ACROSS
1 - Affectionately retrieved book lying crushed (8) - {LOV<-}{INGLY*} )
5 - Go up and down the Supreme Court list (6) - {SC}{ROLL}
9 - Laxative that is taken by parent carelessly (8) - APER{IE}NT* New word for me
10 - Dole's distributed by team leader to the most senile (6) - {OLDES*}{T}
12 - Way not to start an aircraft (4) - (-p)LANE
13 - Father overwhelmed by idleness and crime (10) - IN{FR}ACTION
15 - Customer's right established in Connecticut (6) - C{LIEN}T
17 - Lock Bill deserting performer (5) - (-ac)TRESS
20 - One of the things an expert is said to know (5) - ONION [CD] I liked the origin of this, see the link.
21 - Overlook nothing in bad reign (6) - IGN{O}RE*
24 - But one can eat this from an oval plate (6,4) - SQUARE MEAL [CD]
27 - Circus performer is to disappear quickly, it's said (4) - FLEA(~flee)
30 - Likely to heal in the case of most men laid up (8) - {RE}{ME(-n)}{DIAL*}
31 - Gives up and idles awkwardly at day's end (6) - {Y}{IELDS*}
32 - U.S. to take steps for a police watch (5-3) - STAKE-OUT*
DOWN
1 - Trustworthy soldiers leave — likely to be held legally responsible (6) - (-re)LIABLE
2 - Six pull Anne up in foreign city (6) - {VI}{ENNA<-} )
3 - It is at one's fingertip (4) - NAIL [E]
4 - Material on business taking a certain direction (5) - {LINE}{N}
6 - Oil extract in small measure for baby's illness (5) - C{OLI*}C
7 - Partial — indeed so unfair! (3-5) - ONE-SIDED*
8 - What early birds can't be accused of (8) - LATENESS [E]
11 - Learn about decay in plant (6) - C{ROT}ON
16 - Riddle in mega combination (6) - ENIGMA*
17 - Bird reported to change direction (4) - TERN(~turn)
22 - Extremist overlooked artist for one moment of the last month (6) - {ULT(-ra)}{I}{MO}
23 - Wager everything is included in entertainment (6) - B{ALL}ET
25 - Zealous academician gets order (5) - {RA}{BID}
26 - Able to notice record on time (5) - {AD}{EP}{T}
28 - Lift the tip? (4) - PERK [DD]
HERE is a photo of Bhavan and his wife Amudha.
Good morning All:
ReplyDeleteSome déjà-vu today:
a.GM continues NJ saga: the flea appears again with the housefly instead of the beetle and Shuchi’s observation about NJ’s end of the day makes an appearance too.
b.Had to Google Aperients for laxative. Reminded me of Neyartha giving a clue once, where the answer was Neyartha, a laxative.
c. EP in 26a reminded about EPs, LPs, RPMs and the Jukebox at Koshy’s
Initially filled up lethargy for 8d, but it didn’t get properly entwined in the actress’s tress. Turn/Tern would both fit 17d, depending upon which word one uses for definition and which for homonym.
On the whole, an enjoyable exercise today (feels good when you complete without having have to Google much). Stopped my self-inflicted balding process from progressing.
Best in ET:22d: Sudden crazy time ends for protein substance (6) & 30a:Tempt a learner to take a couple of pages right away(6)
@ Col: I hope you enjoyed the drowning clue I had sent you.
ReplyDeleteBTW could 28d be Peak?
@ Col: Agree on Perk
ReplyDelete20 A should have been onions (plural), to be appropriate
ReplyDeleteHomer nods!?
ReplyDelete@ Chaturvasi; Thanks for the ET Orkut link. It seems to be following ET, Mumbai, whereas I am doing ET, Bangalore, today being No.4307
ReplyDelete@ Giridhar: Setter says 'one of ', so permissible to have a singular allium. The word onion comes from the Latin word unio for "single," or "one," because the onion plant produces a single bulb, unlike its cousin, the garlic, that produces many small bulbs.
ReplyDeleteEach ToI edition has a different crossword: another of the pet peeves that I have against ToI, which is a commodity, not a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteThere is this ad supplement Times of T'Nagar in the Chennai edition. Features appear or not as per the ad level. If 'chess problem' is a feature you love and follow, you're not sure if the weekly issue will have it or not.
I stopped opening the paper so I may be saved from palpitations.
