Monday 20 May 2019

No 12630, Monday 20 May 2019, Avtaar


ACROSS
1   Muffler left in Prague, by mistake (7) EARPLUG {EARP{L}UG*}
5   Dropping partner midway, Brando's energetic son produces film (7) ADSORBS {BRAnDOS}*{S}
10 Fabled rebellion? (4) ?C?R (Addendum - SCAR [CD] (rebel lion) - See comments)
11 Course instructions written by software developers (6,4) SOURCE CODE {COURSE}* [RA]
12 Peter and Elizabeth (6) WITHER {WITH}{ER}
13 Grass inhaling judge is absolved (8) REDEEMED {RE{DEEM}ED}
14 B2C distribution channel for soap producers? (3-3,3) SET-TOP BOX {(-c+b)BOX  Set B to C in COX} [CD] See comments
16 Large tract of land off West End, say (5) STATE STATEs (Addendum - eSTATE - See comments)
17 Polish man comes out of palanquin (5) JAPAN JAmPAN
19 Explain why you talked about getting inducted into cabinet (4,5) SHOW CAUSE {SHOWCA{U}SE}
23 Alert eves, ignoring leader, avoid gruelling war of nerves (8) FOREWARN {WAR+OF+NERves}*
24 Plundering dogs frequently broke up, leaving without success (2,4) IN VAIN INVAdINg
26 British doctor could not initially oversee result of a lab test (5,5) BLOOD COUNT {B}{COULD+NOT+Ov...e}*
27 Jog around Algeria's capital city (4) DOHA {HOD<=}{Al...a} Jog/Hod? See comments
28 English-American poet is visited by son and then by daughter unexpectedly (7) ASUDDEN {A{S}U{D}DEN}
29 Avtaar's a fine second, perhaps? (7) MEASURE {ME}{A}{SURE}

DOWN
2   Set down bed in a corner (7) ASCRIBE {A}{S{CRIB}E}
3   Part of house that, basically, is lacking in soft light (5) PORCH {P}{tORCH}
4   The main part of counsel's ploy — getting release (7) UNSTRAP {coUNSel}{TRAP}
6   Crack journalist couple, on retirement, acquire firm (6) DECODE {ED<=}{CO}{ED<=}
7   Gold crate is carried by soldiers' band (9) ORCHESTRA {OR}{CHEST}{RA}
8   Spooner's father takes risk resulting in a permanent loss (3,4) BAD DEBT (dad bet to bad debt)
9   Ceremonial welcome organised for guru had cups of Nescafe offered at the outset (5,2,6) GUARD OF HONOUR {FOR+GURU+HAD}* over {Of}{Ne...e}{Of...d}
15 From twelve and half, deduct seven... finally, add one in and ... then take reciprocal to arrive at this figure (9) TRAPEZOID {D{1}OZEn}{PART} <=
18 Spacecraft crashed, dropping at Palo Alto South (7) APOLLOS  {PALO+aLtO}*{S}
20 Erode fair is about openings in textile looms (7) WHITTLE {WHIT{Te...e}{Lo..s}E}
21 Tear the lady's slip (7) SLITHER {SLIT}{HER}
22 Inept Hague court's chief is transferred (6) GAUCHE {HAGUE+Co..t}*
25 Vyasa's expositions — deep and stimulating, from the beginning (5) VEDAS Acrostic & lit

Reference List
Elizabeth = ER, Channel = COX, Corner = SE(South East), Soft = P, Journalist = ED, Gold = OR, Soldier = RA(Royal Artillery)

GRID

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34 comments:

  1. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 08:58

    16a def:say. Large tract:estate. West end of estate is e.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 09:00

    27a seems scot. https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/hod

    ReplyDelete
  3. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 09:17

    That is right sree_sree

    ReplyDelete
  4. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 09:18

    14a. Annotation is off

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ramki Krishnan20 May 2019 at 10:42

      I took 14A as a CD - a set-top box is a channel through which the "soap" gets directly delivered to the customer in a B2C model. Correct?

      Delete
    2. Vasant20 May 2019 at 10:47

      +1.Nice clue.

      Delete
    3. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 11:09

      Super, Ramki. It is intended as a CD

      Delete
    4. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 12:29

      STB is only an accessory, not a channel. Cable or dish would be channels.

      Delete
    5. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 17:12

      Channel as a means of reaching the consumer. STB is part of the distribution channel

      Delete
    6. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 20:24

      My MBA doesn't allow me to accept but may be I will have to accept it is so in cryptic world.

      Delete
  5. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 09:19

    10a is it about Tesla? S-car!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 09:31

    Nope

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ramki Krishnan20 May 2019 at 10:38

    10A: SCAR (Rebel lion from The lion king movie)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ramki Krishnan20 May 2019 at 10:44

    Challenging grid with some intricate wordplay Sreeni - thanks! Did not get the anno for IN VAIN (though the answer was evident from crossing letters) till I saw the blog. Thanks Col.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Vasant20 May 2019 at 10:50

    Challenging and enjoyable. Though I was a few annos short, these could be biffed. Thanks Avtaar.

    ReplyDelete
  10. raju umamaheswar20 May 2019 at 13:48

    How many avatars one should take to compile a toughie like this ? Immensely enjoyed. The grid should initially look daunting , then as we unravel each clue, that feeling of elation is immeasurable. A clever compiler should never go unchallenged ! If it can be conceived, it can be delivered ! Thanks , Avtaar

    ReplyDelete
  11. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 15:44

    Thank you Raju

    ReplyDelete
  12. Padmanabhan20 May 2019 at 16:15

    A doubt about 18D-
    Could spacecraft (singular) could lead to Apollos?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Padmanabhan20 May 2019 at 16:17

    A few tough clues (which needed expert cracking) interspersed with several interesting and enjoyable one. Thank you Avatar.

    ReplyDelete
  14. vdsprasad49@gmail.com20 May 2019 at 16:21

    Like in the case of aircraft, the plural of spacecraft is the same as singular.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Avtaar20 May 2019 at 17:09

    Spacecraft is also used in the plural sense, typically

    ReplyDelete
  16. Padmanabhan20 May 2019 at 18:12

    Thank you both for the clarification.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mysteryblogger1220 May 2019 at 21:13

    20d what is the connection between erode & whittle ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 22:11

      https://chambers.co.uk/search/?query=Whittle&title=21st

      Delete
  18. Mysteryblogger1220 May 2019 at 21:33

    Also in 17ac- how is polish connected to Japan?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sree_sree20 May 2019 at 22:09

      Japan black is a varnish.
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_black

      Delete
    2. Col_Gopinath20 May 2019 at 22:46

      The underlined words in the main post have embedded links which will take you to the explanations for most unusual words. For example Japan has an embedded link in the main post. Follow those links if in doubt

      Delete

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