1 Minor point Truman reviewed (11) UNIMPORTANT*
9 Standard book style is to omit introduction (6) BANNER {B}{
10 State of Washington carried by right leader (8) DELAWARE {DELA{WA}RE*}
11 Shivering? Let’s put together a fire (5) INGLE [T]
12 New fleet in a river (7) NARMADA {N}{ARMADA}
13 Man-eater is able to nibble say (8) CANNIBAL (~can nibble)
15 Study individual entering bar from the back (4,2) BONE UP {B{ONE} UP<=}
16 Twist in novel evil or otherwise? (6) OLIVER* Wonder if we'll get a mouthful on this ;-)
18 Essentially pages, pencils best for companies (8) AGENCIES {
20 Girl let out after recurring delay (4,3) TIME LAG {TIME} {LAG}<=
21 Group of singers losing heart to a rocker perhaps (5) CHAIR CH(-o+a)AIR
22 Young lady working in a store (8) SENORITA*
23 Chop stick (6) CLEAVE [DD]
24 Hope broadcast segment is outside ordinary and acceptable to all (2,9) BE AMBITIOUS {BE AM}{BIT}{I{O}{U}S}
DOWN
2 Figure or number horse has on (7) NONAGON {NO}{NAG}{ON}
3 Endeavour from a code inventor (5) MORSE [DD]
4 It is said to include row number (7) ORDINAL
5 Allot beer in a way that is satisfactory (9) TOLERABLE*
6 Reportedly nude on rebirth (3,4) NEW DAWN (~nude on)
7 Excellent landlord I say (7,6) CAPITAL LETTER {CAPITAL} {LETTER}
8 Traverse route that’s offbeat to find untapped wealth (8,5) TREASURE TROVE*
14 Be lumberly moving around isle (9) BERYLLIUM {BERYLL{I}UM*}
17 Leave in a hurry with case of vanilla mousse by the sound of it (7) VAMOOSE {V
18 A sequence of alphabets written up in a language like Pashtu (7) AFGHANI {A}{FGH}{ANI<=}
19 Selection of mocha, tea usual in a French home (7) CHATEAU [T]
21 Those growing spines take steps to stop corrupt Indian leaders (5) CACTI {C}{ACT}{I}
3 Endeavour from a code inventor (5) MORSE [DD] ? Endeavour not clear
ReplyDeleteEndeavour Morse: character in a TV series. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endeavour_%28TV_series%29)
Funny how setters spot problems in their puzzles mostly after they are published.
DeleteThat should have been 'Endeavour for one' although Colin Dexter's creation is more widely known as Inspector Morse.
Sandhya has made three endeavours. ;-)
ReplyDeleteFound it through Google when Sandhya was hitting her four
ReplyDeleteOops! Not sure how that happened! Now, I'm unable to delete the comments :(
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, the third umpire told me it didn't go for four ;-)
DeleteThere, the score is erased!
Delete:))
DeleteThe first answer was Morse. Then it was remorse
DeleteMore so...
Delete:P
DeleteCW in today's Banged has found another new spot! Bottom left corner of the page today
ReplyDeleteYesterday I wrote to the RE saying that the 'downgrading' of the three features put the crossword in an awkward spot as we cannot fold the paper to a pliant quarter page while filling in. Snipping it for saving is also a problem.
DeleteI have no problem with its present corner position but I am not sure if they will be able to maintain it. For the ad level will not be the same every day.
The previous position of the three features in a straight eight-column format was better - in that other news items could be displayed in any manner in the space left after placing the available ads.
We are on a round robin tour!
DeleteSame here, hitting the rock-bottom level...
DeleteHyderabad edition too follows suit!
Delete4D is OR(DIN)AL, with def = number
ReplyDeleteThanks Mohsin
Delete12, 16, 22a - even as I glance at these clues I marvel at smooth surface of the clues.
ReplyDeleteRe 7d "Excellent landlord I say". Is there lack of editorial attention here? I mean, did the setter have a comma between 'landlord' and 'I'?
In fact, if the clue were rewritten as "Excellent landlord, say I" will it have a better effect, as the words are in an emphatic order?
'Say' in the clue is to be interpreted as 'state' in surface reading and as 'e.g.' in WP.
All in all, a quality crossword.
I got "letter" very easily, but got the "capital" only after mentally trying out punctuation at different points in the clue. I don't think it's an issue of editorial attention - rather, it looks like some (justifiable!) mischief of the part of the setter.
DeleteOn the easier side today. As usual anagrams are very nicely done. Sujata may appreciate these.
ReplyDeleteApologies to Sujata for missing 'h' while spelling out her name.
DeleteTalking of anagrams...
DeleteWhile setters can always get anagrams for words/phrases from software (just as solvers can get anagrams the same way), we must remember that the software will throw up only those words that are in the in-built dictionary.
If the anagram uses a typically Indian word/phrase taht is not found in a standard dictionary, you can be sure that the setter produced it by working out the letters.
