Vasi sir - today's clues (11ac, 13ac, 4dn ...) are rife with the problem you brought up yesterday!
Across
1 Though in a car, one can take a jar (5,8) SHOCK ABSORBER
8 Some continentals find this a softening influence (7) CEDILLA
9 Theory about the mains I’m diverting (7) ANIMISM*
11 Acid found in a can! (6) NIACIN (where is the extra I - the exclamation mark?)
13 French best in North East, became unconquered (8) UNBEATEN [best in North East gives N(B)E - what about the rest? Is it U {N(B)E} ATE N? Or is it U N(BEST)E D? Then everything is accounted for, even French ->DU but couldn't confirm the word in any dictionary. If yes then 10dn could be MODEL SPIDER but then there is something called MONEY SPIDER!!!!]
15 One resort that is perfect (5) (I)D(E)AL
16 Left in the lurch (7) DITCHED
18 Concealed gaol-break from a Spanish bigwig (7) HID (ALGO*)
19 To form an intelligible pattern (3,2) ADD UP
21 Litmus paper might be used in the final analysis (4,4) ACID TEST
23 Salesman given help is reimbursed (6) REP AID
25 Previous head admits I need to make amends (7) EX P(I)ATE
26 Mean to use our charm to inspire (7) (ENAM*) OUR
28 Go into marquee containing main partition for public performance (13) ENTER T(AINM*)ENT
Down
2 Arty, he’d removed a chemical compound (7) HYDRATE*
3 Pass given to senior army officer (3) COL (~ for you Col Gopinath)
4 Indeed surprise to find South African nurse maid (4) AY AH {could be AY AS (indeed -> YA -> surpised AY & SA for South Africa) but couldn't find AYAS in the dictionary for nurse maid - so if it is AYAH then what is South African doing in here? It is Indian!)
5 Not against development of non-progressive state (10) STAGNATION*
6 45th element in German river (5) RH INE
7 Time Ted was sent out (7) EMITTED*
8 Kind of desecration, perhaps (11) CONSIDERATE*
10 Promising spinner? (5,6) MONEY SPIDER (see comment in 13ac)
12 Daughter lied about being unoccupied (5) (IDLE*) D
14 Teenager creating a scene told off (10) ADOLESCENT*
17 Have to give direction to lift up with great effort (5) H(E)AVE
18 Sharp bend on a mountain road (7) HAIRPIN
20 Hector, the old serving man (7) DRAGOON
22 Not proper to cater to small quantity that can just be detected (5) TRACE*
24 Endless danger for a fairy (4) PERI(-L)
27 Direct a remark with personal application (3) AIM
Posts
13 comments:
French best in North East, became unconquered (8)The compiler's thinking, with which I don't agree at all, is
U[N.(BEAT)E.]N
The problem with this - it's beneath our dignity to be writing about it at all instead of dismissing it out of court - is that the compiler breaks up a word into components but is not up to dealing with them coherently, cogently, clearly and completely.
Here, there is indication for BEAT (best, v.) in NE (North East). That' all!
The rest of the wordplay flounders.
French alone cannot give UN.
There is no ind for the part within sq brackets to go into UN.
The compiler has just been beaten by the word to write an acceptable clue.
Anokha,
Thanks for remembering me at 3D
I feel 10D is MINOR SPIDER since there are three Unches in a row it can be anything
As regards 13A french best can be (UN) and best is also BEAT !!
Kind of desecration, perhaps (11) CONSIDERATE
Take this clue. Any clue-writer can be justly proud of this.
'Kind' is the def. It makes you think of 'sort'. But 'kind' is adj leading to 'considerate'.
And "Kind of desecration" is a perfectly idiomatic expression.
In 'perhaps' there is the anag ind
and though it is not very dramatic or innovative, it gels with the clue sentence as a whole.
And the anag fodder is perfect, unlike in NIACIN.
How can the same clue-writer write both these clues?
I am sticking my neck out and saying that some plagiarism seems to be going on in the work of this compiler.
To be more generous, perhaps the clues are written by a novice,a relative or friend of the composer who is very busy with multifarious tasks.
The composer then looks at it and revises some clues here and there which turn out to be brilliant but where the master's touch was not bestowed, the clues remain on shaky legs.
AYAH - indeed is AY, a short form of Aye, yes, indeed
surprise is AH.
Ayah is very much an Indian term and by itself can mean maid.
Why South African? In pre-Independence days where Britain ruled over India and other far-flung nations and especially in south Africa where there was a certain Indian influence, the term ayah was in vogue.
The clue-writer seems to be still living in those days.
You are most welcome, Col!
Multifarious indeed, Vasi Sir! You have a nice way with words!
Anokha,
On www.fifteensquared.net there were persistent demands for the resumption of the blog on the Observer Everyman crossword.
Following this, I, who had taken a break from my blog on the Tuesday FT puz, have resumed the blog on what is the Sunday THC as you know.
As you know also, this puz is some six or seven weeks ahead of the Sun THC but as the Col and you seem to solve the puz ahead on the Guardian site, I am putting in this note.
You may, if you wish, visit
www.fifteensquared.net
to read my blog.
And as a visitor you may comment too if you have anything to say. No registration is needed, I think.
As it is a prize crossword, any Sunday the blog will be on the previous week's puz. (Today's blog is on No. 3263). So please be forewarned that you're ready to read the blog only when you have done the puz yourself.
Thanks, Vasi Sir - will visit 15^2! Yes, I have been attempting Observer Everyman and stopped posting the Sunday THC as it lags by exactly 8 weeks. I even thought of posting it in place of ET crossword as it gets updated late and then I don't find time to do it. But decided against it as it is a prize crossword. That's why I just asked you about ARMY on 3262.
Last week, I was having trouble with 24ac and 18dn. BTW, 18dn is missing from your post on 15^2 - MUD FLAT!
Anokha,
Thanks for pointing out the inadvertent omission. Since remedied.
BTW, the ET and NIE are out of my Orkut community, The Hindu Crossword Solutions, for reasons that the latter was becoming unwieldy and also both sites do not make it easy for us to copy/paste clue text.
You might want to know that the ET crossword is now in the Orkut community CROSSWORDMANIA and the NIE crossword in NIE X WORD. Just for your info. Don't let these get too much into your working life!
Anokha/Col,
If on late Saturday or early Sunday morning GMT, you don't find the latest Everyman, click on Find a crossword and enter Everyman's required number or if you don't remember the number change field in date dropdown to current month/year and click.
You might get it though it is yet to appear on the page.
Can you please clarify the following?
1ac= shock absorber because it is found in a car and it can 'take' jarring effects?
8ac=?
19ac=direct meaning?
20d=?
27d=?
1ac Yes
8ac continentals -> French, Cedilla is c with a mark which means to pronounce it as a soft s in French words hence the softening influence.
19ac Yes
20dn Lookup HECTOR and DRAGOON both in the dictionary and you will figure it out
27dn A IM - IM for instant messaging -> personal application
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