Wednesday, 11 December 2013

No 10953, Wednesday 11 Dec 2013, Lightning

4D struck by Lightning!!
ACROSS
1   Retiring intelligence agency chief scientist initially providing explosives (8) WARHEADS {WAR<=}{HEAD}{S}
5   Slowly starts approaching descent on silver moon (6) ADAGIO {A}{D}{AG}{IO}
9   Ornament distorted one’s grin (4,4) NOSE RING*
10 Split the French inside den (6) CLEAVE {C{LE}AVE}
12 Duck — one that is cast back with hesitation (5) EIDER {EID<=}{ER}
13 Idle? See TV broadcast aired (9) TELEVISED*
14 In a party or within four walls? (6) INDOOR {IN}{DO}{OR}
16 Distance from say, garden to an almost empty garage (7) YARDAGE {YARD}{An}{GaragE}
19 Spotted one trickster on the radio (7) CHEETAH (~cheater)
21 Wish to acquire soft, extremely thin rug? (6) CARPET {CAR{P}E}{T}
23 Restarted dissecting rodent (6,3) DESERT RAT*
25 Aid supply about to be cut (5) SERVE reSERVE
26 Very old cry to return fire (6) VOLLEY {V}{O}{LLEY<=}
27 Fragment of sharp lens, for the most part destroyed (8) SHRAPNEL {SHARP+LENs}*
28 Engineer gets opportunity to come back (6) RETURN {RE}{TURN}
29 Impertinence of a royal church head (8) ARCHNESS {A}{R}{CH}{NESS}

DOWN
1   Midfielder, new to replace Gerrard, at first is one likely to be successful (6) WINNER WIN(-g+n)NER
2   I screened new home (9) RESIDENCE*
3   Sin? Or fault? (5) ERROR {ERR}{OR}
4   Silly to tread on blasting cap (7) D?N?T?R Something is wrong here. The clue leads to DETONATOR* but the solution needs a 7 letter word.
6   Cunning devil about to return with energy — final prayer for saviour (9) DELIVERER {DEVIL*}{ER<=}{E}{R}
7   Weed smuggled in Mardi Gras season (5) GRASS [T]
8   Under deposited? On the contrary, pulled out in excess (8) OVERDREW How do we classify this clue of opposites? 
11 Ali once left in a small island (4) CLAY {C{L}AY}
15 We tear our defective jackets (9) OUTERWEAR*
17 Lincoln perhaps, at first reluctantly managed church’s departure from the norm (9) ABERRANCE {ABE}{R}{RAN}{CE}
18 Maybe, a tenth frozen (4,4) ICED OVER {DECI <=} 
20 Experienced boxing repercussions — to begin with its tough (4) HARD {HA{R}D}
21 Church to interrupt supply for Yogi Berra? (7) CATCHER {CAT{CH}ER}
22 Provinces essentially spread charity donations (6) REALMS {spREad}{ALMS}
24 Divide narrow strip of land protecting the border of Lebanon (5) SPLIT {SP{L}IT}
25 Male wearing waistband becomes a big hit (5) SMASH {S{M}ASH}

83 comments:

  1. Many happy returns of the day,Shrikanth. Thought of you yesterday after reading about Madurai in Madras Miscellany. Today is a special day- 11.12.13.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is the largest sequential number in this date format

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  2. 25D- S(M)ASH. Is it male wearing sash or the other way round?

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  3. Yesterday Kishore commented about the appearance of THC on the back page in certain editions of the paper. In Chennai too it was in the same position.
    For decades since the publication of THC was started in 1971, the feature was on top left corner of the back page.
    I have often written to the paper about the inconvenience caused to regular solvers because of the uncertainty in recent times about where it is published. Sometimes it is on a left page, sometimes right. Sometimes it is in the front section, sometimes back.
    I have also complained about Sudoku being included in the Index (since discontinued) when its position was not that uncertain (always on the main sports page) while crossword was ignored.
    Yesterday was a rare occasion when the CWD was on the back page in Chennai edition. The page level and the allocation of two full pages for election coverage must have forced that relegated (or prominent) placement.

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    Replies
    1. I think it has happened by mistake as the entire page titled 'VARIETY' which carries items like Religion, This day that age and the Crossword came onto the last page

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    2. Even the online edition didn't carry it under the Miscellaneous link

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    3. I should have written: Yesterday was a rare occasion when the Variety page, which is not usually a back page, happened to take that position because of the page level on that day.

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    4. 'Variety' is a misnomer. What with religious discourse, archival item, CWD and, if space permits, some regional items, the title must be 'Hodgepodge' or 'Kitchdi'.

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  4. Yes, I do remember seeing the CW in the last page years ago. But I was not doing CW's then!

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  5. To answer the query against 8d.
    Shall we call it 'contrarian'?
    BTW, is the def at the end strictly needed?
    Won't the clue "Under deposited? On the contrary" itself lead to an answer?
    Or is it included to zero in on the answer from other alternatives?

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    Replies
    1. Good name we can shorten it to CONTRA

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    2. and X as the short hand symbol ? like <= for reverse ?

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    3. Think the last sentence is needed for the reason you wrote

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  6. Some may solve the clues, find pleasure, even appreciate the beauty or intricacy of a clue and sometimes question the device employed by the setter or its grammar.
    They may not want to write a blog or write the annos.
    No problem!
    Raju belongs to that category. So be it.
    But I would ask him not to call our anno 'technical' that is impossible for him to use.
    It is simple and being an intelligent man if he puts his mind to it, he can do it.
    It is quite all right if he doesn't want to do.
    One can appreciate clues w/o writing these annos.
    These are for beginners to understand and be lured into the game. For a pastmaster that is unnecessary.

