ACROSS
1 - Performers adopt posture (7) - TROUPES*
5 - These maintain high levels (3-3) - TOP-UPS [CD]
9 - Incomplete agreement for entertainment (5) - TREAT
10 - I to Curtis – describing the kind of site Mamallapuram is (9) - TOURISTIC*
11 - Gridman on return might authorise (7) - {EM<-}{POWER}
12 - Think what a fitting in a showroom might do (7) - REFLECT [DD] Poor second definition in my opinion
13 - Medical officer once in 12 months given no attention in an unsympathetic manner (5) - {DR}{Y
14 - A doctor for a clean treatment of disequilibrium (9) - {I}{MB}{A}{LANCE*}
16 - Name Agnes etched in metal (9) - MANGANESE*
19 - What an addict may need in getting rid of core habits (5) - REHAB [T]
21 - It is spotted in the wild (7) - LEOPARD [CD]
25 - Check engineers leaving coaches (5) -
26 - Cross as birthday is chaotic without a gift at last (6) - HYBRID
27 - Retreated after having decreed badly (7) - RECEDED*
DOWN
1 - Detrimental to a runaway ragamuffin (14) - TATTERDEMALION* New word for me
2 - When you do, you reward someone more than what is due (7) - OVERPAY [CD]
3 - Passage on why a PTA is dismantled (7) - PATHWAY*
4 - Rested ash-holder in eastern grave (9) - {SAT}{URN}{IN}{E}
5 - Tamils' top repenter is more worthy of belief (5) - {T}{RUER}
6 - In fine, taking man around is aching (7) - {PA{IN}{F}UL} F - fine?
7 - Design to stroke winger (7) - {PAT}{TERN}
8 - Bartenders' Act I is ill-organised, makes you crazy (14) - SCATTERBRAINED*
15 - Complaint not so loud on plant (9) - {BEEF}{LOWER} Couldn't find any plant by this name? (Addendum - See comments)
18 - One who is sporting for no payment (7) - AMATEUR [CD]
19 - Steal books and get caught by one – it's mechanical (7) - {ROB}{OT}{I}{C}
20 - Worker covers old learners in country (7) - {H{O}{LL}AND}
Hi folks
ReplyDeleteTROUPES*, TOP-UPS (kind of a clue to 'SIM'ply keep the 'currency' of our grey 'cells'
recharged!), TREAT(-y), TOURISTIC* (a rare usage), EMPOWER, REFLECT (?), DR+Y(-ear)LY,
IMBALANCE, MANGANESE*, REHAB (nice one), LEOPARD, LOBELIA, ODDFELLOW, (-res)TRAIN,
HYBRID (liked this), RECEDED, TATTERDEMALION (Good Heavens! This almost tattered me into
sort of a feverish delirium!), PATHWAY, OVERPAY, SAT+URN+IN+E (cute!), TRUER, PAINFUL
(?), PATTERN (good one), SCATTERBRAINED (a mighty anagram good enough to scatter the
brain!), BEEFLOWER, NOONDAY (a rare word for those used to saying 'midday'), AMATEUR,
ROB+OT+I+C (books = OT = Old Testament - liked this too), HOLLAND, DOLED...
Gridman may have taken time and effort to set this.
Hi
ReplyDeleteTATTERDAMELION* was new. BEEFLOWER had to be confirmed by Google. NOONDAY was a rare usage. HYBRID* (-t a), ROB-OT-I-C, SAT-URN-INE, TREAT(-y), (-res)TRAIN, H(O)(LL)AND, PA(IN F)UL SCATTERBRAINED* were nice. PAT-TERN was cute. Use of Trembling as AnInd in 22d was novel.
To find out more about what’s up between Ms Fonseca and Rishi, go to Garam Masala in yesterday’s ET (Bang) at
ET
15d
ReplyDeleteBEEFLOWER
Loved all the 3 cartoons.
ReplyDeleteKishore,
ReplyDeleteI had seen the page in the link given by you. They are talking about 'Bee flowers', two words, which are flowers pollinated by bees. As such there is no beeflower.
