Well, Spinner spins this pangram well, weaving in a possible Trichy theme (I am sure there is a college, some cricket, possibly a reed-organ in T, maybe even a clock-tower, but I ain't been there for over 50 years)
ACROSS
1 Fanatics with right companions (7) FRIENDS (R in FIENDS)
Those who participated in the S&B at my res. may remember this...
5 Organised files, taking time to check (6) STIFLE (FLIES* taking T)
11 Upset fortune-teller inhales thousand smells (5) REEKS (SEER< inhales K)
12 Revenge’s no good! To arrest cheat, call everyone together again! (9) RECONVENE (REVEN
13 You finally entered set with small boxes (6) CLOUTS (U in CLOT S)
14 Expeditious games on plant-hedge (8) QUICKSET (QUICK SET)
16 A milk product not harmed by a spiritual practice (4) YOGA (YOG
17 Record, wet or otherwise! It’s high time! (5,5) CLOCK TOWER (CLOCK (WET OR)*)
20 Scam unearthed, reporter stunned (10) CONFOUNDED (CON FOUND ED)
21 Outhouse for Pole & Pole (4) BARN (BAR N)
Nice use of two Poles
24 Furnace for burning men I kill (4,4) LIME KILN (MEN I KILL)*
Remember the Tandoor murder where the victim was dismembered ...
26 Fearless woman’s love — Spinner’s charmed, initially (6) HEROIC (HER O I C)
28 Upset confidences if out when settled (9) ENSCONCED (CON
29 Never-ending articles about one model dish (5) RAITA (R A(I T)A)
30 Former flame’s call to arouse (6) EXCITE (EX CITE)
31 Right after hundred, pointless dismissal in the game (7) CRICKET (R after C
DOWN
2 Instrument manufactured a green rod (4,5) REED ORGAN (A GREEN ROD)*
3 Energy Tzars circulated was artificial (6) ERSATZ (E TZARS*)
4 Northward drive to small town (4) DORP (PROD<)
6 Determination to capture back a metropolis (8) TENACITY (NET< A CITY)
7 Supports daughter with payments (5) FEEDS (D in FEES)
8 A person who sends you out, with or without right! (7) EJECTOR
9 Not rich, yet owning a place in Tamil Nadu (6) TRICHY (T)
10 Dewberries finally crushed and squeezed (9) SCRUNCHED (S CRUNCHED)
15 Mechanism in arms of flight carrying fabric (9) FLINTLOCK (LINT in FLOCK)
18 Equip with arms to wipe a nose properly (9) WEAPONISE (WIPE A NOSE)*
19 Monument that’s foundation for Tiruchirappalli’s origin? (8) ROCKFORT (ROCK FOR T) &LIT? I am not sure if Trichy started with this fort ...
22 React drunkenly following a little nip of divine liquid (6) NECTAR (REACT* after N)
23 Item sent up around end of November, originally conforms to standard of measurement (6) METRIC (ITEM< around R C)
25 Eleventh of hemidemisemiquavers followed by Ukulele’s lead? That’s how it appears in melody (5) MUSIC (M U SIC)
Met Ric IN 23d and Melody in 25d! Where's the Mrs., Ric?
27 Sixth month for a Jew among Jemadars (4) ADAR (T) Had to confirm through Google ...
For those who missed it, he says FOUR YEARS OF FUN FRIENDS AND MEMORIES in a clue acrostic, though he does say FRIENDS STIFLE in the first row across ;-) (to his credit, if you take the first words in the first and last rows, he says FRIENDS EXCITE). Since it is not 4 years here, has he just finished a 4 years course (possibly Engineering) in Trichy, mebbe at NIT ?
Thanks, Spinner - enjoyed this. Learnt two new words (DORP and an alternative meaning of QUICKSET), but the clueing allowed me to guess the words so they could be checked!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog, Kishore, and for pointing out the message in the clues. Not spotting stuff like this is one of the downsides of doing the puzzle on the phone.
When lesser mortals like me struggle to finish a crossword, Kishore not only manages to spot a pangram and a theme, but a clue acrostic too!
ReplyDeleteAnd by throwing in a toon makes him a genius!
DeleteWell, today at least, unlike some others hereinabove, I was not suffering from the hangover of a birthday party!
DeleteI finished the blog at 828, having to highlight in the solution grid as well. If there are more Trichy theme words, I shall have to highlight those too, once I know which others are a part of that set
Delete@Kishore (9:05) :P
DeleteI parsed COLLEGE a little differently - I think the definition is "organised institution", with "oddly" being the anagrind.
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to say that I loved the CD for CLOCK TOWER!
Organised is anind for HIM AN, I think.
DeleteRealised that after seeing your comment below. I am not sure if an anagrind is needed for letters to be dropped from anagram fodder. Will the regular setters here please weigh in on this?
DeleteIt's necessary.
DeleteIt is down to personal taste, but if the letters to be deleted are not in the same order, some setters (me) like to use a second anagrind.
DeleteYou can always argue that the second anagrind is unnecessary because in some permutation of Michelangelo, the letters 'him an' will appear in that order.
Bhavan, your last point was what I had in mind. Given that the fodder has to be churned around anyway, what is achieved by specifying that the letters to be deleted are not in the same order as their spelling?
DeleteIf deletion occurs before anagramming, then 'him an' are not in that order in Michelangelo, so the second anagrind makes sense. If you choose to anagram first and delete later, the second anagrind is unnecessary. The first case is a setter just being scrupulously fair to the solver.
DeleteSome setters use it and some don't. I'm fine either way when solving, but prefer to use it when setting.
Thanks - that puts in perspective.
