xChequer skipped the queue.
1 He created the Tank Engine on time, making it cheap (6) TAWDRY {T}{AWDRY}
4 Flag-waving Nationalist in animated dance is disrupting order (8) JINGOISM {JI{N}G}{O{IS}M}
10 Furious about a politician running wild (9) RAMPAGING {R{A}{MP}AGING}
12 Puzzle has no new added attraction (7) NONPLUS {NO}{N}{PLUS}
13 Two groups of soldiers following the established rule (7) THEOREM {THE}{OR}{EM} EM for Enlisted Men
14 Small rebuke or quite a mouthful? (4) SWIG {S}{WIG}
15 Smoking a local bidi is hellish (10) DIABOLICAL*
19 Below, avoid a petticoat (10) UNDERSKIRT {UNDER}{SKIRT}
20 Prayers for the birds? (4) AVES [DD]
23 Player in national team thanks India's little master (7) CAPTAIN {CAP}{TA}{IN}
26 Entrance form clipped neatly saving some time (7) ENTHRAL {ENT{HR}AL
27 Again an election gathering? Pointless! (5) INANE [T]
28 So we hear their warning shout (9) THEREFORE (~their){THERE}{FORE}
29 Vehicle's left in India perhaps, close to border (8) NEARSIDE {NEAR}{SIDE}
30 Contraction of the pupil is an expression of surprise, so is blinking (6) MYOSIS {MY}{IS+SO}*
DOWN
1 Crowds run in sandals (7) THRONGS {TH{R}ONGS}
2 Love to keep wife and mother apart — normal, considerate ladies generally (9) WOMANKIND {W}{O}{MA}{N}{KIND}
 |
| Caption skirted by Cartoons by Rishi |
5 Sign at entrance secured with metal bar (5) INGOT {IN}{GOT}
6 Explosive substance disconnected by gunners, very gritty (8) GRAVELLY {G{RA}{V}ELLY}
7 Gather from hip, iron on reverse (5) INFER {IN}{FE}{R}
8 Saying almost the greatest is greatest (7) MAXIMAL {MAXIM}{ALi}
9 Cosmetic for cheek and gum (8) LIPSTICK {LIP}{STICK}
16 Discussed terms for painting her topless in bed (8) BARTERED {B{ART}{
17 About to make a statement based on common sense, but it might be extremely hollow (9) CAVERNOUS {C}{AVER}{NOUS}
18 Sonar bed laid out in stretches (8) BROADENS*
19 The point of meeting beginning to get lost with insincere charm (7) UNCTION
21 Universal, versatile packing trays (7) SALVERS [T]
22 Stone's slippery like granite (6) STEELY {ST}{EELY}
24 Revolution in La Paz public square (5) PLAZA*
25 Book in new edition becomes famous (5) NOTED {N}{OT}{ED}
 |
| Cartoon by Bhargav |
Kyun? Kahaan ho tum?
ReplyDelete...wahin jahan koyi aatha jaatha nahin !
DeleteNice to see CV present spoofs of the other 2 cartoonists sketches !
ReplyDeleteNice TOON by CGB. Bare Acts is what students of law have to refer to!
ReplyDeleteRe the preamble.
ReplyDeleteHe's stolen that and included it in his name, making the puz nearly a theme.
THCC page today is great in all respects: the clues, no addendums and the cartoons, I mean.
ReplyDeleteAs a connoisseur of crossword clues from the Seventies and as one who follows THC from No. 1, please let me say:
ReplyDeleteWithout detracting from the merit of the early jambavans, the surface reading of some clues by most of the recent crop of new setters is excellent.
I have said that nowadays I don't get to solve the crosswords as a solver (no write-ins, no head-scratching) but I do get a chance to look at them. And then there is this regular and prompt blog by the esteemed Colonel with the cheek of clues by the jowl of answers.
In between there may have been some aberrations but they are gone, I think. Most of the present setters take their task seriously and I dare say they derive some fun too as they craft their clues.
The time has come for a serious study of THC by some researchers and a learned essay in a journal like Caravan if not a complete book.
+1
DeleteThe link to the CW is missing today as well. Thanks to Bhavan, who has a subscription to the epaper, we are saved the effort of typing the clues from the print edition.
