Sunday 27 August 2023

Special, Sunday 27 Aug 2023, Economizer

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)


Enjoy.

126 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Well solved Nagendra Prasad. INCOGNITO is one of my favourite setters.

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  2. 6d EMBARGO - boycott
    {rage mob*}
    7d ATLAS - book of maps
    {at}{LA}{s}

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  3. 8d YACHTS - racers
    {<=stay} around {ch}

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  4. Already solved by RK @ 10:33. You can attempt another.

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  5. 30a: SAMOSA (Acrostic)
    4D: DEPRESSION (PERSON+DIES)*
    6D: EMBARGO (RAGE+MOB)*

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    Replies
    1. Please check 30A. 6D has already been solved @10:33.

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  6. 1A. BAN (prohibit) + DA (lawyer) + ID (license) = BAND AID = temporary measure
    9A. COCO (companies) + A (first letter of advertiser) = COCOA = chocolate
    10A. POLIC (the authorities = police, minus the last letter) around "arab" = PARABOLIC = trajectory of a missile

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  7. Very enjoyable grid, Economizer.

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  8. CORRECTION: clue for 18a should read
    18a. Quiet half-sister gets casually cosy around hospital for mental illness (9)

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    Replies
    1. Was wondering about that - whether about is doing double duty.

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    2. Yes, unfortunately I only caught the issue after Col. published the grid today.

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  9. 9a COCOA: chocolate
    Co Co: companies
    Top advertiser: a

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  10. 11a PONDERED
    (p)(on)(der)(ed)
    def: considered

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    Replies
    1. 3d AWAKEN
      (a)(wake)(n)
      funeral service = wake
      noon = n
      def: open ones eyes

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. 18a PSYCHOSIS: mental illness
    P:quiet
    Cosy* around hospital: SYC(H)O
    Sis: half sister

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    Replies
    1. Around doing double duty as both anagram indicator and container?

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    2. Yes, the clue as published is incorrect. I have given a correction (see my comment at 10:51).

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  13. 21D AUTISM (SIT << inside AUM (prayer)), def = a condition starting in childhood
    16D KEEPSAKES (def = souvenirs, spoonerism = seep cakes i.e. drain candies)
    19D CHANGES (def = turns, CHANCES = stumbles upon with Girl (G) replacing C(cocaine)

    Thanks for the Sunday special, Col and Economizer

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for solving, Ramki!

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    2. Is 'Aum' a prayer or a chant? (Of course part of prayer)

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    3. From Free dictionary...
      Aum (ōm)
      n. Hinduism & Buddhism
      Variant of Om.

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    4. After looking up some definitions I am myself uncertain now. I have used OM and AUM in 2 clues in this puzzle as "prayer" - I was taught growing up in India that you say OM while praying. Whether that means it is a prayer or it is only part of a prayer, I am less certain. Spiritually I believe that OM alone can be said as a prayer. Whether that is lexically accurate per various dictionaries seems to be up for debate.

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    5. I have researched and found that 3 THC setters have in the past used "prayer" = OM. They are: Buzzer, Avtaar and Exa.

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  14. 12a: PRESET: default
    Pester*

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  15. 23a : UPLOAD: transfer files
    U: university
    P( provided) L( student) O( over) A(a) D(day)

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  16. 23a is a replacement for 9a.

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  17. 15A UPA leader - U
    unfairly(anagrind) - booked*
    aboard(containment) steamer - SS
    (U)(S(ED BOOK)S)
    for old writings - USED BOOKS

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  18. 26D Warmth - PITY
    at the bottom of CHASM - PIT
    is UNKNOWN - Y

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  19. 29A Virtue - MODESTY
    of Spanish - DE
    holy MAN’S - ST
    yoga starting - Y
    after Westward Prayer - OM<=

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  20. Thanks @economizer for a nice puzzle!

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  21. Eight clues remaining to be annotated
    Across: 20, 25
    Down: 1, 3, 5, 13, 17, 22

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  22. Came late. Mostly solved. So not posting.
    Ecomomizer - Good grid. Fun.
    Under 20 mins to solve.
    Thanx.
    🙂

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Gowri. I hope the next edition will keep you guessing longer.

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  23. 28- Lakes- (Lake)*S. Def.- Pools
    30A- Samosas- Acrostic & Lit
    22D- Emblem- Image= Em(BL)em
    BL from dumb animal tails inside (Meme)*

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    Replies
    1. Lakes was solved by Gemini @10:51. The other two are correct.

