Saturday 3 February 2018

No 12231, Saturday 03 Feb 2018, xChequer



Answer and annotation of 21d left for a rookie commenter till 10 AM.

Across

7. Sign when political affiliations switch in void (6) CANCEL {CANCE(-r+L)}
8. As though somewhere else there's millions in ready supply (8) DREAMILY {READY*} around {MIL}
9. Daisy's family member, female, always a handful (8) FEVERFEW {F}{EVER}{FEW}

10. Tick acknowledgement (6) CREDIT (DD)
11. Incontrovertible belief of setter, say abnormal chap (5) DOGMA {DOG}{MAn} (Abnormal = not normal=-n)
12. Wooden or concrete, getting broken with time (6) STOLID {S{T}OLID}
14. Place primarily to be covered, sense a deadline's involved going by this travel advice (3,6,3,3) SEE NAPLES AND DIE {SENSE+A+DEADLINE}* around {Place}
17. Obsessed with death, married men getting tender (6) MORBID {M}{OR}{BID}
18. Aged in relation to class (5) GRADE {~GREYED}
22. Criminal stuffing in loot gets a run of bad luck (6) HOODOO {HOOD}{lOOt}
23. Soak in river during dip, not easy when head is submerged (8) DRUNKARD {D{R}UNK}{hARD}
24. Trained nurse, after checking temperature, got cold sponge (8) SCROUNGE {NURSE+GOt+C}*
25. Foster home almost quiet (6) INSTIL {IN}{STILl}

Down

1. Minimum exposed, so be normal chaps (4,5) BARE BONES {BARE}{SO+BE+N}*
2. Riot with spade and pick (6) SCREAM {S}{CREAM}
3. Tory-Radical split (5) CLEFT {C}{LEFT}
4. The core of such plea: am wrong! (3,5) MEA CULPA {{sUCh}{PLEA}{AM}}* &lit
5. Sunk without a guide, deemed bad (8) EMBEDDED {DEEMED+BaD}
6. Faculty just tolerating student (5) FLAIR {F{L}AIR}
8. Fifty-fifty two? Hard days, need mild exercises (4,3,6) DOWN THE MIDDLE {TWO+H+D+NEED+MILD}*
13. One below par mostly without support, name's Charlie (9) BIRDBRAIN {BIRD{BRA}Ie}{N}
15. Imply importance by association with titled relations, mainly at work (4-4) NAME-DROP {NAME-D}{Relations}{OP}
16. Lifts large blocks wearing prison uniform (8) PURLOINS {PRISON+U} around {L}
19. Dashing ace Rishikesh sets, impossible he is forgotten (6) RAKISH {A+RISHiKesh}*
20. Put pressure on // ma? (5) FORCE (DD) (Force=MA based on Newton's second law of motion)
21. Close friend about to take leave with psychic instinct (5) ?U?I? HUMID {cHUM}{ID} See comments

Reference List
Millions=Mil, Female=F, Time=T, Married=M, Men=OR, River=R, Temperature=T, Cold=C, Home=In
Normal=N, Spade=S, Tory=C (Conservative), Radical=Left, Student=L (Learner), Hard=H, Days=D, Support=Bra, Name=N, Work=OP, Large=L, Uniform=U, Ace=A, About=C (Circa)

Colour/Font Scheme

DefinitionSolutionComponent lettersEmbedded links, Anagram IndicatorC/C indicatorReversal IndicatorHidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicatorDeletion IndicatorHomophone IndicatorMovement IndicatorPositional IndicatorSubstitution, IndicatorLink/Connector, Extraneous

33 comments:

  1. This one (CW) is for gurus. Couldn't parse even one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 20dn AUDIE adieu (take leave) anagram

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indirect anagram & does not fit in with the rest of the clue

      Delete
  3. Jest for fun...

    "Ennama? Solluma..."

    After DREAMILY waking up, a guy who had a FLAIR for solving crosswords,
    took his DOG MA and was walking DOWN THE MIDDLE of the walkway with the newspaper in one hand.
    All of a sudden he lets out a SCREAM as he sees something unleashed. (not his DOG MA).
    He sees an EMBEDDED NAME DROP of a setter (not DOG MA). A compiler who had made the GRADE. He is given CREDIT (impossible he is forgotten).
    No BARE BONES there!! He sure must be an AUDIE...

    ReplyDelete
  4. 21. Close friend about to take leave with psychic instinct (5) ?U?I?

    HUMID (-c)HUM ID. Def. Close

    ReplyDelete
  5. Relatively easier puzzle by ExChequer. Some super clues. Force=mass×acceleration was innovatively done!
    Thanks ExC and Ramesh for a super blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. surfaces are super. still reading 7a as cancer

      Delete
    2. It works both ways:fodder and answer at ends

      Delete
    3. Yes, in deed!
      What happens when such a clue comes up in a contest?

      Delete
    4. You fill in as per your instinct and hope for the best

      Delete
    5. :-)
      I feel both should be given right.

      Delete
  6. 19D: Gridman featuring in an ExChequer puzzle!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Vasant. I was fooled by the colour. I did not notice the 'dip' and took soak as the insertion indicator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What is 21D? I am still foxed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Friend=Chum
      About to leave:Remove C(about) from chum
      Id=psychic identity
      Hence (-c)HUM ID
      Close=definition

      Delete
    2. And how is Humid = Close?

      Delete
    3. Close as in compact, crowded, dense,packed, thick, tight

      Delete
    4. from oxford online dictionary "Uncomfortably humid or airless.
      ‘a close, hazy day’"

      Delete
    5. Shall I put it as 'Close' is close to humid- as in tightly packed (say a closed room)? I am not able to find any other direct link.

      Delete
  9. For the 9th Anniversary of the blog tomorrow there will be a Jumbo Community special which will be posted at 9 AM

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sureshji,

    CLOSE also mean stuffy and airless , as Vasant has said. As in , the room was CLOSE and suffocating, or stuffy.

    EXchequer took my whole one hour and ten minutes to solve. Vasant, Easier as in comparison to his usual or is it indeed an easier crossword ? 9d0wn is right DOWN THE MIDDLE of the grid ! RIOT as in it was hilarious ? Where's the indication to use S for SPADE?

    MEA CULPA , such crossies are not MY CUPPA ! too many convoluted clues UGH ! I was turned into a 13 down !! Real BHEJA FRY !!!!

    ReplyDelete

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