ReplyDelete+1
ReplyDeleteThis is the second consecutive day it is happening. The apps too must be unable to do anything unless they are linked to the epaper.
epaper is a paid subscription so the apps can't link to that
DeleteIs TH the only paper levying a subscription to e paper? I found recently that TOI also has started free e paper.
ReplyDeleteOT
ReplyDeleteAs I was binning yesterday's papers, I happened to see - on the so-called jacket, the screaming headlines for a toothpaste ad:
GIVE YOUR FAMILY
A CHANCE TO BE
CAVITY FREE
---------------------
Is this not ridiculous?
The human body has several cavities and they hold vital organs.
Is this view of mine right or extreme?
Anyway I am not going to the maligai kadai and ask for
Give me a packet of Getcoal germ-fighter, caries-preventer, sugar acid remover, enamel sheen preserver, 24-hour protection-giver, sweet smell-exuding toothpaste.
Thank you.
Mouthshut.com ;-)
DeletexChequer minded his p but did not mind his q ??
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when Surf from the then Hindustan Lever Ltd had become synonymous with detergent powder. When new products were introduced by other companies, people used to ask for them by linking with Surf, like ' give me 'Magic Surf'.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of tooth-paste and other dental products, companies advertise them as recommended by dentists. Now, dentists, like doctors, are not permitted by their professional council to advertise products. We can still recall Dr Shreeram Lagoo getting into trouble with MCI for this long back. So, if the advertisements show actors posing as dentists, is this not fooling public at large?
4A. Order = OM ?
ReplyDelete13A. Two groups = OR ?
Can some one please explain.
Two groups of soldiers : (1) OR = Other Ranks (Non Commissioned Officers/Soldiers) (2) EM = Enlisted Men(Meaning soldiers)
DeleteFor 'OM" please see CGB's comment @12:06
DeleteOM = Order of Merit (indicated as 'order')
DeleteTwo groups of soldiers (mentioned in the clue):
OR - Ordinary Ranks (used for men in the army)
EM - Enlisted Men (also used for men in the army)
Venkatesh,
DeleteIsn't that what MB and CGB have said 45 minutes before you.
By the way it is 'Other ranks' and not 'Ordinary ranks' as mentioned by youe
Since the talk is about advertisements, here is one :
ReplyDeleteAdvertisement for donkey rides in Thailand : "Would you like to ride on your own ass?"
...with reference to comments of CV Sir and Venkatesh @ 9:59 and 11:34 respectively.
Delete4A OM = ORDER OF MERIT
ReplyDelete13a OR = OTHER RANKS (MILITARY)
ReplyDeleteDG: The more I see the indifference of the Hindu towards its readers the more I'm provoked not to buy their printed edition, as I'd do so only for the crossies. What next up their sleeves ? Stop the section altogether? They had shifted the sites of the crossies from a very convenient corner to lengthwise and cumbersome odd places .Is their marketing dept sleeping and not caring to visit this blog? So, CV, forget about any kudos coming up our way for the craftsmanship of our excellent creative compilers. I'm sure, even the UK papers' compilers cannot hold a candle to our geniuses!
CV and Paddy: On ads: Did anyone notice the ad in the TV by Pepsodent juxtaposing Coalgate as ""Other" toothpaste, so brazenly? Is this ethical? Has Coalgate bothered to react? These products are our daily needs and do we need to be wheedled into buying them by ads in expensive slots of the media?
Not to forget, what ads do to some of the products that their brand names become regular words like the ubiquitous Dalda dabba, NIrma, Fevicol and Coalgate, Zandu balm etc, even getting featured as part of lyrics in hindi songs !
W.r.to Raju's comment on ads-
ReplyDeleteI have read somewhere that the major part of what we pay for a can of Coke/ Pepsi goes towards Ad costs since the cost of product is next to nil. No wonder one has to put up with quite a lot of expensive and irritating Ads. We literally pat for it.
W.r.to Raju's comment on ads-it's colgate and not coalgate. The latter is a name given to the great coal scandal by Indian media
ReplyDeleteI was using that word with a specific allusion !
DeleteWhenever Raju writes something here I am provoked to reply.
ReplyDeleteHe is a kind, understanding person and for him life is too wonderful to be worrying about anything. He likes me and I like him.
I have visited him in his CBE home.
It is in this cordial spirit that I am proceeding to write the following.
Raju, if you don't want to buy a copy of the paper, don't! But don't keep on saying 'I won't'. The org is not going to collapse by your not buying a copy.
