8 - Kind of letter that may be required to get a good job (14) - RECOMMENDATION [E]
9 - Every second Khan will note back fifty per cent size of the long tunic (6) - {K}{A}{ME}{EZ
11 - Kind of soldier to order the head officer (8) - {COMMAND}{O}
13 - Go ahead for the feature film, I will miss on (4,2) - {MOViE} {ON}
14 - Private code (6) - SECRET [DD]16 - Comedian will lure the character (6) - L{A}URE{L} Where did A and L come from ?
19 - Get back over to the feat (6) - {RE}{COUP}
21 - Freedom from rigorous imprisonment for a couple of Democratic heads in the chancery (8) - {RI}{DD}{ANCE}23 - It may help shed artificial tears (8) - GLYCERIN [CD]
24 - Ritual procedure (6) - CUSTOM [DD]
26 - Swung light pair of components on the eve of May Day (9,5) - WALPURGIS NIGHT* Never heard of this before
DOWN
1 - Producers of an orchestra could be not happy in the beginning (8) - CREATORS
2 - Rosacea is a form of it (4) - ACNE [E]
3 - Parrots in the river (6) - AMAZON [DD]
5 - Notice the boy finally is in a state of mania due to lack of strength (8) - {AD}{Y}{NAMIA*}
6 - Large owl is on the street in the capital of Rome with nine miscellaneous items (5,5) - {ST}{R}{IX} {VARIA} Hearing this for the first time
12 - Exchange the short sign after I measure up with the device (10) - MICROSCOPE Anno pending(Addendum - {MI<-}{CROS
17 - Employers' tool during the course of negotiations (8) - LOCKOUTS [CD]
18 - Agitated behaviour of the French worker in charge (7) - {FR}{ANT}{IC}20 - Affected by the wind, I am held in alone awkwardly (6) - EOL{I}AN
22 - Pleasant last month of the specialist (6) - {DEC}{ENT}
25 - Second day of the teacher (4) - {S}{AGE}
Hello everybody:
ReplyDeleteLearnt a few new words, after Google search. Was in two minds for a while on 8A - RECOMMENDATORY or RECOMMENDATION? So the crossings took more time. Liked some clues. 16A, 12D were sheer guessrd. Could not get 26A, 6A
@ Deepak, all said and done, 21 A - Remembered your now-famous quote - That's what we hope to have over this week. Moksha, Nirvana or whatever...
Hi ,
ReplyDeleteI know it is a rather lame explanation, but can AL in 16a be the character Al Capone or some similar one?
Borneo reminded of my visit to Kota Kinabalu and Orang Utangs, Pigmy Elephants and Rafflesia, not to remember the Durian.
Lots of esoteric stuff today, what?
Third line of the first para above to read '16A and 12D were sheer guesses.'
ReplyDeleteSome addition to GK today - Walpurgis night, Strix varia and Adynamia.
ReplyDeleteDoes 'day' stand in for 'age' generally?
How does 'me' come in in 9A?
@Giridhar,
ReplyDeleteME or MI is the note from DO-RE-MI....
Day and Age are synonymous in a sense
12 - Exchange the short sign after I measure up with the device (10) - MICROSCOPE Anno pending
ReplyDelete{MI<-}{CROS(-s)}{COPE}
(cope = exchange)
Thanks Deepak
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandhya
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All
ReplyDeleteToday is a real toughie for me. Could crack only 10. Never heard of some words like walburgis though i filled the second part.
Good to knew how it all cracked.
Good day
Mathu
Two more days of NJ after which we will need to use Glycerin to shed Crocodile tears for her
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't solve 26A and 17D.
16 - Comedian will lure the character (6) - L{A}URE{L} Where did A and L come from ?
ReplyDeleteAnagram of ALLURE?
first time i cracked NJ puzzle
ReplyDeleteSome of the same comments: 23 AC: Glycerin and 20 DN: Eolian are both US spellings. Please refer
ReplyDeletehttp://www.askoxford.com:80/concise_oed/glycerine?view=uk
http://www.askoxford.com:80/concise_oed/aeolian?view=uk
It's ok however as these days 'The HINDU' itself has a lot of Americanisms.
I see no reason why we should be fixed on British spellings. American culture has a great influence on India - the movies, sitcoms, music, fashion etc. So why be bothered by their spellings?
ReplyDeleteI feel both British and American spellings should be acceptable in Indian English. In crosswords, IMO, compilers should have the freedom to use both British and American spellings as it suits the grid. This could be an added twist.
