ACROSS
1 - Sales talks when not positive become irritations (6) - ITCHES pITCHES
5 - A deity seen in Pennsylvania's temple (6) - PAGODA {P{A}{GOD}A}
10 - Disagree to kidnap children (4,5) - TAKE ISSUE {TAKE} {ISSUE}
11 - Refill and return vessel, ‘offee mug perhaps (3,2) - TOP UP {TOP<-} {cUP}
12 - Friendly Chandler's love for a game (5) - BINGO {BING}{O}
13 - At Palermo building is unaffected by time (9) - ATEMPORAL*
14 - Right away agree to broadcast right away (2,5) - NO DELAY {NO D}{rELAY}
16 - Leap off a slope in winter sport (3,4) - SKI JUMP [CD]
18 - Meanwhile lost a wicket playing for a boundary (7) - HEMLINE MEaNwHILE*
20 - ”Black magic is wicked,” I say (4,3) - EVIL EYE {EVIL} {EYE}(~ i)
21 - ABCDEF are in bold (9) - BAREFACED* My COD
23 - Conclude hell's no-no (5) - INFER INFERno
25 - It may be electric; to burn imprisoned one (5) - CHAIR {CHA{I}R}
26 - Lip-smacking item during Christmas (9) - MISTLETOE [CD]
27 - Lake flowing through Carson Range, Nevada (6) - GENEVA [T]
28 - Kings kill men in revolution (6) - ROYALS <- Spelling?? (Addendum - {RO}{YALS}<- - See comments}
DOWN
2 - Nominal heads of the old kingdom exhibited nepotism (5) - TOKEN {T}{O}{K}{E}{N}
3 - 10 students work 10 hospital shifts all over for common people
(3,6) - HOI POLLOI {10+LL+OP+10+H}<-
5 - English empire ultimately protected by Iron Lady (7) - PEERESS {P{EE}RESS}
6 - Rise and dress (3-2) - GET-UP [DD]
7 - Criminal recaptured after dropping a hint of casual escape
(9) - DEPARTURE REcAPTURED*
8 - Sell bats? (4,2,3,4) - STAB IN THE BACK BATS<-
9 - Fruit dish arrangement is very neat (5-3,5) - APPLE-PIE ORDER {APPLE-PIE} {ORDER}
15 - Erect a dam at sea to establish limits (9) - DEMARCATE*
17 - First sign on top of empty library (9) - INITIALLY {INITIAL}{LibrarY}
19 - Moving cinema about love gets many a praise (7) - ENCOMIA* New word for me
20 - Customer with swollen head might show rudeness (3,4) - END USER RUDENESs*
22 - Put pressure on army (5) - FORCE [DD]
24 - Heavyweight gangster is deadly (5) - FATAL {FAT}{AL}
28 - Kings kill men in revolution (6) - ROYALS <- Spelling??
ReplyDelete{RO}YALS}<-
Thanks Sandhya
DeleteDeepak
ReplyDeleteSince 'encomia' is the plural form of 'encomium' (praise) and so would mean 'praises' (n.), the 'barefaced' definition in your blog must be 'many a praise'.
I thought 18a too has an excellent surface reading.
Enjoyed the cartoon for 'stab in the back'. I am praying that anyone who tries to stab me in the back is much taller than me so that it becomes a 'stab in the air'.
The clue submitted for 21A was this :
ReplyDeleteABCDEF are set in bold (9)
Several excellent clues - 21A, 25A (sort of an &lit), 5D, 22D and a few more. Few issues: 1) 9D: Apple-pie order is a noun, the definition is an adjective. 2) 8D: 'Bats' is 'Stab from the back', I'd say 'Stab in the back' is just 'B'. 3) 15D: 'at sea' is not a proper fit. 4) 20A: Black magic is not evil eye! In Tamil, it is "soonyam" vs "kollikkannu". The latter could be accidental, the former is deliberate.
ReplyDelete20D: How does the S get removed? Some cheeky clue?
20D Read the clue.If a customer (end user) gets a swollen head (S) and is anagrammed as mighe would indicate it would become rudeness.
DeleteThanks. I did not figure the compound anagram. Nice clue again.
DeleteThanks Shyam, you raise several valid points.
Delete20A : Chambers lists both 'evil eye' and 'black magic' as synonyms under 'jinx'. That said, I'm now thinking this friend-of-friend-is-my-friend kind of justification is dodgy
8D : I assumed with a bit of cryptic license this should be OK.
9D : It was an oversight on my part.
Actually Bhavan, I did not see a problem with 9D. It reads smoothly. If you substitute Fruit dish arrangement with apple pie order, the sentence still works fine.
DeleteSuresh, the issue of interchanging nouns and adjectives for definition is a hotly debated one. Where possible I like sticking to the same form in both definition and wordplay but in this case I didn't.
Delete"The presumed power to cause injury or misfortune to others by magic or supernatural means."
DeleteThe above meaning is given in thefreedictionary.com. So maybe.......
This meaning is for "evil eye"
DeleteHi Shyam, what is the problem with 15d? I thought 'at sea' fit very well - works for the surface as well as the wordplay in its 'uncertain' sense.
Delete17 First sign on top of empty library (9) INITIAL LY
ReplyDeleteAt first, in the same vein as Shyam looking critically at the clues (the better the setter, the more persnickety you are in your examination and appraisal), I wondered whether 'first', the def, was in the same part of speech as 'initially'. Should the def have been given as 'at first'?
