A good opener from Buzzer, the NE corner had me buzzing around for a while.
ACROSS
1 Dog on moon? That’s a rarity (5) CURIO {CUR}{IO}
4 Need judge during end game (9) BLACKJACK {B{LACK}{J}ACK}
9 Kitchen appliance given by generous donator (7) TANDOOR*
10 Value of a pick-up truck (7) UTILITY [DD]
11 Showing respect for icon I set out to follow his lead (9) HONORIFIC {His}{FOR+ICON+I}*
12 Branch office primarily in the middle of nowhere (5) LIMBO {LIMB}{O}
13 Small money bag (6) POCKET [DD]
18 Dispose of sarong very cheaply (3,1,4) FOR A SONG*
19 Beef tongue say (6) MUSCLE [DD]
22 Scales that are uncalibrated to some extent (5) LIBRA [T]
24 Second hand, dilapidated divan taken in without due
consideration (9) UNADVISED {U{DIVAN*}SED}
26 Riding bike to get articles for flower show (7) IKEBANA {BIKE*}{AN}{A}
27 A first-class pulsating climax mostly gets praise (7) ACCLAIM {A}{C}{CLIMAx*}
28 One function church trust put together in earnest (9) SINCERELY {SIN}{CE}{RELY}
29 Reason soldier is restricted by line of control (5) LOGIC {LO{GI}C}
DOWN
1 Mug goes round attending church to bring oneself up to date
(5,2) CATCH UP {C{AT}{CH} UP}
2 Trimming/cutting corners leads to an argument (3-2) RUN-IN pRUN-INg
3 Going round Lourdes so unappealing in a sense (9) ODOURLESS*
4 Wanting to live on the outskirts of Frankfurt (6) BEREFT {BE}{RE}{FrankfurT}
5 When caught in marriage it is capital (8) ASUNCION {AS}{UN{C}ION}
7 A cricket team’s mantra over a third of the game is self-evident
(9) AXIOMATIC {A}{XI}{OM}{A}{TIC-tac-toe}
8 It is needed to decipher vital part of a sentence (3,4) KEY WORD [CD]
14 Sea crab I hit on the head (9) CARIBBEAN {CRAB+I}*{BEAN}
16 English queen, one said to be questionable (9) EQUIVOCAL {E}{QU}{1}{VOCAL}
17 Brood over united cabinet reshuffle (8) INCUBATE {U+CABINET}*
18 Duke of Edinburgh announced special incentives (7) FILLIPS (~philip){FILLIP}{S}
20 Rare medicine, not one that is prevalent (7) ENDEMIC MEDiCINE*
21 Happy to accept casual host (6) GALAXY {GA{LAX}Y}
23 Answer to puzzle comes as surprise (5) AMAZE {A}{MAZE}
25 Jargon intoned without learning initially (5) SLANG {S{L}ANG}
Pangram ! Sincerely liked 28a. The logic of 29a was good.
ReplyDeleteA mere glance at the last four clues and answers (without scrolling up further from bottom of the post) is enough to determine how classy the clues are. Smooth surface reading; impeccable clueing technique.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnyone from Mumbai here? I need some help which involves buying some morning/afternoon papers (will specify later) and sending them to me by post/courier. Expenses involved will be fully reimbursed.
DeletePlease email chaturvasi(at)yahoo(dot)com
TIA.
If there are no bloggers, I can help through friends.
DeleteToday's?
DeleteLet's wait. If there is no member of THCC there, I will seek your help. Thanks for the kind offer.
DeleteRare usage of 'rare' as an anagrind!
ReplyDeleteA bit tricky but very well constructed puzzle.
Never realised it is an anagram!
DeleteBuzzer never disappoints! Enjoyed it 28A this time also, though I could not get a few. Had to wait for the power and the blog.
