ACROSS
1 - Short sword nicked by young woman (7) – {CUT}{LASS}
5 - 18, perhaps - it's more difficult with nothing coming in (7) – {H{O}ARDER}
9 - Type of whisky found on a Mediterranean island (5) – {MALT}{A}
11 - Big burly broad (5) – LARGE [Triple D]
12 - Use the grapevine in part of castle, with one a threat, as it were? (4,2,3,2,3,6) – KEEP {AN EAR TO THE*} GROUND Anno not clear for Keep and Ground
17 - Moaning to an inmate, upset by onset of lawlessness (11) – {L}{AMENTATION*}
22 - A Welsh wood, flooded (5) – {A}{W}{ASH}
23 - Piece on crest of game bird (9) – {PART}{RIDGE}
26 - React badly to the French syrup (7) – {TREAC*}{LE}
DOWN
1 - Perfect lake to take part in a race around (8) – {COMP{L}ETE}
2 - Suffer later with toe being broken (8) – TOLERATE*
4 - Follow second lecture (5) – {S}{TALK}
5 - Pantomime character's dog (9) – HARLEQUIN
7 - Departs on the Spanish train (6) – {DIES}{EL}
8 - Sappers become weary and withdraw (6) – {RE}{TIRE}
14 - Jogger grabbing a rest (9) – {REM{A}INDER}
15 - Huge stunt following performance (8) – {GIG}{ANTIC}
19 - Frightened? Son was concerned (6) – {S}{CARED}
12a Keep is a part of a castle (there was even a movie called Castle Keep) where prisoners are lodged, and maybe, Ground refers to the open area??
ReplyDeleteKEEP AN EAR TO THE GROUND, I can say that the only LAMENTATION some people have on this forum is that they have to TOLERATE : Looking at the KIA Auto ads on the sidelines of the play and realising that NO-KIA is what we are more familiar with, one realises that every phase is passing: NO-NITA today, but tomorrow, as the song goes:
ReplyDeleteAnd then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
@ Col(8d: RETIREd Sapper): does it refer to Sappers who sap has sapped and hence has become a poor sap who can’t sit in a sap?
CUTLASS a weapon, MAGPIE an area on a target, quite a few military terms, also ref in 3a (A-GREE(men)T & 10a (A FAREWELLL TO ARMS). Fauna & flora get represented in MAGPIE, PARTRIDGE and ASTER.
13 June, 2010 08:32
Yesterday wasn't a MESSI game!
ReplyDelete@Kishore,
ReplyDeleteI did see Castle Keep when googling. I thought it should be
Keep ground = part of castle
but since I was not sure I did not enter it like that
HARLEQUIN reminded of the Agatha Christie short stories of Mr Harly Quin.
ReplyDelete@Veer,
ReplyDeleteRegarding you query (at the Orkut group) about Karate Kid, the movie was quite enjoyable, I took my son (another Sapper like me @Kishore he is not yet Sapped like me) and my grandniece (before you start feeling I am ancient, I am only 57) for the late night show.
It is a remake of the old Karate Kid. Does not have the usual Jackie Chan antics but still enjoyable as I mentioned.
A cowboy rode into town on Saturday and stayed 2 days and rode back out on Saturday. How?
ReplyDelete@Col.: Thanks for the quick review. Understand abut grand nieces, if I think hard enough I might come up with one or two as well - think its more a quirk of the times in which our earlier generations had more children than today's one or two per family.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to add to sap-happy Kishore's fun: I came across an interesting sentence construct today over at rec.puzzles.crosswords:
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."
I believe this is a perfectly valid grammatically correct sentence in English - uses B(b)uffalo in its various forms such as nouns, adjectives, verbs etc. It is also quoted in wikipedia, but feel free to crack its meaning for a minute...
Re the clue
ReplyDeleteUse the grapevine in part of castle, with one a threat, as it were? (4,2,3,2,3,6) – KEEP AN EAR TO THE GROUND
I think everything has been explained except what is 'ground' doing there.
This is an unusual clue.
