Tuesday 3 January 2017

No 11894, Tuesday 03 Jan 2017, Arden


I personally found it tough going today.

ACROSS
1   Money collected — a pound for the hood (6) CALASH {C{A}{L}ASH}
4   Choose to admit the boy, is he the one who is upbeat? (8) OPTIMIST {OP{TIM}{IS}T} 'He the' is misleading
10 Use a net around it to make a solid solution of Carbon in Iron (9) AUSTENITE {USE+A+NET}* around {IT}
11 Weak but runs without fail (5) FRAIL {F{R}AIL}
12 Boast about light form of anagram (7) GARBLED {BRAG<=}{LED}
13 Making noise about a large mammal (3,4) SEA LION {NOISE}* about {A}{L}
14 A doctor embracing another in dance (5) MAMBO {M{A}{MB}O}
15 Limited food, it doesn't amount to much (8) FARTHING {FARe}{THING}
18 High current — restricts current for rear light (4,4) TAIL LAMP {TA{I}L L}{AMP}
20 Block one with desire, it's said (5) ANVIL {AN}{VIL}(~will)
23 Sarah is making a paste of chilli, garlic and spices (7) HARISSA* Thanks to Google
25 Before returning money, cultivate this strip of land (7) ISTHMUS {THIS}*{SUM<=}
26 You're said to owe money in the beginning (5) DEBUT (~ ?? you) (Addendum - {BEB(U)T) - See comments)
27 Come between breaks — no respite... (9) INTERPOSE*
28 ...and Andrew lost one and backed out (8) WITHDREW {WITH}{anDREW}
29 Cruel of her to return on board the ship (6) OGRESS {ERGO<=}{SS} Something wrong in the wordplay. 'Of' is returning and not 'of her' (Addendum - {GO<=}{RE}{SS} - See comments)

DOWN
1   About to strike, match could be a gamble (4,4) CRAP GAME {C}{RAP} {GAME}
2   Long for a drink every five years (7) LUSTRUM {LUST}{RUM}
3   Brace down, it's abrasive (5,4) STEEL WOOL {STEEL} {WOOL}
5   Pen, perhaps for vulnerable locations (8,6) PRESSURE POINTS [DD] First half of definition not clear (Addendum - {P}{EN} - See comments)
6   In 50% of the country, it's found below (5) INFRA {IN}{FRAnce}
7   Sex with a pin up for a foreign national (7) ITALIAN {IT}{A}{NAIL<=}
8   Wine bottles — a litre as a gift (6) TALENT {T{A}{L}ENT}
9   Ear drop is bad if used for a flyer (4,2,8) BIRD OF PARADISE*
16 Squeeze out soil under river, place it before the fireplace (9) HEARTHRUG {H{EARTH}{R}UG}
17 Happiness over a short period forms bubbles (8) BLISTERS {BLIS{TERm}S}
19 One's after a thief breaking the law, and he tumbles (7) ACROBAT {AC{ROB}{A}T} Thief/Rob? See comments
21 Go low inside vessel (7) VAMOOSE {VA{MOO}SE}
22 Pig has had a double (6) SHADOW {S{HAD}OW}
24 Said to take time off — is contented (5) SATED StATED


23 comments:

  1. Yes, tough alright though definitions are spot on and wordplay is clear. Somehow found it difficult to combine the two and get the annos. Quite a few new words including a solid solution and a hot sauce.
    Does 'vamoose' have a Spanish origin? I have heard it being used by Nadal and his supporters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paddy you are right, vamoose derives from vamos which is Spanish for "c'mon"

      Delete
    2. Thank you Bhavan. Tennis does help,after all.

      Delete
  2. 26 You're said to owe money in the beginning (5) DEBUT (~ ?? you)

    You're said to owe money = U in DEBT

    5 Pen, perhaps for vulnerable locations (8,6) PRESSURE POINTS [DD] First half of defintion not clear

    P = Pressure
    EN = Points

    ReplyDelete
  3. Satisfaction at last. Took longer time than usual. 5DN is the ultimate in crooked play

    ReplyDelete
  4. Superb puzzle!Tough but uplifting one..
    Thanks Arden.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 29A

    Cruel of her- definition
    to return- go back i.e og
    on- re
    board the ship- ss

    19 D

    This was the original clue. I had changed it to:
    'One's after a man breaking the law', the corrected version didn't
    register in the CC files. I should have checked.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As suggested by Bhavan we shall be posting the unsolved clues with a link to the grid on the blog as soon as the same is available. This post will be removed after the solutions are published at 8:30 AM.

    This will help those who are in areas where the print editions are not available and on days when the CW does not come up in time in the online edition.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Sir..as you said it would immensely people like me..who have no access to print edition(but thanks to whatsapp..my sister/niece have started sending the image of the grid on daily basis from this Year) & on many days the on line cw doesnt come up..
    In days of yore Mrs PP's hub was very helpful.(where is she btw?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PP is very much around. However The HUB got into Copyright issues and was blocked

      Delete
    2. Yes, during hub-days, we used to get the clues but not the grid. I search my database for the equivalent grid and solve.
      Mrs. PP madam, we all wish you a very happy new year!
      By the way, nowadays I see a lot of blocked sites resurfacing with a bypass defeating the blocked status. Is there any such thing happening with Hub?

      Delete
  8. Good to hear Mrs. PP is around.Hope she comes here & comments

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1. Best Wishes to a Happy New Year to her. Long since we had any tut..tut from her!

      Delete
    2. He he..miss seeing her monkey!

      Delete
  9. Wow! How flattering to know I am missed. I am really overwhelmed! Thanks, friends! Wish you all a very happy, prosperous New Year! After losing The Hub I have become a srt of "deaddicted" to THC!!! Besides, I have grown restless and keep camping at my sons' houses in Chennai and Bangalore preferring their places to my Madurai!And am sinking into a sort of senility engaging myself with trivial stuff in Facebook and Whatsapp! I do not read The Hindu regularly! Like Lamb said in his essay that he does not like anything new I too am not pleased to see the changes in the paper's cwd section! Alas! Answers in the same page too! Atrocious it seems to me! Life's stream is taking surprising, unexpected turns and I am content to go with the current! Half-a-century old school friend have formed an active group and we are doing strange undreamt of things! We went on a trip to Singapore a few months back and have planned a trip to Trivandrum next month. In this fast-paced I gasp to keep abreast of the new trends and lifestyles! Trying to enjoy life in my own peculiar way!!! Never forgot our THC clan here. How can I? Only too lazy to drop a line! Very heartening to know neither I nor my monkey are forgotten by you!

    ReplyDelete

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