1 - Nothing but novel – clean but with no truth in it (4,7) - {PURE} {FICTION}
9 - Admiral at last makes an unusual sortie resulting in delays (7) - {L}{OITERS*}
10 - Farmer with loss of time gets new architect (7) - PLAN(-t+n)NER
11 - Susie, given this, can be unassisted (5) - STAND or STAID (Addendum STAND it is as STAND + SUSIE = UNASSISTED - Thanks to Chaturvasi's explanation from the Orkut group))
12 - O man, a louse, losing his foot, is turning inconsistent (9) - ANOMALOUS(-e)*
13 - Poor shot in route regretted (5) - OUTER* Concentric circles in a target are Bull, Inner, Magpie and Outer and if you hit outside the outer it's called a washout.
15 - Young girl's stares, misinterpreted, leads to misfortunes (9) - {DIS}{ASTERS*}
18 - One may tread in what is left by another (9) - FOOTPRINT [CD]
21 - Chacha loses spectacles in one hour spent in a rush (5) - {NE(-o)*}{HRU(-o)*}
24 - Being broadcast, O Keralite! (2,3) - {O}{N AIR}
26 - The sort of bliss one gets in a union (7) - MARITAL [E]
27 - Handel not led back – not at home in retreat (7) - {HAN(-led)*}G{OUT} Where did G appear from?
28 - One's girl friend today? (7,4) - CURRENT DATE [DD]
DOWN
1 - Foreign national away to finish a task completely (6,3) - {POLISH} {OFF}
2 - Tsarina loses directions for cooking an Indian side dish (5) - RAITA{-n-s)*
3 - When a farmer is on his land for cultivation? Not exactly! (5,4) - FIELD TRIP
4 - Copper darts madly to get a dessert (7) - {CU}{STARD*}
5 - Lacking reverence, I am putting one in terrible soup (7) - {IM}{P{I}OUS*}
6 - Curiously any pound has one antelope (5) - {NYA*}{L}{A}
7 - Chef into new field of study (8) - INFOTECH*
8 - Foreign national discards Hindu leader's flower (4) - IRIS(-h)
14 - Consumer in sort-out finds pants (8) - TRO{USER}S*
16 - UN nob sent order for a protective covering (3,6) - SUN BONNET*
17 - Cruel brutes toe maidservant (9) - SOUBRETTE*
19 - One may take a deep breath from this medicinal device (7) - INHALER [CD]
20 - To begin with, checked her toe and then cleaned up foot (7) - TRO{C}HEE* Had to google this, never heard this word before as I am not musically inclined.
22 - Big cat to grasp you from Rewa at last (4) - {P}{U}{M}{A}
23 - Excited father abandons ludicrous act (5) - (-fr)ANTIC
25 - A greeting in Spain to raise a greeting in Hawaii (5) - {ALOH}{A} <- )
Good morning folks
ReplyDeleteIf Gridman was, as the Colonel quipped, in a 'Delhi Chalo' mood yesterday, maybe it's 'Belly Chalo' mood / mode in part today, what with RAITA, CUSTARD and PISTACHIO offered on the same platter.
He seems to be on a roll today; oh yes, only the meat-roll is missing. Guess he is a vegan, the clue 'It's a chop tossed in...' apart. (Apologies if he is reading this.)
Some cute anagrams: ANOMALOUS, NEHRU, INFOTECH, TROUSERS, SUN BONNET, SOUBRETTE etc. PISTACHIO was a delectable one.
Brilliant play with words in some instances:
11A - SUSIE if given STAND going UNASSISTED.
24A - O NAIR and ON AIR (But there are Nairs - from a different community - in northern parts of India, mainly Punjab, if I am not mistaken. Perhaps Liz Hurley's husband is one of them.)
20D - Good 'PUNdit' job with 'toe' and metric 'foot'.
PUMA and ANTIC were my sheer guesses based on crossings. Could not work out the annos.
I won't say everyone would share my opinion. Tastes can differ, after all.
Richard
Yes, Deepak, I missed out this one.
ReplyDelete27 - Handel not led back – not at home in retreat (7) - {HAN(-led)*}G{OUT} Where did G appear from?
Richard
To the same query in our Orkut community The Hindu Crossword Solutions (where too the puz has been wrapped up, with most of the participants from non-IST zone with their time advantage), I, as the moderator and resource person, wrote:
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at a well-dressed woman you may talk about the netti chutti that she is wearing and the golusu that she is sporting.
But you may ignore the oddiyanam that is around her waist.
Which reminds of an incident.
ReplyDeleteAt a meeting of likeminded friends a renowned Tamil writer with a lot of writing under his belt of Italian leather, iincluding 400 weekly columns in an uninterrupted series and still going strong, while speaking mentioned paadhaadhi kesham but his hand gesture was from top to bottom.
Later I told him "shouldn't your gesture, suiting word to action, have been from bottom upwards?"
He had a hearty laugh.
Hi Chaturvasi,
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me the nitty-gritty of the netti chutti, which is something new for me ?
Richard
Hi Chaturvasi,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry but what is 'paadhaadhi kesham'?
Deepak,
ReplyDeleteSorry for coming in.
I guess it means from 'toe to tip'. Chaturvasi's friend should have meant 'tip to toe'. 'Kesham' is hair, quite obviously.
Richard
Thanks Richard
ReplyDeleteGood morning all, quite interesting clues today. Soubrette and trochee, never encountered so far.
ReplyDelete@Richard
ReplyDeleteLike you, Puma was sheer guess.
