Tuesday, 15 October 2013

No 10904, Tue 15 Oct 2013, Gridman

Gridman seems to have visited a salon recently.

ACROSS
1   Places where distressing activities take place as a routine (6,5) BARBER SHOPS [CD]
9   Company car woman takes for bullfight (7) CORRIDA {CO}{RR}{IDA}

HOLY COW!!!

10 Main colour? (3-4) SEA-BLUE [CD]
11 Graduate gains colour, having dropped all clothes (5) BARED {BA}{RED}
12 Getting dumpy nose fixed, acquire another name (9) PSEUDONYM*
13 Brief from smarter setter (5) TERSE [T]
15 Goes too far while climbing the staircase? (9) OVERSTEPS {OVER}{STEPS}
18 Reassert a refurbishment is needed for places from where no driving should be made (4,5) REAR SEATS*
21 One getting up for part of flight (5) RISER [DD]
22 Soldier to abandon traitor (6,3) DESERT RAT {DESERT} {RAT}
24 Yes, a high school may have these maids (5) AYAHS {AY}{A}{HS}
26 Circumspect Creole admits good artist (2,5) EL GRECO {EL {G}RECO*}
27 Nothing to one dress brought back from range (7) NILGIRI {NIL}{GIR<=}{1<=}
28 Activity happening in 1ac. or as part of some Hindu ritual (11) HAIRCUTTING [CD]

DOWN
1   One who criticises people but not to their faces (9) BACKBITER [CD]
2   More infrequent artist on engineer’s third circuit (5) RARER {RA}{RE}{R}
3   Reviled so badly, they act badly (9) EVILDOERS*
4   It removes dirt from locks (7) SHAMPOO [CD]
5   Old boy on spectacle that’s disgusting (7) OBSCENE {OB}{SCENE}
6   Good man with viewpoint (5) STAND {ST}{AND}
7   Malicious reports not initiated by people living in Sri Lanka, say (8) SLANDERS iSLANDERS
8   Treatment that creates waves in the hair salon (4) PERM [CD]
14 Travelled, we hear, to initial info by the way (4,4) ROAD SIGN (~rode){ROAD} {SIGN}
16 Runnel — a small measure in the thoroughfare (9) STREAMLET {STRE{A}{ML}ET}
17 Putting pressure on troublesome girl to leave (9) STRESSING diSTRESSING
19 One is underneath a church official as derived by logic (1,6) A PRIORI {A} {PRIOR}{1}
20 An act is reviewed as utterly wicked (7) SATANIC*
22 Said to have longed for having the colour changed (4) DYED (~died)
23 Smoke emanating from three chulahs (5) REECH [T]
25 Air India to uphold liberal defence (5) ALIBI {A{LIB}I}

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75 comments:

  1. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 08:34

    Any suggestion as to where else Gridman should visit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath15 October 2013 at 08:45

      A harem ;-)
      A railway station
      He can accompany his wife to a beauty parlour

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:51

      Further to DG's ref to Gridman's salon visit

      Gridman climbing staircases at the hairdressers for a step-cut?

      Ref 15a,21a

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:51

      Harem haraam hai!

      Delete
    4. Padmanabhan15 October 2013 at 08:55

      Kishore 'raising" a doubt or is it a riser?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:00

      Just correlating two staircase clues with a salon resulting in a step-cut, which used to be popular decades back.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:12

      Gridman can visit school, post office, bank, railway station, ... (if he is able to get away from the harem, of course)

      Delete
    7. Richard15 October 2013 at 09:43

      Posts here about salon visit - a cut above the rest or the 'most unkindest cut'?

      Delete
    8. Mukundala Balasubramanyam15 October 2013 at 11:12

      IMO the best place for Gridman to visit is TIRUPATI to do full justice to 28 Across !

      Delete
  2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:34

    For those interested, today's The Statesman has a themed crossword on page 9. Something to do with today.

    http://epaper.thestatesman.net/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ajay15 October 2013 at 08:44

      Thanks for the link Kishore. Is there an online version of this crossword available?

      Delete
    2. VJ15 October 2013 at 08:46

      Does it carry crosswords set by Indian setters or is it syndicated?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:49

      I do not know if an online version is available. The relevance of today's crossword to today makes me think that either the cwd is made in India or syndicated to appear without a lag or is appearing on the anniversary of its debut abroad. The standard of the cwd is very good.

