Tuesday, 8 June 2010

No 9863, Tuesday 08 Jun 10, Sankalak

ACROSS
1   - A thin flow that may deceive the French (7) - {TRICK}{LE}
5   - Motionless type of disturbance in the radio (6) - STATIC [DD]
11 - Objective — love by dawn of Wednesday to provide a source of income (5) - {END}{O}{W}
12 - Worker in reserve force lies badly to tease and torment (9) - {T{ANT}A}{LISE*}
13 - Courage in pain is a strong point, accepting reversal of duties pointlessly (9) - {FORT}{ITUDEs*}
14 - Father had dinner in Puerto Rico (5) - {P{ATE}R}
15 - Fail to find a note in the Book (4) - {O{MI}T}
17 - Dishonourable soldier sent back by aristocrat (7) - {IG<-}{NOBLE}
21 - Rank indication on the shoulder (7) - STRIPES [CD]
22 - A single time (4) - ONCE [E]
26 - Plants that yield a spirit in a second (5) - {A}{RUM}{S}
27 - A labyrinth people start testing in great surprise (9) - {A}{MAZE}{MEN}{T}
29 - Where, in a restaurant, questions may be asked? (9) - GRILLROOM &lit
30 - Legal to lose a pound? Terrible! (5) - lAWFUL
31 - Old city, one among the best (6) - THEBES [T]
32 - Gin cocktail, weak in content but it is fashionable (2,5) - {IN {THIN}G*}
ACROSS
2   - Horseman on a trip with a touch of regret (5) - {RIDE}{R}
3   - Gastropod a source of milk? That is about right (6) - {COW}{R}{IE}
4   - Sort of paper for an ‘acid' test in the lab (6) - LITMUS [CD]
6   - It creates a stir in the cup that cheers (8) - TEASPOON &lit
7   - Competition event that leaves half of London athirst, without a drop of sustenance, writhing (9) - {TRIATHs*}{LON}
8   - Shout about that girl's fruit (6) - {C{HER}RY} Cherry blossoms while in full bloom is a beautiful sight
9   - Say, look at things to eat — shrimp, prawn and so on (7) - (~see){SEA}{FOOD}
10 - Be subjected to shaking ground around the east (7) - {UND{E}RGO*}
16 - Endless university stunt is disturbing (9) - INTRUSIVEy*
18 - Boy is back to clear up and end an association (8) - {DIS<-}{SOLVE}
19 - It takes almost ten years around a post office to find a crab, for example (7) - {DECA{PO}De}
20 - Productive and free, till endless change occurs (7) - {FER{TILl}E*}
23 - A bit of drudgery earned a meat dish (6) - {FAG}{GOT}
24 - Personal servant in the army, a comic chap (6) - BATMAN [DD] Word no longer used in the Indian Army we now call them 'Sahayaks' meaning helpers.
25 - Something reworked from days of yore has hidden here (6) - REHASH [T]
28 - The Spanish swimmer's aid is small and delicate (5) - {EL}{FIN}

31 comments:

  1. Hi
    There was a time when a 24d used to use 8a Blossom (along with spit) on shoes of the guys with stars and 21a along with Brasso and Blanco on other bits of uniform

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  2. Similar job was done in British residential schools for the seniors by 23d.

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  3. Good morning

    Many nice clues. Quite a few references to crustaceans and seafood. The other day we had SHELL - explosive found on beach. Sankalak may be taking walks on the beach in the mornings/ evenings. Not sure if he lives in a port city. Just kidding.

    COWRIE is derived from Hindi Kauri, which has also connections with Sanskrit kaparda and Tamil kotu.

    Kauri, pronounced as Kaudi, was used as money in ancient times. That's why you find the dialogue - mere paas ek phooTi kaudi bhi nahin hai, meaning 'I don't have even a broken shell', 'I am totally broke'.

    For the last two or three days, the blog update appears about ten minutes late (8:40-ish). Can't figure out if it is a problem to do with my PC / ISP / server.

    What's the experience of our friends here? I have also noticed that the initial comments too appear after 8:40 unlike earlier days.

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  4. Further to 8:58 - The dialogue is commonly heard in Bollywood movies.

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  5. @ Richard: Time trial, as per my PC it is now 0900

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  6. @ Richard 859, He is so broke, he does not a broken kaudi. Must have worked with a broker, who broke him.

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  7. Hi Richard,
    Check the time of your computer. I have seen the blog up at 8:30 and Kishore's or your comments in at 8:31 so I don't think there is anything wrong with blogger except for today's post which was delayed as you said though I do not know why

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  8. @12A Tantalise

    The Clue I enjoyed in my early days of Crossword learning in the 70's in IE Bombay was:

    Take off with tantalising effect(5,5).

    Today's 12A took me down the memory lane.