VJ: I'm not fixated on British spellings. But somehow I expect British (or Indian) spelling everytime - this is just an old habit. At work and in my personal life, I use only American spellings :) Your point abt American culture having a great influence is so true however.
ReplyDeleteStill if there are words like 'realise', 'mechanise' etc, I'm sure I'd trip up if the 'z' were expected in a crossing!
PS: I don't do any American crosswords
All this talk of British/US influences in India is beside the point.
ReplyDeleteWhat a solver expects in this feature - and what a newspaper should insist on - is consistency.
What we are solving is THC and surely solvers would expect to be sure what spelling is followed. One compiler using US spelling and another using British spelling means there is no control! And if the same compiler uses British spelling in one grid and US spelling in another, it smacks of carelessness or laziness in fitting words.
Deepak: Sorry over the deletions; some problems with the account today.
One's preference for British or US spelling is personal.
ReplyDeleteI have been a prolific poster in US forums and while co-members - mostly Americans - used US spelling/usage, I felt no constraints and naturally used UK spellings/usage. No one had any objections.
What is the spelling that India uses? What is the spelling that the paper concerned uses? Certainly not US spelling/usage. Then the crossword in it must also use the same spelling. This is simple logic.
Chaturvasi, I agree with you there. In addition to what you have stated, switching between spellings doesn't add any value and only causes confusion. To take this a little further, in the US, 'insure' has replaced 'ensure' for all practical purposes. Nobody seems to use 'ensure' anymore. Imagine the havoc if a crossword setter gave a clue for ensure and expected the American equivalent. May be this is stretching things a bit too far, but where does one stop? Already meanings of words are stretched quite a bit by some setters.
ReplyDeleteIf a compiler uses UK spelling in some grids and US spelling in other grids, those grids wherein US spellings are used may as well have a note to solvers: Answers to Clue such and such and Clue such and such use American spellings.
ReplyDeleteThe standard should be one, be it UK or US spelling, and indicators provided in case of variation
ReplyDeleteDoes any standard UK crossword in standard UK papers such as The Times, DT, Guardian, Daily Mail use US spellings in its grids/clues?
ReplyDeleteIndication within the clue?
ReplyDeleteCV, COL and VJ: with words like 'kameez' and 'kartikeya' expected as solutions, it's perhaps appropriate to say that THC is a fully Indian puzzle. That brings us to the question of what's the appropriate Indian spelling. I guess the Jury's more or less out on this question from the point of view of younger people, especially those who received their school and college education in the 80's or later. Old fogies like me would have been penalized in my time severely if I had written 'Awake, Eolian lyre, awake'.
ReplyDeleteThat brings me to the other question which has been bugging me for a very long time. How come there's no Indian Style Manual along the lines of an Oxford Style Manual or the Chicago Style Manual?
In my limited experience solving the Times daily cryptic puzzles I have not come across instances of American spellings used, with or without indication..However, on one Sunday Times puzzle (not the same as the other days' Times Cryptics) there was this clue:
ReplyDelete4. It’s saucy sailors! (6)
It received much criticism in the blogosphere (British origin) for using an American spelling without indication, but the clue itself was nice I thought.
The clues in the daily cryptics use several references that can be termed "Americanisms", like GI for American soldier, ER for American Emergency Room, pass to American teammate = ASSIST and so on but are appropriately clued to indicate said Americanism..
But in cases where there could be two possible ways to spell the solution the word play usually makes it pretty clear what spelling is intended and without having to resort to point out the origin of the spelling (British or US..), as in, for example, a clue in yesterday's Times cryptic:
18. Get to have each pound in pay hike (7)
LNS, I wouldn't go as far as saying that THC is a "fully" Indian puzzle. More often than not, we come across Latin phrases, French/ Spanish/ German clues and words like Menominee, bien etc. I think it'd be more apt to say that THC is an English crossword puzzle with a slight Indian accent.
ReplyDeleteIf the wordplay is fair and clue is good, it's not gonna be difficult for the solver to figure out which spelling (American or British) he/ she has to look out for.
I've come across wordplay - never solutions - using US spelling in UK crosswords. UK spelling is the default and not indicated (e.g. @veer's REALISE clue); US spelling is expected to be indicated.
ReplyDeleteTo me, arbitrarily shifting spelling style for the convenience of the compiler is inelegant to say the least. A solver can figure it out - so what! I can understand this line - "Red is a colour. Blue is also a color.", but it sure needs correction.
