Wednesday, 4 October 2023

No 13986, Wednesday 04 Oct 2023, Arden

Solution to 17D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Open for anyone to answer, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS
1   Instant a sport organization becomes an old beast (11) TRICERATOPS {TRICE}{A+SPORT}*
7   Hog right away or stole? (3) BOA BOAr
9   Upset victory is snatched, not reacting at all (5) INERT INvERT
10 His hold on old country mountain ranges (9) HIMALAYAS {HI{MALAYA}S}
11 Sombre inside, nothing less outside — not a whiff (9) ODOURLESS {O}{DOUR}{LESS}
12 Burn one, fifty gone! (5) SINGE SINGlE
13 Essentially need to keep watch over the recluse (7) EREMITE {nE{TIMER<=}Ed}
15 Criticize the bid (4) SLAM [DD]
18 Extremely stressful work on sewage water (4) SLOP {St...uL}{OP}
20 Old sea farers had six cards... (7) VIKINGS {VI}{KINGS}
23 ...others got one finally to turn off and on again (5) RESET {RES{onE}T}
24 Usual sides go into cheer a natural reproductive process (9) OVULATION {OV{UsuaL}ATION}
26 Girl — one caught in the blaze, perhaps (9) ELIZABETH {1} in {THE+BLAZE}*
27 Reading about most cruel attack (5) STORM {STO{R}M*}
28 Toiled regularly for a match (3) TIE ToIlEd
29 Mere startup making hearing aids (3,8) EAR TRUMPETS*

DOWN
1   Adapted or followed around? (8) TAILORED {TAIL{OR}ED}
2   Frozen, not even inches over the channel port (4,4) ICED OVER {InChEs}{DOVER}
3   Smallest error while handling a chemical (5) ESTER [T]
4   Two articles allowed inside "Sportstar" (7) ATHLETE {A}{TH{LET}E}
5   Average return with top money invested — is it slow assimilation? (7) OSMOSIS {SO{Mo..y}SO}<={IS}<=
6   What you need to sell? Pursue drinking few beers (5,4) SALES TALK {S{ALES}TALK}
7   Further pledge, having short sight (6) BEYOND {B{EYe}OND}
8   Writer places America between one and ten (6) AUSTEN {A}{US}{TEN}
14 All I see at random, showing nervousness (3,2,4) ILL AT EASE*
16 Medicine against love (8) ANTIDOTE {ANTI}{DOTE}
17 Must rise, morning is for those monster waves (8) ?S?N?M?S ()
19 First one in port (7) PIONEER {PI{ONE}ER}
20 Told to guarantee her ticket (7) VOUCHER {VOUCH}{HER}
21 Zealous with my time (6) ARDENT {ARDEN}{T}
22 Endeavour of a father to keep quiet (6) ASPIRE {A}{S{P}IRE}
25 A service set up in state (5) ASSAM {A}{MASS<=}

Reference List
Right = R, Victory = V, Fifty = L, Reading = R, Time = T, Quiet = P

59 comments:

  1. One of the few crossies where I managed to finish before heading to the blog. While I believe I know the answer 17D I am not 100 % sure if the parsing.. one letter seems to be off unless there is something I missed. An enjoyable crossing from Arden nonetheless

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    1. As the saw goes, "the devil is in the details"...when solving THC, one cannot ignore the possible mischief of the printer's devil.

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  2. Vladimir put oh his EAR TRUMPETS and adjusted his TIE.
    The SALES TALK about the trip to the HIMALAYAS TAILORED to suit
    elders put him ILL AT EASE. He waved the salesman off and SLAMMED the door.

    " I will go to Mumbai with ELIZABETH incognito AS SAM."

    What happened next?

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  3. An enjoyable CW. Loved the medicine against love !!

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  4. 17 down : parsing is correct, ok

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    1. Either there is an error in the clue, or I am missing something.

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    2. Same. Something nust be eluding me here.

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    3. 17 Down : read carefully the concerned word, then you can find the correct parsing
      Clue is ok no error in the clue

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    4. After taking a deeper look, I find that the only plausible explanation is Must = Nuts (in the sense of "frenzied", as in "a bull elephant in must"), which when rearranged gives the desired outcome.

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    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    6. @economizer, explain the whole clue like I am nuts(~philadelphia, Denzel Washington)

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    7. My proposed annotation (though it seems to be a stretch).
      ---
      Chambers defines 'must' as follows.
      musth or must noun (especially in to be in musth) a dangerous frenzied state in certain male animals, especially bull elephants in the breeding season.
      ETYMOLOGY: 19c: from Persian and Hindi mast intoxicated.
      ---
      The clue is written as if an avid (or ARDENT) surfer has made a diary entry:
      17 Must rise, morning is for those monster waves (8)

      Assume that Must = NUTS (using the definition above)
      Assume that rise = anagrind (though it is a reversal indicator)
      Take Morning = AM (ante meridien)
      Take "is" = IS (given as is in the clue)

      That leaves "those monster waves", which can be considered as the definition, or as link word + definition.

      Solution: TSUNAMI.

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    8. Correction: the solution is TSUNAMIS (plural).

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    9. Maybe I should add 'tu cheez badi hai must(and all the synonyms you mentioned) ... '👍

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    10. RP, I'm flattered and thoroughly amused.

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  5. In 27A 'Reading about most' doesn't sound like 'Reading' should go into 'most'.