Deepak
ReplyDeleteYou're right! I think G didn't do enough research on bee-flower. The def. given is inexact.
TOURISTIC was the last one to fall in. Was totally clueless on this one. I was expecting something different. I don't often hear people using this word. Don't know.
ReplyDeleteBEE FLOWER, LOBELIA, TATTERDEMANION, ODDFELLOW were all new.
What a great grid!!!
ReplyDeleteThe best part was trying to figure out gridman=me!
Gridman has used this on previous occasions
ReplyDeleteG must have done some cursory lookup.
ReplyDeleteYou see the encyclopaedia has:
Britannica online encyclopedia article on bee flower (plant)
It would appear that the word within the brackets is rather a classification or category of the word preceding it. I don't think it's a def.
Aash, Gridman = me has been done before.
ReplyDeleteOn BEE FLOWER....
ReplyDeleteThis is what I found. Maybe it's all right.
-----
Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), whose flowers have some resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.
-----
http://www.dictionary.net/bee
Why isn't BEE FLOWER 2 words?
ReplyDeleteVJ
ReplyDeleteYou've saved G!
Gita
ReplyDeleteIn Chambers BEE-FLOWER is hyphenated. It is not two words. And the modern practice, esp. in the US, is to drop hyphens.
VJ @ 8:54
ReplyDeleteBut it still is two words 'Bee flower' more commonly known as the 'Bee orchid' or OPHRYS APIFERA
Chaturvasi, why not G when I.........
ReplyDeleteDeepak, don't know why it's (9) instead of (3-6) or (3,6). At least there's a plant called bee-flower.
ReplyDeleteRichard
ReplyDeleteSince you have a ? with REFLECT...
The fitting in the showroom is a 'mirror'.
REFLECT - think
REFLECT - what a 'mirror' might do
I think G uses 'might do' so you get REFLECT. 'what a mirror does' might suggest REFLECTS
Too many anagrams today, Suresh must be cursing!
ReplyDeleteActually I enjoyed today's puzzle far more than yesterdays. Maybe partly influenced by yesterday's debate. I think more because the surface reading of the anagram clues was good.
I did find f as an abbr. for fine in some lists. Is it used by weateremen?
f as fine is listed under the category of coins. Maybe something to do with the grade of metal used for making coins
ReplyDeleteSuresh
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your query whether F was used by weathermen (for 'fine'), I was suddenly reminded of the weather map the paper used to carry, with R for 'rain' and other abbreviations. Not sure if it had F for 'fine'.
But that was a good guess on your part.
hmm... strange one for me today...
ReplyDeletereiterating VJ's thots at 8:41. Those words were new to me too. Got touristic, but never heard it used before. Needed anagram help for tatterdemalion (new). Didn't get the others.
All in all, I thot yesterday's cword was cleverer than today's, but i'll take it w/ a pinch of salt. :)
interesting aside on 25a: I interpreted coaches as trainers, removed ERS... resulting in TRAIN. Check as in correct(v) as in train(v). :) I didn't think it was too far-fetched, but given explanation is better. :-)
Also, can someone explain:
11a: got the word... but how does "POWER" fit in?
19d: Robotic..where did OTC come from? over-the-counter??
@Hari POWER is might
ReplyDeleteOT is Old Testament , I is one and C is caught
Hari
ReplyDeleteIf you've travelled by public bus or suburban train in any big city in our country, you would know that 'might is right'!
oohhh... dingbat me! that (power) totally blindsided me! :) OT I haven't come across b4.
ReplyDeleteThx. Suresh and CV!
Thanks, Deepak, to bee flower or not to bee.
ReplyDeleteCV@09:55 Abbreviations.com lists f as fine under coins. Means fine metal, I think. Fine metal refers to metals which are free from impurities. Maybe gold and other metal dealers use this abbreviation.
