Tuesday 24 July 2012

No.10523, Tuesday 24 Jul 12, Gridman

Typical Gridman puzzle with a little bit of most clue types even if a little heavy on the anagram side.

ACROSS
1 Fitness freak’s device to keep track of hip movements (4,7) STEP, COUNTER (E)
9 One closes broken bone (7) OSSICLE (I CLOSES)*
10 Work force said laic’s disposition is important (7) CRUCIAL (~CREW + LAIC*)
11 Unravelling outsiders’secret terminology (5) LINGO (T)
12 An impressive indication of time (4,5) DATE,STAMP(CD)
13 Female always in excitement (5) FEVER (F + EVER)
15 Dewar hits out — it’s said to be dull (9) DISHWATER (DEWAR HITS*)
18 Dry Danes put out songs (9) SERENADES (SERE + DANES*)
21 Rustic game household god backed (5) RURAL (RU + LAR<-)
22 Collections man copied badly (9) COMPENDIA (MAN COPIED)*
24 Film old actress hugged by lad (5) BOBBY (BB inside BOY)
26 Admission of guilt: “Cave pic” vandalised (7) PECCAVI(CAVE PIC)*
27 Good! A new, last letter! A stroke of luck! (7) BONANZA (BON + A + N + Z + A) Was a French indicator needed for Good?
28 Mathematician’s lodge? (11) SUMMERHOUSE (CD)

DOWN
1 Removes goods stealthily: observation point left during work periods (9) SHOPLIFTS (OP,L inside SHIFTS)
2 Perfume church rejected in German city (5) ESSEN (ESSENce)
3 Series unfinished; back to the man for atom smasher (9) CYCLOTRON (CYCLe + TO<- + RON)
4 North-western State finished in utter disorder (7) UPENDED (UP + ENDED)
5 Roman philosopher saying nothing to you and me (7) TACITUS (TACIT + US)
6 Beatings in tours gone astray (5) ROUTS (TOURS)*
7 Detective Inspector’s plant is a washout (8) DISASTER (DI'S + ASTER)
8 Sharp blow to friends on the rise (4) SLAP (PALS<-)
14 Absolutely! Chum’s disorganised to a great extent (4,4) VERY,MUCH (VERY + CHUM*)
16 At which a craftsman plies his tools (9) WORKBENCH (E)
17 Event has a passing interest? (5,4) RELAY RACE (CoD)
19 Father is master in art movement (7) DADAISM (DADA + IS + M)
20 Falter in slaughter-house? (7) SHAMBLE (DD)
22 Imitate policemen at the Yard (4) COPY (COP + Y)
23 Tests ten caught in same movement (5) EXAMS (X inside SAME*)
25 Tribal worker in bush not quiet (5) BANTU (ANT inside BUsh)

29 comments:

  1. wrt 24A, here's the original version of Hanv saiba poltoDi voita, Damulya lognaka voita from Gonzago:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC2O1RnnQ0g&feature=related

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    Replies
    1. May I add that there are several variations of the lyrics, where the offerings to the boatman vary from flowers, fish to jewellery that the lady is wearing.

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    2. Further observe that as against the Hindu usage of Sahib and Sahiba for Lord and Lady, the Konkani usage of Saiba is for the lord; the word for lady is saibini which is usually used for the landlady or the Virgin Mary, probably based on the Portuguese usage of Nossa Senhora (similar the the English usage of Our Lady...)

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    3. Please read Hindi, not Hindu in above.

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  2. way better than yesterdays. i thought math lodge was freemasonry and got confused. good one today,.

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  3. Uttar Pradesh is in northwestern part of India, right ?

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    Replies
    1. Not really. UP is a northern State not north western. Normally the NW states are counted as Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Rajastan, Gujarat and maybe to some extent Maharashtra. Uttarakhand and Himachal may also qualify remotely.

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    2. Wikipedia has it as "Uttar Pradesh, abbreviation U.P. ("Northern Province"; formerly: United Provinces), is a state located in the north western part of India."

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    3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_India

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    4. Then which all are pure northern states ?:-P

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    5. Krishnan, after you pointed I read the entry in Wiki. But, not convinced. If you see the map, if anything it is towards the eastern part of north and not western. Gridman could have easily reduced the confusion by using the word northern instead of north western.

      But then, people like us with all the time in the world would have been wondering how to spend the morning.

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    6. Suresh: I agree that the word northern would have been better.

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  4. Agree with you. Hesitated a lot before filling in. Ultimately decided since there is no other way out. I even tried if HP could fit in, as you said.

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  5. 21 A- RU for game? Is it short for rummy?

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  6. Peccavi & sere were new to me. I filled in though, due to crossings ( of course checked the meaning)

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    Replies
    1. Peccavi is a classical pun meaning " I have sinned". After Charles Napier finishing conquering Sind, he sent a telegram "peccavi".

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  7. Good one, though I would be happier if the surfaces were smoother.

    Incidentally, there seems to be an error in 22D, plural vs singular, maybe a printer's devil.

    And there's an interesting story about PECCAVI ref http://wordsmith.org/words/peccavi.html

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  8. 20D Falter in slaughter-house? (7) SHAMBLE
    To falter is to shamble. But is a slaughter-house shamble or shambles? I thought it was shambles - I may be wrong though.

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    Replies
    1. You are right about the plural, but the first definition is close enough I thought.

      Chambers:

      shamble2 (noun)
      1. A butcher's market stall
      2. (in pl; usu treated as sing) a meat-market, hence, a slaughterhouse

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  9. wrt 3D., Uttar Pradesh was once classified in the North Western states category bt not anymore....lol:) but a good one from Gridman today..

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  10. Living in the present,it is too much to expect its past status as of now.Better if it was read as "Ex north-western state......."

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  11. Yes, I would have preferred a 'French' indicator for 27A.

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  12. Is this the first day Col didn't post or comment on his own blog ?;-)

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