      Delete
    4. Ajay15 October 2013 at 08:52

      And I also suppose the archive sections dont work too. So one can only view the day's paper, no more.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:37

    WRT to cartoon presented under Corrida, where only bulls usually participate, there is only one way to ascertain whether the animal is a bull or a cow. Examine the output. Only the males are capable of producing bs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath15 October 2013 at 08:41

      What's the difference between cd and bs? ;-)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 08:45

      CD can be used for making fuel, bs is just hot air. For example, this post ;-)

      Delete
    3. Padmanabhan15 October 2013 at 08:53

      BS/ hot air- applies to humans as well?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:19

      Ref. all posts above

      Delete
  4. Padmanabhan15 October 2013 at 08:52

    9A- a couple of doubts
    1.It is a Spanish word (of course can be surmised) but no indication- probably commonly used.
    2.RR for car? Is Rolls Royce, as a brand name,accepted?

    Of course, sour grapes!

    Lucky Gridman- still visiting barber shops!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VJ15 October 2013 at 09:00

      Many foreign words have found their way into standard English dictionaries and Corrida is prolly one of them. So it's all right I reckon. And RR for car seems all right IMO. When you see a word like car in a clue one would tend to look for a brand name rather than an alternative word defining it and RR ain't an obscure one by any means

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:09

      A few of Spanish words relating to bullfighting appear in English crosswords: Matador, Picador. I have not seen Muletta, Toreador in cwds.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:10

      "Lucky Gridman- still visiting barber shops!"

      and peel garlic too, Paddy ;-)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:11

      Audi and Ford too have been used by many setters

      Delete
    5. Suresh15 October 2013 at 10:28

      Surprise! Surprise! I visit barber shops too for haircuts every few months.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 10:37

      ;-)

      Does e give you a discount or charge a search fee?

      Delete
    7. Mukundala Balasubramanyam15 October 2013 at 10:47

      ...searching with what, a magnifying glass ?

      Delete
  5. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 08:52

    I don't yet get how the CWD in The Statesman is related to today.

    My opinion is that any connection is coincidental.

    The CWD that the Statesman uses is by arrangement with the Independent of the UK and it appears after a time-lag that I am yet to determine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath15 October 2013 at 08:56

      No time lag. It appears on the same day. In fact on Sat and Sun The Statesman is one week ahead of The Independent.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:03

      Today , 15th Oct, is Ada Lovelace Day and many clues are corrected to her. Pl visit wordpress site. I think DG's statement that there is no time lag is correct. I am sure he must have checked it before saying so.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:05

      Ada Lovelace Day is something I would not have been aware of. But I think there was a mention in TH in the last couple of days. So as soon as I solved the pamir knot of those interlinked clues, I cottoned on

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:06

      "My opinion is that any connection is coincidental.

      Surely not, Sir. Too much of a coincidence.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 09:13

      Looking at that cwd, I would say that lady is quite ADAptable.

      Delete
    6. Ajay15 October 2013 at 09:26

      hi Kishore, which wordpress blog are you alluding to?

      Delete
    7. Bhavan15 October 2013 at 09:34

      @Ajay this one: http://xwordsolutions.wordpress.com/

      Delete
    8. Ajay15 October 2013 at 12:19

      Thanks Bhavan

      Delete
    9. Ajay15 October 2013 at 12:39

      That seems to be a closed group. How does one enter its esoteric portals?

      Delete
  6. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 09:29

    It is possible that the disappearance of the time-lag is of very recent occurrence.

    If I remember right, there was no correspondence between the Indian paper and the UK original when I checked some months ago.

    Anyway, thanks for the info.

    UK papers have test solvers and crossword editors who prepare them for publication ahead of dates of publication, so it should be possible for this kind of simultaneous publication.

    Also,in these days of Internet, websites and so on, it's possible that once the payment is made, the local paper is given access to draw the material from their storage.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bhavan15 October 2013 at 09:33

    18A Can the answer be found in any dictionary? Isn't the phrase 'back-seat driver' ?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 09:35

    1 Bullfighter to dare modify an alternative (8)

    - THC 8891, pub. on Thu, Apr. 19, 2007.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 09:42

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 09:43

      Well, the usual expression is back-seat driver.