ReplyDeleteGot the f in my trusted OED. as abbr for fine used to describe grades of pencil lead.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All
ReplyDeleteI endorse VJs view on touristic. It just eluded be long time just fell at last. As like the others tatterdemalion, scatterbrained were filled with the help of thesaurus. I was clueless on saturnine. I have a doubt about the words. I thought odd fellow, noon day bee flower are all either hyphenated or double words. Not only today this is a doubt i have with all the setters.
Pl enlighten me.
Good day
Mathu
Mathu,
ReplyDeleteRegarding oddfellow and noonday it is one word, about bee flower see the comments above
Isn't "fine" often abbreviated as F?? For inst, FBM, FWM meaning fine by me, fine with me etc
ReplyDeleteVJ. You are right, of course.
ReplyDeleteSMS terms give a whole new set of abbreviations, which I do not claim any expertise on.
I was looking for a more classically accepted abbr. and found it
Friends, let me know if you find this useful.
ReplyDeleteALL-IN-ONE SEARCH PAGE
Richard, that's cute. When Bing came some Google fans said : But It's Not Google
ReplyDelete... an interesting article on the subject of hyphenation. Nice to see that it's on its way out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSHAR15384620070921
VJ - Thanks for the link. I don't see any logic in some of the previously hyphened words being single or double now. Personally, I would use the hyphen where I think it is necessary. I am not for dropping it indiscriminately.
ReplyDeleteThree diverse notes on today's ET 4433 in Bang Ed:
ReplyDelete1. Place:
Terrific clue 19a: Prince longs to be in South-east Asia (11)
2. Person:
Richard is the first of this group whose full family has appeared in the CWs with 1a She's probably having a waltz at a mild dance (7)
3. Probability:
What is the chance of the same answer popping up in two CWs of diverse origins on the same day in two different newspapers (albeit with a different clue) ? But hazard a guess. I know it is impossible to calculate or prove. One in a hundred ? thousand ?
What is the chance of it occuring at the exact location? One in a million ?
Well, 26a in this CW is 'Mongrel concealed by turning right inside' (6) Any person wanting the answer has to just look at the answer given in THC 9941 solution tomorrow for 26a to get the answer for 26a in ET today ! I did not refer to the answer in this blog given today as the anno is different.
I think I understated the importance of 'exact location' in my above post. It is not only 26a in both, it is also in the last line in the format B6B7 where B is a black square and 6 and 7 are length of the words.
ReplyDeleteSuresh 939: Fine with coins, as you rightly said, is probably to with quality of metal, since there is a similar usage 'fine' with silver.
ReplyDeleteRe hyphens,
ReplyDeleteIs it all random then, VJ, which words are unified and which split in two?
I agree with your comment, CV. But the trouble is the hyphen has no role to play in a crossword.
Kishore,
ReplyDeleteProbability of same solution at same location may be much lesser than 1 million, as I distinctly remember having seen it occur on two occasions over the last two years; I do not remember when and which CW's though, though I think I did comment about it on one occasion.
I agree, Deepak. But it is fun over-exaggerating ! and really no one can calculate the probability a priori. A posteriori, of course, what you say does happen.
ReplyDeleteKishore: My wife says she has felt flattered and honoured at the mention.
ReplyDeleteThat one in response to 18:52.
ReplyDeleteRichard 1955: You may also read 'Tramp in Armour' by Colin Forbes, to her.
ReplyDeleteChaturvasi, I'm not really a big fan of hyphenation. Somehow I feel it's redundant.
ReplyDeleteLNS, the way I see it, it could just be a matter of individual style - like you could either say "I don't want anything...." or "I want nothing..." They all mean the same.
Take the example of "touchline." It could be used in 3 different ways.
* "He reached the touchline."
* "He reached the touch-line."
* "He reached the touch line."
All the above sentence mean just the same. It's not like hyphenation, or lack of it, is gonna mislead you into understanding the sentence differently.
Kishore
ReplyDeleteShe's probably having a waltz at a mild dance (7) MATILDA*
The answer as you mentioned rightly reminded of Mathilda of 'Tramp in Armour'.