Today's puzzle is how a Cryptic XWord should be! Can anyone do anything to ensure like puzzles in the future?
ReplyDeleteGood morning all. I totally agree with you Colonel, what a gust of fresh air after 10 days of stifling nightmare.
ReplyDeleteMy reactions to
ReplyDelete24 - But one can eat this from an oval plate (6,4) - SQUARE MEAL [CD]
What!
Oh!
Aha! Got it!
Damn! That was nice!
Chuckle followed by bliss.
@ Col: Today you can celebrate with a double Patiala and Onions
ReplyDeleteGood after-morning (Since most part of the morning has elapsed, this is my new coinage)
ReplyDeleteAs for today's puzzle, could we say more POWER to GRIDman?
It was absolute pleasure today. I am aware that the THCC family is one hard-to-please lot. When it is smooth like this, there are murmurs. If it is tough, sighs.
As already expressed by a few here, today's is what a crossword ought to be.
There are many cute clues, so difficult to list. But I would classify 24A SQUARE MEAL, 7D ONE-SIDED, 16D ENIGMA and 18D as sparks of brilliance.
This is what worries me. If the same standards are not met in the coming four days, how do we react?
By the way, people from different places can enjoy with their own versions of a peg. How about Khandala Peg, Agartala Peg, Kapurthala Peg etc.
Deepak, being a Bangalorean, it's time you had devised your own Madivala Peg.
Or Palghat peg for Colonel?
ReplyDelete@ Satya, only names ending with 'ALA' qualify.
ReplyDelete@Richard, Sorry then. By the way, yesterday's Satya-garu brought a smile - repaying me in my own coin, eh? :-)
ReplyDelete@ Satya, 'Andariki manchivadu' is the mantra. (I guess it is about being good towards all.)
ReplyDelete@Richard,
ReplyDeleteRegarding 'sparks of brilliance' for 18D I feel "Residence insect?" would have been 'absolutely brilliant'
@ Deepak
ReplyDelete18D - In my opinion, that could have been a straight giveaway, being a verbatim clue.
I think Deepak suggests "Residence insect?" in jest. But I am afraid it doesn't pass for a clue because the phrase as such is not valid or acceptable.
ReplyDeleteWell you might ask "Is insect-in-residence valid?".
You have heard of "writer-in-residence", haven't you? A university invites a writer to come and stay in its campus and offers him all facilities so he can do some creative work in return for some minimal interaction with students.
Just imagine an "insect-in-residence". Insect in the sense of a despicable person who is a bloody nuisance to the householders.
The phrase "residence insect" does not evoke in the solver's mind any picture but "insect-in-residence" does!
Clue-writing is not a mere arrangement of words. It is a twist in the arrangement of words that lifts a clue to a higher level. I believe "insect-in-residence" does.
Richard: Great new coinage. Hope it gains currency!
ReplyDeleteThe Telugus can have a GhanTasaala peg!
ReplyDeleteAnswers to the ET clues are Enzyme and Entice.
ReplyDeleteChaturvasi: Commodity is the mot juste. I used to follow chess and was a long time follower of Mukul Sharma's Mindsport both off and on line. Now I prefer to play chess variants with my son.
ReplyDeletecontd: I and my son were amongst the 11 people who solved the Clash of Symbols puzzle in the last edition of Mindsport and us Mindsport followers formed a Yahoo group called puzzleteasers where I am pretty active at setting puzzles (not necessarily textual), when I have the time.
ReplyDeletecontd.: Josie Faulkner who edits puzzle books used to be pretty active in the group till some time back and she used to send me her Knights tour puzzles. Since these were colour coded and I am colour blind, she used to specially send me a numerically coded version.
ReplyDeletecontd: I once ran a puzzle titled 'Neon Lights' which was based on unlit alphabets in display signs. For eg: DYNASTY HOTEL (in Kuala Lumpur) had some lights unlit leading to NASTY HOTEL(This true fact inspired the puzzle) and it ran a hundred episodes.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I mentioned Neyartha as a laxative in my earlier post. I think it is more correctly an emetic. Will any expert clarify, since these two work at the opposite ends of the alimentary canal. Ronald Reagan once quoted somebody "The Government Treasury is like a child's alimentary canal: insatiable appetite at one end and irresponsibility at the other".
ReplyDeleteKishore, thanks for the explanation.
ReplyDelete