Thursday, 25 February 2016

Clue Challenge: Annotate These Answers XI

annotate-cluesA batch of eight clues with tricky parsing. The answers are given with the clues. Can you annotate them?

Post the annotations in the comments section.

Update (2nd March 2015): Annotations added

1. Guardian 26600 (Qaos): Watch over hearts, this unwelcomed game? (8) DRAUGHTS
Annotation: GUARD (watch) over i.e. reversed, H (hearts) T[hi]S (this unwelcomed => THIS without a greeting/HI); definition: game.

2. Times 26159: Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN
Annotation: The statement 'L IS TEN' i.e. '50 = 10' is out by a factor of 5; definition: pay attention.

3. Times 26227: With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY
Annotation: JIFFY (second) with first item 'J' taken; definition: doubtful.

4. Times 26252: Teams catch a couple of them in an impossible situation! (7) ELEVENS
Annotation: A couple of elevens is 22. Catch-22 is an impossible situation; definition: teams.

5. Guardian 26714 (Screw): What open doors and often don't close, shock horror! (5,4) SPLIT ENDS
Annotation: 'opEN Doors' and 'oftEN Dont' close i.e. contain 'EN D's i.e. split ENDs; definition: shock horror.

6. FT 15106 (Mudd): Best ever, as is ace in lap? (6-8) RECORD-BREAKING
Annotation: A (ace) in LAP is breaking LP (record); definition: best ever.

7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER
Annotation: COMMA (,) [joh]N DEER (does); definition: appropriate.

8. Guardian 26690 (Puck): Some Mother’s Pride? Worried about one slice having no crusts (4,3) LION CUB
Annotation: ([a]BOU[t] [o]N[e] [s]LIC[e])*; definition: some mother's pride.

Visit our past clue annotation challenges: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X.

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19 comments:

  1. SupriyaM25 February 2016 at 14:57

    7. Def : Appropriate
    , COMMA
    What finishes off (Joh)N
    Does(female deer) : DEER

    ReplyDelete
  2. Qix25 February 2016 at 15:23

    1. Watch over = GUARD reversed; Hearts = H; This unwelcomed = THIS - HI = TS Game=def
    2. Pay attention = def; L IS TEN (ie 50=10) is "out by a factor of 5
    3. Jiffy (second) - J (first "item" in JIFFY); IFFY = doubtful
    4. Teams = def; "Catch two of them" = Catch 22 (an impossible situation)
    5. Shock horror = def; END is "closed" by "opEN Doors" and "oftEN Don't"
    6. Best ever = def; LAP is A (ace) in LP (record)
    7. Appropriate = def; , = COMMA; "What finishes off John" = N; Does = DEER
    8. Some Mother's Pride = def (with false caps); anagram of (a)bou(t) (o)n(e) (s)lic(e)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ramki Krishnan25 February 2016 at 15:48

    2) Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN

    Def = pay attention, "L (fifty) IS TEN" is a statement that out by a factor of 5.

    3) With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY

    Removing 1st char from JIFFY (second) to get IFFY, def = doubtful

    ReplyDelete
  4. VMA Nair25 February 2016 at 16:32

    1. Guardian 26600 (Qaos): Watch over hearts, this unwelcomed game? (8) DRAUGHTS DRAUG<< H T(-hi)S (greeting =hi)

    2. Times 26159: Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN L is TEN = 50 is 10 ;5*10=10 which is out by a factor of 5?

    3. Times 26227: With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY (-J)IFFY

    4. Times 26252: Teams catch a couple of them in an impossible situation! (7) ELEVENS LE(arn) for catch in EVENS?

    5. Guardian 26714 (Screw): What open doors and often don't close, shock horror! (5,4) SPLIT ENDS
    opEN Doors and oftEN Don't close
    6. FT 15106 (Mudd): Best ever, as is ace in lap? (6-8) RECORD-BREAKING
    A is breaking LP (long play, record) here
    7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER
    COMMA johN DEER

    8. Guardian 26690 (Puck): Some Mother’s Pride? Worried about one slice having no crusts (4,3) LION CUB
    aBOUt oNe sLICe anagram

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ganesh N.26 February 2016 at 01:58

    1. Guardian 26600 (Qaos): Watch over hearts, this unwelcomed game? (8) DRAUGHTS
    Def: Game
    GUARD< (watch over)
    Cannot figure the rest!

