Phew (in relief) !! A tad easier than yesterday.
ACROSS
7 Collected watch straps, extremely rare and new (6) SERENE {SE{R
8 States repeatedly ignoring liberal, educated people (8) ITERATES
9 Blissful time for music providing one a tonic (8) BEATIFIC {BEAT}{IF}{1}{C}
10 Hand in old gold — government finally appearing to provide encouragement (6) EXHORT {EX}{H}{OR}{
11 Conservative, mature and restrained (5) CAGED {C}{AGED}
12 Butterfly's mission to reach the moon (6) APOLLO [DD]
17 Salutes perfectly maintaining singular bearing (6) TOASTS (S) in {TO A T}{S}
18 Applications for relief primarily based on charity (5) BALMS {B
22 A gun for everyone (6) APIECE {A}{PIECE}
23 Rabbi, in short, getting cross (8) TRAVERSE {T{RAV}ERSE}
24 Set free, let dogs breed occasionally (8) RELEASED {
25 Continent having cold precipitation (6) CHASTE {C}{HASTE}
DOWN
1 Beams of forged steel found breaking (9) TELECASTS {CAST} in {STEEL}*
2 Temperament of people when son is married (6) METTLE (-s+m)METTLE
3 Inspiring one — stand up to worship as god (5) DEIFY {DE{1}FY}
4 Run constantly sipping drink, then shower (8) REVEALER {R}{EVE{ALE}R}
5 Sweeper employed at hotel getting place to shower (8) BATHROOM {B{AT}{H}ROOM}
6 Sports related goods (5) WEARS (~wares)
8 Describing one unfit, an accident apt to leave one essentially thus? (13) INCAPACITATED {A
13 Sadly no, amity is quite the contrary (9) ANIMOSITY &lit
15 School attender shot the bull (8) NATTERED*
16 Dash over, upset when husband is restrained (2,1,5) ON A LEASH {O}{N A LE}<={AS}{H}
19 Primitive being more or less reflected in a genus of chimps (6) APEMAN {A}{P{E
20 Regularly attend after work is decided (5) OPTED {OP}{
21 Miles to go before leading in progress (5) MARCH {M}{ARCH}
+1 for the tagline. Easier today though there were some anxious moments. I thought 'provided' was IF and not 'providing' ( on 9A ) . 5D is class. :)
ReplyDeleteif
Deleteconjunction
1. provided, assuming, given that, providing, allowing
Thanks
DeleteReally enjoyed solving. Initially, it looked again scary and like an exam paper. But things got in place after initial solve. Deify made to pause as deity was prevailing.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks Xchequer.
6D, I filled gears.
ReplyDeleteSo did I. But WEARS is correct. Related being the homophone indicator.
DeleteYes thank Xchequer was a slightly easier xword. so had the ability post completion to appreciate the cleverness of the clues :) Had Wears as Gears but else happy was able to make out the rest of clues.. though could not parse apeman. thanks for that Colonel. Beatific was wow.. also the use of dogs in Released,,the Balms clue surface was quite a Revealer :) as also the use of Shower as a def for revealer..Toasts.. the use of To a T again very clevva .. Rav for rabbi was new.. overall quite a brilliant xword :) Thanks Xchequer
ReplyDeleteI think I'm not alone in saying that there was no fun to be had.
ReplyDeleteI accept that Today and yesterday's crossword was much more fair than what I tackled 2 days ago. But there are still few discrepancies.
In 8 down describing is unnecessary. The and lit can function without it.
In 24 across leased comes before breed, not after. 9 across music does not mean beat.
In 24 A dogs do the duty
Delete9a time for music =beat
Mahesh, I don't think any one else has commented that there was no fun to be had other than you, so you are alone in saying so as you have been consistently doing these past few days
DeleteBesides the above all your discrepancies have been satisfactorily answered by Ajeesh and Aakash
DeleteWonder what was not fair in the crosswords preceding xChequer's?
DeleteEasy one. Wears was a guess
ReplyDeleteReg. 8d: the answer is an adjective.. Adding 'describing' ensures we are looking for the right part of speech.
ReplyDeleteReg. 24a: 'dogs' is in the sense of pursues/follows. Thus LEASED follows/comes after RE
Reg. 9a: you are right. But 'time for music' does.
Describing is also the encapsulation indicator, I have amended my Anno in the main post
DeleteExcellent crossword by 'XChequer as usual. THC has come up to scratch and are almost as good as any set by setters in UK.
ReplyDeleteThis took ages...but one of the most satisfying & enjoyabl solve...had great FUN(Mahesh please note) solving...even simple clues were beautifully done..serene..beatific..exhort..et al..some were absolutely devious...
