I wouldn't bet against Scintillator coming up with a boring puzzle even if some of his clues make a few prudes squirm.
ACROSS
1 Man of numbers finds offence over gambling house (6) CASINO (CA + SIN + O)
4 Sported a disguise and assumes one again (8) READOPTS (SPORTED A)*
9 ‘Punter’ in sporting circles (6) BOOKIE (E)
10 State where koala is very fluffy (8) SLOVAKIA (KOALA IS V)*
12 Prodigal son, bereft of energy, consumes a bad Indian spirit (8) RAKSHASA (RAKe + S + HAS + A)
13 Post-retirement role as a governor (6) SATRAP (PART AS)<=
15 Match features Australia’s fourth victory on the trot (4) TWIN (T + WIN)
16 Central building in low French resort (5,5) MONTE,CARLO (CENTRAL* inside MOO)
19 Mistake’s without covering-up at oath ceremony (8-2) SWEARING-IN (SIN outside WEARING)
20 Manual approval (4) CLAP (CD)
23 Ten wickets down // with maximum effort (3-3) ALL-OUT (DD)
25 American venture capital? (3,5) LAS,VEGAS (CD)
27 United — glorified and exalted (8) UPRAISED (U + PRAISED)
28 Go over twice in a set routine (6) GROOVE (GO OVER)*
29 Reserve top-quality dessert (3,5) ICE,CREAM (ICE + CREAM)
30 Make film cuts using electronic detector, say (6) CENSOR (~SENSOR)
DOWN
1 Show naked parts, dirty woman! (7) CABARET (BARE inside CAT)
2 Standard nuclear reactor acts as a reserve supply (9) STOCKPILE (STOCK + PILE)
3 Hackneyed cries? (6) NEIGHS (CD)
5 Strips top off revealing smooth things (4) EELS (pEELS)
6 Gambling vice-dean shows irregularity (8) DEVIANCE (VICE-DEAN)*
7 It’s acceptable to participate in a game (5) POKER (OK inside PER=a)
8 We may blame this for a bad hair day (7) SHAMPOO (CD)
11 What’s tucked in dupattas, to understandably take your breath away (7) ASTOUND (T)
14 I teach differentiating Left and Right (7) ETHICAL ({I TEACH}* + L)
17 Placing faith in the heart of unfeeling girl’s fake promises (9) RELIGIOUS ({E + GIRL}* + IOUS)
18 I procure rummy cards (8) CROUPIER (I PROCURE)* &lit
19 Epical character has poor upbringing in Uttarakhand (7) SHAKUNI (HAS* + IN UK<=)
21 Former European biologist (7) PASTEUR (PAST + EUR)
22 Not keen on designer saree with V-cut (6) AVERSE (SAREE V)*
24 Voluminous and tricky algebra undoes grad student (5) LARGE (ALGEbRa)*
26 One could say Sushmita’s a force (4) SENA (SEN + A)
ACROSS
1 Man of numbers finds offence over gambling house (6) CASINO (CA + SIN + O)
4 Sported a disguise and assumes one again (8) READOPTS (SPORTED A)*
9 ‘Punter’ in sporting circles (6) BOOKIE (E)
10 State where koala is very fluffy (8) SLOVAKIA (KOALA IS V)*
15 Match features Australia’s fourth victory on the trot (4) TWIN (T + WIN)
16 Central building in low French resort (5,5) MONTE,CARLO (CENTRAL* inside MOO)
19 Mistake’s without covering-up at oath ceremony (8-2) SWEARING-IN (SIN outside WEARING)
20 Manual approval (4) CLAP (CD)
23 Ten wickets down // with maximum effort (3-3) ALL-OUT (DD)
25 American venture capital? (3,5) LAS,VEGAS (CD)
27 United — glorified and exalted (8) UPRAISED (U + PRAISED)
28 Go over twice in a set routine (6) GROOVE (GO OVER)*
29 Reserve top-quality dessert (3,5) ICE,CREAM (ICE + CREAM)
30 Make film cuts using electronic detector, say (6) CENSOR (~SENSOR)
DOWN
1 Show naked parts, dirty woman! (7) CABARET (BARE inside CAT)
2 Standard nuclear reactor acts as a reserve supply (9) STOCKPILE (STOCK + PILE)
3 Hackneyed cries? (6) NEIGHS (CD)
5 Strips top off revealing smooth things (4) EELS (
6 Gambling vice-dean shows irregularity (8) DEVIANCE (VICE-DEAN)*
7 It’s acceptable to participate in a game (5) POKER (OK inside PER=a)
8 We may blame this for a bad hair day (7) SHAMPOO (CD)
11 What’s tucked in dupattas, to understandably take your breath away (7) ASTOUND (T)
14 I teach differentiating Left and Right (7) ETHICAL ({I TEACH}* + L)
17 Placing faith in the heart of unfeeling girl’s fake promises (9) RELIGIOUS ({E + GIRL}* + IOUS)
18 I procure rummy cards (8) CROUPIER (I PROCURE)* &lit
19 Epical character has poor upbringing in Uttarakhand (7) SHAKUNI (HAS* + IN UK<=)
21 Former European biologist (7) PASTEUR (PAST + EUR)
22 Not keen on designer saree with V-cut (6) AVERSE (SAREE V)*
24 Voluminous and tricky algebra undoes grad student (5) LARGE (ALGE
26 One could say Sushmita’s a force (4) SENA (SEN + A)
Good morning.