ReplyDeleteOther instances in THC [by Gridman] of 'rare' as anagrind:
ReplyDelete25 Engages the services of rare stainer (7)
5 Where the rare avenge takes place (6)
17 Describing just-plucked fruit dispensed by rare shelf (4,5)
24 Re-admit it's rare skin complaint (10)
4 Lost rare medals and pic (9) MISPLACED
Some search engine you have to fish out all those clues listed by you? Rare i.e Unusual.
DeleteWould love to get hold of your cross-referencing and indexing system!
DeleteWell, when I began composing crosswords for TH in 2003, the online edition of the paper had been launched.
DeleteSo after publication of each puzzle, I have been copying the clue text and building up my dB.
In MS Excel I have been patiently copying the clues. Against each cell containing clue I have the cell containing the solution, even here not typing out the answers in individual cells but importing the 'answers' in run-on para from Crossword Compiler (the other options there may have the answers sorted out and so useless for this purpose) and after formatting them to appear one below the other (as a list) and copy-pasting it in Excel.
That is the dB.
To get search results, I use freeware 'agent ransack' or 'test crawler' - obtained by patient search by Google with appropriate terms.
I use some basic RegEx for eliminating the terms as parts of bigger words in clues/answers.
Thus I will get only RARE and not HARARE or CURARE.
Actually these text utilities are not really needed. MS Excel itself has 'Find all' facility, the results put together in a pop-up, without our having to move from one instance to another.
I have done no course in computers; I fiddle around and figure things out myself as my granddaughter once said famously.
For info about in which crossword, when, a certain clue appeared, I have to go to another text utility where I have the clue list alone but with my own serial number, THC serial number, date of publication, all entered above as headers.
DeleteThat info I don't usually provide here when I give the search results.
Finally, I have these stored in Google Drive/Dropbox so that if my computer goes kaput, I still have the dB.
Delete@CV
DeleteOf the 5 clues listed, in four real is AnagrInd - RETAINS*, GENEVA*, DERMATITIS* and MISPLACED*, but in one it is part of the fodder - REAL FRESH (rare shelf)* with displaced as AnagrInd.
I can bet on you to detect mistakes. I was less than careful.
DeleteThoroughly enjoyable crossword as usual from Buzzer
ReplyDeleteSmooth. The game referred to in 7D eluded me though I got the word.
ReplyDeleteGot to forget the surfaces and scratch beneath!
IA - Got stuck for some time by brashly putting in LAIKA to begin with. Aiyo, never heard of IO as a moon!
ReplyDeleteIt was the first ans that came to my mind, but I then I thought that the poor mutt never went to the moon.
DeleteIn the first line of my post above, in place of 'real', please read 'rare' as the AnagrInd.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I didn't know that you detect your own oversights!
DeleteJust kidding!
Oversight has the following two meanings:
ReplyDelete1.An unintentional failure to notice or do something.
2.The action of overseeing something.
For a long time in India, I was using it in the first context. It was only when I went to the US, that I found the latter to be in common usage.
In India don't we have 'overseer'? From that term to 'oversight' in the sense of supervision there is no big jump.
DeleteIt is something like 'alochana(i)'. In Tamil, it means advice while in Hindi, it means criticism or lambasting!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I have made a comparative study of many such words in Hindi, Sanskrit and southern languages. In Malayalam, kamukan / kamuki is a lover, whereas in Kannada it implies a lecherous person!
DeleteIn Tamil too it means a lustful person.
DeleteTalking of 'lustful', why do so many synonyms start with th same letter: lecherous, libidinous, lascivious, lewd?
Excellent one from Buzzer. Real pleasure solving these.
ReplyDeleteStuck on the NE corner for a bit as well till the Key Word was unlocked.
Raju,
ReplyDeleteYou had mentioned that you would be sending something for the Sunday special from your collection of clippings. I have run out of stock so if you have anything do it across.
Lovely one from Buzzer. Struggled in NE corner ( I see that I am in good company ).
ReplyDelete