He hesitated initially. - This can be rewritten only as "He hesitated at first".
But take the sentence "Initially there was silence; then a lot of noise emanated."
This we can rewrite as "First there was silence; then a lot of noise emanated."
So I think 'first' for 'initially' is OK.
Yes sir, actually I myself thought about it. 'first' acts as both an adjective and an adverb, based on what it qualifies.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think clues must be analysed critically. This is a very good puzzle in itself, but comments will help the setter to further aim for perfection. IMHO as such this puzzle is not out of place in a standard UK daily, say the Guardian or FT.
I thought the same too, until Chambers pointed out the adverb version which I could use.
DeleteThank you Bhavan! Enjoyed it very much- several good clues,good words, excellent surface reading right through. I thought 26A was cheekier than 20D- Christmas & lip smacking indicated an edible delicacy until I got on my toes to reach for it!
ReplyDelete21A- TH did not set the 'set'! That would have def. helped me to solve it.
5D-Peeress is not quite clear (even after Col.'s anno), though I filled it thanks to crossings.
Padmanabhan
DeleteRe
5 - English empire ultimately protected by Iron Lady (7) - PEERESS {P{EE}RESS}
I thought the Col's anno is just fine!
English - E
Empire ultimately - E
protected by - inserticator
iron - v. 'isthri podu' - PRESS
lady - def
You've failed to lift and separate 'iron lady'.
Thanks Padmanabhan. I'm grateful that even with the vital part of the clue missing 21A was solved without complaints.
DeleteThe parsing for Peeress has been explained very well by Colonel and CV. That is what I had in mind.
Just solved Tuesday's. Was quite piqued over a few bad ones.
ReplyDeleteCan any one please annotate for me:
15A: American leader overcoming ego in a plot to fully appease--- (4) SATE
where does the plot come from? Ego -I- drop- it SATIATE means the same as SATE ? Truncated ? Why go to complicate ?
Again 18 A:
--Faithfully returned Adam's needle in a cover to the sailor going west with the Spanish . (10)
ACCURATELY
Firstly, why the ... in the beginning of the clue as a continuation of 15 Across?
I would rather that any clue , apart from leading to a solution,albeit with a bit of brain rack, should have a meaning in the sentence as whole. One can always weave any words around with letters , meaninglessly and build up a clue?
Nyet, NEYARTHA !! Make some Arth out of your clues. Be fair to us. !!
American leader= A
DeleteEgo = I
A overcomes (meaning replaces) I in SITE to give SATE
After Suchi's comment of yesterday Deepak has carefully avoided putting in a picture of an apple pie:))
ReplyDeleteJust read those late comments. With his fondness for food, today the Col. must have provided an image for 5a 'pagoda' (if you get what I mean!)
Delete===========
PS: In Tamil Nadu certain people will interchange the 'ka' and 'ga' sounds. "Pakoda" is an evening tiffin in the State. We have 'onion pakoda'. We also often hear of 'garam pakoda' which too must have onion as I can't imagine pakoda without onions. What does 'garam' mean? Probably 'crispy' or 'crunchy'.
When something is crispy, the term we use in Tamil is 'garagara' - the replicatory word suggesting the sound arising from our mouth when we are munching something that is crispy.
Delete'gara pakoda' is not smooth on the tongue. So the 'm' has attached itself to 'gara' and become 'garam pakoda'. Nothing to do with the Hindi word that means 'hot' (I think).
At least that is my conjecture.
I would have put it in if it was just an 'apple pie'
DeleteYou presumably did not find a cartoon of somebody ordering an apple pie.
DeleteI can't imagine pakoda without onions
Delete...but pakodas can be made without onions! We make them out of assorted vegetables - cauliflower, green chillies, potato and eggplant slices, and more...
garagara - interesting word. The Hindi equivalents are close: 'kurkura' and 'karara'.
I am surprised that after taking so much garam pakoda here, you are still unsure of garam. Garam is a Hindi word meaning 'hot'. It applies both to temperature & being spicy. I am sure you must have heard of garam masala for the spicy powder they add while cooking. For your info, I am reproducing the clue of the Hindu quick CW ( as you are aware Guardian reproduction) dated 1st May-
ReplyDeleteIndian spice mixture- "am a gas alarm" (anag) (5,6) Garam masala
I am not too sure if it produces any gas alarm!!
Do I take it that the Guardian setter knows more about Indian spices than our very own Gridman?!!
Anyway, the gara gara part is not off the mark either!
A crossword with arguably the most enjoyable and well-written clues in the recent run which, I'm happy to note, did not end up being too easy. Thanks, Buzzer.
ReplyDeleteI didn't fill in a couple:
9D - too lazy to google the phrase :D (I had apple pie _r_e_)
5D - not too difficult, now that I have seen the anno.
8D - it was another 4,2,3,4 for me -- a shot in the dark, and the last one I filled in. Think selling
someone (out) and vampires! :D
Yes I would enjoy having a pagoda in a pakota.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that should be bagoda in a bakota
ReplyDeleteA delightful puzzle. Compliments to the setter. In addition to what's been said already, I thought 'no-no' in 23a was slick and 'Friendly Chandler' of 12a raised a smile. Barring a couple of clues (8d felt shaky and the letter-dropping in 11a too contrived), most of it had the smooth assurance of a pro. I look forward to more such enjoyable offerings from Buzzer.
ReplyDelete