ReplyDeleteCould not get a few. But come 8-30 am, just cannot resist the temptation of having a peek here.
Liked ASTOUND, DEVIANCE, CROUPIER, CENSOR, SENA, LARGE and some others.
Hope 29A is ICE CREAM. Good to start the day with.
8D We may blame this for a bad hair day (7) SHAMPOO (CD)
DeleteAny typo here? Bad hair-do?
That looks like the bald truth
DeleteSuresh will say +1, I suppose
DeleteWhat is Shampoo?
DeleteDrummer Sivamani could answer.
DeleteIs it fake something ?
Delete@Suresh: fake poo
DeleteDeepak, I agree with your memo on top. Some of today's clues are quite 'bold' and have the 'raise-some-eyebrows' potential. Yet they are witty and well-crafted.
ReplyDeleteThat aint DG, Richard, its B today.
DeleteOh, careless me! Sorry Bhavan.
DeleteOh, that's fine, just like the setters coming out of turn, bloggers too are out of turn ;-) The Friday Bhavan is here on Thursday. But I aint cribbing, just jotting the minutes.
DeleteBhavan & Amudha are off on an extended weekend holiday from tomorrow lucky people!!!
DeleteI second the minute.
DeleteInterpreting that memo on top makes me squirm, the double negative and all that. I am not really sure what B means. + or -
DeleteMonday's out of turn blog was out of necessity. Today it was by choice : )
DeleteHave a nice holiday, Bhavan. Whither, may I ask?
DeleteI too think that the preamble is rather convoluted... I gave up musing over what it really means. I would appreciate if it is in simple, plain, easy-to-understand English.
DeleteRichard, local outing. From Gold to Sunshine Coast about 3-4 hours drive.
DeleteOnly so far is so good.
DeleteThe moot question, as in the recent news item:
DeleteDid the co-pilot have the missus on the flight deck (I am consciously avoiding the more common word, for read with today's drift, it might give other connotations) and hence have to be circum-navigatory about his opening line?
ODDS & EVENS day, as bet upon by Bhavan.
ReplyDeleteThat mention of 'dupatta' reminded me of a short Tamil story that I wrote - it was never published.
ReplyDeleteHere is a woman who answers the doorbell, buys some vegetables from the vendor and receives the goods in the dupatta that she extends.
Goes to the kitchen and uses it to remove the hot milk boiler from the oven.
Feels sultry and uses the dupatta to dab beads of perspiration from the face and hands.
Starts off for work when she wraps the dupatta around her head and face (as a kollaikkaari might do - remember the ad?), leaving just a slit for the eyes.
Reaches office and as she plunges into work she removes the ever-falling dupatta and places it on the back of the computer chair.
Late in the evening she relaxes at a pub when the narrowed-down dupatta is around her neck, with the long ends at her back.
The drift of the story? The article of clothing is used in every which way except the purpose for which it was devised.
11D - I had expected Kishore to come out with a gem like ... ke peeche kya hai?. Small mercy.
DeleteDil, of course. I was waiting for someone to pop that ...
DeleteWhich you can get to know of only if you lift the lid...
DeleteAnd what was that purpose, if I may ask?
DeleteNow that would be telling, wouldn't it?
DeleteBeen barely able to complete a third to a half for the past week.
ReplyDeleteCome back Sankalak!
Not to worry Mohun, you have to take the tough with the simple
DeleteGood puzzle making one work that extra bit- still could not get a few and as Richard rightly put it,could not resist peeping into the blog.
ReplyDeletePlus one for the opening remark.
12a- 'consumes' meaning has?
I would not 'monkey' around Public Property. Reminds me of a Subhashita:
ReplyDeleteमर्कटस्य सुरापानं तस्य वृश्चिकदंशनं । तन्मध्ये à¤ूतसंचारो .. meaning Think of a monkey, gets drunk, is bitten by a scorpion and is further afflicted by a ghost....
Nice crossword. Got almost all :)
ReplyDeleteToday's crossword made me :
Slaver taking peer up with nothing tucked in.(5)
Right! Going evenly (4,2)
DeleteTake 2:
DeleteCuban Gonsalves exhibiting accurate aim.(4,2)
Bang on!
