Easy puzzle as is Incognito's wont. Unfortunately many surfaces that don't mean much.
(NB: As per mail received from Incognito, FOR 'Swan' read 'Sawn' in 24D)
ACROSS
5 Bird sandwiched between the inner and the outer circle (6) MAGPIE (DD)
7 A personal assistant leads a revolutionary to an Indian (6) APACHE (A + PA + CHE)
11 Meantime, the Cockney told to bury him (7) INTERIM (INTER +hIM)
12 Massive statues found when deficit was absorbed by Company No. 1 (7) COLOSSI (LOSS inside CO + I)
13 Placement agent for chief shikari (10) HEADHUNTER (HEAD + HUNTER)
17 Skirt // small car (4) MINI (DD)
18 Terminal organ cause to be loved (6) ENDEAR (END + EAR)
20 Mortar’s companion got by the French following detrimental creature (6) PESTLE (LE after PEST)
21 Emit back mean thing defined at Greenwich (4) TIME (EMIT<=)
22 The pickings at congregations (10) GATHERINGS (DD)
28 All shun abnormally dry Indian waterways (7) NULLAHS (ALL SHUN)*
29 Military nobility that confused Maria with us (7) SAMURAI (MARIA US)*
30 Unknown article hid behind Supreme Court was the Grim Reaper’s weapon (6) SCYTHE (Y + THE after SC)
31 Use ruse after setter was sent back (6) EMPLOY (PLOY after ME<=)
DOWN
1 Sanskrit doctrine formulated from basket weaving material (6)MANTRA / TANTRA ? (RATTAN)* See comments below
2 Religious discourse found when model left monster reformed (6) SERMON (MONStER)*
3 Awkward: hug ace awkwardly (6) GAUCHE (HUG ACE)*
4 Simon Templar, a stickman with a halo (3 5) THE,SAINT (DD?)
6 Fish // roost? (5) PERCH (DD)
8 “How did Burns’ best laid plans of mice and men go?”, puzzled Algy (4) AGLY (ALGY)*
9 Lifeguards get advantageous view because of this (4,7)HIGH,SETTING HIGH SEATING (CD) See comments below
10 Nationality noticed when steamer went behind Buddhist school after the bank (11) CITIZENSHIP (SHIP after ZEN after CITI)
14 Move rug in to dismantle (5) UNRIG (RUG IN)*
15 Entice daily model (5) TEMPT (TEMP + T)
16 Puree mixed for currency (5) RUPEE (PUREE)*
19 Feminine fortune for Spooner’s lame duck (4,4) DAME,LUCK (LAME,DUCK with first syllables swapped)
23 What you get when you solve this (6) ANSWER (E)
24 Swan-off sub-machinegun stuffed into endless hole for accommodation (6) HOSTEL (STEn inside HOLe)
25 Revamp visual representation of area: revamp, revamp without victory (5) REMAP (REvAMP)*
26 Constricted northern pointer (6) NARROW (N + ARROW)
27 Kind of eatable // trollop (4) TART (DD)
(NB: As per mail received from Incognito, FOR 'Swan' read 'Sawn' in 24D)