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    2. SAMOSAS is my clue-of-the-day!

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    3. Thanks! I was proud of getting &lit for that clue.

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  24. Mostly solved & already posted by others.

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. 5d TORN (T) = Unsure
    25a ITEMISES (I IT SEEMS)*
    I = Economiser
    29a MODESTY = Sober
    (MO)(DE)(ST)(Y)
    OM reversed
    Oof in Spanish is DE
    Holy man : ST
    First letter Y from yoga

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  27. 25a ITEMISES ; list clues; anagram of I IT SEEMS

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  28. Replies
    1. That is correct. If Dr. Spooner visits Dr. X, he can get help with both back pain and spoonerism.

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  29. Replies
    1. From Chambers:

      yacht noun a boat or small ship, usually with sails and often with an engine, built for racing or cruising.

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  30. 22d EMBLEM; image; dumB animaL in MEME*

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  31. Yes,it is mentioned in the dic. Never heard of it before. Thought it was always pleasure sailing and not racing. Well, you learn things along the way.

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    Replies
    1. There is a famous yacht race every few years called America's Cup. I have seen the teams practice in San Francisco Bay when I was living there.

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  32. In place of 29a

    13d ADDICTIONS
    (DID)" ie DDI in ACTIONS

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  33. 3d AWAKEN:open your eyes
    A(a) WAKE( funeral service) N( noon)

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  34. Smooth flowing grid by Economiser.
    Had an enjoyable solve. Thanks 🙂

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  35. 13d ADDICTIONS; like gabling and alccoholism; A(DID*)CTIONS

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  36. Replies
    1. It is surprisingly hard to write a fair clue for the more common meanings of this word without having CONSISTS OF or CONSISTS WITH in the grid. I had to go with the more obscure definition of train sets.

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    2. I couldn't get it when i first saw the movie "unstoppable" (Recommend anyone who likes a thriller).
      But pls remember that thc and this blog are more of British English OED and little sprinkle with common usage.
      Any US usage should be indicated, if its not listed in OED.

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  37. 3d AWAKEN = Open one's eyes
    A + WAKE (Funeral service)+ N (noon)

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  38. 5d TORN = Unsure
    debTOR Not Supplying contain. Ind

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  39. Lovely puzzle Economiser.

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  40. That's the grid! Thanks for solving Kiran, Ramesh Kosaraju, Rajshri, H Ramachandran, Uncertainly-yours and others.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks to Col. Gopinath for publishing the special.

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  41. 13d ADDICTIONS = Gambling & alcoholism
    Anagram of did actions, immorally anind

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  42. sorry Economizer. unable to attempt your grid. Only Sunday special / special grids not appearing in my laptop. I can able to see only comments. let me explore this crux and resolve . Happy Sunday.

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    Replies
    1. Prasanna, you may have to enable Javascript in your browser, or try using a different browser software.

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  43. I had 2 small doubts.
    Bain vs bane allowed in spoonerism?
    Warmth is pity?? Not really.

    Reg - Yacht. Yes it is a racing vessel too.

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    Replies
    1. Re: spoonerism, I'm pretty sure the spelling can change in this clue type as long as the pronunciation is the same after exchanging the starting sounds of the two parts.

      Re: Warmth = Pity...they are not directly listed in Chambers as synonyms. However, they both have a shared meaning of sympathy. I took liberties with this one. Will be more careful in future.

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    2. Collins lists warmth as a synonym of pity in the sense of tenderness.

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  44. Also train sets to consists - I didn't get the link.
    But great improvement over the first grid - is what a novice like me feels!!! 👍

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    Replies
    1. It is a more obscure meaning of the term. See my comment @ 11:57 where I explain why I had to do that. Initially I included the word thinking it would be rather easy to clue. I was mistaken.

      You can find a reference for this meaning here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train#:~:text=A%20collection%20of%20rail%20vehicles,Zephyr)%20is%20called%20a%20trainset.

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  45. Nice grid. I was able to learn more about spoonerisms. I always hated solving those.

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  46. Enjoyed solving the greed. Solved hundred per cent but enjoyed the clues also hundred per cent. Thank you Economizer

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  47. How do "stale" and "childish" work as anagram indicators?

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    Replies
    1. They are both non-standard anagrinds. My thinking was that "stale" as an adjective implies that something is off or not quite right in the noun. Similarly, childish as an adjective implies misbehaviour, truancy, etc. Do you think they work well?