      But the question is whether the phrase 'rear-seat driver' should not be used at all? Should it necessarily be in a dictionary to get sanction? Does it not make sense?

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15692133

      In the above link, the phrase rear-seat passenger is used. From there, rear-seat driver is derivable.

      The setter, well aware that if it were a CD, the solver might have entered BACK-SEAT DRIVER has been careful enough to provide an anagram so the solver doesn't go astray.

      Delete
    2. Raghunath15 October 2013 at 09:54

      Is it necessary to stick to the phrase? As along as the answer conveys the meaning IMO it's fine, unless the clue referred to a part of the phrase.

      Delete
    3. Bhavan15 October 2013 at 10:09

      ... Should it necessarily be in a dictionary to get sanction? Does it not make sense?...

      Does this mean I can fill a grid with phrases like 'torn shirt' or 'red motorcycle' or 'cute duck' etc?

      Delete
    4. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 10:53

      If the grid had 'rear-seat driving' and the setter had alluded to the idiomatic phrase 'back-seat driving', that would have been unacceptable. For, an idiom is an idiom and its parts can't be changed.

      But 'rear seat' is a phrase one might use in conversation. "I kept the paper on the rear seat', a driver might tell his companion on the adjacent front seat.

      Why should we expect it to be in a dict?

      Delete
    5. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 10:58

      My 9:43 was written carelessly.

      We could accept REAR SEAT. But not REAR-SEAT DRIVING as I have made it clear in the latter message. Idioms can't be altered.

      Delete
  10. Nadathur Rajan15 October 2013 at 10:21

    Salons used to be called (and still are called) saloons in India. Both the words have the same origin - French salon meaning a large room.
    A saloon is a (sedan) car with seats for four or more people, a fixed roof, and a boot that is separated from the rear seats. In the USA, a saloon is also a place where alcoholic drinks are sold and drunk. In the UK, the saloon is a comfortable bar (a lounge bar contrasted with the public bar).

    ReplyDelete
  11. Suresh15 October 2013 at 10:31

    Lovely cartoon, Kishore. One of Bangalore's famed idiosyncracies. When the fly over started the traffic was to flow in the opposite direction to what it is now and all was hunky- dory

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 10:35

      Thanks, Suresh. That flyover is no longer having the traffic crossover problem as diections have changed again. The sign is very close to the Majestic bus stand.

      Delete
    2. Suresh15 October 2013 at 10:39

      Ah! So Richmond Road hasw become Dnomhcir Road?

      Delete
    3. Raghunath15 October 2013 at 10:55

      Travelling from Yeshwantpur rly stn to city, we, in a particulat stretch of the road, have to cross over to the RHS and proceed.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 11:57

      Hserus, sey

      Delete
    5. Deepak Gopinath15 October 2013 at 15:25

      Similar situation exists at the road in front of Garuda Mall while approaching from Residency road side.

      Delete
    6. Suresh15 October 2013 at 17:11

      This appears to be because of the large number of American returned Indians in Bangalore. The Bangalore Police are trying hard to help them adjust.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 17:26

      DG @325pm and when approaching G Mall from St. P's hospital side

      Delete
    8. Col_Gopinath15 October 2013 at 17:48

      Both are the same that junction has 5 roads

      Delete
  12. Nadathur Rajan15 October 2013 at 10:34

    In 28A HAIRCUTTING, Gridman has referred to TONSURE in the clue. Besides being practised amongst Hindus, tonsure is
    > still a traditional practice in Catholicism by specific religious orders (with papal permission)
    > commonly used in the Eastern Orthodox Church for newly baptized members
    > frequently utilized for Buddhist novices and monks
    > a traditional practice in Islam after completion of the hajj,

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nadathur Rajan15 October 2013 at 10:52

    Kishore,
    Very witty graphic and idea - right is right but left is also right!
    In 'time' of road sign, probably you intended 'type'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 11:58

      Yes, will send in a correction. Thanks.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 12:24

      BTW, not only right is right and left is right, middle of the road is also right if you are driving a heavy vehicle or an SUV. No portion, including potholes, are wasted. Footpaths too are grist to the mill as are petrol pumps located at corners.