The gripping novel by Colin Forbes has been set in 1940s, centring on a Mathilda crew of a British Expeditionary Force in France, who become separated from the regiment and get behind enemy lines. They make a run for it behind the German Army's 14th Panzer unit (which is close to reaching the coast) and make it to Dunkirk.
For Mathilda, please read Matilda.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a fantasy novel by Roald Dahl which has been made into a film directed by Danny DeVito. It tells the story of a wonderful little girl, who happens to be a genius, and her wonderful teacher vs. the worst parents ever and the worst school principal imaginable.
One of the novels I liked reading was Matilda by Paul Gallico. He was a favourite author and I think I must have read almost all his works: I used to own many - which I passed on to my nieces and nephews.
ReplyDeleteThe central character in that book is a kangaroo!
Hi all those who are still around,
ReplyDeleteLearn about and listen to the song Waltzing Matilda at the you tube link WALTZING MATILDA
Hi Deepak, Wow, also I spotted link to Danny Boy on the same page and played it too with the word Connemara appearing in the picture. Remember the hotel in Chennai named after the Irish district.
ReplyDeleteProbably the reference is to the Connemara Public Library for which the foundation stone was laid on 22 March 1890 by Lord Connemara [Robert Bourke, Baron of Connemara], the then Governor of Madras State after whom the Library has been named. It was opened on 5 Dec 1896.
ReplyDeleteHe was son-in-law of Lord Dalhousie who was the Governor General of India in 1856. His elder brother, the Sixth Earl of Mayo, was the Viceroy of India in 1869.
There is also a Taj Connemara Hotel located on Binny Road in Chennai. Surprisingly, it was named not after Lord Connemara but after his wife, Lady Connemara (Susan Georgiana Broun-Ramsay), the first daughter of Lord Dalhousie.
And behind this lies an interesting story narrated in Chennai Metblogs:
Apparently, Lord Connemara was interested in playing the field and was having many an extra marital dalliance. His wife caught him during one of his liaisons, and deciding enough is enough, walked out on him. She moved into the only hotel for the English in Madras at that time, the Albany Hotel (earlier the house of the succesful English Merchant John Binny) and stayed there before leaving to England alone where she pressed for divorce for cruelty and adultery at the court.
Lord Connemara was still in India and was not present in person. His counter charge that she was having an affair with Dr. Briggs, a former member of his staff was refuted by both Lady Connemara and Dr. Briggs. The court accepted her evidence and declared the marriage annulled. She subsequently married Dr Briggs.
Lord Connemara resigned his position as Governor of Madras and sailed back to England, married once again, and died without a progeny, thus bringing to an end the Barony of Connemara.
You are right about Connemara being a district in Ireland. This beautiful district is on the West coast of County Galway. "Connemara" derives from Conmacne Mara, a tribal name, that designated a branch of the Conmacne, an early tribal grouping who lived by the sea, and so came to be known as the Conmacne Mara.
Thomas Burke was born at Hayes, County Meath, Ireland as the third son of the fifth Earl of Mayo. It is therefore understandable why he chose Connemara (a district in Ireland) as the title for his Barony.
ReplyDeleteAbout the hotel on Binny Road:
The house bought by John Binny, an enterprising Scotsman, was adjacent to Amir Bagh, one of the many estates owned by the Nawab of Arcot. The Nawab quickly became a close friend of of Lord Connemara when he arrived as the Governor of Madras in l886.
When Lady Connemara chanced upon her husband involved in a liaison, she stomped out of the Governor's house and took refuge in what was then the only hotel in town.
Earlier known as as the Imperial Hotel (l867 to l886), it was called the Albany from l886 to l891. By the time she left, it had become popular as the Connemara Hotel.
Her husband's portrait, sitting next to the Nawab, still dominates one of the corridors overlooking the English Garden at the Connemara.
Venkatesh: Wow, quite a bit of info there...
ReplyDeleteVenkatesh,
ReplyDeleteIf all that is from your memory, brilliant. But in case you are copy pasting from somewhere please indicate the source and italicise such portions, as I don't want to be hauled up for hosting copyright violations