ACROSS
5 Bird sandwiched between the inner and the outer circle (6) MAGPIE (DD)
11 Meantime, the Cockney told to bury him (7) INTERIM (INTER +
12 Massive statues found when deficit was absorbed by Company No. 1 (7) COLOSSI (LOSS inside CO + I)
13 Placement agent for chief shikari (10) HEADHUNTER (HEAD + HUNTER)
18 Terminal organ cause to be loved (6) ENDEAR (END + EAR)
20 Mortar’s companion got by the French following detrimental creature (6) PESTLE (LE after PEST)
21 Emit back mean thing defined at Greenwich (4) TIME (EMIT<=)
22 The pickings at congregations (10) GATHERINGS (DD)
28 All shun abnormally dry Indian waterways (7) NULLAHS (ALL SHUN)*
29 Military nobility that confused Maria with us (7) SAMURAI (MARIA US)*
30 Unknown article hid behind Supreme Court was the Grim Reaper’s weapon (6) SCYTHE (Y + THE after SC)
DOWN
1 Sanskrit doctrine formulated from basket weaving material (6)
2 Religious discourse found when model left monster reformed (6) SERMON (MONS
3 Awkward: hug ace awkwardly (6) GAUCHE (HUG ACE)*
4 Simon Templar, a stickman with a halo (3 5) THE,SAINT (DD?)
6 Fish // roost? (5) PERCH (DD)
9 Lifeguards get advantageous view because of this (4,7)
10 Nationality noticed when steamer went behind Buddhist school after the bank (11) CITIZENSHIP (SHIP after ZEN after CITI)
14 Move rug in to dismantle (5) UNRIG (RUG IN)*
15 Entice daily model (5) TEMPT (TEMP + T)
16 Puree mixed for currency (5) RUPEE (PUREE)*
23 What you get when you solve this (6) ANSWER (E)
24 Swan-off sub-machinegun stuffed into endless hole for accommodation (6) HOSTEL (STE
25 Revamp visual representation of area: revamp, revamp without victory (5) REMAP (RE
26 Constricted northern pointer (6) NARROW (N + ARROW)
27 Kind of eatable // trollop (4) TART (DD)
Copy of mail received from Richard the First reproduced below, as he wants to retain his title
ReplyDelete‘QUOTE’
Leaving home early. Yet could complete, with only a couple of guesses.
Not sure of the anno for MAGPIE. Put in FISH NETTING for 9A. Not sure, again. Have a serious worry that I could be wrong.
Setters often trap us with irregular plural forms like COLOSSI.
APACHE, INTER+'IM, PESTLE, GATHERINGS, NULLAHS, SAMURAI, EMPLOY, MANTRA, GAUCHE, AGLY, THE SAINT, CITIZENSHIP, UNRIG, DAME LUCK, ANSWER, HOSTEL, NARROW were all good.
Hmm... for 27D.
15D - Entice daily model - at first I took it as CHARM, because of 'char' is common for a 'daily' in crosswords. Got stuck there for some time. With crossings, arrived at TEMPT.
For special mention - HEADHUNTER for chief shikari, END+EAR, SCYTHE, revamp revamp revamp for REMAP.
Incognito appears to be an avid reader - the references to authors and writings prove so.
‘UNQUOTE’
Another mail from Incognito (Also wanting to be first) states the following,
‘QUOTE’
Hi,
Incognito is generally incommunicado these days, but I need to run a correction. Hence, please put this in your opening remarks...
24d It is not swan-off but sawn-off....
Thanks
‘UNQUOTE’
this is my facebook status... yay!! my day is gonna be WONDERFUL... after many many many months, completed the Hindu crossword in one go. planning to treat myself with coffee and samosa. :D
ReplyDeleteAh Dr. Gayathri, it was a wonderful day for all of us too! After battling with neyartha, arden and scintillator, incognito warmed the cockles of our hearts! My daughters and I were feeling very elated intially, later tempered by the feeling that possibly incognito was in festive spirits and wanted all of us to have a good week end!
DeleteCheers!
I remembered my father writing to me after I got particularly bad marks in a college examination. "Do not depend on Dame Luck. It may turn out to be a Lame Duck"
ReplyDelete9 Lifeguards get advantageous view because of this (4,7) HIGH,SETTING (CD)
ReplyDeleteI took it as HIGH SEATING
Thanks Rengaswamy.
Delete1D: RATTAN is the basket weaving material. So it must be TANTRA
ReplyDeleteNice one Jayaseelan.
DeleteNot so nice Incognito :) an indirect anagram.
I find Incognito's clues quite different from those of other setters.
ReplyDeleteHints of Lateral Thinking.
Keep it up, Incognito.
Incognito is always easier than most others. Good if one is in a rush, finishes in one go,as Gayathri also found, to her great delight! Enjoy the samosa! Loved Headhunter for Chief Shikari.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all.
yes, rita, thanks. you do feel elated when u actually finish the whole thing, don't you?
DeleteCloud nine feeling for me :-)
Delete"If all the year were playing holidays,
DeleteTo sport would be as tedious as to work."
