Saturday 8 December 2012

No 10639, Saturday 08 Dec 12, Gridman

Almost missed the deadline due to 17A and my bugbears at 4 & 10D.

ACROSS
1   Old Cadillac model in place of riches (8) ELDORADO [DD]
5   Choice item from old U.K. magazine (6) TITBIT TITBITs
9   Woman’s passage through short book unfolds (7) EVOLVES {E{VOL}VES}
10 Protection of the French receiver (7) DEFENCE {DE}{FENCE}
11 State it’d manual rewritten (5,4) TAMIL NADU* I always thought it was one word.
12 Kind of word for present occasion (5) NONCE [E]
13 Admits dresses have no top part (4) OWNS gOWNS
14 Wave back to one in test for newspaper article (9) EDITORIAL {EDIT<}{OR{1}AL}
17 With these on automobiles, riders are immobilised (4,5) FLAT TYRES [CD] Put in SEAT BELTS and was pulling my hair out till almost the end!!
19 Kind of gun silly fellows returned (4) STUN <=
23 Nut’s criticism about Election Commission (5) PECAN {P{EC}AN}
24 Wheels roll ahead of another place (9) ELSEWHERE {WHEELS*}{ERE}
25 Prepared to be dubbed? (7) KNEELED [CD]
26 Summary of Poe item out (7) EPITOME*
27 Muscular South Indian gets fresh energy at last (6) SINEWY {SI}{NEW}{Y}
28 Rumourmonger about a feature of Pinocchio? (4,4) LONG NOSE [DD]

DOWN
1   Striving to exit Reno hurriedly (8) EXERTION*
2   Hotel employee who might give you an entrancing experience (7) DOORMAN [CD]
3   Rebel priest, nearly aged, takes time (6) REVOLT {REV}{OLd}{T}
4   One that a coward might be expected to do (9,4) DASTARDLY DEED [CD]
6   Child on line — soldiers on foot (8) INFANTRY {INFANT}{RY}
7   Good! A country gets a big windfall (7) BONANZA {BON}{A}{NZ}{A}
8   Having multiple layers, like many wedding cakes (6) TIERED [CD]
10 Lochinvar, for one, was (9,4) DAUNTLESS HERO [CD]
15 A moneylender can’t __ __ interest rates (5,3) STAND LOW [GK]
16 A decent order for head of estate to go before (8) ANTECEDE {A+DECENT+E}*
18 It often upholds an address before an audience (7) LECTERN [CD]
20 Warbling lot more furiously (7) TREMOLO*
21 Talked about small wheel parts (6) SPOKES {SPOKE}{S}
22 Becoming apparent daughter leaves roof-like shelter (6) AWNING dAWNING


28 comments:

  1. Gridman's day to difficulty level seems to be an x=y graph.

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  2. Same here Col. Put in Seats belts and needed the net to rescue me from that disaster.

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  3. I too put in SEAT BELTS and struggled for a long time!

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    Replies
    1. So did I. It seems to be easy to fall into the trap.

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  4. With these on automobiles, riders are immobilised (4,5) ?SEAT BELTS

    While apologising to solvers for throwing them off balance, may I humbly say that SEAT BELTS are not "on automobiles" but on the persons seated within.

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    Replies
    1. I had put FLAT TYRES in after reading the clue because SEAT BELTS don't really immobilise riders

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    2. Once you think of flat tyres it is obviously more appropriate than seat belts. But if you didn't think of it, seat belts seems a "good enough" answer and therefore gets filled in and chaos ensues.

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    3. If seat belts are not on automobiles then where are they?

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    4. Seat belts, in a way,are meant to immobilise you or tie you down to the seat.

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    5. I suppose if one gets technical, then even flat tyres don't immobilise. You can wheel the vehicle, and you even get run flat tryres.
      The right answer has to fit with the crossings, but ever so easy to be brave and rue it later

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  5. ABCDE:
    Rest day for small Swedish group that's half forgotten (7)

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    Replies
    1. :). That is the end of this week's theme. Thank you all for participating.

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  6. The two long ones 12 Letter stuff were terrible. I do not know if there is any classic literary reference to Lochinvar as a "dauntless hero". I shall be happy to know. "Dastardly deed" too does not suggest itself intuitively and had to be clued in. Gridman, Sorry, you are responsible for my moody blues today.

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  7. "So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,

    There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. "

    ***

    "So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,

    Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?"

    - From the poem 'Lochinvar' by Sir Walter Scott.

    The same poem has:

    "For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,

    Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. "

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  8. The Lochinvar reference in the later clue was the trigger for getting 'dastardly' without too much difficulty. But then, it is easy if you've done the poem in school, otherwise...

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  9. I did not do it in either place- at school or here.

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  10. Trying to get two answers with 13 letters in them is not easy as it is and both being CD's makes the task all the more difficult

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  11. I fell the Seat Belts too ;-)

    19 Kind of gun silly fellows returned (4) STUN <=

    Ref today's ET 5100: 26d Make a bit hit with crazy get up (4)

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    Replies
    1. Lots of folks being immobilized by the seat belts today.
      Did the ET one today. Took time to get Cymric & Brenda. In the process learnt that bren was a gun & cymric=Welsh

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  12. Got 7 so far, mostly anagrams and a couple of DDs. Liked 2D and 21D amongst the one's I got. Feel childish posting such comments but that's the way I learn I guess.

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    Replies
    1. I was more or less in the same position when I joined the blog a couple of years ago. Nothing to feel sad or ashamed about it.

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  13. BVK,

    No need to feel childish, everyone has to start from the bottom of the ladder

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  14. Has any one come across an "easy" small ( say 9x9) cryptic crossword. I want to use one or two such crosswords as a handout for a cryptic crossword course targeted at children in the age group 8-14

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    Replies
    1. Can't say!

      But I have set a nine by nine cryptic crossword for children and sent it to you. Please check your inbox and report back.

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    2. Thank you CV ji. I got it. Ran it past my test subject ( a smart 8 yr old). He managed to pick all the easy ones. Once he was told which type of clue it was and how to parse it he was able to pick all but two. All this without the grid. So I think the level of difficulty would be right for the class.

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  15. Enjoyable crossword. Took a long time to complete. Read the poem 'Lochinwar' again today, thank to CV Sir!

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