ACROSS
1 - A slap to pal makes him faint (7) - APPALLS*
5 - Having endowment reduced in retirement (7) - {B{LESS}ED}
9 - Part of speech printed in journal (7) - ARTICLE [DD]
10 - Believing like a severest fool (7) - IDIOTIC Anno pending
11 - Soldier now becomes a proprietor (5) - OWNER* (re+now)
12 - Never going brown so maybe pine (9) - {EVER}{GREEN}
13 - Have the right money and demand food (5,4) - {EXACT} {FARE}
15 - Holds firmly to abstain from food (5) - FASTS [DD]
16 - Scoundrel Ted came across, was treated in improving behaviour (5) - {CUR}{ED}
18 - Ability to endure the permitted variation (9) - TOLERANCE [DD]
21 - In bars tea may be served for the teetotaller (9) - ABSTAINER*
24 - A fat boy ordered to come from behind (5) - {A}{(B)AFT*}
25 - They increase the volume finally (7) - {ADD}{END}{A} Anno doubtful. Last A from ?
26 - Firemen ordered to hide equipment (7) - {B{RIG}ADE} Brigade by itself is in no way Synonymous with Firemen
27 - Lee took men to square in determining fact in a problem (7) - {ELE*}{MEN}{T}
28 - Fill up at it, as perhaps given direction (7) - {SATIAT*}{E}
DOWN
1 - Jack by himself found edible shellfish on the coast (7) - {AB}{ALONE}
3 - The money, one warned must be cut (9) - {L}{ACE}{RATED} Are warned and rated Synonymous?
4 - Large number seen about particular business activity (5) - {S{C}ENE*} Business?
5 - The new wife happily going into prison (9) - {BRIDE}{WELL} Happily going - Well ?
6 - Carefully observing (5) - EYING [E]
7 - Models one shouldn't miss (7) - SITTERS [DD]
8 - Moves to another area in the last month with the workers (7) - {DEC}{ANTS}
14 - Menial person present (9) - ATTENDANT [DD]
15 - One who is too pernickety to make an inventory (9) - {FORM}{A}{LIST}
16 - Heard Bill proposed and acted a riddle (7) - CHARADE* (heard+ac)
17 - Remainder acceptable to satisfy desire (7) - {RESID{U}E*}
19 - Falls back once more on the artist (7) - {NIAGA<-}{RA} The only decent clue in the lot
20 - The most violent to meet former resistance ring leader (7) - {EX}{T{R}EME*}
22 - At nine a girl gets agitated (5) - ANNIE*
23 - Arranges sober dresses (5) - ROBES*
Hi
ReplyDeleteAB initio, its all ABout ABALONE, ABAFT, ABSTAINERS, ...
Continuing the anagram topic, today’s clue:
11a Soldier now becomes a proprietor (5)OWN*-ER*
Soldier – RE is anagrammed, not reversed as per anno as ‘becomes’ is an Aind. and not a reversal indicator, but effect, of course, in a two letter scenario is reversal. But it would be wrong to give the anno as OWN*-ER<- . Same applies for meet in 20d. If the clue was worded ‘Soldier returned and now became a proprieter’, then OWN*-ER<- would be correct. So, the intention of the setter determines whether a two (or more) letter bit is reversed or anagrammed.
9A Also appears in today’s NIE as 20A It’s meant to be read so make it clear (7)
Did not know what pernickety was, but could guess once the crossings came in that it was FORM-A-LIST. The realised 1 pernicket anagrammed is a nitpicker.
NIAGA<--RA, EX(T(R)EME*), B(LESS)ED, EVERGREEN were nice.
In 10 a should the first word in the clue be Behaving ?
Should 25a be interpreted as a cryptic clue, since addenda add volume to volumes (books) at the end, i.e. finally
ReplyDeleteAgree with all other doubts raised by Deepak.
4d mebbe scene as in 'what's up on the real estate scene?'
ReplyDeleteI had to give up after some time. I was clueless for the most part
ReplyDeleteKishore,
ReplyDelete"In 10 a should the first word in the clue be Behaving ?"
It fits, but it requires a lot of believing. Well there's no way it could have been a typo.
Late evening yesterday Ajeesh pointed out that a aprticular clue in yesterday's puzzle is a repeat of a clue and he mentioned the puz no. I find that the xwd concerned is by the same setter.
ReplyDeleteSo it seems that instead of trying out a new tack the setter has used a clue from his own stock.
This kind of repeats and also plagiarisms if any would have gone unnoticed some four decades ago but today with computers and Internet and blogs and software to maintain dBs with search- all facility, setters are in a vulnerable position and are in danger of being exposed by alert solvers who like Suresh can quote chapter and verse.
