Saturday, 20 July 2013

No 10830, 20 Jul 2013, Lightning

 Didn't know Lightning was a Led Zep fan? I am one.

ACROSS
1   Lead actor, embracing independent approach, gets a path that leads upward (8) STAIRWAY {STA{I}R}{WAY}

5   Old lady outside avenue leading to a place of great bliss (6) HEAVEN {HE{AVE}N}
9   Without end, spice and sweeten edible fruit of Morus plant (8) MULBERRY {MUll}{BERRY} To mull, you need to heat it as well.
10 One gets to stay with headmaster in the same place (6) IBIDEM {1}{BIDE}{Master}
12 Dock auditor’s charge (5) LEVEE (~levy)
13 In the prime of one’s life, man joins thug (9) ADULTHOOD {ADULT}{HOOD}
14 Agent to secure the release of oriental drug (6) BAILEE {BAIL}{E}{E}
16 German sanctions death by hanging (7) GALLOWS {G}{ALLOWS}
19 Sort of keen to get protection for bone (7) KNEECAP {KEEN*}{CAP}
21 Destiny of king is fulfilled (6) KISMET {K}{IS}{MET}
23 Connect burrows providing means to escape (9) LOOPHOLES [DD] (Addendum - {LOOP}{HOLES} - See comments)
25 Extraordinary king becoming harder to find (5) RARER {RARE}{R}
26 Governor introduced conservative set of principles (6) THEORY {T{HE}ORY}
27 Cover a parachute (8) UMBRELLA [DD]
28 A lie is made up to mediate (6) LIAISE*
29 Send gear to construct bombs (8) GRENADES*

DOWN
1   Test a small quantity (6) SAMPLE [DD]
2   Quell a ridiculously vile tale (9) ALLEVIATE {A}{VILE+TALE}*
3   Officer always upset about engineer (5) REEVE {RE{E}VE<=}
4   Broadcast medium, broadcast signal (7) AIRWAVE {AIR}{WAVE}
6   Deploys troops in measure to combat mutinies at last (9) EMBATTLES {EM}{BATTLE}{S}
7   See old film recorded on cassette (5) VIDEO {VIDE}{O}
8   A rootless lifestyle is no crazy belief (8) NOMADISM {NO}{MAD}{ISM}
11 Seal tap without a bit of necessity (4) BUNG {BU{N}G}
15 What bulls do when embroiled in conflict (4,5) LOCK HORNS [CD]
17 Disallowed by irritated, rude lover (9) OVERRULED*
18 Extremely thin skate dispersed around the French lake (8) SKELETAL {SKE{LE}TA*}{L}
20 Nearly run away from the south to Arctic, say (4) POLE ELOPe <=
21 Rock number on North Indian state (7) KASHMIR [DD]

22 Divides baker’s preparation (6) BREAKS*
24 Love big Greek character (5) OMEGA {O}{MEGA}
25 Engineer to manage second broadcast (5) RERUN {RE}{RUN}
 

31 comments:

  1. Liked the interpretation of the GE logo. Wonder if the firm will be amused...

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  2. 5 Old lady outside avenue leading to a place of great bliss (6) HEAVEN

    One of the quite a few clues which I could crack at first look.

    An old lady is called hen, a young one a chick, what next?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And do you still wonder why the male of the same species, as hen and chick, is called a cock or rooster ?

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    2. I have the answer, but not cocksure of it.

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    3. On the same note a variant of the popular joke series:

      Why did the chicken cross the road ?

      To get to the diner on the other side.

      Why did the chicken go to the diner ?

      It wanted to go to the mens' rest room.

      Why did it want to go to the mens' rest room ?

      Because she had heard that that is where the xxxxs hang out.

      Delete
    4. Richard @ 8:44

      ....just cock and fire it straight away ! No problem !!

      Delete
  3. Nice of you to include a bit of The Lockhorns. One time favourites amongst cartoon strips like Bringing up Father, Moose etc.

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  4. It was nice to see 21D...

    The song's riff was ringing in my years for several days after listening to it the first time. Simple, yet powerful.

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  5. Col & VJ,

    You have other songs by Led Zep in 1 A, 2A and 16D & 20 D.

    Very nice puzzle. Simple but good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, I didn't see the pic put up under 1A.

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    2. Raghu,

      They are marked in green, Stairway to Heaven, Gallows Pole, Kashmir and 12A is part of the song 'When the levee breaks'

      Delete
    3. Proves that you are a fan as you spotted them much earlier. Have heard Stairway... and Gallows... but Kashmir & 'When the levee breaks'. LZ is one among the groups that I like. My favourite band being DP.

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    4. Raghu, yep could see 'em all... Well I got a copy of their entire discography so wasn't so difficult :). Kashmir gets a special mention 'cause I think it's unbelievably awesome. My other favorites are Hey Hey what can I do, Black dog, Going to California (wow, this one kinda make me cry lol), Nobody's fault but mine and Whole lotta love (especially the riff).

      Delete
    5. My favourite Led Zep song 'The Lemon Song' Hear it at the link. The song was also known as 'The killing floor'

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    6. Yup, huge fan of Led Zep as well, hence thought of incorporating words from some of the songs into the puzzle.

      Really like most songs from the band, but Stairway to Heaven still remains my favorite. In fact when I used to live in Bangalore a friend of mine and I used to go to Purple Haze and request that one and Kashmir (his fav.) all the time. The DJ used to throw in Black Dog (the song !) as a bonus.

      Delete
  6. @Col: Sorry that I could not answer Bhavan Sir's 8:40 query yesterday. Have done so. PL have a look.

    Also, very sorry to hijack this offering from Lightning for pointing out something related to yesterday's crossword.

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  7. Nice one, enjoyed.

    23A I think was intended as a charade rather than a DD. Connect = loop + burrows = holes

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  8. Just seven short of a century ! 93 comments recorded yesterday !! Is it a new record ?

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    Replies
    1. Nope, we've had over 100 on a few occasions, particularly on days when we were plagued by a certain setter who is no longer on the THC panel

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    2. How did you find today's CW, MB? Should have been nice to tackle.

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    3. Satisfied ! Could get 75% !! Much easier than yesterday.

      Delete
    4. Col. @ 12:35

      I know who that setter is ! As per the code words used in radio communication it's November and Juliet !! Poor soul, used to get bombardment from all sides !!!

      Delete
    5. Add to that....Without Any Let-up !

      Delete
  9. Col. Saheb,

    20D : POLE : Can anno be written as (ePOLE)<== ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you can. The anno to the right of the answer is more explicit and a beginner would find it easy to follow.

      Delete
  10. Completed today's at lightning speed ! Didn't get blinded by Lightning at all !!

    Talking about November and Juliet-- Whatever happened to that compiler? Poor thing was bayed at and hounded out of this space by other Setters and Growlers? Do we have any say on such matters as bloggers? Or is it a case of '' The Standing Committee decided to sit on the matter and drop the subject" ?

    How does one get into the panel of competing compilers? Not that I'm interested !

    ReplyDelete

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