ACROSS
1 - The capital, on reflection, was rather green (6) - WARSAW {WAR}{SAW}<-
5 - It is felt Father has left and Bishop left halfway (8) - PALPABLE {PA{L}PA}{B}{LEft}
9 - Seasonal accommodation will collapse (4,4) - FALL FLAT {FALL} {FLAT}
10 - Number on the pointer is not so wide (6) - NARROW {N}{ARROW}
11 - After march, possibly Israel will weaken (10) - DEMORALISE {DEMO}{RALISE*}
12 - Grass for raising an animal (4) - REED <-
16 - When by noon it gets so hot, a prayer is the answer (6) - NOVENA {N}{OVEN}{A}
17 - Locate replacement, having love for a cat (6) - OCELOT {LOC(-a+o)ATE*}
19 - Show record drop (8) - DISCLOSE {DISC}{LOSE}
21 - Thought to be almost perfect (4) - IDEA IDEAl
22 - There are torn pieces with every material (10) - TATTERSALL {TATTERS}{ALL}
25 - It is fashionable on both sides of Virginia, but to no avail (2,4) - IN VAIN {IN} {VA}{IN}
26 - Provokes the skinhead which is not necessary (8) - NEEDLESS {NEEDLES}{S}
27 - Hymn able to make one laugh, reportedly (8) - CANTICLE {CAN}{TICLE}(~tickle)
28 - Perennial plant will light up the scene (6) - YARROW {YAR<-}{ROW}
DOWN
2 - Like saying “get the Russian to agree in time” (5) - ADAGE {A{DA}GE}
3 - There could be some fireworks when one starts singing about love, very obviously (5) - SALVO {S}{A}{L}{V}{O}
5 - Nationalist gets three to enter on-cue (7) - PATRIOT {PA{TRIO}T}
6 - Light flyer over most of the country (7) - LANTERN {LANd}{TERN}
7 - If you want to avert rail transport, this could be an alternative (3,6) - AIR TRAVEL*&lit
8 - One is at this when not occupied (5,4) - LOOSE ENDS [CD]
14 - Put the staff on aid distribution in the country (9) - MACEDONIA {MACE}{DONIA*}
15 - Distinguish and relate to a role (4,5) - TELL APART {TELL} {A}{PART}
18 - Huge bird one can manipulate (7) - TITANIC {TIT}{AN(I)C*}
19 - Pitching one in the middle of a river would help ease tensions (7) - DETENTE {DE{TENT}E}
20 - View the venue on line (7) - SCENERY {SCENE}{RY}
23 - Heliacal rise around the end of April (5) - SOLAR {SO{L}AR}
24 - Rope in the girl with love (5) - LASSO {LASS}{O}
The rota changed? I was expecting a Scintillator today.
ReplyDeleteAgain good stuff. We should see more of Arden, Scintillator, Buzzer.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we are seeing a shift to the Guardian format, where there is a different setter every day of the week in rotation, rather than the same setter for a whole week?
Not sure I liked 8D so much (though solved). Expression is normally used in the singular I thought?
Although few clues were padded, I liked the puzzle as a whole. I thought it was Scintillator's turn too.
ReplyDeleteA long message that I wrote was lost with the message 'Service unavailable' when I pressed the 'Send' button.
ReplyDeleteCol.
ReplyDelete1D- What does DA stand for?
2Down , DA = Yes in Russian.
ReplyDeleteOK, I will retype.
ReplyDeleteScintillator usually contributes only one crossword per turn.
The last time the crossword that he submitted was pitched for publication on a certain date but as it was not to appear on that date, he was asked to send one more - the second one preceded the special puzzle. So we had two last month.
Most of the new crop of setters were introduced by me. They are full-time professionals and are busy with day-job. So their quota is kept low deliberately. (Expect a surprise soon!)
As for the present scheme of things where each setter appears with his quota one after the other, I don't think that is likely to change. That kind of juggling will require a crossword editor.
The new setters are enthusiastic but alas they are handicapped by the non-existence of a proper crossword editor: that is how a thematic puz appears on an unsuitable day; a nina-that-is-not-a-nina goes unnoticed, etc., etc.
In today's ET 4790 Bang Ed:
ReplyDelete9a Friend quietly competent to make it clear (8)=5a
OK, I will retype.
ReplyDeleteBlogger was up to some tricks this morn.
Far too much padding! A 'will' in 9A, 11A, 28A, a 'would' in 28D, etc could have been easily avoided. A beautiful &-lit in 7D instead turns out to be very tedious. Maybe a simple 'Alternative to avert rail' would have sufficed? The 'over' in 6D seems to indicate the wrong way for the charade. But the biggest gaffe is equating CAN=ABLE in 27A - OMG!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bhavan.
ReplyDeleteShyam @ 10:39
ReplyDeleteI don't get why CAN = ABLE is an OMG! for you?
Col
ReplyDeleteSome days back a setter had equated CAN to 'IS ABLE TO' and there was a discussion on 15^2 where some bloggers felt they are not quite the same. I thought that was okay, though. Fair substitutions in crosswords have sentences as examples where one can be replaced by other, which may not happen with CAN and ABLE.
The OMG, by the way, is because it reminds me of the typical Indian schoolteacher's bad English: "I can't able to do this." :D
CAN = ABLE doesn't seem right because they cannot be used interchangeably in a sentence.
ReplyDeleteCAIN was ABEL'S brother...
ReplyDeleteNice book by Jeffrey Archer!
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe a future US President
ReplyDeleteCAN BE ABLE TO: This is a common way of expression amongst the Kenyans. I was tired of pointing this umpteen times in the Kenyan press. No less than the Vice-President of Kenya, who also happened to be a professor used to say 'Can be able to'. Like the wizened old president Mr Moi used to say 'from now on henceforth', while admonishing his subjects against any defiance. Another favorite of his was 'Kenya is on the run' to mean that Kenya was developing fast. Like Indians are 'like that only' Kenyans were always on the run and what others can, Kenyans can be able to!
ReplyDeleteJaldi aao-- come fast. hurry up slowly!
Oh, the marvels of eclectic English !
Kenya is on the run: LOL. In this context, I have to point this superb blog which parodies Indian English. By an Indian, as you'd guess.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion on Can and Able. In PUC we had a Biology lecturer who used to raise a giggle in the class by often asking 'Can you able to follow me?'
ReplyDeleteAnother similar example - we have a celebrity cricket commentator who keeps on saying, 'You can be rest assured' instead of 'You can rest assured'.
Thanks, Shyam.
ReplyDeleteI'm still rolling on the floor and my eyes are very lachrymose and my stomach walls are cramped laughing. One should have the patience to run through, though.
I also fondly remember, Busybee, who alas is no more, who used to write in the Evening News of Bombay.His musings used to be very hilarious and everyday kind, very observant of human behaviour. I can call it mimicry in poetry ?
Only we Indians can laugh at ourselves.