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  9. Wading into an &Lit or CD question:
    For both clues for which the Col. indicated were &Lit:

    29 - Where, in a restaurant, questions may be asked? (9) - GRILLROOM &lit

    6 - It creates a stir in the cup that cheers (8) - TEASPOON &lit

    I would have thought they would be CD's.

    In my understanding of &Lit, a part of the clue would yield a solution that would make sense only if the whole clue is reread as a definition again.

    In both the above cases, the whole clue is a definition of the solution but no separate part of the clue provides the hint of a solution, which would be a classic def. of a CD, is it not?

    Thanks for clarifying the point for me. Veer

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  10. 13 - Courage in pain is a strong point, accepting reversal of duties pointlessly (9) - {FORT}{ITUDEs*}

    Is the anno. FORT{(-se)ITUD<-}E more reflective of the clue (accepting being a container indicator for reversed duties without SE)?

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  11. Deepak and Kishore

    Time check: My PC shows 10-01 am.

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  12. Richard@10.02

    Yes,did you enjoy that?

    I learn a lot everyday from this blog, thanks to Col,Yourself, Kishore, CV sir, VJ and all the regular contributors.

    Thanks.
    Dr.D.Srinivasan

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  13. Dr @ 10:09

    Re this blog, ditto here. I have honed my skills with the help of comments from veterans here for over a year now. If I can get most of the answers easily now, all credit to the Col and his blog, and its followers.

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  14. @COL: So the Officer's Batman has become a Sahayak. There's a very nice scene in 'Hum Dono' with Dev Anand as Maj. Verma and a very Nepalese looking actor as his batman. I think he's either shining his shoes or making a drink for him. It'd be wonderful if somebody could post the video.

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  15. Hi All

    I started the morning well, and had most of the clues done, had 3 left over, all on the left bottom corner.

    The problem started here:
    21A - Rank indication on the shoulder (7) I had this as EPAULET, which i am sure can also be correct. Didn't have the other crossings then.

    Because of this couldn't get 16D and 18D. On surface reading why can't 21A be EPAULET ?

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  16. Hey Ramna, Epaulette is a french word, spelled "Epaulet" in American usage. Indian crosswords generally go with British spellings and so "Epaulet" is not really an option.

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  17. veer@9:55 13 A 'Strong point' being the definition of 'FORTE' your explanation seems to be correct.

    Especially if 'pointlessly' in the clue means stripping all direction indicators (S,E) in this case.

    Deepak, is my understanding of 'pointlessly' correct?

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  18. 15 A I guess OT is Old testament for book. How does one get 'MI'? I guess it has something to do with note. Can someone please explain?

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  19. Giridhar @ 18:21

    This point has been discussed here once earlier.

    The western equivalent of Indian musical notes Sa-re-ga-ma-pa-da-ni is Do-re-me(also mi)-fa-sol-las-si. So it is the third note.

    Perhaps you have watched the movie 'The Sound of Music' (1965) with actress-singer Julia Andrew playing the lead.

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  20. Sorry for sounding like lassi with a typo. It should be Do-re-me(also mi)-fa-sol-la-si.

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  21. Giridhar @ 18:17,

    You are correct about pointlessly.

    Ramna @ 16:46

    EPAULET is correct from surface reading, in fact it is more apt as EPAULETS are worn on the shoulders, whereas one would normally associate STRIPES (Sergeant,Corporal etc) with the sleeve, the airforce and naval ranks which have stripes on them are also EPAULETs only. However it is obvious why it cannot be used, because if you do, then you will never get 16D and 18D

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  22. Richard, you are right! In fact I think I was the culprit(asking the question) on the earlier occasion too. I apologize.

    Yes I have seen the TSM and also a Hindi version of it with Jitendra and Jaya Bhadhuri, though I can't recall the name of the movie.

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  23. I came to know about the existence of these syllables only after I started solving THC. I'm familiar only with the "CDEFGAB" version. I really wonder who uses this do re ma thingy...

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  24. Thanks Deepak and Richard for the clarifications.

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  25. Giridhar @ 18:50

    Was it not Parichay?

    Still remembering the song Musafir hoon yaron, na ghar hai na thikana, rendered so beautifully by the late Kishore Kumar, under the baton of Pancham-da (R D Burman).

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  26. Yes Parichay it is. And Musafir hoon..is indeed a beautiful song by Kishore Kumar.

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  27. Small correction: The notes are Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Ti(not si) as evidenced in TSM song:

    Doe, a deer, a female deer
    Ray, a drop of golden sun
    Me, a name I call myself
    Far, a long long way to run
    Sew, a needle pulling thread
    La, a note to follow sew
    Tea, I drink with jam and bread
    That will bring us back to Do

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  28. The note, conventionally, is si, but occasionally used as ti. Perhaps more so in the movie for the 'tea' effect - to go with the lyrics.

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  29. Point noted, Richard: I never studied music, only heard the song, so presumed it to be GT

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