27 - Handel not led back – not at home in retreat (7) - {HAN(-led)*}G{OUT} Where did G appear from?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the hyphen's there for a reason. The thing that connects "HAN" and "OUT" is like a blank (hyphenated blank) and perhaps the setter expects us to fill it up appropriately... Just guessin'
Visit
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?p=24052
Please use ctrl + F and put kesham in the search box and press Enter.
See highlighted result in the web page.
Richard
ReplyDeleteWhich remind me of Keshavardhini - a famous hair restorative that ruled the roost before all these MNCs came with their products. We miss so many familar products in familar package. E.g., Nanjangud tooth powder, Cheetahfight matches...
BTW, what would 'vardhini' mean?
Oh, must be 'that which makes it luxuriant'.
ReplyDeleteIn Tamil we have the word viruddhi meaning growth.
Dan
ReplyDeleteA very good point.
The clue writer seems to be looking at elements in the beginning and then at the end.
The hyphen - actually it is a dash but there is always a problem in rendering it all right in print unless you use the proper formatting or HTML tag or whatever - may well serve the purpose of the pause or omission in between.
It is a mistake but not a mistake.
'netti chutti' is a piece of ornament which is tucked into the hair of a woman and which lies along the middle parting on the head, the hook somewhere at the back but a beautiful pendant at the top of forehaead. Regularly worn by danseuses and usually by others on special occasions such as weddings.
ReplyDelete'golusu' is the anklet.
'oddiyanam' is the waist belt.
Chaturvasi Sir, regards Cheetahfight matches, recently a Tamil novel titled Vettupuli got published which is kind of history of those past days. It is written by Tamilavan.
ReplyDeleteCVasi sir,
ReplyDeleteI suppose vardhini is derived from the Sanskrit word vrddhi which means to increase/grow- thus elucidating the purpose of that product.
Cheetafight reminds me of my schooldays when I had a Matchbox label collection, had quite a few foreign ones too.
ReplyDeleteHi Chaturvasi
ReplyDeleteExactly. 'Vardhini' is what makes it luxuriant. I know the Tamil words originating from Sanskrit take a variation, like from 'vri' or 'vru' to 'viru'. 'Pirabakaran' from 'Prabhakaran' is a good example.
But, curiously enough, the word 'viruddh' has a different connotation in Sanskrit. It means something opposite or contrary. So how do we reconcile with 'Kesha-viruddh' if it is implied by its name?
By the way, when you post some interesting tidbits in languages like Tamil, please include its translation in English. Just a request. Thanks.
Richard
The author of Vettupuli is Tamilmagan.
ReplyDeleteI happen to have the book though I am yet to begin reading it.
27 - Handel not led back – not at home in retreat (7) - {HAN(-led)*}G{OUT} Where did G appear from?
ReplyDeleteG is possibly from the fact that HANDEL was a German Composer who spent most of his life outside Germany.
The elusive G has generated a lot of discussion today
ReplyDeleteC'Vasi Sir, yes it is Tamilmagan. Do tell me how you liked the novel. Planning to read it too.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the missing G I go with Dan's explanation
ReplyDeleteThe interesting conjectures on the '-' (the enigmatic dash) makes me recall what one of my English professors used to say in college.
ReplyDeleteWe all know how people's life-span is mentioned by the years of birth and death with a dash in between. e.g., Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948).
This scholar very often told his students that those two years mentioned were immaterial in a person's life. It was that 'dash' which was more important, stressing on how well and fruitfully one would have lived that duration.
The words keep ringing in my ears.
Richard
And when those references relate to living persons I think I have seen something like
ReplyDeleteChaturvasi (1943- ).
How ridiculous!
How nice if this is put down as
Chaturvasi (b. 1943)
I fully agree with you. The latter is the correct way to denote a living person.
ReplyDeleteRichard
Just a thought. Could G be from gravity (falling 'back'). Similar to virudh(i), we also have a word alochana which in Hindi means criticism and in Tamil means advice
ReplyDeletechaturji has a lot of Vainava Paribaashai at his command! nice to hear!
ReplyDelete21a - shouldn't the 'loses spectacles' come after 'one hour' rather than preceding it?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@vck: The clue does indicate the spectacles to be lost are "in" the words "one hour", so should be alright as construction. I believe the more experienced of the solvers here will ask that one imagine a comma after Chacha to indicate the separation between definition and word play - punctuation being fair game for trying to lead the solver down a imagined path as long as it can be justified for the word play.
ReplyDelete@ vck: I am not sure if you have read my yesterday's response to your query on the sequence of THC compilers. Hope you have not missed it.
ReplyDeleteRichard
s richard sir, just now saw; thanks so much!
ReplyDeletethanks veer.
veer, you do have a penchant for eloquence, dont you?! makes it nice to read!
ReplyDelete@vck: Thank you. Actually, all I try to do is make full sentences as I do not want to fall into the habit of SMS-ese that seems to afflict a lot of people brought up on a steady diet of blogs and internet posts. Such affliction becomes so ingrained, that, when one wants to actually write in correct English, the task seems beyond one's reach (working with my older daughter on her written work is sometimes taxing - she has vivid imagination and writes with a great voice but her imagination carries over to grammar as well!).
ReplyDeleteRichard and CVasi Sir here actually seem to be linguists and unbending grammar connoiseurs.
Dear Chaturvasi,
ReplyDeleteI am tamilmagan. Author of vettupuli.
I am eager to know feedback. can you share with me?
tamilmagan2000@gmail.com
www.tamilmagan.in