ACROSS
7 Making leader of Cuba to move ahead in showing response (8) CREATING - Letter C in REACTING moves ahead - Letter shift - The anno took a while to suggest itself to me - The letter shift is indicated properly but I am not sure if the surface reding is totally convincing9 Creature - new one held by west bound Tibetan Priest (6) ANIMAL - NI in AMAL, i.e., reversed LAMA - Container-contained
10 A problem requiring investigation like in Central Excise (4) CASE - C(AS)E - Container-contained -Plausible surface reading
11 Give a ring to New Delhi - people there are happy to assist you (4,6) CALL CENTRE - A neat DD
They are happy to assist their customers...
Cartoon by Rishi
14 One who lives in peninsula of peninsulas is a pure one perhaps (8) EUROPEAN - Anagram of APUREONE - Good definition, good anagram fodder
12 Part of house fully serviceable (6) USEFUL - Telescopic, from 'hoUSE FULly' - Plausible surface reading
15 Fathers attempt to make baked food? (6) PASTRY - PAs TRY - Charade - Why the QM? - I hope it's not a case of too many cooks
16 British measure dreaded by the Indian batsmen (6) BOUNCE - B OUNCE - Re-read the clue -The other day we had to remove B from 'bounce'.
19 Figure altering randomly (8) TRIANGLE - Anagram of ALTERING
21 Quiet move to a higher position gets an expression of commendation (6) PRAISE - P RAISE - Charade
23 Ali before his name change had common city bird as target in trapshooting (4,6) CLAY PIGEON - Charade of words without any breakup
24 Beach article in southern district (4) SAND - S(AN)D - Container-contained - "Sands" may refer to a tract covered with sand, as on a beach. Whether 'sand' can lead to 'beach' I am not sure.
25 Discussion about what the first three debutants consumed (6) DEBATE - D E B ATE - Charade
26 Lookouts make small insertions in a written record (8) SENTRIES - S ENTRIES - Charade - Another clue whose anno took a few secs to dawn on me because of the clever use of 'insertions' - A false container-contained, shall we say?
DOWN
1 Cherished desires revealed in 500 papers (6) DREAMS - D REAMS - Charade - "papers" gets 'reams', not just 'ream'.2 A new driver in Georgia experiences strong wind (4) GALE - G(A L)E - Container-contained
3 Roundabout but crucial manoeuver before the end of war (8) - CIRCULAR - CRUCIAL* [wa]R - partial anagram
4 A flying one may be a UFO (6) SAUCER - Straightforward
5 Funny looking ant and a pig making up the WWF symbol (5,5) GIANT PANDA - Anagram of ANTANDAPIG - Good definition.
6 Ram, going back to Rhode Island, has time for nuptial ceremony (8) MARRIAGE - MAR<- RI AGE - Charade with reversal - I am not questioning the definition, but for me 'wedding' is a ceremony while 'marriage' is something that a man and wife makes for a brief period or for a long, long time of pleasure or endurance or both.
8 Desperately longed to have something made from a precious metal (6) GOLDEN - Anagram of LONGED - Neat surface reading.
13 Is Chartered Accountant (extremely lazy) gripped by fright during the accounting period? (6,4) FISCAL YEAR - FE {ISCA L[az]Y} AR - Container-contained - I will leave it to the CAs on this blog to challenge the statement here.
15 These type of lines seem to meet only at the vanishing point (8) PARALLEL - Straightforward - As the solution is singular, 'This type of lines ..." would do, I think.
17 Antagonist goes very soft on hospital department after the initial objection (8) OPPONENT - O PP ON ENT - Charade - Plausible surface reading in a clue where the components are handled smartly.
18 Simple machines always found in Lok Sabha (6) LEVERS - L(EVER)S - Container-contained - Those voting machines showing 'ayes' and 'noes'?
20 Good learner, one with the German sailplane (6) GLIDER - G L I DER - Charade - Learner here and 'new driver' in 2d above are used appropriately for the same letter L
22 Vocalist like the Inventor of sewing machine (6) SINGER - Double definition - ref. to Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875), inventor and entrepreneur.
24 Categorise the gold held by saint (4) SORT - S(OR)T - Container-contained
Thanks to CV for standing in for Bhavan who is on vacation till 15 Mar
ReplyDeleteEven Dr. Watson would have found this one elementary. Ho hum!
ReplyDeleteDifficult tests everyday would put off a lot of first timers. Not to worry though, you will be doing plenty of cycling tomorrow and day after with Sk... and KKK
DeleteI didn't know CV drew cartoons as well
ReplyDeleteI am sure he will get a lot of 'support' in his new interest...