ReplyDeleteWhen some one says that the clues for most of them are totally irrelevant and d?oesnt give even follow any norms it has beekn the pleasure of vicarious solvers still to find justification as select elite are on a ego trip and wouldnt accept any flaws in the construction and try to derive illogical meanings and connotations as they think thay are wizards of this. The day when everyone understands the clues and justify in an impartial way then only i feel we have touched the chords and promoted olving as an useful pastime.
ReplyDeleteRavi, Ravi, Ravi... relax. Take a deep breath. Who are these 'select elite on a ego trip' you are referring to? Man... you seem to be so mad at these people that you're not making sense. Believe me, if a clue is well written, people will appreciate it,but God help the setter if he or she consistently churns out bad clues. There are no sacred cows. You say 'the day when everyone understands the clues', I wonder if such a day will ever come if you have a closed mind. Anyway, everything's not lost yet. I feel there is no problem which cannot be sorted out when people come face to face. This brings us to a post I came across on Google+ which goes like this... The island of discussion in Scotland is where historically those with arguments were put on the island with cheese and whiskey to sort out their problems, and couldn't leave until they came to a mutual agreement.
DeleteScotland is very far, there must be such places near by where we can meet, what say you?
:) Arden Sir
DeleteNo sure what exactly you are trying to say, Ravi.
ReplyDeleteDid you like this crossword or did you feel it was flawed and we as a group are trying to justify the flaws. If it is the latter then maybe you could be more specific.
Ravi has summarized all my thouguhts Clues must be looked at objectively
ReplyDeleteIf setters are to improve then faults must be noted and not justified
But where are the faults?
DeleteThey hae been discussed in my first comment What use is this blog if I can't make honest points about this crosswor?d
ReplyDeleteThe attitude and basic mentality must be changed There is a lot of ego to shed
But they are not faults right and the explanation also given. You assumed that they are faults and still stick to it even after many gave valid explanation? yes I agree a lot of ego to shed
DeleteIt seems annos have not been convincing. There are about a dozen setters for The Hindu. Some solvers find some setters' puzzles tough and some find these not so tough. Each to his own. Nobody here is dissuading anyone from making honest comments.
DeleteWonder who has to improve and to shed ego?
Mahesh, is it necessary that what you perceive as flaws is the be all and end all? You have pointed out what you felt are flaws and others have given you the reasoning why they feel that they are not flaws. Now it is up to you to either accept the justification or further justify your reasons.
DeleteMind you most of the setters of the CWs which appear in The Hindu, follow this blog and are gracious enough to accept positive criticism and accept their mistakes if any.
You are welcome to air your views with proper justification nobody has denied you that right.
Mahesh, lol, why all this bitterness??
DeleteMaking "honest" points is one thing and making "valid" ones is another. Nobody's questioning your honesty here. However, you obviously have made some not-so-valid points and hence the trouble.
I have read whatever that's been written and don't think any of the regulars here have been biased. Remember, these are the guys that generally point out the issues in any puzzle no matter who the setter is.
And above being said, if you have any counter-arguments to the clarifications given, you may share 'em. Ain't nobody gonna stop you. And if there really is something wrong with the clues that you've referenced, people here would definitely acknowledge and concede.
So I think it's your turn now to give your objections on the clarifications noted. Go!
Having come to the blog after a gap specifically to say what a pleasure today's crossword was, I was taken aback by the comments from Ravi and Mahesh. It is one thing to say that you didn't enjoy the crossword (to each his own!), but quite another to say that the construction of the clues was faulty. If you make such a claim, it is surely necessary to specify the flaws you found. To borrow from David Cameron's spin-masters, "put up or shut up!"
ReplyDeleteTime for music and time in music are different Time in music suggests beat I can agree but time for music suggests a different meaning Dogs still misleads the solver
ReplyDeleteWe do not need deescribing. One can be the first letter I and the rest from unfit to thus will still give required solution
I think some people in life are ever petulant..perpetually carping..they will try to find unhapiness where there is pure joy
ReplyDeleteA few days back I thought we had a perfect crossword....imaginative word play..extremely good surface stories..a very indian theme & a pangram...but to a person that didnt appear apprachable nor fair..i thought each & every clue led to the solution...i thought it was one of the most approachable & fsir crosswords....
Some people are ever putulant...
Mahesh, your first and third points offer alternatives to the existing clues, but I don't see how that translates into those clues being flawed - they work equally well "as is". Regarding your second point, 'dogs' also means 'follows' or 'chases', so the clue says LEASES (=let) follows bReEd - which is exactly what the solution is. The clue, far from being flawed, is very well-constructed.
ReplyDelete