ACROSS
1 - Sworn statement by confused diva caught in a c'convulsion (9) - {A}{F'F{IDAV*}IT}
5 - A craze with bridge players gradually disappears (5) - {FAD}{ES} Nice one
8 - American author who would send letters (6) - MAILER [DD]
9 - Great agitation for those who follow postal code (8) - {TAILS}{PIN}
12 - Good, masterful steering needed in ocean current (4,6) - GULF STREAM*
15 - Leader liable to be held by murderer (7) - {C{APT}AIN}
16 - Creature, part worker, part big cat (7) - {ANT}{LION} Was fascinated by this insect as a kid. In malayalam it's called 'Kuzhiana', 'Kuzhi' for Pit and 'Ana' for Elephant
19 - A sound system of diagnosis (10) - SONOGRAPHY [E]
20 - Stake reversed on mount (4) - ETNA <-
23 - Engineer seized and observed (6) - {BE}{HELD}
24 - Alien artist bearing a cross in a run (5) - {E{X}T}{RA}
25 - Dividend for the one in half, say (9) - NUMERATOR [CD] Another nice one
DOWN
1 - Fighting forces get a sign to go around top of mountain (6) - {AR{M}IES}
2 - Escape? Go with worker, one serving travellers (6,9) - {FLIGHT} {ATTEND}{ANT}
4 - But it may still work when vehicle movement is not heavy (7,5) - {TRAFFIC} {LIGHT} Nice one
5 - For a writing instrument, bend, flatten pipe, take out article (4-3,3) - FELT-TIP PEN
6 - A home in which to relax? Patent dump, spruced up! (6,9) - DUPLEX APARTMENT*
7 - Beware, he may throw dust in your eyes (7) - SANDMAN [CD]
10 - Increase in the amount of guano, it meant trouble (12) - AUGMENTATION*
13 - Used in cookery by a bachelor ruler, preparing dosa (6,4) - {BA}{KING} {SODA*} Ha Ha
16 - Reduce the suffering of a wise one going around America the wrong way (7) - {A}{S{SU<}AGE}
18 - Place to keep food – French and German articles – around top of refrigerator (6) - {LA}{R}{DER}
21 - Costly pet (4) - DEAR
Hi everyone
ReplyDeleteAFFIDAVIT (a s...staggering clue!), FADES, MAILER, TAILSPIN, ECHO, GULF STREAM (nice anagram), ALARM, CAPTAIN, ANTLION (good one),IRENA(a variation of IRENE, rarely found now), SONOGRAPHY (liked this), ETNA, ANABOLIC, BEHELD (liked this too), EXTRA, NUMERATOR (took some time), ARMIES (Jai Jawan, Colonel Sir!), FLIGHT ATTENDANT (kept me up in the air for a while!), DUET (for some time kept wondering why KHYAL, the style of music propounded by the duo could not fit in - a tough clue for such a simple word), TRAFFIC LIGHT, FELT-TIP PEN (the hyphen hint helped here - nice anagram and deletion indicator), DUPLEX APARTMENT (doubly clever), SANDMAN, AUGMENTATION (neat anagram), BAKING SODA, ASSUAGE, LARDER, PET - all enjoyable.
Yes, some nice clues sprinkled in. Satisfactory puzzle. Colonel, I thought 21D was a DD ?
ReplyDeleteBhavan,
ReplyDeleteThanks, I seem to have got mixed up
A good, pleasant and relaxing crossword today
ReplyDeletegoes to show... u don't have to come up with esoteric words to come up with tough clues! :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice CW today too! Unfortunately, I got a bit cocky with 6D, and without looking thro' the full clue, I immediately put in DELUXE APARTMENT, ... 'cos everything "seemed" to fit. Of course, my NE quadrant was a quagmire after that! Took a full 20-30 mins to realize something was amiss... before fixing it! :-)
Eventually, missed out on 9,12,15 ac and 7dn... Argh! When I saw the answers I knew I shud've got them... if only I was a bit more patient! Anyway, yet another lesson learnt on patience!! haha
btw, how do we know in 21D if its Dear or Deer? Is it 'cos most normal ppl don't have deer for pets?? :)
Also, The Mishra brothers have an album "Mangal DEEP". Could that be too deep for this clue? ;-)
Col: The Devil's Larder was very funny! :)
ReplyDeleteHari, from costly = expensive = dear. And pet here is to mean something/someone dear. Not a specific animal.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle!! Liked 1D a lot.
ReplyDelete1A was like a stutter. Good one!
Couple of nice anagrams too.
