Wednesday, 8 June 2016

No 11721, Wednesday 08 Jun 2016, xChequer


ACROSS
7   Minister and Union leader permitted to box (6) CURATE {C{Union}RATE}
8   Fell back, having fun in front of nursery (8) PLAYROOM {PLAY}{ROOM<=}
9   Symbol with meaning, completely base and disgusting (8) ALLEGORY {ALL}{E}{GORY}
10 Contrasting 'be' and 'exist' — what ultimately separates some animals (6) IBEXES {BE+EXISt}* Some is extraneous in my view.
11 Cold? Put on warm fleece (5) CHEAT {C}{HEAT}
12 Payoff is calculated including tax (6) FISCAL [T]
14 Spoil the effect of parody, struggling in these hard parts (4,3,5,3) TAKE THE SHINE OFF {IN+THESE+H}* in {TAKE OFF}
17 Fellows bearing gold, generous people (6) DONORS {DON{OR}S}
18 Girl breaking rule gets porridge (5) GRUEL {G}{RULE*}
22 Boundary set back, otherwise runs collected should be double (6) MIRROR {MIR<=}{O{R}R}  What's the role of 'should be'?
23 Brutal control in ring, easy first in boxing (4,4) IRON FIST {IN+O+FIRST}* Not sure if anno is correct. What's the role of 'easy' Is this supposed to be an &lit? (Addendum - {O} in {FIRST+IN}* - See comments)
24 Pressure in a delicate stomach (8) APPETITE {A}{P}{PETITE}
25 Object reflected in action? (6) MOTIVE {MO{TI<=}VE}

DOWN
1   Match held up, a lag not good to gain ground (4,5) PULL AHEAD {HELD+UP+A+LAg}*
2   Device to expose one from America — alien (6) CAMERA AMERiCA*
3   Hotshot doctor involved in study (5) DEMON {DE{MO}N}
4   Lengthy song after mass, energy moving musician (8) MARIACHI {M}{ARIA}{CHI}
5   Extremely loyal butler, otherwise prompt, caught napping (4-4) TRUE-BLUE {cUE} in {BUTLER}*
6   Couples in agreement entering into agreement (5) YOKES {Y{OK}ES}
8   Very special acts governing intellectual property appear to provide support (3,3,7) PAY LIP SERVICE {IP} in {VERY+SPECIAL}*
13 Sally's rank (9) OFFENSIVE [DD]
15 Stopped saving gold, society approved (8) ENDORSED {END{OR}{S}ED}
16 Grabbing support from helpline? (8) HANDRAIL {HAND}{RAIL}
19 Waste time clearing school counter (6) REFUTE REFU(-s+t)TE
20 Drooping son in shambles (5) LIMPS {LIMP}{S} Extraneous 'in'
21 Frenchmen checking something to play with in private (5) TOMMY {TO{MM}Y} What's the role of 'in'?

GRID

Posted by at
Labels: ,

22 comments:

  1. Vasant8 June 2016 at 08:31

    A lot easier comparitevely...lovely clues all round

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kolluru Koteswara Rao8 June 2016 at 08:39

    Not a difficult one.
    I thing EASY is anind in 23A

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vasant8 June 2016 at 08:47

      I thoughr so too

      Delete
    2. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 10:46

      23 Brutal control in ring, easy first in boxing (4,4)
      Here is how I parsed this
      Brutal control= Defn
      In= Link
      Ring=O,
      Easy=AnagInd
      First In=Fodder
      Boxing =C/C ind

      Delete
    3. VMA Nair8 June 2016 at 13:24

      Have seen standard single letter abbreviations in anagram fodders. But here ring = o where it is not the first letter of ring unlike H for hard in 14 A. Isn't it similar to indirect anagrams?

      Delete
    4. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 13:42

      No. Ring in not a part of the anagram fodder. It is the content, with the anagram of "first in" being the container

      Delete
    5. VMA Nair8 June 2016 at 13:53

      OK so first in is connector.

      Delete
  3. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 09:19

    21 Frenchmen checking something to play with in private (5)
    I took it as
    Frenchmen=MM
    checking= C/C Ind
    something to play with= Toy
    In=Link/Connector
    Private=Defn

    ReplyDelete
  4. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 09:24

    I think "in" is a valid link word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kolluru Koteswara Rao8 June 2016 at 09:54

      +1

      Delete
    2. Suresh8 June 2016 at 11:05

      The point Deepak is making is that the clue works perfectly even without the 'in'

      Delete
    3. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 12:43

      For 21D, without the "in" the surface meaning suffers. And as "in" is a valid link word, it does not alter the cryptic reading

      Delete
  5. RameshJ8 June 2016 at 10:26

    10A : Some animals as Defn for Ibexes seems fine
    22A : Took Should be as the link . WP should be Defn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Suresh8 June 2016 at 11:06

    12A. How does tax mean FISCAL?

    ReplyDelete
  7. maradnusro8 June 2016 at 16:06

    I find 7 of my brothers find the puzzle easy. Not in my case, when tackling xChequer or Skulldugger. Could any one of you please give me some lessons

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vasant8 June 2016 at 16:44

      I found it comparitively easier than usual xchequer puzzles...I was able to solve it..I dont think I would qualify to give you tips..neverthless I can say that more & more practice can make one solve the tougher puzzles..

      Delete
  8. maradnusro8 June 2016 at 16:06

    I find 7 of my brothers find the puzzle easy. Not in my case, when tackling xChequer or Skulldugger. Could any one of you please give me some lessons

    ReplyDelete
  9. Srividya8 June 2016 at 16:32

    In the online version the setter name is not very prominent - so didnt realize this was xChequer initially.. first few clues were fast off the gun.. but when i hit about half the grid things slowed down and puzled me till i checked setter name :) then i realized it was on the easy side for an Xchequer...thot there was a Gold theme happ coz quite a few 'Or's scattered about :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chaturvasi8 June 2016 at 17:00

    Srividya,
    Forget the byline flush right BELOW the crossword grid, look at the byline right underneath the headline to the feature and above the social network buttons. Isn't that prominent? If we click on that byline, which is a link, we reach the archive of the setter's puzzles. The byline is also in the crossword box on the right side bar on the opening page of the website.

    ReplyDelete

deepakgita@gmail.com

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)