Thursday, 14 February 2013

No 10696, Thursday 14 Feb 13, Gridman


ACROSS
1   They are relatively close to each other (8) SIBLINGS [CD]
6   I’m laid back with two females — does this cause offence? (4) MIFF {MI<=}{F}{F}
9   Lot in company is shoddy (6) CHEAPO {C{HEAP}O}
10 E.g., Corel drawing of ancient painter (2,5) EL GRECO*
13 They are played again if losers’ requests are upheld (9) REMATCHES [CD]
14 Doctor and I, by the way, are slightly wet (5) MOIST {MO}{I}{ST}
15 Study the first impression (4) DENT {DEN}{T}
16 Self-control? Teens in cab are all for it! (10) ABSTINENCE*
19 Teller puts money in it (or takes from it) (4,6) CASH DRAWER [E]
21 Love to drink on return from work (4) OPUS {O}{PUS<=}
24 I wander back to a tribal (5) MAORI {MAOR}{I}<=
25 Foreign office party takes us back behind time (9) CONSULATE {CON}{SU<=}{LATE}
26 Ordinary guy’s double negative about woman (3-4) NON-HERO {NO}{N-{HER}O}
27 Take away the rating channel (6) ABDUCT {AB}{DUCT}
28 Desi’s strange aspect (4) SIDE*
29 Woolgatherers in the fold are listeners after seconds (8) SHEARERS {S}{HEARERS}

DOWN
2   Popular and hard fellow following union that’s cruel (7) INHUMAN {IN}{H}{U}{MAN}
3   Fast to grab a circular building (4-2) LEAN-TO {LE{A}N-T}{O}
4   Nothing novel will do for one with this fear (9) NEOPHOBIA [CD]
5   Vital stats for some glasses (5) SPECS [DD]
7   Boy contracts half a deficiency of a European peninsula (7) IBERIAN {I{BERIberi}AN}
8   Ten informers gathered to find those who live on the border (12) FRONTIERSMEN*
11 Playing recklessly (6) GAMING [E]
12 Foretells about last word in bad situations (12) PREDICAMENTS {PREDIC{AMEN}TS}
17 “With that, you get this as well” business (3-2,4) TIE-IN SALE [CD]
18 Present note on worship (6) ADMIRE {AD}{MI}{RE}
20 Indulged in courtship stirringly? (7) SPOONED [DD]
22 Old Hindi actor, one serving well, not a strutter (7) PRANCER {PRAN}{aCER}
23 More rubicund, I abandoned the steering aid (6) RUDDER RUDDiER
25 Shortens farm yields (5) CROPS [DD]

LINK TO SOLUTION

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49 comments:

  1. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 08:32

    3 Fast to grab a circular building (4-2) LEAN-TO {LE{A}N-T}{O}

    Perfect timing for Lent, with Ash Wednesday just past yesterday

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi14 February 2013 at 08:39

      I don't keep track even of 'amavasai'; and you keep track of Ash Wednesdays!

      Delete
    2. Chaturvasi14 February 2013 at 08:45

      I chose 'amavasai' for initial-letter sameness with Ash Wednesday. To go with Lent, I must have chosen 'ekadasi'.

      Delete
    3. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:06

      So they are equivaLENT!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 08:36

    Time to go and buy a cauliflower for St Valentine's day.

    Wodehousians will recall this part of his biography which is printed on most books:

    He was created a Knight of the British Empire in the 1975 New Year's Honours List. In a BBC interview he said that he had no ambitions left now that he had been knighted and there was a waxwork of him in Madame Tussauds. He died on St Valentines Day, 1975, at the age of ninety-three.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:10

      Was reminded of

      Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.. - Mark Twain

      Delete
  3. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:07

    20D - Can there be chamchagiri in courtship?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi14 February 2013 at 09:11

      Good wordplay, Richard!

      Delete
    2. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:13

      :-)

      Delete
    3. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:16

      In fact I did not know this shade of meaning of 'spoon'. Nice to know new things. I do not have 4D.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:26

      Terrific, Richard. Our politicians seem to be indulging in both the Hindi and English versions, if we go by media reports.

      Delete
  4. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 09:24

    You may have known about 'spoonerism'- eg.
    It is kisstomary to cuss the bride!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:28

      ;-)

      The biggest 'curse' commonly bestowed is 'sowbhagyavathi bhava'

      ..

      meaning you will have to bear with this chap till you conk off

      Delete
    2. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 09:32

      My turn to :-)

      Delete
    3. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:39

      Kishore, in wedding invitations, I hate to read the prefix Sow before the bride's name as an abbreviation for Sowbhagyavati, particularly in view of its connotation in English.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:43

      She will realise the real meaning when she sees him hog at the dining table

      Delete
    5. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:45

      Paddy 9:24 - You are the wing of kit!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:46

      He sure is, Richard

      Delete
    7. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:47

      Kishore 9:43 - :-) No hogwash, this!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 10:10

      Gluttons have a glut when they eat tons

      Delete
  5. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 09:31

    I came across 'moist' in a quickie today, definition being the same without wordplay. I was toying with Dr. for doctor before getting 'MO'

    18D- ON is also on for 're'?

    Lean-to & circular made me wonder if I was right, before I got lent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:45

      Quickie, toying, ...

