Tuesday 29 January 2013

Contest: Solve Three Clues and Win a Gift Voucher

crossword-unclued-contest-win Here's a treat for cryptic crossword fans – a contest with a prize! To win, all you have to do is solve three cryptic crossword clues.

The Clues

Candid love note (4)
Small bag or small neat bags (5)
Connects phone call interrupting routes (7)

The Prize

The winner can choose any one of these prizes:

  • Flipkart gift voucher worth INR 1500
  • Amazon US gift card worth USD 25
  • Amazon UK gift card worth GBP 15

I will post the contest result next week announcing the winner's name. The winner can then contact me with the choice of prize. The gift card will be sent by email.

In case of multiple correct entries, the winner will be picked by a computerised lucky draw.

The prize has been kindly sponsored by www.CupONation.in, an Indian website that offers free discount coupons and deals for online shopping.

How To Participate

  1. Post all three answers in a single comment on this post. The answers should be annotated. Any format is all right – in words or in annotation symbols – as long as how you derived the answer is clear.
  2. Mention your name in the comment. Anonymous entries will not be considered.
  3. Only one comment per person. Each comment will be counted as one entry.
  4. Tweet about this contest to get a double entry into the lucky draw. To qualify for double entry, mention the direct link to your tweet in the comment on this post. This page tells you how to link directly to a tweet. [Tweet now]

Entries close on 2nd February 2013 (Saturday) midnight IST. Comments will remain unpublished till the contest is over and the result announced next week.

All right then, get cracking. Post your answers in the comments section and do spread the word about the contest.

Best of luck!

Related Posts:

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31 comments

Sruthi said...

O + PEN = OPEN,
PURSE = PURE (neat) bags S(small), ENGAGES - double definition
- Sruthi

Bhavan said...

Hi Shuchi, excellent clues. They are your own I presume?

Candid love note (4) O + PEN
Small bag or small neat bags (5) PUR(S)E
Connects phone call interrupting routes (7) ST(RING)S

Ramesh Srivats said...

1. O-PEN

2. B(-ag)OR-NE(-at)

3. ST{RING)S

@rameshsrivats

Ramesh Srivats said...

Not sure if 1st comment was aved, hence repeating. I guess the 2nd one is wrong though :). Also thought of grabs, but can't figure how. :)

1. O-PEN

2. B(-ag)OR-NE(-at)

3. ST{RING)S

@rameshsrivats

Dr Lakshmi Venkataraman MD DNB (Pathology) said...

The answers
1. O PEN - "love" + "note"
2. S N O O D - Small + Neat + types of bags namely "O", "O" and "D" for the shape of handle.
3. ST(RING)S - (phone call = RING) interrupting (routes = STS)

Lakshmi Mohan

Bhalchandra Pasupathy said...

Name: Bhalchandra Pasupathy

1) Candid love note = OPEN
O (love) + PEN (note), def=candid

2) Small bag or small neat bags = PURSE
def = small bag
neat = PURE with S(small) inside, bags=container indicator

3) Connects phone call interrupting routes = STRINGS
def=connects
phone call = RING inside STS = routes, ie streets

Dr Lakshmi Venkataraman MD DNB (Pathology) said...

Not sure if my earlier post was posted correctly. Hence re posting the answers and annotations. It would be helpful if we got a confirmation mail to the effect.

1. O PEN = "love" + "note"
2. S N O O D = (S)mall + (N)eat + bag types namely O,O and D bags so named for the type of handle.
3ST(RING)S = phone call = "RING" interrupting routes = "STS"

Lakshmi Mohan

Raghunath said...

1. O+PEN
2. PUR(S)E
3. ST(RING)S. STS: Routes

Anonymous said...

I like the idea Shuchi.

Don't bother to put me in the draw, but I'll have a go anyway.

OPEN (candid) - O (love, zero) + PEN (note, write)

PURSE (small bag) - S(mall) with PURE (neat, as in without additives) outside (bags)

STRINGS (connects) - RING (phone call) inside (interrupting) STS (routes / streets)

BD

Tony Sebastian said...

The Answers

O PEN
PUR(S)E
ST(RING)S

Which bodes the question, are you an Arsenal fan and is this a secret message for Mr Wenger?

( Tweet here)

Shuchi said...