Use the grapevine - def
in
part of castle, - KEEP
with
one a threat, as it were? - reverse anagram. That is if you take AN EAR TO THE and consider GROUND, following that phrase, as an AInd, you, my friends, will get ONE A THREAT.
@CV: Your reverse anagram explanation is perfect: 'An Ear to the Ground' in the answer refers to ground(=powder, mix, anagram) of the balance 'An Ear to the' to get 'one a threat'
ReplyDeleteKishore
ReplyDeleteI would think that 'ground' at the end of the clue is used in the sense of 'powdered' (in the past tense).
Brilliant CV,
ReplyDeleteGround as 'mix' would be more appropriate. Like our masalas and chutneys which are to be ground to a paste on the 'ammi kal' (did I get that right?)now outdated with the arrival of the ubiquitous Mixie. Grinding masalas on the ammi kal is a real art especially the way the ingredients are moved around on it to ensure even grinding.
@CVasi Sir: Beautiful exposition of the anno. for the reverse anagram. May I express a small quibble, or more likely, an offshoot of my relative newness?
ReplyDeleteThe use of the reverse anagram here seems to me more like a setter's clue than a solver's clue - brilliant use of English and smart formulation of the clue for a seamless reading by the setter using all his acumen and tools at his disposal much as an expert jeweller polishing a diamond. At the same time as a solver, how do I get "ground" from "as it were?" before solving the clue from its crossings? Or after solving from the crossings understand how "as it were" could lead to "ground"?
I understand that crossings are required to solve some of the cryptic clues like for example A girl's name being Alexandra in this puzzle - without crossings it could be any nine letter girl's name that could be a skating rink in London (should one exist or have existed..). But, once I have the crossings there is no doubt in such a clue as to the nature of the "girl's name"..
But a phrase such as "as it were" it does not lead to "ground" unless one thinks of the setter's intent as a reverse anagram. Thus, in short, my argument is that, for an even better and more beautiful reverse anagram clue, it could be a cryptic definition that clues ground and at the same time be phrased in such a way as to be a reverse anagram. That would make the clue solvable in that all the parts add up to the solution at hand and then some sleight of hand that shows the setter to be an absolute master at his craft. Without the CD, the clue seems to be circular in its logic. Apologies if I have been very circular in my logic here..
have seen only my Mom use the 'ammi kal' and the 'aattu kal', not forgetting the 'ural' with its 'kaippidi' (is this the term?).
ReplyDeleteThe first two were fixed to the ground in a corner of the back verandah of a palatial house set in some 10000 sq ft plot right here in Gopalapuram. The third was moved to wherever needed in the same veranda when the need arose.
When her daughters-in-law came into the household, all these became obsolete.
Now, even the electric wet grinders have become redundant, what with these ready-to-use batters in the market.
I hope our cricket team gets some ready to use batters!
ReplyDelete@Kishore,
ReplyDeleteHis horse?
Reverse anagram, that is clever, but as veer points out, would it often not involve reverse engineering?
ReplyDeleteYup, Giri.
ReplyDeleteIn the Eng/US play, Demerit lived upto his name and got a yellow, while Green let in a roller
@CVasi
ReplyDelete12 - Use the grapevine in part of castle, with one a threat, as it were? (4,2,3,2,3,6) – KEEP {AN EAR TO THE*} GROUND
Thanks for explaining the reverse anagram in this clue.
While solving, I had taken it 'as it were' as directly meaning GROUND(as in ground reality)
@CVasi,
ReplyDeleteI would like to share a similar experience last week just after you left Chenai on your sojourn. We were working on a clue in the Times group (Times Special of June 6, incidentally the second qualifier puzzle for the 2010 Times Crossword Championship)
What implies students will be seen early in the day at Yale (5)
Ans: SUNUP (sunrise/daybreak (esp used in US)
The Anno I suggested was
nus (students) is the reverse of sun (i.e., sun up). Yale is location indicator (in US)
Defn: start of day (called in US) - SUNUP
In noun form, 'Sunup' is used as a single word
Pl refer http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sunup
Veer, who was coordinating the Special, was not comfortable with the solution as it did not fall in any category of clue type he knew, where the UP in the solution SUNUP indicates the reversal of NUS given in the clue. However, I did remember reading in one of your articles.
