ACROSS
1 - The lunacy of those vampire tales? (9) - BATTINESS [CD]
6 - Drink that's just what the doctor ordered (5) - TONIC [CD]
9 - Said it's hard to lift? (5) - STEAL(~steel)
10 - Do without the first number that isn't recalled (9) - {FORGO}{T}{TEN}
11 - English writer who added weight to large strong box, with queen (10) - {CHEST}{ER}{TON}
12 - Keenness could well be an advantage (4) - EDGE [DD]
14 - Nuisance when business is in upswing (7) - S{CO}URGE
15 - Incorrectly stored a class of compounds (7) - STERO{I}D*
17 - Rest can be made as inhabitants of a Mediterranean island (7) - CRETANS*
19 - He lays stress to expedite (7) - PRESSER [CD]
20 - The thing I ran into — reversing (4) - {I}{TEM<-} )
22 - Regarding what you say, is understanding (3-7) - LIP-READING [CD] !?!
25 - Tries in time to doctor the inflammation of intestines (9) - E{NTERITIS*} Where did the second E come from? If you take TRIES and TIME as the anagram fodder then how does M become N?
26 - Lift up with great effort (5) - HEAVE [CD]
27 - Lift up and throw out a tee left inside (5) - E{L}{A}TE*
28 - Application which could be topping if obtained for a trifle (9) - COLDCREAM ? [CD] I thought it should be two words COLD CREAM if my answer is correct. Can it really be obtained for a trifle?
DOWN
1 - Fundamental principles (5) - BASIC [E] Why plural?
2 - Just so! (9) - THEREFORE [E]
3 - Attempt to intimidate that doesn't work? (4,6) - IDLE THREAT [CD]
4 - Insist upon some being “green” for certain (7) - ENFORCE [T]
5 - Uses guile to capture port of some importance (7) - SE{RIO}US* Nice clue
6 - Instrument to chisel the face of a stone (4) - TOOL Anno pending
7 - Remarkable outcome of turning on Edward (5) - NOT{ED} Anno for NOT pending(Correction - {NO<-}{TED} - Thanks to Divya at the Orkut group)
8 - Study offer one hopes to win (9) - {CON}{TENDER}
13 - Give some thought to others (10) - TELEPATHIC [CD]
14 - It's sinful the silly way Grace lies (9) - SACRILEGE* It really is!!
16 - The stain to be got out is immovable (9) - OBSTINATE*
18 - Spies possibly have twitch in the hip region (7) - S{CIA}{TIC} First S from?
19 - Sunshade for a trooper to sky jump? (7) - {PARA}SOL SOL from. I pity the trooper who sky jumps with a Parasol!! I suppose with the question mark Manna wants us to think of a Parachute.
21 - Addition made to old art (5) - {EX}TRA* How does ART become TRA?
23 - Lame girl has only a moderate shine (5) - {G}LEAM* Wher's the anagram indicator?
24 - Time to regret for the faithful (4) - {T}RUE
GRID
Like your cryptic comment, Col.
ReplyDeleteTrue about his grammar errors; set my teeth on edge, as filled in BASIC ;-(.
Parasol in Fr. is Umbrella. But, SOL means Sun, not sky, so not sure what the anno. for the SOL part is.
colonelji, great job by you!
ReplyDeletemanna really makes it difficult, doesn't he!?
he is not as good as gridman, but definitely not as bad as NJ.
Mistakes and absurdities galore!!! But we were anticipating such sacrilege, weren't we? lol
ReplyDelete18d - probably since it is SPIES we have to take it as CIA S and anagram it.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Colonel and everyone.
ReplyDelete@Col.: I thought the puzzle was definitely rough around the edges but boy! you took Mr. Manna to the woodshed on this one. Too easy to pick on, can only laugh about the gaffes today.
Maybe Manna did intend for us to doctor 25 AC's clue to come up with the solution "change M to N and ignore the connotation that "in" implies!)..
1Ac, 6Ac, 5D were likely the only nice clues in my mind...
7D - I think TED is short for Edward; turning on = NO
ReplyDeleteso many LIFTs....
ReplyDelete6d - TOOL not clear
25a - since the middle E is uncrossed, maybe.....but still bad!
on the whole, dry and drab.
22A - no anno. - just a guess based on how his mind works.