Clarifications about the commenting process:

In the field "Type the two words:" make sure to type the text in the image and the text next to it together.

When you click "Publish Your Comment", your comment would leave the input box and you would be shown the message that your comment is awaiting moderation. This means that I have received your comment.

Since Blogger does not share email ids of those commenting, I wouldn't be able to send out individual confirmations.

For any clarifications, do write to me.

Arjun said...

Candid love note(4) Open
Small bag or small neat bags(5) Purse
Connects phone call interrupting routes(7) Strings

http://twitter.com/raodyboy/status/296281817118556161

Btw, nice clues & connect of the clues as well :)

Dr Lakshmi Venkataraman MD DNB (Pathology) said...

The answers with annotations below
1.Candid
2.Small bag
3.Connects

1. O PEN = "love" + "note"
2. PUR(S)E - neat = PURE which bags or contains (S)mall
3. ST(RING)S - phone call = RING which interrupts routes = streets(STS)

Lakshmi Mohan

Albatross said...

1. O-PEN. Anno: Love = zero = O; To note is to pen defn.

2. PUR(S)E, neat = pure, small = s. "bags" = containment indicator. defn: small bag

3. ST-RING-S. Anno: Phone call = ring, interrupting (containment indicator), Routes = Streets = sts, connects = strings defn.

Love the theme ;) Open 'em up!

Tweet link: https://twitter.com/UnnamedEntity/status/296112101024464896

Name: Abhay Prasanna

rajesh said...

Candid love note (4)o+pen love = o + note = pen
Small bag or small neat bags (5)pur(s)e - neat is pure getting s(small)
Connects phone call interrupting routes (7)st(ring)s - phone call(ring) inside streets(sts)

-@raaapi

rajesh said...

Candid love note (4)o+pen love = o + note = pen
Small bag or small neat bags (5)pur(s)e - neat is pure getting s(small)
Connects phone call interrupting routes (7)st(ring)s - phone call(ring) inside streets(sts)
-@raaapi

Anonymous said...

Candid love note (4)

Answer: OPEN

Open (candid) = o (love) + pen (note, verb)

I'm not as confident with this one as I don't like note=pen, but there are few other options.

Small bag or small neat bags (5)

Answer: PURSE

Purse (small bag) = s (small) bagged by pure (neat)

Connects phone call interrupting routes (7)

Answer: STRINGS

Connects (Strings, verb form) = ring (phone call) inside (interrupting) sts (abbreviation for streets which are routes)

David Stickley


Lakshmi Vaidyanathan said...

Hi Shuchi,
My answers.
Candid love note (4)
Ans: OPEN {Def: Candid; O(love)+ PEN(note)}

Small bag or small neat bags (5)
Ans: PURSE {Def : small bag; S(small)+PURE(neat) S in PURE)

Connects phone call interrupting routes(7)
Ans: STRINGS { Def: connects; RING(phone call) + STS (routes);RING in STS}

Carrie Niziolek said...

Candid love note (4): OPEN
Definition: Candid
Wordplay: O+PEN

Small bag or small neat bags (5): PURSE
Definition: Small bag
Wordplay: PUR(S)E

Connects phone call interrupting routes (7): STRINGS
Definition: Connects
Wordplay: ST(RING)S

Thanks; I enjoy the blog!

Nadathur Rajan said...

Candid love note (4) (O)(PEN)
love O note PEN
Defn: candid OPEN

Small bag or small neat bags (5) POUCH [2] 1) a small bag; 2) bag or sac for carrying young as in Kangaroo or food as in rodents

Connects phone call interrupting routes (7) ST(RING)S
phone call RING in routes STS (streets)

Nadathur Rajan said...

Correction on the second clue:

PUR(S)E

neat PURE
bags
small S

Defn: small bag PURSE

Anonymous said...

1) OPEN - O (love, zero) + PEN (note, write)
2) PURSE - PURE (neat, undiluted) containing (bags) S(mall)
3) STRINGS - RING (phone call) inserted in (interrupting) STS (abbreviation of streets, routes)


Gary Jones

Nandu said...

Commenting the second time because the first was apparently not successful.


