Sunday 6 August 2023

Special, Sunday 06 Aug 2023, Ghaza

Three answers per commenter till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory) 
Please submit all your answers in one comment.  

(COMMENTS ENTERED WITH LESS THAN THREE ANSWERS/ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE, UNLESS THE COMMENTER SPECIFIES THAT IT IS A COMPENSATION FOR A REPEAT)


Clue for 8D The type of Chesterton’s initials (7,9)  (Expand only first initial to match the grid. However the same is not to be actually entered in the grid)

Enjoy.

84 comments:

  1. This one's quite experimental. Do send all your brick-bats. I would like to hear all the feedback

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    Replies
    1. Is 8D an intentional part of your experimentation?

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    2. Grid connectivity between the top half and bottom half could be better.

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    3. Also connectivity between the left half and right half could be improved.

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    4. I really don't know how to create grids. So I take a grid I see in The Hindu when I start creating a puzzle and just start filling in answers :P

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    5. There is nothing wrong in the grid connectivity

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    6. Fortunately I need not expend much effort in explaining my point. This article (below) gives an example of a "weakly connected grid". The example is 99% similar to the grid published above for Sunday Special.

      https://www.crosswordunclued.com/2009/09/crossword-grid-connectivity.html

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    7. +1 thats a pretty close one to islands.
      If i remember corectly, its one of those NJ 2.0 grid.

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  2. 22d UNCOCK - gun safety action
    {un}{cock}

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  3. Replies
    1. ANNO (in capitals) is the answer, which I was not very sure of. Hence the ?
      😊

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  4. 1d ASTANA: capital of kazhakstan
    A(a) ST( good man) AN(and-d, dropped date) A(a)

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  5. Rather similar to THC 13931 by Karaoke: 12 American jerk (4) YANK [DD]

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  6. Anagram is 7 characters but the clue is for 8.

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  7. 2D and 6D: DOUBLE DEFINITION [CD]

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    Replies
    1. 9A SPOONER(-ism), though I'm not sure of the anno. Seems like a C&DD.

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    2. 26A & 6D CRYPTIC DEFINITION [CD]

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    3. 9A def = type (self referential clue)
      Spoonerism of SPOONER would be NOO SPUR
      NOO = NOO(-n) = shortened midday
      SPUR = incentive

      Bit stretched IMHO. Normally the spoonerized version is given as direct synonym and not to be derived through additional wordplay (like deletion in this case)

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    4. Thank you sir for your explanation. I agree regarding your sentiments.

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  8. 12a GRIMACE: ugly expression
    GRIM(sad) ACE( expert)

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  9. Last time I got the feedback that I should tighten the clueing. I am trying to do that. But my attempts will reflect in Submission 12 onwards. In case you all want me to re-work the clues and re-submit Submissions 7 - 11, do tell me.

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  10. I had set and submitted this puzzle well before 31st July :) Maybe this is quite common

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  11. No implication of plagiarism, Ghaza. Great minds think alike.

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  12. 24d DICAST : ancient juror ( of Athens)
    noma(DIC AST)igmatism

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  13. 13a AT EXTREMA
    "Natural" numbers from 1 to infinity.

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    Replies
    1. 25a IN SHORT
      tin horse clipped = tin hors
      (tin hors)*
      def: briefly

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. 10a NEEDFUL = Required
    NEED (knead for squeeze) + FUL (full for whole) Noisily homophone ind.

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  16. 28 ac haitian ha (it) (a)n
    25 ac in short- tin horse-e*

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  17. 7d EFFACING = Removing
    EF consecutive letters +
    FACING. Opposite

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  18. Replies
    1. Where is the telescopic indicator, and what is Kiran Bedi madam doing in this clue?

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  19. 3d. ANNO..CD
    4DFREEZE..free( without cost) ZE(RO)
    25. Ac. IN SHORT.. ( TIN HORS)* E ( tail cut)

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  20. 18d RESITING Changing the location
    SITE (Ties crooked) in RING = Circle

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  21. Orthopaul Sir, you can give more answers. These are repeats.

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  22. Anagram indicator appears to be missing in 5D.

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  23. 14d, The type =Telescopic, (T)

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  24. Here's my list of clues yet to be solved:
    Across: 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 29
    Down: 16, 17, 23

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  25. The anno for 9ac is also open

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    Replies
    1. Shortened midday = (N)OON
      Incentive = SPUR, SPER homophone
      SP+OON+ER

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  26. 15a IMIDE
    setter = i'm
    fish = ide
    def: compound

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  27. 21 ac squinched-puckered.
    tart-quiche
    should fringe -sd n-noon.
    s qui(n)che d

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  28. 17 d ACROSTIC: clue type
    acrostic first letters

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  29. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  30. RR Sir, 7d has been solved by Ramachandran at 11:27

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  31. 23d. HATTER.. the mad Hatter... eccentric person

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  32. 24d, ancient juror = dicast (T)

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  33. Anyone can give an answer for the extra clue.
    If I could, I would have tried to fit it into the grid.