Only doubt is on 13D. Could "a" that appears before "...baking soda" be ignored?
Hari,
ReplyDelete21D is a DD with DEAR meaning both Costly and Pet, I made a mistake annotating it initially, was corrected by Bhavan later.
Thx Bhavan @ Col. I had originally interpreted it as a DD meaning Costly and Pet (as in housepet). Hence the confusion w/ deer being a pet or not. Bhavan clarified it @ 8:47 ... pet being like "teacher's pet"... not a specific animal. That cleared it up for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
@ VJ 8:48 - Is BA a standard reference for Bachelor? Could it be interpreted as {A}{B}{KING}*, except of course... there's no anagram indicator if this were the case.
ReplyDeleteHari,
ReplyDeleteIn CW's BA is standard reference for Bachelor, like BE is for Engineer
@Colonel: like the annotations cheat sheet, it might be handy to add a few of the standard definitions in the left side navigation bar ?
ReplyDeletehi all
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. I got only 15 mts in the morning as Malya Paksham starts and busy with some domestic duties. First vertical half is very easy last quarter of the grid had me glued. Paucity of time forced me to rush through.
Nice my guesses (hope the no of s is right-optical illusion-haha) also right in that part.
Hari,you seem to be in a state of euphoria carrying the thump u got yesterday...whats ur fruit today apple or banana. yesterday it is pomegranate?
Dont mistake me suddenly a doubt crossed my mind about LIon being a cat family, and plural of armies, Gulf stream is a nice one.
Enjoyable offering.
Good day
Mathu.
Bhavan,
ReplyDeleteThat list will become toolong
@Colonel, I understand. May be just linking to an external site like this might help.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword_abbreviations
I'll leave it to your discretion. Thanks
Thanks Bhavan,
ReplyDeleteI shall add that link
It was Hari's turn yesterday, and today, it is mine: in the twelve or thirteen years since I was taught how to solve these puzzles, I completed it for the first time!
ReplyDeleteOne would think that it's ridiculous for someone to take such a long time to have one finished crossword under their belt, but, truth be told, I have never been a regular solver. Every year I would begin solving on a whim, but within a week or two the interest would wane. (I doubt it's a seasonal thing.) But in the past few weeks I have persisted.
As for today, I was led to certain answers by accident. I wonder if I would have finished it so quickly had I used a dead-tree dictionary instead of one online, without word suggestions, for a couple of the clues. Still, I would be happier if I finish a grid set by one of the tougher setters.
Hari, I put in DELUXE APARTMENT, initially, too!
Congrats Navneeth
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable puzzle by Sankalak. Perhaps his best offering I ve solved till date
ReplyDeleteThank you, Colonel.
ReplyDeleteSorry for this personal reference.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I have always liked the name Navneet or Navneeth. It is common to both genders. While I have a male colleague in the media, I can also recall Navneet Nishan, a once-popular female Hindi TV and movie artiste. I guess a few friends will remember having seen her on TV some years ago, if not lately.
Navneet means freshly formed butter during the churning process. It has its roots in Punjab. It also means 'a person who is always fresh'.
Navneeth, please pardon me if I have stepped into your personal domain. Please take it in the spirit it is intended with.
Richard:
ReplyDeleteWhy does 'Navneet' have its roots in the Punjab? Because butter chicken was invented in Ludhiana?
LNS
I don't understand the Punjab reference.
ReplyDeleteDon't we have the line "nandakumara navaneetha chora" in Carnatic music and bhajans?
This is what Wikipedia says
ReplyDelete'Navneet is a name in use in India of Punjabi Sikh origin derived from the Sanskrit word "navaneet" meaning "fresh butter". Therefore, its come to mean, "one who is ever new." It is of fairly recent creation and has been used for both boys and girls.'
Of course I have known of Shri Krishna being described as navneet chor. It is possible that the practice of naming children so originated in the Punjab.
ReplyDeleteNavneeth, please pardon me if I have stepped into your personal domain. Please take it in the spirit it is intended with.
ReplyDeleteNot a problem at all, Mr. Richard. I'm from Madras (always been), and male (ditto). And I was born around Krishna Janmaashtami. Hope that clears everything up.
Oh, and vegetarian too.
Thanks, Navneeth.
ReplyDeleteThere is quite a similarity among the words in different languages for NEW:
ReplyDeletenava, naya, neo (prefix), nouveau.
It would be interesting to know their etymology - there may be a common root.
In a similar vein, the Latin Deo and the Sanskrit Dev(aha) (and derivatives thereof).
ReplyDelete