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  6. 17D: (TSUN<<)(AM)(IS).. NUTS=CRAZY=MUST..Alternate form of MUSTH

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  7. Morning can be AN : now must , an
    raising indicates tsum , na and insert
    na inside tsum, tsunam, plus ' is '
    becomes
    TSUNAMIS

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    Replies
    1. Can you explain how morning becomes "AN"?

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    2. Morning can be around noon : AN

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    3. 17D Must rise, morning is for those monster waves(8)

      If we accept AN as morning,
      1. There's no containment indicator to make (M(AN)UST)
      2. Rise(reversal) comes between MUST and morning(AN)

      Delete
  8. Let me try this outrageous one.
    MUST rise(reversal)
    morning(M) is for(replacement)
    those (NAMIS(named ones in hindi))
    monster waves - TSU(-M)NAMIS

    It may not be outrageous after all.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. This is the only solution that accounted for everything in the clue.
      Peeps have tried 'must' as hindi/Persian word(to mean NUTS! ) without getting proper annotation. Why not NAMIS(hindi)?

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. 17D is an error in my view as
    MUST = NUTS to TSUN is an indirect anagram and if only reversed then we get STUN which will not work

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    Replies
    1. Sir, please consider my Hindi version of NAMIS! 😁

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    2. @Col I am in agreement that this clue is likely to be erroneous, unless the setter is able to shed light on the matter. It's hard to make the word "raise" do the work of an anagram indicator.

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    3. col.sir. pl.post the right anno. other than T no reverse indicator mentioned by setter. all are straight prases. pl.adv.

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    4. I too think it's an error. Can't anno otherwise.

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  11. 17D - (T)(SUN)(AM)(IS) - Def. is Monster waves - Tsunamis ; T- not getting the indicator other than from 'those' ; rise-SUN;morning-AM; is- IS

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  12. A positive side of Arden's puzzles is that the gentleman does not resort to using the fashionable Reverse Anagram device. Today's grid was easier than usual, perhaps to compensate for the weak connectivity between the top and bottom halves. Several clues contained wordplay fodder given "as is" without modifications from the surface reading. For example: "his" in 10A, "less" in 11A, "ten" in 8D, "is" in 5D and "one" in 19D and "a" in 22D.

    BOA defined as "stole" in 7D provided an interesting visual image, while 4D ATHLETE = "Sportstar" was clever. "Average return" for SOSO + reversal indicator in 5D was also quite nice. 6D SALES TALK was a neat charade and clue-of-the-day candidate.

    As there have presumably been more than one, 13A EREMITE is more appropriately defined as "a" recluse, not "the" recluse. A similar point holds for 14A SLAM which was defined as "the bid". In 24A, "usual sides go in to [2 words] cheer" is grammatically correct, but as published the surface reading is not quite right. This is because the verb "cheer" requires "to" before it. The word "is" in 5D seemed to be on double-duty as both wordplay fodder and part of the definition.

    The definition "first" given for 19D PIONEER did not have the correct part of speech. "To pioneer" (verb) is "to be first", while "pioneer" (noun) is "someone who is among the first" to do something. Perhaps "pioneering" (adjective) can be defined as "first", but even then it would require an article or qualifier.

    I was unable to find a reference in Chambers for "watch" = REMIT in 13A. I would be grateful if any others could share information confirming the synonymity of the two terms. Similarly, I was unable to find out why R means "reading" in 27A. The question-mark in 1D seemed not to be required. The use of "while" as a link-word in 3D was unconventional.

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    Replies
    1. Watch is TIMER and not REMIT.
      Haven't you heard of the 3 R's?

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    2. Timer reversal is clearly indicated by Col.in his main post.
      There have been discussions about 3 R's in our blog many times.

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    3. Thanks on both counts Col. Re: Three Rs, I think I've asked this question here before. Perhaps it is a generational difference. I was taught that the 3 Rs were "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle". Besides, "writing" and "arithmetic" are hardly R words. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_three_Rs

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  13. 20d - vouch + her. Where does one H go?
    17d - morning should be afternoon I think. Must 《= with an inside + is.
    2dn - The word over is part of the clue. @ prasad - acceptable? Definitely inelegant & unardenlike.
    Otherwise a nice & easy grid.
    My fav - SALES TALK, BEYOND, OSMOSIS, ANTIDOTE.
    Thanx Arden

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    Replies
    1. 20D is a phonetic clue indicated by "Told"

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    2. +1 MH, in 20D the Homophone indicator makes the double-H disappear from the solution.

      Re: 2D I feel it is technically ok to include "over" in the clue, as it is a juxtaposition indicator, and DOVER (Channel port) is the real source of OVER in the solution. Some might consider it to be stylistically inelegant to include part of the solution directly in the clue. There are many such examples from today's grid.

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    3. 2d Acceptable but inelegant

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  14. Today's Gaurdian clue - Appealed audibly to the Lord, as profited from in an exploitative manner (6) - how do you choose prayed vs preyed ?

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  15. Since it is appealed (prayed) audibly - I presume PREYED is the answer.

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    Replies
    1. +1, the syntax hints at the correct solution. Thinking of it in terms of "[fodder][homophone indicator] as [definition]" should help the solver.

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  16. Watched Philadelphia again after some time, because of 17D(not tsunamis).

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  17. (Heard) What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at bottom of the ocean?

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  18. I thoroughly enjoyed solving this crossword puzzle from The Hindu Crossword Corner!
    https://www.frugalishness.com/new-born-baby-clothes/

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  19. The clues were both challenging and engaging, making it a perfect mid-week brain teaser.
    https://www.promocodehq.com/blog/can-you-use-a-walmart-gift-card-for-gas/

    ReplyDelete

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