Wednesday 13 April 2011

No 10127, Wednesday 13 Apr 11, Gridman

ACROSS
1   - Some of those things preacher is hoarding to care for (7) - CHERISH [T]
5   - Two big numbers in dossier are inconstant (6) - {FI{C}{K}LE}
9   - Way to go up (5) - NORTH [CD]
10 - Tumult caused by wizard holding low maiden (9) - {MAE{L}STRO}{M} Is 'L' acceptable for low? See comments.
11 - Terribly bad sign for the site of corporation (7) - {ABD*}{OMEN} Site of corporation? See comments.
12 - Distance upwards not achieved fully. Oh, return is expressive of weariness (5-2) - {HEIGHt}-{HO<-}
13 - Sane gypsy? (5) - {NO}{MAD}
14 - As long as it is not settled, one is a debtor (6,3) - AMOUNT DUE [CD]
16 - He's got it! (9) - RECIPIENT [CD]
19 - Learner and I endlessly slice fruit (5) - {L}{I}{CHIp} This is how it is pronounced.
21 - Arrogance of Hyderabad's top film director (7) - {H}{AUTEUR}
23 - Hustle around old star and Gridman? Nonsense! (7) - {RU{BB}{I}SH}
24 - Ask parent about Russian writer (9) - PASTERNAK*
25 - Permission to go away (5) - LEAVE [E]
26 - Twist and turn, having the savvy to grab right man (6) - {W{R}IT}{HE}
27 - Cattle set to be presented as the most sterile (7) - {NEAT}{EST*}
DOWN
1   - Estonians chirp about cargo transporting vessels (9,5) - CONTAINER SHIPS*
2   - Terrible ordeal by many in noble state (7) - {EARLDO*}{M}
3   - Entered into a plot? (7) - INHUMED [CD] New word for me.
4   - You and I are part of this but we are not in any running! (5,4) - HUMAN RACE &lit
5   - New in France, she's stranded (5) - {FR}{ESH*}
6   - Shield leader coming back after copper, Quiet! (7) - {CU}{SH}{1ON<-}
7   - Staggered, ate at noon, with Rex coming in the place of North (7) - LU(-n+r)RCHED
8   - It's a poor state to be in (14) - IMPOVERISHMENT [CD]
15 - The first to get scratched when we are hurt (5,4) - OUTER SKIN [CD]
17 - Curries prepared for rover (7) - CRUISER*
18 - Stop Rep. going berserk on opening (7) - {PRE}{VENT}
19 - Plant daggers in young boy's back (7) - {L{OBELI}A<-}
20 - Rain or shine, we have to put up with it (7) - CLIMATE [CD]
22 - Called for Oriental vocalist's feature (5) - {RANG}{E}



17 comments:

  1. I initially put Schemed in 3d and got the black humour of INHUMED as against exhumed only after 1a was put in.

    Veer, in concave polygons there is no need to draw lines to a point. Any concave polygon can be broken up into n-2 triangles by joining vertices or into some triangles and a convex polygon, with a smaller number of sides, which gives the sum of angles as 180 x (n-2).

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  2. {MAE{L}STRO}{M} Is 'L' acceptable for low?

    I had the same doubt. Interestingly, Chambers lists B as the abbr for low.

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  3. Sandhya had it right.

    Corporation : slang terms for a paunch [syn: {pot}, {potbelly}, {bay window}, {tummy}]

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  4. Thx Kishore for the clarifications on the angles question.

    Also, I also reluctantly wrote in Schemed though I had doubts on it because I did not see what "entered" had to do with it. Thankfully, with other crossings, inhumed presented itself.

    Reg., L for LOW, I have not seen it a whole lot but I guess if we read about the daily weather report, it is common to see H and L for High and Low temperature of the day. From that angle, I think it can be taken as admissible as it is in general usage and not dependent on any subject matter expertise. It is much in the same manner as H(ot) or C(old) being taken from the common faucet markings for the same in a bathroom.

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  5. Looking at 3 letter words in this puzzle that we are instructed to anagram (BAD, SET, SHE), isn't it more like shifting a letter or two in each case?

    Is it more convenient to use a one word anagram indicator than a verbose positional indicator?

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  6. Bhavan, given the wide range of anagram indicators I not ony think it is more convenient, but also fits better into the surface than to use position shifters which are usually not only not very elegant but also obvious.

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  7. I have no prob with the L. L for low is also used in stock market prices.

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  8. As with the WHIP and the VASE, Gridman is usually right and we miss to see through the CORPORATE veil.

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  9. The VASE clue is not a very fair one, IMO if the anno is (-mo)URN = VASE. It involves two leaps of faith - one to get to MOURN and then subtract from it which is normal, but then we have to take what's left and then find another synonym for it. That would be a tad unfair to ask the solver to follow along the setter's intention across two trains of thought - which is a reason indirect anagrams are considered unfair.

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  10. Agree with the 'two leapls of faith' comment, Veer.

    Harping back on the polygons, a different approach:

    Connecting the two vertices on either side of a vertice which juts out of a polygon (even concave ones have such vertices) and getting a triangle, reduce an (n) polygon into a triangle and an (n-1)polygon. This process can be continued (n-2) times (since the first operation claimed 2 outer lines and last such operation will leave 2 triangles carved out of a quad). Sum total of all these n-2 triangles will be 180x(n-2).

    A bottoms up approach for this can also be built up but starting with a triangle with 180 and adding triangles of 180 each to get an AP with the series 180,360,540 which also boils down to the same thing, but it is a bit more tricky when the added triangle creates an incursion into the existing polygon,but provable.

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  11. Please read 'either side of a vertex' instead of the words used.

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  12. CORPORATION appeared in Today's Hindustan Times crossword too!

    Corporation was hurt to have property threatening to collapse (10) {TUM}{BLED}{OWN}

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  13. Anyone else found today's offering to be a little frustrating? CDs gave me a lot of trouble.

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  14. NEAT was clued in as cattle in 27A. Neat is an Old English term (that is no longer used) meaning domesticated cattle.

    As Sandhya mentioned of Corporation - Abdomen/Tummy, NEAT is also found in Hindustan Times Crossword today.

    28 Cattle not mixed with anything else (4) NEAT [2]

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  15. I was flummoxed by BB=Brigette Bardot. Is that how she was known to her friends?

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  16. Yep Brigette Bardot was known as BB - if Wiki is to be believed ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB

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  17. SET PIECES---9 down.
    What students have to study compulsorily.

    Can someone please elaborate the connotation and connection of SET PIECES to the academic community?

    CORPORATION: We used to joke amongst our Kenyan friends in NAIROBI with pot bellies as belonging to the PATRIOTIC FRONT politically.

    RAJU UMAMAHESWAR

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