015 at 09:34

    Some very nice clues. Always a pleasure to come across &lit clues.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SandhyaP30 December 2015 at 09:40

    +1

    ReplyDelete
  3. SandhyaP30 December 2015 at 09:45

    18A Unable to locate any site giving F is an abbreviation for FAVOURITE :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath30 December 2015 at 09:58

      I don't think my anno is correct

      Delete
    2. Suresh30 December 2015 at 13:16

      What other anno is possible? Beats me. F for favourite does not sound right. Bhala, what did you have in mind?

      Delete
    3. Ramki Krishnan30 December 2015 at 13:25

      F for favourite from horse-racing? I could google some abbreviations like CF for Co-favourite, BF for Beaten Favourite etc.

      Delete
    4. Bhalchandra Pasupathy30 December 2015 at 13:56

      Suresh, since you have directly asked me, shall post! Deepak's anno is quite right. F = favourite and Ramki has the connection correctly established.

      @Sandhya: am giving the extract from Oxford Dictionary and the related link below


      F 3

      See definition in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
      Line breaks: F
      Pronunciation: /ɛf/





      abbreviation



      1Fahrenheit:
      ‘60°F’



      2Farad(s).



      3 (F) Chemistry Faraday(s).



      4(In racing results) favourite:
      ‘2nd Miss Prism 2-1 F’

      https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/f


      Delete
    5. Suresh30 December 2015 at 14:02

      Thanks, Bhala. I knew that you would do it right.

      Delete
    6. SandhyaP8 April 2017 at 08:55

      Thanks, Bhala!

      Delete
  4. Srividya30 December 2015 at 10:26

    Xchequer wow...and phew...took me ages but proudly did it all.. vesta was last to drop.. who knew it meant a match? hee hee.. Pilose was a new word. some nice &lits.. and kinda new ones too .. able to parse most.. tho not sure of 24a.. what is the role of United here?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ranger30 December 2015 at 11:40

      united=joined with

      Delete
    2. Bhalchandra Pasupathy30 December 2015 at 13:58

      Thanks Arden, also for your thumbs up.

      The anno should be G(UNDER A*)R

      Delete
  5. Vasant30 December 2015 at 12:04

    Very very tough...almost gave up many times...but soldiered on...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ramki Krishnan30 December 2015 at 12:59

    Much tougher than yesterday, with some delightful clues - and sneaky wp / def in 25A, 10A etc. 13D is my COD!
    Thanks Bhala.

    ReplyDelete
  7. maradnusro30 December 2015 at 15:07

    Hope GRIDMAN will take over early. Not that I dislike xChequer but I like GRIDMAN more

    ReplyDelete

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