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  7. Apologies for the mistake on 4D. The word in the grid is Donator. I had set the clues outside of CC for this puzzle and made a mistake copying the word and hence set the clue for Detonator. Should have caught it in the review, no excuses there - totally my mistake on this one.

    No sports enthusiast has latched on to the theme yet ? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't grass meant only for cows ? Clay didn't make that statement, but a clay/hard court player did..

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    2. Col .
      Hard is also be a theme word.

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    3. All Clay is grass!

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    4. Ajeesh,

      Error is not a tennis term, is it?

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    5. Ramesh J @ 10:16

      Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia. He never won at Wimbledon !

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    6. Colonel @ 12:06

      May be he meant "Fault" in 3D

      Fault: Serve that fails to land the ball in the correct area of play, therefore not starting the point.

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    7. Col Sir,

      The comment above was posted by me with my daughter's password !

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    8. Well, I post my comments through Mozilla Firefox but inadvertently I selected Google Chrome (which my daughter normally uses) and my resultant post @ 12:29 !

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    9. Forced error, unforced error

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    10. SPLIT step also : a footwork technique in which a player does a small bounce on both feet, just as the opponent hits the ball. This lets the player go more quickly in either direction. 

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  8. 9A is part of the theme I reckon. Perhaps a tribute to Ms. Mirza.

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  9. Happy birthday to Afterdark, and also to the "incognito" setter who has kept his real birthday in the dark.

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  10. Nice smooth puzzle. The only little problem for me is the homophone clue. I think setter meant Spotted as seen, so I wonder whether a homophone would work

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    Replies
    1. I read it as 'spotted variety' as 'Cheetah'- homophone of 'cheater' .

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  11. Happy birthday Kishore and Shrikanth.

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  12. I started today's puzzle with a bang and ultimately met with speed breakers at 15A,26A,11D and 4D being the biggest stumbling roadblock ! Nevertheless a Nice puzzle.

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  13. That's a real surprise. Many many happy returns of the day,Kishore. So, 11.12.13. is special in more ways than one!

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  14. How are the finalists preparing for the IXL comp?

    Poring over dictionaries?

    Going through word lists?

    Reading CWD manuals?

    Getting to know place names from the index at the back of the atlas?

    Entering letter-QM patterns in CWD software and 'by-hearting' results?

    Expanding abbreviations and abbreviating expansions?

    Solving scores of crosswords all through the day?

    Having word duels with their partners?

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    Replies
    1. None of the above. Presently stuffing myself with goodies!

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    2. Thanks for your NOTAble answer.

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  15. 19 - Across - Is CHEATER pronounced as CHEETAH? Kindly someone explain.

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  16. The British pronunciation of cheater is similar to cheetah. Quite propah, as the say

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  17. If you were an Englishman, you would pronounce the word 'cheater' like 'cheetah'.

    We tend to prounounce it as 'cheaterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruu'.

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  18. Verrrrrrrrry nice explanation ! Thank you, Saaaarrrrrrrruuu !!!

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  19. Was out of station until now. Many happier returns of the day, Shrikanth and Kishore? What would we have done without both of you?

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  20. Just got time today. Happy Birthday Shrikanth.

    Just packing my bags to go to Bengaluru for a day tomorrow. Do not know what time I will have to meet buddies and bloggies

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  21. Thank you all very much for the birthday wishes. And wishing you many many happy returns of the day Kishore. My bad I didn't understand the cryptic part of your mail Kishore :)

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  22. Thanks everyone!

    Sorry to report a demise today. The IAF has phased out the MiG-21 today.

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    Replies
    1. Leave it to Kishore to keep track of everything - all at once- Ashtavadhani? I do agree it is a significant event. Does it that they now have equally good, if not better, options?

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    2. Actually I got a message from an armyman in Delhi telling me that they have phased out on my birthday today.

      You will be surprised to hear that Jane's had made a booboo when it had initially mistaken the MiG-21 Fishbed for Su-9 Fishpot

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  23. So we won't hear any more of the crashing down of these planes.

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    Replies
    1. If I am not mistaken only one of the variants of the MIG-21 has been phased out

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    2. You are correct. MiG-21M and bis will still be around

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  24. Many happy returns, Kishore and Shrikanth. Thank you for making this blog so lively!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, mam.

      Har din hai ek kadam, kabr ki aur ...

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  25. Is khushi ke din, kabr ki khabar bilkul acchhi nahin lagti...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haqeeqat ki baat hai yaar,
      Koi naqaab nahi chupa sakti hai isko

      Delete
  26. I still say I don't know Hindi. But I shall try to make sense out of the above.

    K: One step a day, with Time (meaning death) chasing me at the back

    R: Today is a day for celebration, don't talk of the fear of Time, the enemy.

    K: This is Reality, man - No mask can hide it!

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  27. CV,

    1 every day is a step towards the grave

    The second part of this (written by me around 30 years back) is

    Aur saalgira ek faasle ke patthar

    2. Not time, but "grave" or "tomb"

    3. Correct


    2.

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  28. The trailing 2 is detritus to be ignored

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  29. Translation of second line in 1

    And birthday is a milestone (in that journey)

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