Clue 1:
Candid love note (4)
Answer: Open

Annotation:
Candid = Open (adjective, synonym)
Love = 0 (Tennis score)
Note = Pen (to note down = to pen down)

Clue 2:
Small bag or small neat bags (5)
Answer: Udder

Annotation:
Small bag = udder (udders are commonly called bags)
Small neat = calf (neat meaning cow, cattle, bull, etc.)
The calf bags (verb: gets/attains/achieves) the udder.

Clue 3:
Connects phone call interrupting routes (7)
Answer: Strings

Annotation:
Connects = Strings (verb, synonym)
Phone call = Ring
Routes = STS (US postal service standard street suffix)
'Ring' interrupts (is in the middle of) STS.

-------

I'm pretty confident about answers 1 and 3, but unsure about 2.
Why 'small' in the first half of the clue when bag alone would suffice to indicate udder? Does small indicate an S followed by a bag synonym?
Pouch/purse seemed to be strong contenders, but I couldn't connect them directly with udder except for the archaic use of pouches/purses fashioned out of udders a long time ago.

I'm looking forward to finding out the correct annotation for that one! :)

PS: I'm new to cryptic crosswords; only pulled in because of your intriguing tweets! :)

- Nandhini (@nandu on Twitter)

Shyam said...

Hi Shuchi!

1) O+PEN
2) PUR{S}E
3) ST{RING}S

Anonymous said...

1. Open (candid)
O (love) + pen (note)

2. Snags (bags)

Sag (small bag), include s (small) and (n) neat

3. Strings (connects)
ring (phone call) in sts (streets)

-G. Nayak

Venkatesh said...

1) O (love) + PEN (note) = OPEN (Defn: candid)
2) S (small) in PURE (neat) = PUR(S)E (Defn: small bag)
(bags = Container indicator)
3) RING (phone call) in STS (routes/streets) = ST(RING)S (Defn: connects)

Dr S. VENKATESH

Sanjeev Vaidyanathan said...

OPEN (Candid) = O (Love) + PEN (Note)
PURSE (small bag) = S (small) that PURE (neat) bags
STRINGS (Connects) = RING (phone call) in STs (routes = streets)

Shuchi said...

@Sruthi: You got two real quick. Too bad about ENGAGES :-(

@Bhavan: My own, yes. Thanks! Congrats on being the first to post all the right answers.

@Ramesh Srivats: PUR(S)E! Much easier than BORNE/GRABS, no? :-)

@Lakshmi Mohan: You got it in time :) I'll take your last comment as your entry for the draw.

@raghunath: Bingo!

@bigdave44: Lucidly annotated as usual. Thanks for taking part and spreading the word. Got many visits from your blog.

@Tony Sebastian: You know very well I know zilch about football clubs, thanks to your comment I can now claim to know a bit more :-) What happy chance that my clues should hint at such a message.

@Arjun: Well solved. I realised after the contest closed that you hadn't annotated the answers! I missed telling you on twitter to repost, so I'll make an exception to the rule and include your entry.

@Albatross/Abhay Prasanna: Well solved and thank you :-)

@rajesh: Right! You missed the direct link to your tweet. I saw it so I'll consider it.

@David Stickley: Right answers, nicely annotated. Pen/note down one's thoughts...doesn't that work?

@Lakshmi Vaidyanathan: Well solved. You tweeted just in time. Double entry.

@Carrie Niziolek: All correct. And welcome to my blog!

@Nadathur Rajan: You got it :-)

@Gary Jones: Well solved.

@Nandu: Argh, it was PURSE! I like your thought process though: neat -> calf etc. :-)

@Shyam: Good to see you here after long. And well solved.

@G.Nayak: Aw, not SNAGS. "Sag (small bag)" - I guess you were thinking of SAC?

@Venkatesh: Right!

@Sanjeev Vaidyanathan: Kudos for managing to post your answers at last more than for solving ;-) Tweet link missing, but I saw it. Double entry.

Shuchi said...

Contest result now published.

Bhalchandra Pasupathy said...

Nice one Shuchi and good process.

Couldn't help noticing that I seem to be the odd one out in the honourable mentions list (post of 7:02pm). Obviously I did something wrong, now what could that be?!

Just kidding (as usual), love the blog. Congrats Albatross!

Shuchi said...

Oh!! You can probably guess how that happened Bhala. Sorry :-P