    E1. The type of Chesterton’s initials (7,9)

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  34. GK G.K.Chesterton. General Knowledge.

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  35. Yes, that's the intended answer and anno

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  36. Thanks for the info. I didn't know his full name, only the initials :)

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  37. Still open:
    Across: 16, 19, 20, 29

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  38. Just a try, 16a,
    Saner = stabler
    [ST (+ABLE ) (-A) R]
    MORE TALENTED = able
    Able replaces a in Star.

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  39. 19a STINGES = Eats less
    STINGS Punishes with E (east)


    9a anno, request see 12.04 / 13.09
    above

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  40. For 19a my answer and anno is different. Not by much.

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  41. Yes Ramachandran, your comment reply at 13:09 is what is intended for the anno

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  42. When I had set this puzzle, I had clued 9ac as - A type of fresh incentive.

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  43. Thinking of it as new spur. In the last round of feedback I got, I learnt that Spoonerisms need to sound like the answer. Then I made a late correction yesterday, and Colonel accomodated the change

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  44. In 14d. Kiran Bedi is extraneous. She just fit in with the flow, and I added her on the spur of that moment.

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  45. I'm trying hard to avoid anything extraneous nowadays while setting clues.

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  46. This puzzle has an implicit theme. I am guessing most of you have figured it out, and I need not reveal it explicitly.

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  47. 9ac. is Noo + spur becoming Spooner. Noo is noon without the last letter.

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  48. (14D ) Living person's proper names are discouraged/prohibited by many crossword publishers. In this clue, it does not contribute anything towards the solution.

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  49. Apologies in advance if my comments are pretty harsh and adverse
    In this grid, most of the clues are not cryptic. To call out a few clues explicitly
    1) 11a, only people who watch cricket would be able to answer this.
    2) 13a, whole clue is the definition, where is the word play?
    3) 26a & 6d, what is the word play here?
    4) 5d, what is the angram indicator here? Where is the definition
    5) 14d, what is the telescopic indicator? What does Kiran Bedi have to do here?
    6) 16d, There is no wordplay or definition here
    7) 17d, what is the indicator to pick up the initial letters?
    8) 8d, I have nothing to say about the clue. If this is an experiment from your end, I am sorry, it has failed miserably with me.

    These are some of the examples. Most of them can be at best classified as GK clues, but to be honest, none of these clues follow how a THCC cryptic crosswords are.

    I can understand your enthusiam to set grids that have a theme around it, but my humble advice would be set clues first that has the following.
    1) A precise definition
    2) Word play leading to definition

    There is no point in setting cryptic crossword if everything is all over the place and clues have almost nothing cryptic and does not follow cryptic clue writing standards

    While you start off, there will be difficulty with extraneous words, clues that do not have a great surface reading etc, but that can be refined over time. But setting themed grids without conforming to cryptic clue standards is not advisable as solvers would not be able to enjoy solving the grid (which is the whole point of a setting a crossword grid imo)

    Happy to discuss and debate on this.

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    Replies
    1. It appears that 8D is the word CLUELESS. Clever, but perhaps too literally cryptic.

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    2. Thanks abhishek for taking time out to write.
      I repeat enthusiasts to read crosswordunclued before venturing nto cluing.
      Living room cooking rarely works out. Much rare in crypric crosswords. Like the only one i liked is the Natural for natural numbers where 1 and infinity are at extrema.

      A good test i follow actually is set a grid, put it innhsybernation and try to solve it independently after a week or so. See if I can pick my brain before asking others to.
      And IXL being around,the break for sunday specials should provide enough time.

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  50. Looks like the setter had assumed that the word "type" in the clues would be interpreted by the solver as "type of clue" and would contribute to the theme!
    Taking help of experienced setters as evaluators of the clues would contribute a lot to the honing the skills of setters Embellishments of the crossword as a whole(like Nina, theme, pangrams and the like ) need not overshadow the fundemental grammar of cluing.

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  51. 20A (-p)(+R)ORTS = frauds (verb)
    Rio & Bombay are Ports
    PR change transforms p->r

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    Replies
    1. 29A CANCELS? scratching my head on the anno.

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  52. Should I give the intended answer for 29ac?

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  53. It's past 6 pm. I think all others have been solved.

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  54. 19ac. Swinges. Swinge means beat, flog, punish, etc. The direction is SW for South West. Eat a little less was meant to indicate ingest without the last letter.

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  55. 29ac. Centers. Comes from central letters of access wanted every Thursday

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  56. Apologies that many of you did not like this puzzle.

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  57. Is there an option to get a Submission reviewed before it is published on a Sunday? I just email my stuff to Colonel.
    I am ok if some of the grids I submit get rejected. Hopefully some will get through.

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  58. Thanks to everyone who spent time on this puzzle. A thumbs up to all of you.

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