- William Shakespeare
Awesome quote and so true. Brilliant
DeleteAnswering the Question mark for the Saint from St. Helenes. Stickman would refer to the normal iconic representation of 'The Saint' with a halo.
ReplyDeleteOr was the Q mark for something else.
DeleteThe Saint aka Simon Templar (that is where ST(St) comes from) created by Leslie Charteris is represented by a stickman with a halo. The saint series was one of my favourites while in school. Later there was a TV Series with Roger Moore acting as The Saint.
DeleteThanks for elaborating what I said
DeleteWe should have Neyartha and Incognito on alternate days.
ReplyDeleteWe should have Neyartha and Incognito on alternate days.
ReplyDeleteGayathri @ 10-05 ...you do feel elated when u actually finish the whole thing, don't you?
ReplyDeleteYou mean, the samosa?
Good one,Richard. lateral thinking!!
DeleteAh, too be young and slim! I feel guilty when i actually finish the whole thing and my daughters admonish me for the calories!
Deleteanu mohan, not that i am slim and trim, i indulge, anyways, good one there, Richard. nice sense of humour
DeleteWas a breeze today, very minimal cross-checking needed :)
ReplyDelete+1 on Bhavan's opening remark regarding surfaces, some of them could be made more meaningful.
Easy enough but some jarring surfaces. Can't figure out why 3 revamps were required. And 'told to' in 11A seems to strike a discordant note.
ReplyDeleteBreezy!
No samosas for me. Missed out on my citizenship, looking for specific nationality- and colossi too. Agree with Richard about irregular plural forms. I got tripped there.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong on MANTRA and Jayaseelan hit it right.
ReplyDeleteWhile on MANTRA, TANTRA and YANTRA, I have observed that many Indian languages have adopted interesting Indian technical terms - YANTRANSH for hardware and TANTRANSH for software.
I don't know what MANTRANSH is used for. Hopefully, not for some black magic. ;-)
Easy one today ( not complaining about that ). Clues could have had better surface. Some nice stuff as well. I liked the usage of Burns' line to clue a mainly Scottish word.
ReplyDeleteABCDE : What some folks sported today
ReplyDeleteDental exhibition held in a big rink (4)
GRIN.......... HiHiHi(T)
Delete:)
Deletewas able to fill in all after a week or so. Sudoko in The Hindu has difficulty rating from single star to five star appearing one after another. Why not such a rating and sequencing for Crossword as well so that poor souls like me also will have fun
ReplyDeleteCrosswords aren't entirely dependent upon pure logic (and thank goodness for that!). Computers can solve Sudoku grids no matter what -- it's all a matter of fitting the numbers at the right places. They aren't quite as capable, however, with crosswords. In other words, no has yet come up with a satisfactory way of quantifying the difficulty of a crossword.
DeleteIn any case, why would you want to belittle your own talent based upon "star ratings", when practice could make you better?
This is not entirely correct. Watson (IBM) gave a performance as good as any intelligent human being in the game Jeopardy. Computer suitably programmed will complete any finite puzzle faster than we can. There may be few occasions we may differ with the answer because of the subjectivity involved in interpreting the meanings of words.
DeleteThe Sudoku, which I do regularly, does have a 1 to 5 star rating, but I donot agree with the degree of difficulty, always! Sometimes the 5 star is pretty easy, and sometimes it's so tough I leave it unfinished:(
ReplyDeleteMy very first complete and unassisted (Google doesn't count)!
ReplyDeleteEcstatic! Thank you Incognito!
Is there anyone who finished it without using google or any help from the internet?
ReplyDeleteAs a general thumb rule,the Sudoku ratings in "The Hindu" are quite realistic,no matter,one either this side or other at times.But I feel it is too much,at least,for me to subscribe to the view that 'The 5 star is PRETTY(Emphasis,mine)easy.Indeed,it is quite true that sometimes it is so tough the it is left unsolved.Exactly at least,in such instances,I shall be grateful,if we are informed of the step by step process of solving,by those few,who are quite smart enough to crack the same.(Remember,some esteemed solvers have written off the 3 and below 3 star Sudokus as beneath their standard to even look into.
ReplyDelete