Monday 22 April 2013

No.10753, Monday 22 Apr 13, Gridman

Gridman, as indicated in 9a has given us an anagram special.  Far from complaining, I like Oliver Goldsmith, .................................... wondered :

And as I solved the puzzle,  my wonder grew,
How many anagrams he wonderfully threw !


With apologies to The Village Schoolmaster 

ACROSS
1 Assistant – one giving you a portion of food ? (7,4) HELPING HAND 2
9 Ranga goes crackers over a man’s first wordplay (7) ANAGRAM (RANGA* A M)
10 A foreign soldier at the gallery causes ruffle (7) AGITATE (A GI TATE)
11 Mostly detest ruffian horse (5) STEED (DETESt)*
12 Tardy ? Late ? Rather more recent (6-3) LATTER DAY (TARDY LATE)* Nice tautological anagram, or, should I call it an anagrammatic tautology ?
13 Vessel emerges after a change of rota (5) AORTA (A ROTA*)
15 Icon Pearl etched in China (9) PORCELAIN ( ICON PEARL)* This one took me on a memory trail of Pearl S Buck's books on China. Great linking of the two.
18 Venue where a lot of foot tapping to music is made (5,4) DANCE HALL CD Brought to memory, 'The Man with Two Left Feet'
21 Oil extract in city centre for baby’s illness (5) COLIC (OIL* in C C) Rx Dimethicone-Dicyclomine drops. Though a medicine for babies, really effective for adults too. Statutory Warning: Will render you a windbag for some time.
22 Bill, returning to French city, on to trappings (9) CAPARISON (AC< PARIS ON) Coincidentally, the Thrissur Pooram, where you can see elephants with these trappings, took place yesterday
24 Bondages to big cat reported (5) LINKS (~LYNX)
26 Nails the army officer with the French money in India (7) COLLARS (COL LA RS)
27 In limitless Hampi ruins endless test on ancient two-handled jar (7) AMPHORA (HAMPi* ORAL) Still remember advertisement during  break in the circus in Asterix comics advising one to 'Drink a jar a wine a day' , which featured amphoras
28 Greeting one citizen in tale having proven existence in the past (11) HISTORICITY (HI STORY around 1 CIT)

DOWN
1 Hasten Dad to rejig an upside down yogic posture (4,5) HEADSTAND (HASTEN DAD)*
2 A number to pave the way for renting contract (5) LEASE (L(=50) EASE) Does release refer to conclusion of a lease contract or renewal ?
3 Throw light on one registered judge holding up help (9) IRRADIATE (I R RATE holding AID<)
4 Girl simply discarded pinafore (7) GYMSLIP (G SIMPLY)*  Reminded me of HMS Pinafore
5 Electrical fitment girl at port installed (7) ADAPTOR (ADA PORT*)
6 Doctor, I have energy (5) DRIVE (DR I'VE) In fact, I have so much drive that I may go on a drive to a golf course and start driving at balls, and in the process, drive my caddy crazy
7 As grasped by one on the stairs (8) HANDRAIL (CD)
8 Ultimately Guv chose our tapestry too (4) VERY (V E R Y, trailing letters)
14 One lifts it to open a can of beer, say (4,4) RING PULL (CD)
16 Peculiarity has Red Indian going out, felling trees of a kind (9) EUCALYPTI (PECULIARITY)*
17 Essential never to entertain break without right (9) NECESSARY (NARY around rECESS) Remembered the Bear Necessities. Watch it and swing.
19 Helps fool to sit properly on edge of sofa (7) ASSISTS (ASS SIT* S)
20 Yearn to have a try at a tale starter (4,3) LONG AGO (LONG A GO) A DIY fib short story: Long ago ....... ever after.
22 Company about to get narcotic shrub (4) COCA (CO CA) Reminded me of 'Half a circle, full a circle, half a circle, a. Half a circle, full a circle, right angle, a'
23 Come to the limit of border, everyone (5) REACH (R EACH)
25 One fellow turning over ring to girl (5) NAOMI (1 MAN< around O) Reminded me of N. Campbell, whom I once saw in Malindi

 These pictures are not the subjects of copyrights. Not yet ...  Till then, use them with pleasure, at your leisure.  They are also not to scale.  The beer-can is not as tall as the staircase. Thank Heavens for that, or you would be in the men's room for eternity.



30 comments:

  1. Kishore

    I appreciate illustrations made by you. Congrats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Instead of Googling, I thought I would take up doodling.

      Delete
  2. Great blogging Kishore. +1 for the drawings, but I don't think we need to be that creative, I'm sure plenty of copyright free stuff is available in the WWW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you give some pointers on how to be sure that I have a right to copy it?

      Delete
    2. I am sure it will be mentioned there. Like in the post that was taken down I think it was the picture of the Albatross which must have been the copyrighted image.

      Delete
    3. I think the Wiki page should usually be safe.

      Delete
  3. Nice one from Gridman. I thought this clue could have been worded differently to make the surface better:

    11 Mostly detest ruffian horse (5) STEED

    'Nearly' or 'almost' probably for mostly and another anagrind for ruffian, which one would normally associate with a person. Crazy or loco perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kishore,

    Nice work with sketches. Enjoyed them. So did I the ref. to the Village Schoolmaster (very apt)and to the man with two left feet. Interestingly I did not know (to start with) the correct meaning of 'Two left Feet'.
    About your concluding remark- the stair case could be as small as the beer can to solve the problem. I got the ring but could not pull it (thankfully)!
    I did not get the link to lynx until I saw the blog.
    And a big Thank you to Gridman for a nice special.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Niced to remember the deserted village, with no words of thundering length.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That should have been learned length and thundering sound.