DeleteWhere did CV get the time to add so many comments to the clues?
DeleteElementary Watson, refer Suresh's 8:32!!
DeleteThoroughly enjoyed CV's support to the cause of unity.
DeleteThe cartoon is undated, hence unable to determine if this was a "on-the-spot" reaction or pulled out his bag of cartoons. If the bag exists, would like to see more.
DeleteOn the spot as mentioned to me
DeleteVery happy today. Able to solve @ 8 am.wonderful clues, though most of them are anagrams, there are nice scaffoldings too as in 7a,11a,4d.Overall a nice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteScaffoldings??
DeleteI got the answers to a large number of clues at a mere look. Kind of 'samosa'fied feeling...
ReplyDeleteCould the setter have been in a hurry to finish the setting process?
Centre for New Delhi was easily guessed.
Agree about 6D. Marriage is commonly referred to the institution, in its abstract sense.
13D - Saluting Suresh, Kishore and a few others...
I wonder if Tester is also from their tribe?
DeleteScaffolding is build-up a platform C G sir anything wrong in the figurative use?
ReplyDeleteCV good to see you in this avatar too. And didn't know you did cartoons as well, super.
ReplyDeleteYes easy one today (as evidenced by my logging in hours before my usual time!).
Interesting comments to the clues. I particularly agree with comment on 15D: not just because of the solution, but if you start with 'these', then it should be 'types'
Easy going all the way..
ReplyDeleteYesterday I had mentioned:
ReplyDeleteGot my goat in 16d and24d
And was expecting objections since both of these were not goats ...
Easy one no doubt. But most clues were constructed fairly well without issues.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more such cartoons in the future :)
CV wearing another cap? And gushing with his characteristeric elan!
ReplyDeleteNone of our resident CAs have challenged the statement in 13D
ReplyDeleteDo we take it that it is accepted as it is? Looks so anyway.
DeleteIt was only a question and not a statement. So best left unanswered.
DeleteAnyways since accounting year is all the time, we are pretty good at putting fear into others rather than experience it ourselves.
I chose to keep quiet since I am an ex member of the practicing fraternity. Suresh has put it correctly. I can understand some having 'fear' just after the end of a fiscal year probably due to work pressure. Otherwise, since one year follows another, if there is any fear for any probable wrongdoing, it will be for every as surely as one fiscal year follows another. But, if you love your work and have done it diligently, there is nothing to fear. Pyar kiya to darna kya?
DeleteWell said as usual
Deletebtw ear should be at the end for 13d anno
Kudos to our multi talented- setter,solver, stand in commenter, cartoonist- CV!!
ReplyDeleteI want to join Richard & Kishore in 'backing' him. He can give 'support' to any good cause.
Enjoyable CW made more so by CV's expo.
Picture for 15A is indicative of today's CW? Easy & delicious!
ReplyDeleteBack from Madras after getting my visa to visit the US. Was holed up in a Hotel in Thousand Lights and was in and out and hence couldn't but help take a cursory peek at all the comments in the blog. Had very casually attempted to do the Doppelganger Special of 24th Feb. Though I finished solving it, thanks to Orkut, couldn't give the annotations. Sorry, DeGo and DoGa . Must have been soft-headed to put that phrase in for goatheaded !! Read thru' all the comments now and am sorry couldn't respond immediately as I was scampering around in Madras like a headless chicken! Couldn't even keep my promise to get in touch with CV, as I had not carried his cell No. Missed meeting my fellow-bloggers there too ! Is Madras so named because every one is in a MAD RUSH? Central Station was a slushy Yuck when we were dropped there by an obliging auto-driver! Watch out for my letter to the Editors in the press.
ReplyDeleteMissed getting my clip for the Sunday (24th Feb) usual too . Can any one send me a printable copy?
Now on to the backlog of the regular THCCs from 19th Feb onwards.So many to catch up !
CV sir, Very nice cartoon.
ReplyDeleteToday I finished xword in half an hour:-). This is the first time I did so fast.
C V Sir-in 'Konar Thamizh Urai' (his annotations) simply superb
ReplyDeleteCol. The setter is Superintendent of Central Excise auditing Company accounts for tax evasion.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of person people like me love.
DeleteKishore @ 10.22- about 'goat'
ReplyDeleteWe all know when Kishore mentions 'goat' it is anything/ everything but goat! So there will not be any protest- maybe if he means goat there will be some protest!
With ref. to CV's doubt about 'Faux pas'- read a sentence today which looked an apt example.
ReplyDeleteHe knew by the silence that greeted his speech that he had made some kind of faux pas.