    2. Times 26159: Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN

    Def: Pay attention
    L (50) IS TEN (reduced by a factor of five)
    Cannot figure why L = this statement

    3. Times 26227: With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY
    Second: JIFFY
    (-J)IFFY
    4. Times 26252: Teams catch a couple of them in an impossible situation! (7) ELEVENS
    CD
    Ref: Catch-22 (Impossible situation)
    Catch + (11x2)

    5. Guardian 26714 (Screw): What open doors and often don't close, shock horror! (5,4) SPLIT ENDS
    Def: shock horror (shock referring to hair)
    END hidden twice in different, split fodder: opEN Doors, oftEN Don't

    6. FT 15106 (Mudd): Best ever, as is ace in lap? (6-8) RECORD-BREAKING
    Def: Best ever
    ace in lap: L(A)P - ace (A) breaking (is contained in) LP (record)

    7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER
    Def: Appropriate
    COMMA(,) + (joh)N +DEER (does)

    8. Guardian 26690 (Puck): Some Mother’s Pride? Worried about one slice having no crusts (4,3) LION CUB
    Def: Some Mother's Pride
    (a)BOU(t) (o)N(e) (s)LIC(e)*
    Anagrind: worried
    Deletion indicator: having no crusts

    ReplyDelete
  6. michael26 February 2016 at 07:39

    1. Watch: GUARD (as in, "I'm going to the bathroom, watch my purse.")
    over: reversicator
    hearts: H
    this: THIS
    unwelcomed: without HI
    game: DRAUGHTS (in America, it's checkers; but in crosswords, checkers are something different :P )
    {DRAUG<}{H}{T(hi)S}

    2. Pay attention: LISTEN
    this statement: L IS TEN
    L: Roman numeral for 50
    IS: =
    TEN: 10
    L IS TEN is off by a factor of five because 50=5×10 (Very funny!)

    3. ??? Wordplay isn't clear to me yet

    4. Teams: ELEVENS (soccer/football teams)
    catch a couple of them: catch 22
    in: is seen in
    an impossible situation: catch-22

    5. What open doors and often don't close: What the phrases OPEN DOORS and OFTEN DON'T enclose: "EN D"s: SPLIT ENDS
    shock horror!: "shock" as in hair; SPLIT ENDS are a nightmare scenario for hair.

    6. Best ever: RECORD-BREAKING
    as is ace in lap?: what A is doing in LAP: splitting LP: RECORD-BREAKING (LP and EP are types of records)

    7. Appropriate: COMMANDEER (appropriate as a verb)
    ,: COMMA
    what finishes off John: johN
    Does?: DEER (I feel like they could have clued for the singular "deer" by saying "...Doe, for example")

    8. Some Mother's Pride?: the pride of a mother is her child, and the word "pride" indicates it could be a lioness's child, a LION CUB (a bit of a stretch, using "pride" to hint at another species)
    Worried: anagram indicator
    about one slice having no crusts: ABOUT, ONE, SLICE, without the "crusts" (first and last letters)
    {*(a)BOU(t) (o)N(e) (s)LIC(e)} makes {LION,CUB}*

    ReplyDelete
  7. michael26 February 2016 at 07:41

    2. With first item taken: without the first letter
    second: JIFFY
    (j)IFFY
    doubtful: IFFY


    That was quick

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sudarshan J26 February 2016 at 12:23

    7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER

    COMMA (,) N (end of John) DEER (Does)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nadathur Rajan27 February 2016 at 04:07

    1) GUARD<= + H + T[-hi]S = (DRAUG)(H)(TS)
    2) L/IS/TEN 50=10 (In this statement, x5 is missing, i.e., out by a factor of 5)
    3) (i) [-j]IFFY (second JIFFY, first item J taken), (ii) IFFY (doubtful) (DD)
    4) (i) teams = ELEVENS, (ii) catch 22 (2x11) - Joseph Heller's novel = impossible situation
    5) “open doors” and “often don’t” have two “end”s separated/split.
    Defn: Shock (a bushy mass of hair on a person's head) horror - is “split ends”.
    6) Defn: best ever. A in LAP - is breaking LP - RECORD BREAKING
    7) Defn: appropriate. , COMMA + johN + does DEER = (COMMA)(N)(DEER)
    8) Defn: some mother's pride. Anagram of [-a]BOU[-t] [-o]N[-e] [-s]LIC[-e]; worried - AnagrInd LION CUB*