      Delete
  6. Thank you, Gridman! Definitely a samosa and coffee day!!
    I had put lines for links! Thanks for clearing that.
    Good morning all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had put in LINES (~lions)too and thought that by a stretch it could mean bondages. I had links in mind too but did not connect to LYNX.

      Delete
  7. I had a wonderful time at Mangalore with Richard pulling out all stops to make me comfortable and entertained. He was also kind enough to pick me up and we went to Mr Sridhar Shenoy Panchmal's house and had a wonderful time. He is a very nice and gracious person.

    Richie also showed be his nice collection of crossword books and gave me a jack.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A variety of Artocarpus heterophyllus - 'chakka' in Malayalam...

      Delete
    2. 12:53 No, Kishore did not have a flat tyre...

      Delete
    3. Chakka, I've also been planning to buy one here

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    4. And my son thought, Jack Daniels !

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    5. 12:53 No, Kishore did not have a flat tyre...

      I always carry a spare tyre with me, even if I am not in a vehicle.

      Delete
  8. Very nice puzzle. Clues have well laid-out segments with chiselled precision.22,24,27 a&16d have special appeal.28a -Though an anagram its afood for thought and elicits spark in us. Overall a great entertainer.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Col: Thanks for your comments on mine on Saturday's Gridman. I too have responded. Did you see it?

    Again, any action on my email? Why not ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I saw your response. Got your e-mail as well. Will be posting it this sunday

      Delete
  10. Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

    inept
    in- means not
    inept means without judgement or reason, incompetent
    inapt means not apt
    apt means appropriate
    answering a question with a question is an inapt reply.
    5 years ago
    0 Rating: Good Answer
    0 Rating: Bad Answer
    Asker's Rating:Asker's Comment:
    Clear and succinct. Thanks.
    stars - mark this as Interesting!

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    Other Answers (1)

    d_r_siva
    Inept :

    1. unable to handle job: lacking the competence or skill for a particular task

    2. totally inappropriate: not in keeping with what is right or proper for the circumstances

    http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/d…

    Definition: 1. characterized by a lack of perceptiveness, judgment, or finesse; 2. generally incompetent; 3. unsuitable or out of place

    Synonyms: incompetent, foolish, ineffective, clumsy, awkward, unfit, inappropriate

    Antonyms: competent, adroit, effective, graceful, adept

    Tips: Inept often refers to skill or ability in general, as well as to specific acts or occasions. A milder synonym is inapt--"not apt." The related noun ineptitude refers to a person’s lack of skill. Inept is often used as a more sophisticated way of saying incompetent, as in: "He is totally inept at his job." Inept is also used to describe someone who is awkward, as in: "He is socially inept (awkward)."

    Usage Examples:

    No one was sure why he was still employed there, since he was totally inept at record-keeping and several other key job duties. (incompetent)

    When it comes to soccer, I have to admit that I'm pretty much inept. (clumsy, ineffective, unfit)

    Due to the inept handling of the account, the client decided to look for a new ad agency. (incompetent, clumsy)

    He tried to act mature and sophisticated, but his general ineptitude gave him away as a recent graduate. (lack of skill, incompetence) noun

    http://vocabulary-vocabulary.com/diction…

    http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Wor…

    Inapt:

    1. not suitable: not suitable or appropriate

    2. unskilled: lacking aptitude, capability, or skill

    http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/d…

    Thesaurus: inapt

    adjective

    1. Not suited to circumstances: improper, inappropriate, incongruous, inept, malapropos, unapt, unbecoming, unbefitting, unfit, unseemly, unsuitable. Idioms: out of place. See agree/disagree, usual/unusual.
    2. Not suited to a given purpose: ill-suited, inappropriate, unfit, unsuitable, unsuited. See ability/inability.
    3. Lacking the qualities, as efficiency or skill, required to produce desired results: incapable, incompetent, inefficient, inept, inexpert, unskilled, unskillful, unworkmanlike. See ability/inability.

    Antonyms: inapt

    adj

    Definition: incompetent; not suitable
    Antonyms: apt, competent, happy, suitable, suited

    http://www.answers.com/%20Inapt

    Unapt; not apt; unsuitable; "inept".

    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inapt?rdfr…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought that with the Col's point-by-point answers to questions raised by Raju, doubts had been cleared.

      Still the above lengthy post appears.

      If it is about the shades of meanings of the words 'inept' and 'inapt', I have no problem.

      However, if the point is to suggest that the clue "I pant in a way that's clumsy (5)" (for which the answer is INAPT) gives a wrong def for the word and that 'clumsy' cannot be accepted, I have to differ.

      The word 'inapt' has been defined as 'clumsy', 'unseemly,' 'awkward' in the NYT crossword. There is dictionary support as well for this.

      Let me add that my use of either word in conversation or writing will be on the same lines as those in that quoted passage. But the def. as given in the clue cannot be faulted.

      Gridman's clues are in the public domain and anyone has the right to criticise any of his clues. If any mistake occurs, an unqualified apology will be tendered - indeed on some occasions in the past mistakes if any were admitted.

      But when a person other than the composer (Col. Deepak) has defended a certain clue, we might perhaps desist from flogging a dead horse.

      Delete
    2. Raju I fail to see what you are trying to prove. In your long post above you yourself have shown that inapt/inept/clumsy are all synonymous.

      Like CV has said lets stop flogging the poor dead horse.

      Delete
  11. I assure you I did not go crackers ... But went samosas today. Ref 9A

    ReplyDelete
  12. At the beginning of my worsening condition, i used to look for HANDRAILS on every stair.

    ReplyDelete

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