I have solved cryptics in US papers such as NYT but they have never used UK spellings.
ReplyDeleteThe solver should know what spelling to expect in the grid.
Off to watch the English reply in WT20 semifinal.
Unlike UK or US, India is not a native English speaking country. Here, in common usage, British and American spellings are used interchangeably and I've seen this happen a million times even in formal communications. It's become a matter of preference now. This is not the case in native speaking countries.
ReplyDeleteMy point is, alternate spellings are fine as long as it's a fair clue and word-play leads to a spelling that fits the definition.
Some questions/comments about other clues...
ReplyDelete24A: "Ritual procedure" is like "returned back" - wrong English. Second, it is not a proper double-definition, the two definitions are synonyms.
3D: "parrot" will gel with AMAZON, not "parrots". (Compare with "native of Asian country" vs. "natives of Asian country", for INDIAN)
16A: Did anyone get this fully? VJ?
@Shuchi: Thanks for the link in your post - I did not check your site when I wrote the response. I should have - would have made it easier. Btw, hopefully, you plan to collect those writings into a cryptic book for publishing. Think it is well worth the effort as the information is organized differently than a lot of the crossword books I have come across and presents a very nice way to look at these puzzles. I would be in line to get an authographed copy of one of those if and when you publish it!
ReplyDeleteOn the second post on the quality of the clues, I see no point in arguing the merits of NJ clues. In every puzzle there are a few and history tells that the number of dubious clues on average shows no trend of increased learning or caring or attention to detail on the part of the setter (though I have not crunched the numbers of dubious clues over time, my theory is anecdotal). And too easy for seasoned cryptos like yourself or CVasi Sir or the Col. to pick on. It is nice when Sankalak or Neyartha come on and discuss the merits of clues or as in the case of GMan show that picking faults is more difficult than cracking the clues.
...in common usage, British and American spellings are used interchangeably and I've seen this happen a million times even in formal communications
ReplyDeleteBy formal communication standards (my work involves a lot of it), we choose the spelling style that the client/recipient is most comfortable with, and stick to it. Using spelling styles interchangeably is sloppy.
We see all kinds of English all the time. To include spelling inconsistency in crosswords just because it happens elsewhere is a very odd reason in its favour.
@veer: Thanks for your nice words :)
ReplyDeleteAgree with you about NJ's clues. I should have addressed those questions to VJ, perhaps, as I was surprised to see this called a "nice puzzle".
I don't solve NJ's crosswords closely nowadays but I guess there is a slight improvement since the very initial days.
How come no one discussed about the MS-word's red-underlining the words like honour, favourable, colour, etc.
ReplyDeleteI doubt anyone will read this, as the same is being published on 14/05/10 early morning
Shuchi (11:57) PM, That's not what I meant. I've seen different people using different standards and it's just a matter of choice. It's not mandatory that everybody's gotta use the same standards.
ReplyDeleteIt would not be fair to totally equate Indian English with British English. The problem is, we don't have an "Indian standard English"
Shuchi (12:21 AM), It's just been couple of months since I started solving Hindu crosswords, so I don't know much about the very initial days.
ReplyDeleteI said "Nice puzzle" because I liked solving the puzzle. Overall experience was satisfactory and that's what matters to me. There could have been a few mistakes/ errors here and there but I wouldn't focus my attention too much on those.
Shuchi 11:32 PM,
24A: Custom is synonymous with both "ritual" and "procedure" (in some sense) So I wouldn't complain much.
3D: I'm fine with this one. Q1: Parrots you'll find in.... A1: Amazon Parrots Q2: this river A2: Amazon river
16A: I didn't get this one. I had to rely on the crossings rather than the clue.
How come no one discussed about the MS-word's red-underlining the words like honour, favourable, colour, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis happens when your current dictionary is English (US). It will begin to underline honor, favorable, color when you change the language settings to English (UK).
@VJ: different people using different standards and it's just a matter of choice. It's not mandatory that everybody's gotta use the same standards.
When a group works on the same thing, the same standards apply for everyone. If the The Hindu crossword wants to make a choice in favour of US spelling, all we are asking for is consistency. The standard cannot vary to suit the whims/conveniences/limitations of every compiler, and a different "standard" for every word.
@VJ
ReplyDeleteThere could have been a few mistakes/ errors here and there but I wouldn't focus my attention too much on those
When such errors lead you astray, what satisfaction do you get?
@Subramaniam,
ReplyDeleteMS Word's default dictionary is English (US), you need to change that to English (UK)