Oh, am just seeing the crossword now. I kept searching in the paper and totally missed it no thanks to the new position. I even thought of the possibility of no crossword today. Checked again in the evening and found it! Dry day for me. Didn't do well.
DeleteAnd, it's okay for missing the H. I lived in Delhi for long and got teased a lot for the extra h in my name. I got tired of explaining that I am from Madras and we don't have the multiple t, th, d, dh as in Hindi and that my name is meant to be transliterated from Tamizh to English and not as how Hindi speakers would do it from their language to English. And yet, people used to deliberately pronounce my name with the Hindi tha - as if spitting on me. Gave up explaining after some time. Who formulated these rules anyways? Anand and Anant are written similarly but we know to pronounce them differently. It is just common usage. :-)
Very nice puzzle. 22 A my COD. Awesome surface
ReplyDeleteRight. Was stuck on it for some time.
DeleteNo one seems to have commented on the new feature on the left hand side - the IPL standings chart.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot DG.
Good morning Rich :-D
DeleteKishore commented on the day I put it up
DeleteI must have missed it.
DeleteAjeesh, namaskaram
I thanked Col. too.
DeleteI guess Raghu also. There was one more I am sure
DeleteThat's right, I forgot
DeleteThough I am a cricket nut I am not a big IPL fan. Dyed-in-the-wool type. I like the longer versions of the game more, and involving nations.
DeleteAs luck would have got a clue on the game in the CC 1 on Sunday.
Pl read 'as luck would have it'. Perils of posting through mob phone.
DeleteActually I have my own spreadsheet to work out the IPL standings. I put this just to crosscheck if my calculations are correct.
DeleteJoining late after exercising my franchise!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy (after yesterday's drubbing) to have achieved 100 % before going out. Enjoyed it immensely.Buzzer always excels in smooth surface reading. Too may good enjoyable clues to list here. a big 'Thank you'.
Can't get enough of Buzzer's puzzle. Top class as usual.
ReplyDeleteEarly morning good turnout for voting at Chennai.
ReplyDeleteLovely one from Buzzer. Liked 14d the best.
ReplyDeleteHad a question on 24A. Is 'Be ambitious' a valid phrase ?
Why not?
Delete"Be ambitious in whatever you're doing"
Can any phrase be used in a grid fill ? For example Can my grid fill have 'Can any' ?
DeleteAgain, why not? Provided of course that you can Define it properly and then frame a clue for it
DeleteI remember a discussion between Gridman and Bhavan some months on this blog, on the same topic where Gridman justified his use of a phrase which was non-standard.
DeleteI lost what I wrote before it was uploaded.
DeleteI was going to write exactly what the Col said wrt the first long phrase. I differ from him wrt the second phrase.
An old, successful man might tell a youngster: "Be ambitious and work hard. You will reach great heights." Even if you tear the words "Be ambitious" out of context, the words in themselves are meaningful. So it sits well in a crossword grid.
OTOH, 'can any?' doesn't mean anything. "Any of you can't solve this math problem, can any?" - this is OK. But 'can any', to acquire some meaning, needs all the words that go before it. So it is not permissible in the grid.
(Series of mistakes while posting. Bear with me.)
Let me see if I can extract the Bhavan-Gridman discussion ( It would have been easier if it was a Chaturvasi-Buzzer discussion )
DeleteLet that second example sentence go. For illustrative purposes only. It is not perfect English.
Deletehttp://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/2013/10/no-10904-tue-15-oct-2013-gridman.html
Deletehas the discussion and the conclusion there seems to be that idioms can't be altered. But no decision seems to have been reached on phrases that are not found in a dictionary
That's correct. I vaguely remembered it was to do with back seat driving.
DeleteIs 'Be ambitious' a valid phrase ?
DeleteRamesh, I don't like using phrases that are not in the dictionary. It will open an unwanted can of worms and solvers will be forced to find answers like "I woke up" or "She laughed" or such which might make sense but are meaningless to me if taken as grid entries.
As for "Hope = Be ambitious", see the entry under verb which is where I took the grid entry from:
http://www.chambers.co.uk/search.php?query=hope&title=thes
For a while I thought you had goofed on this one. But how did you dig out the phrase from the Chambers thesaurus?
DeleteBhavan@1:41. Yes that makes sense. So phrases found in dictionary & phrases that appear in synonyms list can be treated as acceptable ones ?
Delete+1 to Raghunath's question as to how you dug that one out ? Did the CW software provide it?
DeleteI meant after the software provided the phrase, how did he work back to the Chamber's page?
DeleteIn Crossword Compiler you can choose from where you want to fill the next word - out of WordWeb, Chambers, Chambers Thesaurus, ODE etc. I found that entry under Chambers Thesaurus.
DeleteBecause I knew it was in Chambers Thesaurus, I searched for the same at chambers.co.uk and luckily it was listed, so I could provide the link here.