      Delete
  14. Nadathur Rajan15 October 2013 at 11:06

    Ada Lovelace Day is observerd on October 15 for a grand 50 hours somewhere around the world! Surprising as it may sound, if you chased today around the world, it would last for 50 hours, from midnight to midnight. Each day starts in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at the International Date Line. Kiritimati Island (also called Christmas Island) in the Republic of Kiribati is one of the first places in the world to experience the new day. It lies 14 hours ahead of GMT. Each day ends at midnight on the other side of the International Date Line. Howland Island, also in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is one of the last islands to experience midnight. It lies 12 hours behind GMT. Add all of these, and you’ll end up with (14+24+12) 50 hours.
    May be Kishore can explain to us how the extra two hours come in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 12:02

      Only after you draw a straight line !

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 12:19

      Let me explain more:

      3 facts:
      1.The international date line is not a straight line.
      2. Kiritimati is at 157deg W
      3. Howland is at 176deg W

      So the distance covered in degrees is 157 to 180 to 0 =23+180=203 which works out to 203/360*24= ~14 hrs when rounding off happens for UTC.

      In fact, Kiribati has 2 time zones which extent well beyond the 180deg line. Instead of being 10 to 11 hrs behind GMT, these zones end up being 13 to 14 hrs ahead of GMT by virtue of the huge digression made by the IDL.

      Mere sleight of hand and pencil.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 October 2013 at 12:21

      To add further, if this digression was not made, the equation would be just 12+24+12=48 just what one might expect.

      Remember a coin turning around the edge of a similar coin leading to the +1 rotation ...

      Delete
  15. VMA Nair15 October 2013 at 11:34

    Nice puzzle.

    27A needs for example in def. part?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nadathur Rajan15 October 2013 at 13:04

    Kishore,

    Thanks for the explanation.

    Kiribati spans both the Equator and the International Date Line. It has 3 Standard Time zones between 12 and 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+12) (GMT+13) (GMT+14) - Gilbert Islands - Tarawa 12 hours ahead of GMT, Rawaki Islands - Enderbury 13 hours and Kiritimati 14 hours. This follows the Kiribati Governments' decision to "move the International Date Line" to the east of its conventional line.
    [Ref: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/pacific/kiribati/ ]

    ReplyDelete
  17. Padmanabhan15 October 2013 at 13:39

    After all the international date line was chosen not to inconvenience any country and it is only an arbitrary line to have some ref. for date & time.Imagine if it were to run in place of Greenwich meridian....All the same I was surprised (when I looked up) that Kiribati has 3 time zones!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sridhar15 October 2013 at 13:41

    Re 18A : It is a coincidence that another anagram that fitted the enumeration (though not the crossings) was "REST AREAS". I put in this initially, thinking of the rest areas in US highways where drivers pull in to take a break from driving. It was later that I realised I had got it wrong.
    Re 1D: I thought the type of clue was "E" (non-cryptic). It was the first word that occurred to me as soon as I read the clue.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Unknown15 October 2013 at 18:02

    Very entertaining comments, to-day! As good as the crossword - could have solved it sitting at the salon!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mukundala Balasubramanyam15 October 2013 at 18:43

    Talking about 1 Across BARBER SHOPS, I've found one more BARBERSHOP in OED. Barbershop(N) : A popular style of close harmony singing , typically for four male voices.
    Origin - From the former custom of passing time in a barber's shop by harmonizing to a lute or a guitar !

    ReplyDelete
  21. Mukundala Balasubramanyam15 October 2013 at 19:01

    CV Sir raised a question @ 8:34 to which many of us have suggested a number of places. Would like to know which one he would prefer ! If so, why ?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chaturvasi15 October 2013 at 19:26

    Well, I would visit all the places!

    You weren't here when I asked members to suggest words to be put in the grid. My crosswords in the very next bunch included most of these. It was a tough call!

    At the same time I would accept a challenge as simple as this:

    http://williampenn.net/crossword/

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mukundala Balasubramanyam15 October 2013 at 20:03

    C V SIR, the blog you mentioned above is very nice(Related to idioms). I could solve 8 clues or so. I shall keep visiting it often. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  24. yeled-pele16 October 2013 at 15:10

    thanks about the crosswords solutions - i finished my puzzle now !

    ReplyDelete

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