DeleteCV sir @ 9.04, Would love to read the original text in Tamil. Good one
ReplyDeleteToday is a Nightclub special, and B's opening remark has something to do with this
ReplyDeletePhew so many deletions toady!!
ReplyDeleteWill the comment above lead to two more deletions ?
DeleteFirst responses, followed by second thoughts...
ReplyDeleteBy the way - sorry to point out - there's a spelling error there ('toady). That might necessitate another deletion. ;)
@CV,
ReplyDeleteRead your duppatta story with interest. My father used to recite a Tamil poem, of which I remember only the start. Maybe you or someone else knows more. " Muni ahatrum, munneer alakkum,....." It is about a walking stick which he used to take whenever he went for a walk, though he did not need one. This poem is his answer when asked why.The poem gives various uses of the walking stick- ones I mentioned are drive away evil spirits,measure the depth of stream if you have to cross one. The various uses go on.
This is very interesting, though I haven't known the poem. Will ask my Tamil-writer friends (a whole lot of front-ranking persons) if they can help!
DeleteI too was using a walking stick for several months after the surgery on my brain. Later I found that I was rather carrying it in my hand than planting it on the floor (as a friend at a Madras Book Club meeting gently pointed out to me) and so I discarded it.
But the situation in which the walking stick is used in contexts other than as a support while moving has been exploited by writers.
There is a famous essay on the walking stick (by Robert Lynd?).
And in a novelette by Devan an old man pulls out a drowning man by the U of his walking stick.
Richard9:10 AM GMT+05:30
ReplyDelete11D - I had expected Kishore to come out with a gem like ... ke peeche kya hai?. Small mercy.
or ..... ke neeche kaya hai
What a reputation an innocent soul like me has,Vasu? Pardon me...
DeleteLooks like things are going too far and out of hand...
Delete24D.. Old timers here, are you aware of the phrase used by school students of your time on Algebra being tricky?
ReplyDeleteAlgebra is a Zebra which gives us Ghabra!
DeleteToday seems to be betting day!
ReplyDeleteFor those who posed the question 'ke peeche kya hai', I advise them to look closely at the clue for 24d and you will find the answer hidden there. And the answer is not 'voluminous'...
ReplyDeleteGood one.
DeleteMind you, someone is sure to pop in anytime.
DeleteUplifter of the down trodden!
DeletePoP in?
DeleteSquirming prudes in this date, age? Do they still exist? Impossible!
ReplyDeleteCan Kishore get more impish?
Woman and and her clothing(or the lack of it, its scantiness etc)are a source of perennial pleasure for men!
I can, but only if you promise not to frown ;-)
DeleteI can, but only if you promise not to frown ;-) Smile, it makes the world more beautiful. If you like monkeys, monkey business is but a step away...
DeleteThe prude in me squirms at some of the constructions and not at the risque
ReplyDeleteRichard, Your prayer has been answered in six minutes
ReplyDeleteWe are being watched, brother.
DeleteToday s cw is bringing out the naughty side of the bloggers. :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as eye can see, transparency is the demand of the day: in coal, spectrum, and everything else
DeleteWhat is so naughty or risque about this crossword? Even my mother would not think so.
DeleteKishore, I can see through your point.
DeleteAnd, Doc, most of us here only try to be knotty.
DeleteRe my comment 8:34 am on clue 8D and the flow of shampoo that followed, it was later that I realized there is a phrase of that kind -
ReplyDeleteBad hair day
It is never late to learn in life.
Kudos, King!!
DeleteNot sure if you have heard the Tamil quoteof Avvaiyaar:
KattRadhu Kai MaNNaLavu ( What you have learnt in life is only eqaul toa handful of sand)
Since Vasu expected me to pop a question of the kind he referred to, let me oblige, without any mention of woman or her clothing:
ReplyDeleteWhat does a Scotsman wear under his kilt?
A slip between thought and action.
DeleteWas thinking about NESSie but typed YETI.
Though both are elusive, Nessie is what fits in here.
Sharing a beaut I came across:
ReplyDeleteEye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
Eye cud knot butt simile
DeleteReally knotty !!! engine us !
ReplyDeleteI yam im pressed. Charm restrainer ees vary vary im peck able !!
ReplyDeleteJust finished yesterday's Buzzword. NIAGARA and WODEHOUSE were absolute 1 down.!!Buzzer indeed is a 17 down.
Every clue was 8 down !
Buzzer, Buzz on, Buzz on!!
CV sir and others :
ReplyDeleteAny stories on that ubiquitous Belan (rolling pin)- a woman's weapon -- or that other weapon of mass deception her tears-- for emotional athyaachhar ? When the former fails with the sarti tucked up and arms akinmbo, the second is brought in to play !!