Saturday 12 May 2018

No 12315, Saturday 12 May 2018, Skulldugger

Across

1. Phosphorus compound for plague (6) PESTER {P}{ESTER}
4. Field of vision (6) OPTICS (CD)
9. Dazed stare when stupid person encounters genius initially (4) GAPE {Genius}{APE}
10. Knight price-fixing, outcry not quite as you imagined it (10) SURPRISING {~ SIR PRICING}
11. The chap in Centre Square (6) COHERE {CO{HE}RE}
12. Places // bases (8) PREMISES (DD)
13. Frugality as company lessens dissipation (9) CLOSENESS {CO+LESSENS}* Defn ok?
15. Hollow, cold welcome (4) CAVE {C}{AVE}
16. Group of misinformed slacktivists starts to raise environmental issue (4) SMOG (Acrostic <=)
17. Robin's communist at heart (9) REDBREAST {RED}{BREAST}

21. Smart set's strange-looking resting place (8) MATTRESS {SMART+SET}*
22. Canadian hockey player's freak streak (6) SKATER {STREAK}*
24. Overwhelmed by expectation, loitered around in plant (10) HELIOTROPE {H{LOITER*}OPE} A self effacing editor needed here
25. Take a trip with this // tart (4) ACID (CD &D)
26. Explosive charge turns up in police department (6) PETARD {P{RATE<=}D}
27. Leave with rector for Sabbath, then go back (6) RECEDE {(-s+R)ECEDE}

Down

1. Wolf, ape mutilated this creature (7) PEAFOWL {WOLF+APE*}

2. Uncovered, revised, edited memories like this can be unreliable (5) SIEVE {rEVISEd}*
3. Asiatic middlemen in the rear (7) EASTERN {mEn}{ASTERN}
5. Plot for prison not entirely unsatisfactory! (6) PARCEL {PAR}{CELl} Unsatisfactory = Below par
6. Scrutinise urge to avoid extreme violence (9) INSTIGATE {INveSTIGATE} Not sure how this clue works
7. Frank's misdemeanour before getting caught (7) SINCERE {SIN}{C}{ERE}
8. Response is so positive after management's appeal (13) PREPOSSESSION {RESPONSE+IS+SO+P}*
14. Quick tip for potential winners here (9) SHORTLIST {SHORT}{LIST}
16. Changing direction in extortion upheaval (5-2) SHAKE-UP  {SHAKE ((-down)+(UP))}
18. Surround // hound (7) BESIEGE (DD)
19. Steps outside hospital room for antiseptic (7) STERILE {ST{ER}ILE}
20. She lets children terrorise houses (6) RENTER (T)
23. Guadalajara's eastern border produced base ingredient in tequila (5) AGAVE {guadalajarA}{GAVE}


Reference List

Phosphrous=P, Chap=He, Company=Co, Cold=C, Welcome=Ave, Police Department=PD, Rector=R, Sabbath=S
Before=Ere, Caught=C, Positive=P, Hospital room=ER

Colour/Font Scheme

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

GRID
Bhargav's Talepiece

The bouncer and the dancer - Part 33

The CLOSENESS of the woman did SHAKE UP the cop. But what was SURPRISING (to him) was the photo handed over.

Anyways now that he had the clue (or was it?) he had to continue in his mission in a SINCERE manner...The ACID test lay in his getting to the target.

Even as he moved in an EASTERN direction to get our of the restaurant he was BESIEGED with a group of revelers.

One among them snatched the photo and handed it over to a SKATER who RECEDED inside the restaurant.

Maybe I have had one drink too much thought the cop. Ah!

He recognized the RED BREAST on the T-Shirt of the skater.

So how many more countries are after that SHORT LIST in the envelope?

What happened next?

25 comments:

  1. 13a close: mean (with money). chambers

    ReplyDelete
  2. But closeness? We are familiar with tightness,tightfisted...

    ReplyDelete
  3. 6D- def. (Urge) in the middle? Ramesh has raised the ? - rightly so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1. Very strange. The wp leads to deletion of VE from urge!

      Delete
  4. 13AC: Frugality=Tightness and tight is close

    ReplyDelete
  5. 5d - Unsatisfactory = below par. But 'par' is taken in parcel. ( Below par and par do not mean the same thing

    ReplyDelete
  6. An unsatisfactory solve for me today. Couldn't get Parcel, Premises, Heliotrope, Instigate.
    Did the puzzle in Excel(so that I shouldn't cheat(!)); came a cropper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was what I used to do, when I first came across REVEAL WORD button for the grid.
      Of late, I am not doing that. If I didn't get the answer, I come here

      Delete
    2. Even without the Reveal option the green and red letter option is disconcerting. Solving in Excel is far better for me.

      Delete
    3. Solving on paper is the best- at least for people like me ( less computer savvy)

      Delete
    4. Yesterday I bought a copy of ET and my performance was far better.

      Delete
    5. Solving on paper of course is the best for me too! But, living in far off place, it is ruled out for me.(We get both The Hindu and ET one day late)

      Delete
    6. I was surprised to know that CGB Sir even does the Sunday special on pen & paper only. He would manually prepare a grid and solve on that!

      Delete
    7. Tuesday to Thursday I will be at Manglore & Karwar. Hope to get print edition of TH there & do the THC on pen & paper.

      Delete
    8. these days i print screen into paint, arrange clues side by and attempt.

      Delete
    9. I had done a few Sunday spls. on paper when it first started and before I could download the software. Now I am comfortable doing it on the system.

      Delete
    10. Vasant,
      You may say hello to Richard while you are at Mangalore. He would only be too pleased. I will send you his mail ID.
      Any stop over at Chennai en route?

      Delete
    11. Thanks Paddy for email ID of Richard. Shall contact him.
      No chance of coming to Chennai. A very hectic 4 day trip to Manglore-Karwar and back.

      Delete
  7. 6D As the clue reads, ve is to be removed from instigate and not from investigate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the onlyway the clue works if scrutinise is on double duty. investigate by reducing to its constituent parts in order to reinterpret it as urge and ve.

      Delete
    2. I think it is a reverse deletion. If we add ve to instigate we get investigate

      Delete
  8. Another cranium cracker from Skulldugger ! Enjoyed using the trepan !!

    ReplyDelete

deepakgita@gmail.com