      What are you up to, Paddy?!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 10:11

      And who were you lent to, if I may ask?

      Delete
    3. Deepak Gopinath14 February 2013 at 10:25

      He's just spooning

      Delete
    4. Richard14 February 2013 at 10:47

      Spooning who, if I am not inquisitive?

      Delete
    5. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 12:25

      I have been totally in the dark for 2 hours (read power cut)

      Delete
  6. Bhavan14 February 2013 at 09:33

    Nice coincidence (not unlike the Ash Wednesday) was the mention of Pran who celebrated his birthday very recently and was thus helpful in solving that clue instantly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14 February 2013 at 09:44

      Pran ke pran abhi baaki hain. What a gentelmanly villain !

      Delete
    2. Richard14 February 2013 at 09:53

      His roles in Upkar, Zanjeer and many other movies are still remembered after decades. Kasme vaade pyar wafa sab, baatein hain baaton ka kya, koi kisika nahim yeh jhoote naate hain naaton ka kya...., soulfully rendered by Manna Dey and picturized on him, and also yaari hai imaan mera come to my mind...

      Delete
  7. Unknown14 February 2013 at 10:29

    Enjoyed all the 'punny' comments as much as Gridman's offering to-day!! Thank you all for making it such an entertaining morning.
    Hope all is well, Gayathri. Have not heard from you. Best wishes for a good recovery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 February 2013 at 11:05

      +1 .. Lovely crossword and lively comments

      Delete
  8. Venkatesh14 February 2013 at 11:26

    7Dn Defn is 'of a European peninsula' and not just 'European peninsula'

    The European peninsula IBERIA derives its name from the ancient name of the longest river EBRO which flows through the largest modern day country SPAIN which is part of that peninsula.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 12:36

      Is the article 'a' or 'an' for European? There was a discussion about this a couple of days ago. I have also heard from an English lecturer that 'an ' should be used for Hotel (going by the pronunciation)

      Delete
    2. Venkatesh14 February 2013 at 13:22

      'IBERIA' seems to be a favourite of Gridman seeing that he has used it on two consecutive days. We had this yesterday:
      5 Left a peninsula for a country in west Africa (7) LIBERIA {L}{IBERIA}
      By the way, it is not clear why he opted for the smaller case for W in West Africa while the convention is to use the upper case. Other similar instances are S in South Asia, N in North America. The style manual of The Hindu, if it has one, may have something on this.

      Delete
    3. Richard14 February 2013 at 13:41

      Paddy 12:36

      Normally it is taught in schools that all words beginning with vowels, a, e, i, o, u should be preceded by 'an'. Not necessarily.

      Actually the choice of article goes by phonetics. Since European starts with a 'y' sound, it is a European. Since 'hotel' is pronounced with the aspirate dropped like 'otel' in some countries, they choose to say an hotel. Let them stay in an hotel, while we can continue in a hotel, or any hotel for that matter. :-)

      Could our ultimate arbiter CV come on line please?

      Delete
    4. Venkatesh14 February 2013 at 18:18

      The correct choice of the “indefinite article” - a or an - depends on the initial sound of a word (not the initial letter), of the word that it precedes. We use 'an' before words which begin with a vowel sound or a soft H sound. In that case, 'an' European peninsula may be apposite.

      Delete
  9. Suresh14 February 2013 at 11:37

    In 18D should not note be notes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath14 February 2013 at 11:50

      On = RE, so it's an &lit as well

      Delete
    2. Raghunath14 February 2013 at 12:35

      How is it an &lit? As:

      Present AD + Note MI + on RE = Worship ADMIRE:

      Delete
    3. Suresh14 February 2013 at 12:37

      Right, Deepak. I did not notice that.

      I don't think it could be an & lit though. Presenting notes for worship may not denote admiration, even if we talk of currency notes.

      Delete
  10. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 12:31

    Richard@9.39- 'sow'

    Father of one of my friends used to make caustic comments about 'sow' whenever he saw or the topic came up about wedding invitations (and that was frequent since he owned a press)I was reminded of him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suresh14 February 2013 at 12:40

      What about Chi.

      Delete
    2. Richard14 February 2013 at 13:34

      I think Chi is used for males, for Chiranjeevi (not your mega-star!). For females, Kum to represent Kumari should be OK, I feel.

      Delete
  11. Padmanabhan14 February 2013 at 13:21

    Should follow suit. But I have not heard him on that. I really dont know how the two came to be used. Why does one need an abbreviation there?

    ReplyDelete
  12. PKPSwami14 February 2013 at 14:56

    NiceCW.20D: clued stirringly(rather stunningly)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Unknown14 February 2013 at 17:23

    Chy.stands for Chiranjeevi meaning "May you Live Long ever"Sow.for Sowbhagyavathi meaning a woman plenty with riches.But in the wedding invitation,abbreviations are usually resorted to,thus making it user-friendly.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unknown14 February 2013 at 17:39

    The comment"Pran ke pran abhi baaki hai" is not in good taste though at the expense of the pun intended.We wish to see the longest ever pran in Pran.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Navneeth14 February 2013 at 20:05

    I find interesting that 3D can also be clued as "Slowly grabs a building".

    ReplyDelete

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