... phrases that appear in synonyms list
Not sure what were you referring to here, but I stick to Chambers/Chambers Thesaurus/ODE only for the most part. If I include any Indian words, I see if they are there in one of those three or at least if the word/phrase is common enough or has a wikipedia entry.
Bingo! Finally I could crack Buzzer's puzzle!! My top CODs are 7Dn followed by 14Dn. 11Ac an excellent 'T' clue. 22Ac smooth surface reading. A top class brain teasing crossy from Buzzer. Thank you very much, Buzzer. :-)))
ReplyDeleteWhile not taking away anything from your 100% effort, Buzzer was a tad easier today compared to his usual offerings.
DeleteYes, I do agree, Sir. :)
DeleteNevertheless very interesting and innovative too in some. For me, full house is to be enjoyed,savoured- easy or otherwise.
DeleteGreat time today. Delighted to see a Colin Dexter reference!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the Wikipedia page linked in the blog speaks of Morse as "a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter." Small problem there: none of the novels contain the detective's name in the title (although a couple of short stories - and a collection of stories that includes one of them - do carry his name in the title). It is the TV series that is eponymous.
ReplyDeleteWho does the cartoons under the name "Ixor"? Good ones, especially since they are produced at such short notice!
ReplyDeleteThe nom de plume is not Ixor but CIXOR.(The letter 'C' goes around there!)
DeleteIn Goan Konkani, because of the Portuguese background, 'C' is used in the place of 'k'. 'X' is pronounced as 'sh'. Hence Cixor become 'Kishor' or 'Kishor'.
Kishore may confirm this.
And, incidentally, we can trust Kishore to be as distinct and extraordinary as ever.
The second sentence in the second para of my post @12:53 above should read "Hence Cixor becomes 'Kishor' or 'Kishore'.
Deletehttp://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.in/2013/10/special-sunday-06-oct-2013-director.html has Kishore's explanation
Delete"Cheat company, Edward!" (9)
DeleteCONFIRMED! Nice way of putting it!!
DeleteKIshore.
ReplyDeleteWe had a discussion on this and Kishore had explained how he came up with it.
DeleteBTW, my post @ 11:32 is in response to Abhay's post @ 11:26
Delete10 State of Washington carried by right leader (8) DELAWARE {DELA{WA}RE*}
ReplyDeleteOne more novel anagrind - "RIGHT" - in this clue!
Non-convoluted (is that a valid word?) constructs, smooth surfaces and a pinch of sly cluing all made for a satisfactory session of solving the grid.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bhavan, for your early morning reply in yesterday's post.
And, Raghunath, I'm glad to have found someone with similar tastes in following cricket. :-)
Cheers Navneeth.
DeleteI'm in the same group as you and Raghu as far as IPL is concerned.
Guess we are among the eleven thousand fools who watch/ appreciate the game.
DeleteIPL is fine to watch post dinner after a tiring day. Help de-stress and sleep well. Because the result is irrelevant.
DeleteI don't watch second session of night matches. Sleep is more important to me and I get up at 5:30 AM so that I don't miss my daily morning walk/jogging!
DeleteExactly!
DeleteNowadays I don't watch IPL matches but I did see every one of the first edition.
The atmosphere mattered. The huge hits mattered. The dance by the cheerleaders mattered.
I used to watch them lying on a mat on the floor and after the late night matches go to bed and fall asleep quickly.
As Suresh says often you would how the match was going to end.
As for subsequent editions of IPL I never saw any match except perhaps the final.
Nowadays the sleep inducer is the notorious TV news debate where the anchor shoots questions non-stop in a loud voice and never allows the guest to put forth any point of view.
For the past few days I was not only disgusted but had to hold my heart. I might stop viewing that channel.
Please ignore typos! You are all clever enough to guess the intent. Not reposting corrected version.
DeleteI don't preview. We could do that if the appearance is the same as in the blog; previewing in existing format is useless.
At the risk of being stripped (of my citizenship), I would like to inform all that I do not watch cricket.
DeleteRegarding, typos, CV, I think I spotted one. In the fourth sentence, you wrongly typed it as 'hits'
A titbit of 'hits' worth decoding! ;-)
Delete12,13,16a &2,6d nice clues.The matrix brilliantly brings out /ignites the inner spark of the solvers. Lovely CW.
ReplyDeleteNice crossword. Except for one hitch:
ReplyDeleteIn 19D, isn't there need for a grammatical conjunction (like and/or) between mocha and tea? Or can a rule of grammar be waived by a setter in a cryptic clue? Richard or CV may provide guidance on this.
See this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/mocha-tea-472696
DeleteMaybe the comma is unnecessary
ReplyDeleteYes, the comma may serve better in 7Dn before 'I say' as CV had suggested @8:50.
DeleteRegarding comments about Anu Garg in yesterday's blog, he is presently based in Woodinville, WA.
ReplyDelete