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    2. Perhaps "rotten" would be a better anagrind for "snack" than "stale". I think "stale" implies that food is not fresh. However "rotten" implies a stronger, irreversible change of food from edible to inedible.

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    3. IMHO they don't work well. While "off", "rotten" are valid anagrinds indicating something is bad, I don't think you can use all their synonyms as anagrinds. Similarlly, "unruly" is a valid anagrind and a child may be unruly, but just by that I wouldn't use "childish" as an anagrind. Just my 2p.

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    4. Thanks for your tips Ramki. I will bear them in mind.

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  48. Thanks for the special Economizer

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Col. Will there be more Sunday Specials this year, with IXL coming around the corner?

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  49. No Sunday specials during IXL.

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  50. Doubt about 13D (ADDICTIONS)
    What is the def? If it is "like gambling and alcoholism" there seems to be a part-of-speech mismatch. "Like gambling and alcoholism" would translate to ADDICTIVE and not ADDICTIONS right?

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    Replies
    1. I think you're correct. Thanks for flagging this. The clue definition should indicate plural noun, not adjective as it is currently phrased.

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    2. Would the problem be resolved by phrasing the clue as:

      Did immoral actions outside, for example: gambling and alcoholism (10)

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    3. I had intended "like" to mean "for example", but I can see how it can be interpreted as meaning "having the characteristics of". There is some ambiguity there which affects the precision of the definition.

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    4. It felt like actions was on double duty...
      Immorally did actions outside, (actions) like gambling and alcoholism

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    5. Did immoral actions outside, for example: gambling and alcoholism (10)

      Technically correct.
      Since "actions" is the outer container, you can avoid giving it as-is and use a synonym to make the clue more cryptic.

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    6. Thank you. The latter is a good technical tip. I think it could also be used in 5A, 10A and 11A, where parts of the solution have been given as-is.

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    7. But then...
      the clue is good as is, literally!

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  51. I don't know how to put it.i am a plastic surgeon conducting state conference of AP and TELANGANA in October.can I request anyone to make a crossword using medical or plastic surgery words for the conference to encourage younger surgeons to take up crosswords.my cell no is 9642187320.

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    Replies
    1. Good idea doctor. One of the seniors in the group might come to your help. But first they should know the nuances of solving cryptic crosswords. I doubt how many would.

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    2. @DrBhanuMurthy you have certainly asked in the right place, as there are many setters visiting this blog. I personally do not feel up to the task but I hope Col. and others may be able to connect you to the right person.

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  52. Collagen (8)
    Endless collar meets 3/4th of a unit of heredity filler

    Implant
    Whim, plan, model a replacement (7)

    Suture
    Sulphur tureen yield a surgical stitch (6)

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  53. Lost my long analysing text by an inadvertent touch. Will try a short one now.

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  54. Economizer does it usually. I am gonna try it on his grid as an amateur.
    Mostly nice and easy clues. Upload was below par. Changes was a good one.
    Setter didn't have to accept all the suggestions made in the blog. No need to be defensive or facetious. A very nice, although easy, puzzle! 👌👍

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Rao.

      A few weeks ago you had asked me about my health, to which I had responded saying I have listed some of my conditions in a crossword. More concretely: I am seeking 5A for 1D, 4D, 13D, 18A, 21D...it is hardly an exhaustive list. I am sure I can fill more grids with problems. However I don't want any 26D!

      Although I had not intended on setting a thematic grid, it spontaneously happened through word-association as I filled in the blanks.

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    2. Parabola(y^2= 4ax) in the first quadrant is good.
      Hope to see another enjoyable grid from you.

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    3. Came here very late at 9.30. Enjoyed the crossword and the comments here. Wishing Economiser the best of health. One suggestion if i may is to come out of 4D. All others are managable. Expecting more of such

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  55. Economiser, my Guru used to say, ' Be a smile millionaire' .
    In front of the mirror, we can pull our lips from either side to create a smile. And then make that a habit. Smiles will take one miles away from all negative thoughts.
    Positive affirmations help. Eyes can be focused at the centre point of the Eyebrow, often called the third eye, which is the seat of will power. With the closed eyes we can mentally affirm " I am healthy, I am well" We can see that happen.

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  56. Thank you. Although there is no 1A for 4D, small things like 30A and 15A make needed 19D.

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  57. Tougher charades after the puzzle. 😉👍

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