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vasant27 February 2016 at 06:10

    3. Times 26227: With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY
    (-J)IFFY; Jiffy=second; Remove first item; hence -J; Iffy=doubtful is definition
    7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER
    ,=comma; N(what finishes off johN);Does=deer[doe a deer a female deer(!)]; Appropriate=commandeer is the definition

    ReplyDelete
  11. Vasant27 February 2016 at 06:18

    4. Times 26252: Teams catch a couple of them in an impossible situation! (7) ELEVENS
    Catch twenty two=Impossible situation; a couple of elevens=twenty two
    Teams=elevens is the definition
    Superb Clue!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Vasant27 February 2016 at 06:28

    2. Times 26159: Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN
    L=Fifty; five times ten is fifty; L Is [five times; (out by a factor of five) ) Ten
    Pay attention=listen is the definition
    Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Vasant27 February 2016 at 06:37

    1. Guardian 26600 (Qaos): Watch over hearts, this unwelcomed game? (8) DRAUGHTS
    Watch=Guard; Over=reversal Indicator; hence DRAUG<
    HearTS; -EAR(this unwelcomed); DRAUG<+HTS=Draughts=game,definition
    Still doubtful on the parsing of HTS.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Vasant27 February 2016 at 06:44

    5. Guardian 26714 (Screw): What open doors and often don't close, shock horror! (5,4) SPLIT ENDS
    I think this is a CD & DD
    Shock=hair; hence split ends or split hair would be Shock horror
    Split ends would also make doors open & wont make them close
    or am I missing something?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lakshmi Vaidyanathan1 March 2016 at 10:50

    1. Guardian 26600 (Qaos): Watch over hearts, this unwelcomed game? (8) DRAUGHTS
    Anno: DRAUG<-H(earts)T(hi)S

    2. Times 26159: Pay attention — this statement is out by a factor of five (6) LISTEN
    Anno: L(fifty)IS TEN (five is a factor of TEN)- confusing, not able to explain :(

    3. Times 26227: With first item taken, second doubtful (4) IFFY

    4. Times 26252: Teams catch a couple of them in an impossible situation! (7) ELEVENS
    Anno: Something related to CATCH 22- impossible situation ? 11*2 = 22

    5. Guardian 26714 (Screw): What open doors and often don't close, shock horror! (5,4) SPLIT ENDS

    6. FT 15106 (Mudd): Best ever, as is ace in lap? (6-8) RECORD-BREAKING
    Anno; A breaking LAP - LP - RECORD BREAKING

    7. Independent 9144 (Donk): Appropriate, what finishes off John Does? (10) COMMANDEER
    Anno: COMMA(after appropriate) JohN Does-DEER

    8. Guardian 26690 (Puck): Some Mother’s Pride? Worried about one slice having no crusts (4,3) LION CUB
    Anno; Anagram of aBOUt oNe sLICe

    ReplyDelete
  16. Shuchi2 March 2016 at 14:39

    @SurpiyaM, @SudarshanJ: Yes! It seems the punctuation trick doesn't mislead seasoned solvers at all :-)

    @Qix, @Nadathur Rajan, @michael: All correct, nicely done!

    @Ramki: I found LISTEN tough as the first thought it led me to was 'Isn't 10 a multiple, not a factor, of 5?' Good job parsing that right.

    @Ajeesh: Catch-22!

    @Ganesh N, @vasant: You got almost all of them!
    Indicators of the 'unwelcomed' kind trip me up too...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vasant3 March 2016 at 22:20

      Thanks for such nice clues...really challenging & enjoyable

      Delete
  17. Shuchi2 March 2016 at 15:07

    @LV: Well done. I bet 3 and 5 are going to look obvious once you see their annos :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lakshmi Vaidyanathan3 March 2016 at 19:22

    Yes Shuchi :D I was struggling with annos almost for a week :P

    ReplyDelete