Wednesday, 13 November 2019

No 12779, Wednesday 13 Nov 2019, Dr. X


ACROSS
1   Conforming by queuing up (7,2,4) FALLING IN LINE [DD]
8   Attack degenerates going round maiden (5) STORM {ROTS<=}{M}
9   Earned nothing? Sell out and retire (2,2,5) GO TO GRASS {GOT}{O}{GRASS}
11 Disaffection resulting from a deception by state (10) ALIENATION {A}{LIE}{NATION}
12 Huge girl in buffet, disregarding line (4) MEGA {ME{G}Al}
14 Warns former husband losing head in wrongful acts (7) EXHORTS {EX}{H}{tORTS}
16 New decree about initiation of talaq established (7) ERECTED {EREC{Ta..q}ED}
17 Dismiss American President involved in fling (7) SUSPEND {S{US}{P}END}
19 Silly old fellow chasing maiden in vehicle (7) TOMFOOL {T{O}{M}{F}OOL}
21 Kill time in insipid lecture (4) IDLE [T]
22 Cultivating seeds around plot alongside first-class promenades (10) ESPLANADES {ES{PLAN}{A}DES*}
25 China won’t permit this Republican in charge to put the heat on (4,5) FREE PRESS {F{R}EE}{PRESS}
26 Scoundrels are hard, slippery characters (5) HEELS {H}{EELS}
27 Card game, excellent and thrilling (5-8) HEART-STOPPING {HEARTS}{TOPPING}

DOWN
2   Abrogate article and Kashmir essentially boils after getting carved up (7) ABOLISH {A}{BOILS*}{k.sHm.r}
3   Scandalous e-mails ruin big names (10) LUMINARIES*
4   Intoxicated model becoming a little naughty in darkness (5) NIGHT (-t+n)NIGHT
5   Shy person upset about appalling rot (9) INTROVERT {IN{ROT*}VERT}
6   Pulls and assaults student for money (4) LUGS (-m+l)LUGS
7   Most intimate attention in retreat (7) NEAREST {N{EAR}EST}
8   Utterly terrified son bothered by ultimately horrendous quarrel (6,5) SCARED  {S}{CARED}{h...uS}{TIFF}
10 Outrages and harasses ladies during searches (11) SCANDALISES {SCAN{LADIES*}S}
13 Fellow’s stylish, pursuing intern — a skill doctors aren't known for? (10) PENMANSHIP {MANS}{HIP} after {PEN}
15 Gives a miss revolting kisses in parties (9) SIDESTEPS {SIDE{PETS<=}S}
18 An exercise in singing given by one to enthral female say (7) SOLFEGE {SOL{F}{EG}E}
20 Exotic blonde cuddling a dear fellow (3,4) OLD BEAN {BLONDE}* over {A}
23 What a cowboy needs? Damsel, essentially hot (5) LASSO {LASS}{hOt}
24 Contend with emergency after England exits (4) SPAR SPARe

Reference List
Maiden = M, Girl = G, Line = L, Husband = H, President = P, Old = O, Fellow = F, Republican = R, Hard = H, T, Student = L, Money = M, Son = S, Female = F, England = E


41 comments:

  1. Scintillating grid. Loved it very much. Loved the penmanship.
    Didn't get solfege.

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    Replies
    1. This Doctor is good in penmanship!

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    2. Not sure as yet. Haven't seen his scribbling pen at work!

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    3. 13d is indeed an excellent clue. The switch of 'intern' from n. in surface to verb in wordplay is great. Who says doctors are not known for penmanship? Take A J Cronin, for example! Of course, most doctors have poor penmanship in the sense their handwriting is usually poor decipherable only by pharmacists who probably go by first letter, middle letter and last letter of the drug name.

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    4. Thanks KKR! Paddy, my handwriting is sadly nothing to write home about! I agree CV Sir :)

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    5. So,pharma chaps must be crossword solvers!

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    6. Arthur Conan Doyle and Anton Chekov were were doctors !

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    7. Yes indeed these were all great writers. Penmanship however refers to the art of writing by hand. And whilst I am sure there are several doctors who possess the art of penmanship, the defn does not say 'a skill doctors don't possess' it merely asserts 'a skill doctors aren't known for' which sadly, right or otherwise is true :)

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  2. A maha STORM was caused by an ALIENATION of MEGA LUMINARIES.

    The FREE PRESS waited day and NIGHT for some HEART-STOPPING news.

    Meanwhile as a measure to SUSPEND SIDE- STEPS being taken persons are LUGGED to the nearest RESORT ( A last RESORT?)

    Perhaps they were SCARED to see that people were not FALLING IN LINE!

    What happened next?

    The PENMANSHIP of the OLD BEAN brought things to an end.

    Is it the end?

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    Replies
    1. ....or is it the beginning?!

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Nice to see CGB Sir's tale piece after a long time; an apposite one on the current political imbroglio

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  3. Last resort was good CGB. As lonng as it is not 'Lost Resort',it should be okay.

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  4. Many A Damsel, Female acting as cheer girls in today's crossword. Lovely grid. Doctor getting naughtier by the day.

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  5. I thought suspension is not dismissal.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe you have a point there,but one of the meanings of suspend in the dict. is remove,expel. So I guess it is okay.

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    2. Suspension could be indefinite or permanent. One is suspended from the job (as in removed from an activity) and dismissed from the employment.!

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  6. Definitely an aha moment to get 13D! Terrific puzzle.

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  7. Very beautiful puzzle; challenging in parts ( had to cheat on Solfege) and had to make an educated guess for Go To Grass; my COD Penmanship.
    Thanks Dr.X.

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    Replies
    1. Initially, I thought it was "go to grave" and wasted ten solid minutes on "scandalises"!!!

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    2. Within the context of Maharashtra, sell-out led me to betrayal rats! Or horses. So grass wasn't that far!

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    3. You are most welcome Vasant! Nice thinking Prasad :)

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  9. Excellent grid! 13D, 25A, 2D were favs. 19A and 24D were the last to fall. Thanks Doc!

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  10. How many among you remember Dr. Richard Gordon?

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  11. Logging in late, sorry Doc, as I was out shopping for my son in Japan whom we are visiting by the end of this month.Did'nt want to take this to bed after two days of with my first love who feels that crosswords
    have taken her place, though I insist that they are my second. . Enjoyed every clue all the way. Can you clarify where does PEN come in , in PENMANSHIP, after MANS HIP ? Again, in GO TO GRASS , does GRASS mean to sell out and retire? Am a bit slow on the uptake in these two ? Thanks . Will miss you for another week ! 😥

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    Replies
    1. Col.'s link explains the meaning and context of the phrase- supposedly telling a racehorse that has been sidelined to go eat grass/hay.

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    2. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.collinsdictionary.com/amp/english/go-to-grass

      Earned=got
      Nothing=o
      Grass as in inform/sell out
      Retire= defn

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    3. Hi Paddy it's not just a racehorse. See link to Collins Dictionary. Go to grass is a typical expression to Retire

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    4. Intern (verb) = pen/ confine etc

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  12. Sorry. but how do I get pen from intern? Kindly explain

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  13. For both Raju and Gowri-
    Intern as a verb means to detain and confine- which is what a pen (cattle) is about. There have been comments earlier in the blog (including CV)

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