Sunday, 10 September 2023

The Sunday Crossword No 3271, Sunday 10 Sep 2023

ACROSS
1   Demands and obtains kiss in ultimately lamentable performances (6) EXACTS {X} in {l...lE}{ACTS}
4   The red flag or The Stars and Stripes Forever? (8) STANDARD [DD]
9   Toiler you picture inputting something thunderously, primarily? (6) TYPIST Acrostic Semi&l;it
10 Celebrated audibly in multiple flights (8) STOREYED (~storyed)
11 Victorian cuisine: scoff a kind of dove, very excited (4,6,4) MOCK TURTLE SOUP {MOCK}{TURTLE}{SO}{UP}
13 'Athirst' regularly rejected, being archaic: that's agreed (3) TIS aThIrSt
15 Brigade, the unruly kind (3-7) BIG-HEARTED {BRIGADE+THE}*
18 Endlessly devour exotic tea that's excellent (10) CONSUMMATE {CONSUMe}{MATE} 
19 English getting runs? One, for a long stretch (3) ERA {E}{R}{A}
20 Out of Sellotape now, all of a sudden (2,3,4,5)  AT ONE FELL SWOOP {OF+SELLOTAPE+NOW}* 
24 Alpinist's regrettable lack of control (8) TAIL SPIN*
25 Socialist in Caracas: Trotskyist? (6) CASTRO [T]
26 An absent-minded shopper might be this vacant (8) LISTLESS {LIST LESS}
27 Read third letter aloud depicting Biblical impediment (3,3) RED SEA (~read c)

DOWN
1   Guess teatime's off? (8) ESTIMATE*
2   When computer's overwhelming Everyman's a kind of jelly (5) ASPIC {AS}{P{I}C}
3   Cricket match on TV: fourth of batsmen in experimental gear (4,5) TEST TUBES {TEST}{TUBE}{batSmen
5   Blockbuster, tall tale with orc, rebooted (5,6) TOTAL RECALL {TALL+TALE+ORC}*
6   Invaders laying waste to Australian navy: they're expected (5) NORMS NORManS
7   See our way to resort? Don't worry (2,3,4) AS YOU WERE {SEE+OUR+WAY}* 
8   Two posters stuck up displaying avant-garde art (4) DADA {AD<=}{AD<=}
12 Music and cakes for guttersnipes (11) RAGAMUFFINS {RAGA}{MUFFINS}
14 Charmers, ones that are often fruity (9) SMOOTHIES [DD]
16 Once again enthral, seeing cabbages pruned and half of fragrant sprigs (2-7) RE-ENSLAVE {gREENS}{LAVEnder}
17 Chart with an old record climbing: it's Spanish (8) PAMPLONA  {AN+O+LP}{MAP}<=
21 A plan's arranged, not initially paying through the nose (5) NASAL {A+pLANS}*
22 Swears, finding piece of haggis in porridge earlier (5) OATHS {OAT{Ha...s}S}What's the role of 'EARLIER'?
23 To some extent get along with other people (2,2) ET AL [T]

Reference List
Kiss = X, Very = SO, Excited = UP, English = E, Runs = R, Australian = A, Navy = N, Old = O, Record = LP(Long Play)

32 comments:

  1. No Sunday special from today till completion of the online rounds of IXL.
    Holiday Special will be there only in case of a newspaper holiday.

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  2. All the best to all IXL participants for the Practice round today.
    Please remember that nobody should discuss IXL clues here till the results for each round is announced.

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    Replies
    1. Done and dusted! Had one or two guesses which were hopefully correct.

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    2. Exolve library by Gussalufz is an incredible tool for use in online publications and such tournaments. Solving was a smooth experience with a familiar interface.

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    3. All the best to other contestants.

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  3. I had entered RE-ENSNARE for 16D though I was unable to account for the anno.

    Re: 4A, "The Stars and Stripes" is a flag and can be called a STANDARD. However, "The Stars and Strips Forever" is a song and as such can it be used as a definition for STANDARD? Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever

    In 11A, how is "very excited" = SOUP?

    In 14D "Charmers" as definition for SMOOTHIES was well done but as an imprecise definition ought to have been indicated with a question-mark or similar. The wordplay for 12D RAGAMUFFINS was delightful.

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    Replies
    1. Re: 11A, I see it now. {very}{excited} = {SO}{UP}.

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    2. 4a look up musical standard.
      Jungle jungle patha chala hai
      Chaddi pehen ki......

      is also a std.

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    3. Wonderful explanation Prasad. Thank you.

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  4. Earlier (stage) refers to period before they were made into porridge. "Piece of" refers to H in haggis.

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  5. Replies
    1. 17 Chart with an old record climbing: it's Spanish (8)

      Here "climbing" is the reversal indicator. I feel there should be 2 separate reversal indicators - one for {MAP} and another for {PL}{O}{NA}. Otherwise the cryptic parsing leads to PLONAPAM, not PAMPLONA.

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  6. Interesting practice round of IXL. Eminently doable. Hope it remains the same in active rounds.

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    Replies
    1. Then it will be fastest fingers first, rather than art of the trade.

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    2. Very TRUE. I lose out there regularly,completing at my own speed.

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    3. How can it be fastest fingers only. Art of the trade is also required without which fastest fingers is of no use

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    4. We mean fastest solver not just entering

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Col, Ref. List needs modification. Excite=UP; very=SO

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  9. Anyone from the blog(from beginning) won this tournament?
    Don't get me wrong. Children( of our roots) win spelling contests elsewhere!

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    Replies
    1. Ramki [Kriskross] is the consistent winner. He won more times than anyone so far.

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    2. As a matter of fact, Col Gopinath won the inaugural IXL contest after which he joined the organizing committee!

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    3. What's the procedure/qualification to join the organizing committee?

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    4. There is no such procedure. It is the organisers of IXL who decide on these issues

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    5. With due respect, there has to be an in and out. 😎

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  10. Is there a method to verify our grid in the IXL rounds

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    Replies
    1. No. It will be verified when we release the results on Wednesday :)

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  11. Do Crossword competitions encourage teams to compete - by team i mean two persons in lieu of one? Can we not say two brains are better than one? Just a random thought from an amateur.

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    Replies
    1. Certain events allow teams to compete, for example IIT Madras Crossie contest.

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