DeleteIn 28a IF did require an anind, and in 20d Spinner did take care of anind for HIM AN.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I had an uncle who lived in 24 in Mumbai - it WAS hot!
ReplyDeleteChunabhatti!
DeleteNo relation of the late Jaspal, of course ...
DeleteBhatti jala do in his memory.
DeleteBhaaD mein jaaye ...
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-sQ0uY-qU8
ReplyDeleteNice one Spinner. Keep on turning them over
ReplyDelete19D- I parsed like this-
ReplyDeleteFoundation- Rock
For- For
Tiruchi...'s origin- T
Subjest to correction,of course.
SwatIsaid
DeleteI thought you had doubts about Rockfort being origin of Trichy.
DeleteBTW, I had trouble understanding 'SwatIsaid' until it finally dawned on me.
Yes, I have doubts about R being origin of T. If it is, then the clue is also &lit
DeleteI meant as in 'Was Trichy founded at and due to the fort being constructed there?" then it would be the origin of Trichy in more than one way
DeleteTirchirappalli name comes from Tiruchiramalai (which is the rock fort) you see in the picture. Though I didnt get the foundation part, I used Tiruchirappalli 's origin as &lit clue for this (thought would be a GK).
DeleteBTW, i am a rookie CW solver and a big fan of this blog. Been following for some years now..This is the first time, I was able to crack more than 10 clues..
Spinner bidding farewell to his institution NIT ... Good one.
ReplyDeleteI could only get 'Bedrock' for foundation from on line dic.
ReplyDeleteBedrock is the foundation of the Flintstones family including Pebbles
DeleteYou get them from all sources!
DeleteI see theme words as Friends, Clocktower?, Cricket, Trichy, College, Rockfort, Music?, Metric (Engineering!), Any more, before I highlight them in the grid?
ReplyDeleteMetric could also refer to meter gauge Ry. line which was there in Trichy until very recent conversion to broad gauge.Dorp for small town may also be part of the theme?
DeleteThe clock tower in the cartoon showing a traditional 10.10. Theories abound for its origin.
ReplyDeleteSymmetric and nice looking, like Poirot's moustache
DeleteWell cared for!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Kishore Ji for the nice cartoon :) This coincides with the last official day of my college life, hence the theme. I come from NIT-TRICHY and the theme revolves around NIT-T and my life here. The Clocktower and the Barn are the most well known buildings at NIT-Trichy. College, Rockfort and Trichy conform to the Trichy theme, while 'Feeds' is the official magazine of NIT-Trichy. These six words are the primary theme words. Cricket and Music have been the core of my college life, so they also feature. The 'Nectar' in the grid is a placeholder for 'Amrutha-varshini' , the Classical music club at NIT-Trichy, which I've always been a part of. And the clue acrostic is for all of my friends.
ReplyDelete'Friends', who feature as the 1Ac of my life's grid.
DeleteThanks, Sri, will proceed to highlight them. All the best in your post college life!
DeleteNIT picking has reached new heights!
DeleteWell spun, Spinner! Wish you all the very best in CW & in life.Sometimes it is really sad to step out of college life. We just went back to college --- to celebrate our Golden Jubilee!
DeleteAh, Kishore the incorrigible!
ReplyDeleteJust noticed the comment against 25D: It feels nice to be talked about in higher circles.
Some day you will find missus waltzing with the hubby...
Shore will, the day Mel walks up the aisle! I will join you in
DeleteKatrina and
Adeus Korcho Velu Paulo
:-)
DeleteGood one Srivatsan All the best to you in your career as well as crosswording.
ReplyDeleteIn his toon, Kishore has done a nice pun on the word 'tow'er, like 'flow'er for river and 'wick'ed for candle used in Crossword clues.
ReplyDeleteTo his many achievements can be added detective work. He has done a nice bit of deduction (for a change, not calculating tax deduction!) from the clues about the setter's background and the occasion causing the nostalgia. SS has confirmed that these were all correct.
8 A person who sends you out, with or without right! (7) EJECTOR (CD)
Request some elaboration. I took it as [-r]EJECTOR or [-r]EJECT OR.
23D Annotation needs a minor change. It is R not N. {ITEM<= around R} C
Thanks. I had not got the rEJECTOR. The other one was a type.
DeleteA digital age cartoon from Rishi. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteKahaan gaye woh log ?!
ReplyDeleteKaun log? Haath wale?
DeleteTHCC waale!
DeleteRemember a movie "haath ki safaai".
DeleteNo ;-)
DeleteThe name of the movie can be interpreted in many ways
DeleteAll the best Spinner aka Srivathsan
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for all the wishes :)
ReplyDeleteToday's puzzle did stump and make me stumble in a couple of places. Srivatsan Santhanam aka SPINNER has scored well, before getting out of academia. Hope and pray that he succeeds in life too, once out in this wicked , wicked world. However, given his background in the IIT, Trichy, I'm sure that he 'll do well in his career too !! Crosswords are great stress- busters and that being his hobby ,and more so as a compiler, he doesn't have to worry. Keep compiling SS(S)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that the blog is as active as ever, despite the national elections results being televised. I got glued to the sofa, well-ensconced, and hence gave a miss to the clues of the day.. till late in the evening.
Is everyone else in this blog so apolitical that that there is nary a word about Narendra's drubbing the GOP and the Gandhi family? The Press was cheesed off over the mother and son's terse( though the son was relieved and no more tense , displaying his dimple on his freshly shaven face, looking spiffy . Everyone and the next man didn't miss the mummy dear beckoning the baby, come along, come along,, short of dragging, though he was unwilling and wanting to have a last word !! Hahhaha !!