ReplyDelete25A - if you doctor TRIES and TIME, you don't get it, and if you doctor intestinal inflammation, you'd hop that the result is not enteritis!
28A - definitely 2 words
1D - my teeth hurt ;-(.
7D - I assumed the NOT was NO turning, so I had no anno. for just the T.
14D - haha
18D - perhaps, CIAS*?
19D - why sky?
Good morning. Liked 11A. For me, some were uncrackable.
ReplyDeleteApplication which could be topping if obtained for a trifle (9)coldcream
ReplyDeleteMy guess is Manna is alluding to the Trifle pudding which i sserved cold and in which cream is a major ingredient as a topping
I thought good clue except for the (4,5) or (9) issue
LOL... Col, your comments were really funny.
ReplyDeleteEither this guy's a professional weightlifter or an obsessive compulsive.
I did find coldcream listed as a single word in thefreedictionary.com.
ReplyDeleteTrifle could be a cold pudding with cream on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Maddy,
ReplyDeleteYour explanation is perfect. Since I make a yummy Trifle pudding myself I see the point Manna is making.
Put off by so many `iffy' clues.
ReplyDeleteBut now heartening to know its the same with few others also.
Slowly now my son is also drawn into Xword after seeing all annos.
ANY ideas on the anno for TOOL
ReplyDeletecolonelji,
ReplyDeletehave u had any chance to communicate with any of the setters so far?
@vck,
ReplyDeleteOther than Neyartha who comes in whenever his CW is featured, we have had Sankalak come in once to answer some queries, he has not appeared after that.
The other three have never made an appearance. In any case even Neyartha and Sankalak are not their real names, so we do not know who they are. Other than Nita Jaggi the others are all nom-de-plumes of the setters.
I know this explanation is crazy but this is the best I could come up with
ReplyDelete"Instrument to chisel the face of a stone (4)"
Instrument - the word to be defied
to = TO
chisel the face of a stone = OL
where face of a stone = "O" and chisel = "L" (pictographic or the other way round. Don't know the word.)
thanks colonelji!
ReplyDelete@dan, how 'where face of a stone' is equal to 'o'?
Here is something more preposterous
ReplyDeleteInstrument = Definition = TOOL
to = TO
chisel the face of = Indicator for taking the first letter from 'of' = O
stone = L = Lodestone or Lapis Lazuli or Labradorite or Larimar or Larvikite
Instrument = {TO}{O}{L}
actually, you have hit the bull's eye colonelji!
ReplyDelete@vck,
ReplyDeleteYou may drop the 'ji' attached to the end of Colonel, addressing all visitors to the blog by name is appropriate no need to add a ji or a bhai.
sure colonel!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, that sounds much better.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that you have modified your profile as well. I hope you have no hard feelings on the comment I made on your earlier profile.
no! not at all! i had always been the spoilt child in the family!
ReplyDeletevck, don't ask me... It's just a weird idea - face on a stone would like an O or something.
ReplyDeletevck, you don't seem like a spoiled child. I'd say you're keen, passionate and zealous
ReplyDeleteColonel is enjoying Manna from heaven (!).
ReplyDeleteI think 25 Ac may be enterites and not enteritis.
That would be anagram of tries and teen (teen-age is a time in life)
11 Ac. I was trying to fit ton-vault-er while the answer is chest-er-ton
10 Ac Forego is the word used for doing without. It is construed as 'forgo' in the solution. This is not clear.
Trifle is a cream cake made of whipped cream, sponge cake, etc.
Sunshade for a trooper to sky jump? (7) PARA SOL
ReplyDeleteIt's a charade in which the 2nd component is cryptic. I see Maestro Manna's hand here; the poor man suffers for his evil twin's doings.
defn: sunshade
trooper = PARA
sky jump? = an obstacle (a secondary meaning of 'jump') in the sky = SOL (another name for the Sun)
22A: Am I the only one who thinks this is just fine as CD?
28A: Must be two words, but very good clue.
@ Venkatesh
ReplyDelete10 Ac Forego is the word used for doing without. It is construed as 'forgo' in the solution. This is not clear.
The word FORGO has been used correctly.
FORGO = to do without
FOREGO = what goes or has gone before. E.g. 'the foregoing clause', 'in view of the foregoing ( aforementioned)....'.
Richard