Under such circumstances, careful setters can beat the other side by using the very same means.
Painstaking setters can even avoid lights within a crossword or within a bunch or within a particular period by maintaining lists and doing some searches.
In the UK crossword editors keep track of repeats and often change lights/clues to avoid repeats in a short period.
Finally, some words may not offer a great variety of treatments. Try writing a clue for OKAPI or ENNUI.
In jest
ReplyDeleteAnimal's excitement over south Indian beverage? (5)
Could have especially if Pitman is involved and l and h are both ascending, one curved and the other straight with a hook. But I seriously doubt if Pitman is involved at all. I think even a dictaphone could give this sort of result if the auditor is audibly challenged.
ReplyDeleteThe above clue was written after my devoted wife brought in my second cup of coffee!
ReplyDeleteI might add that her devotion to me at this moment is because of her addiction to the beverage.
O KAAPIII!!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteLadies finger without a right, followed by a baked dish without an end, gets you a relative of the horse who was kicked on the chin by Rajini. (5)
ReplyDeleteFrench one direction, that is mixed up for boredom(5)
CV: I think the last line of your 852 would work perfectly if you substituted the her with my and me with her. :-)
ReplyDeleteKishore
ReplyDeleteYour clue for OKAPI is completely original carrying the Agmark!
VJ @ 8:40
ReplyDeleteAnd to think that Gita enjoyed this CW as per her comment at the Orkut group!
Listlessness from hidden nuisances.(5)
ReplyDeleteGita might have enjoyed picking holes in the clues. So she may have been sarcastic in her statement.
ReplyDeleteSandhya
ReplyDeleteYour clue could sit well in any crossword.
Col, LOL yea, I saw that. My first reaction was, "OMG, @#%, she can't be serious!!!!"
ReplyDeleteWell after carefully studying her first post, I've concluded that it was a sincere remark (.....nice this, nice that, manna this, manna that.....). I think this now comes as a revelation. Who'd have thought this? I now know what M in M Manna stands for.... It's Ma'am Manna!!!
Adding to the mistakes pointed out, 'appalls' is not a feature in the Chambers! I struggled for the simple anagram as I was only familiar with 'appals'
ReplyDelete@Chaturvasi: Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm probably painting a big bull's eye on my back with this, but:
ReplyDeleteI second(ed) Gita's views. Apart from the eponymous 10A, I liked majority of the clues. Especially the niners and a few other DDs :)
Its alright for a half-pint to be a tall one(5)
Genuine trouble after losing ends in stupor(5)
Thanks, CV, couldn't resist bringing Rajini into it, though I think it is a bit verbose. YeppaDi ?
ReplyDeleteAPPALLS is US spelling, I think.
ReplyDeleteThis setter is known to be partial to US spellings and often uses them in his grid though the paper itself, like others in India, follows UK spelling.
Maybe the sw that he uses is adjusted to US spelling and he has not taken care to change the setting.
Another sign of not taking care about following conventions and accepted practices.
@cv
ReplyDeletechemical follows nothing with a mathematical constant
I will come back.
Good day
Mathu
With gusto Kapil hunts the large animal (5)
ReplyDelete@Satya
ReplyDeleteThats good.
@Chaturvasi
lack of interest inside then nuisance cut to an extent. (5)
About the puzzle it is one of the lacklustre offering from manna ofcourse it is my view.
Mathu
Animal represented alright by a Greek alphabet
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWrt to Ajeesh's late-evening post yesterday and my response above,
ReplyDeleteAnd following his post today in the Orkut community: The Hindu Crossword Solutions that I own and moderate
I have written further thoughts there in that Community.
Those interested may visit there.
The Col, if he wishes and only if he wishes, may cite them here for his readers.
My own views are expressed there so that I take full responsibility for what I say.
Ah. I see I'm not alone in my critique of MM! :) I will say this however... the last couple of days were definitely better than his first few offerings!
ReplyDeleteI seem to follow the same MO each day... it starts off fine. I do well with the first pass, and am truly appreciative of some of the really clever clues. This leads me to believe that today will be different... and BAM! That's the end of the CW for me! :-D I got about 2/3 of today's offering, and then got completely stuck. Looking at Col's and others' comments here, I feel the same. There were at least half a dozen clues that were iffy/dissatisfying. I thought maybe it was just me, but given the commentary today, I don't feel that way anymore.
I thot ABSTAINER and EVERGREEN were the pick of the lot today! Very creative!
Pull out your thinking caps it's Neyartha tomorrow and day after, unless The HINDU springs another surprise on us.
ReplyDeleteRemember to look for a theme as Neyartha get's quite piqued if no one spots it.