Your valuable guidance would be helpful.
Venkatesh
ReplyDeleteYour anno/explanation is absolutely correct. There is nothing for me to add. Anyway -
SUNUP, SUN UP, implies NUS (students).
'[it]will be seen early in the day' is def for word reqd.
'in Yale' seems to be an embellishment. As you have said it might be an indication of USAism of the word (or not - because I am not sure if it is really an American term.)
Capello and his bespectacled, suave Italian looks reminded me of the mafia don in the older version of The Italian Job. For a moment, when Green let the ball through, I thought he was going to remove his glasses and say "Pretty car" as in the movie.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone
ReplyDeleteJoining in late, as I was away since morning. Turning the focus towards some trivia.
Today I was trying to convince an associate that one's own eyes and reflexes constitute the best spell-check and they are more dependable than the PC.
Thought of sharing with you all the text of a poster I have on the wall above my desktop, which proves that even the computer's spell-check is not fool-proof. It may not be new for some of you. But everyone can enjoy it.
Quote
S.P.E.L.L.B.O.U.N.D
I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I cannot sea.
I've run this poem threw it
I'm sure your pleased too no,
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My checker tolled me sew.
Unquote
Incidentally it carries a copyright tag:
[331] @ 1993 H&L Enterprises, El Cajon, CA 92020-1174 - Made in U.S.A. - All rights reserved
LOL Richard. Yew two.
ReplyDeleteJust finished watching ALG/SLV:
African country, neighbor is a mixed up South Afican Inuit (7)
All the action happened in the 75-90 minute gap. A risky save at around 78th min had the Slv goalie screaming at his defender. The Algy (any one remember Capt.WE Johns' Capt. Bigglesworth's friend ?) goalie let in a stoppable one, prompting the analyst to say that he goes to school with Green. What they need is an Enyeama (pun intended). And ZZ Zizou, the best known footballer of Algerian origin, was in the stands.
@Kishore: The Hon Algernon Lacey. What btw was Ginger's name?
ReplyDeleteWhy is Maradona wearing 2 watches? See pix at:
ReplyDeletehttp://epaper.expressbuzz.com/NE/NE/2010/06/13/index.shtml
LNS: Ginger Hebblethwaite
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKishore,
ReplyDeleteTUNISIA
Two watches
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/The-Explainer-Why-Maradona-wears-two-watches?urn=sow,247812
Col is not going to like this turning into a World Cuo blog, I think!
Sorry
ReplyDeleteCup not Cuo
Giridhar @ 20:58
ReplyDeleteCol is not going to like this turning into a World Cup blog, I think!
I too thought the same way and was about to post so. You saved my job.
@Kishore: I haven't thought about these guys in many decades now. Especially Hauptmann Erich von Stalhein of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) and the monocled Bertie Lissie. My procedure for reading Biggles was very straightforward - read the first chapter where Air Commodore Raymond gave Biggles the marching orders. From then on to a chapter generally titled 'Weather takes a hand', things would be similar to the pre lunch session of the first day of a 5 day test match. I read lot of the stuff in class - with the Biggles hidden inside a text. But after 'Weather takes a hand', the action would get serious and it always deservd serious attention.
ReplyDeleteThere was one story in particular which I remember distinctly. It was the one in which a saboteur places drugged sticks of chewing gum in some prominent place on the instrument panel of the Spitfire or Hurricane or whatever they were flying. The pilot used to chew the gum and crash soon after.
Was the action in India?
You guys out there.!! Give me an answer for the link-up of 5,18. I wonder whether a HOARDER is linked to MAGPIE because the latter is a hoarder? I fail to see the connection? I'm dying to know.!! I enjoy doing the Sunday Hindu, rather than the daily and indigenous cryptics.
ReplyDeleteI usually do not go by the annotations as the answers come to me as 'second nature'. I wish I had my answers for the exams in my academic years coming this easy. Ugh. I used to dread those nightmare days of my exams.
You guys have all the patience in the world to split the clues with a sledge hammer.I'd rather move on to the next crossword to make up my daily 'fix' in numbers for the day.!
Raju Umamaheswar