I also don't buy the paper. I get a complimentary copy! Yet I am a stern critic and until last week I have often written critical letters to the paper's readers' editor.
You don't buy the paper yet you talk about the crossword feature changing positions. How?
If you can't shell out X rupees for the X paper but you like the Xword, consider shelling out X rupees for the Xword alone. For everything else in the paper, attach 0 value. That way, we setters will be elated that our feature is valued so much by at least one solver.
CV: Thanks for your rejoinder ! I do buy occasionally when I don't get my daily dose elsewhere ! and again, their fiddling with this feature as they please is their freedom that I'm willing to grant them but as a reader, I have my right to carpet them as I please !
DeleteThere is nothing of any readable value in that paper and I respect all those compilers who contribute to their feature ungrudgingly, even at times tolerating 'vandalizing'' their efforts. If not for anything, the price I pay is worth the value of these crossies ! I take solace in that fact. For all the years that Hindu is in the market, haven't learnt anything to give readers value for their money !!!
A very nice comment, CV.
DeleteI think no subscriber is gonna read all the articles in a newspaper from first to last. Readers have their own preferences and reasons for buying a particular daily. For instance, I subscribe to TOI just to catch a glimpse of few sections in their daily magazine - hardly a couple of minutes thingy. This being said, subscribing to TH just for its crossword section doesn't seem like a bad investment. In fact, it's a nice gesture. If people at TH learned that there are many people subscribing to their daily just for this particular section, probably they may show greater interest and may even bring about all the changes we wish to see. Reminds me of Gandhiji's famous quote :)
Raju,
DeleteFor all the years that Hindu is in the market, haven't learnt anything to give readers value for their money !!!
Could you please elaborate on that statement
Haven't they completed a century?Have their product evolved , developed and improved? Do they care for their readers' views? If you agree, then I'm prepared to stand corrected !
DeleteI hold no brief for the paper, but the above is an extreme view.
DeleteAs one who has been reading the papers since the late Fifties, as one whose letters have appeared in the paper, as one who also worked on a publication from the stable of the paper, I can say the paper is evolved, developed and improved.
Yes, the paper may follow its own course, it may not have published many of our letters, it may not have given an ear to our complaints, it may be imperious in ignoring the waywardness of the so-called automaton (aren't there humans to check what the automaton does?) but that does not mean we should hold any extreme view.
Raju,
DeletePlease tell me how all the other papers have evolved irrespective of how old they are, developed and improved and how they care for their readers views? By the way, you buy the TOI if I'm not wrong, are you able to read the clues without using a magnifying glass and can you enter the answers in the grid without your letters spilling into the adjacent squares?
Jumping into this pretty late. As a business head, when I have to assess my MarkCom people, I used to convert the coverage in the newspapers as Column Centimetres (cc) and attribute a value to it as per their advertisement tariff .. It kind of became a habit so much so that we started setting such monetary targets to our teams. The reason I bring this up is because I feel that Hindu is devoting a fair amount of space each day for the crossword , if there was an opportunity cost calculation made by their Marketing Head he will be screaming that they are wasting a huge space for pandering to a limited no of followers. So while I may whine and crib about the mistakes and positions, I will hold Hindu is high esteem because of what it does. Devoting space for original crosswords. And personally, after so many years in high positions, the last one year I see eyebrows going up with comments like "it is too much intellect' when I mention about cw setting and solving. There is a high in that .. And Hindu gives that .. Newspapers are not information delivery mechanisms anymore in this new age . By the time it comes in print, it is already too late ( given the constraint of printing deadlines also) .. they are becoming more of opinion carriers and here is when features like CW will find scope. The paper is 100 years old ... evolution is a painful long drawn process .. but this is the time for it and I am sure it will.. But for now, for me Bhala enhanced the pleasure of life for 90 minutes .. and that is enough
DeleteWhile on the subject, I would also like to refer to another Comment above: "... forget about any kudos coming up our way for the craftsmanship of our excellent creative compilers. I'm sure, even the UK papers' compilers cannot hold a candle to our geniuses!"
ReplyDeleteI just cannot agree with this sweeping statement. As compilers we need to have a proper assessment of our work. While we may be justifiably proud of our work, while (as I said) some of the recent crosswords in India are comparable to those published in (mark my words) some UK papers, I, for one, cannot say that we beat UK setters in their game. No way!
We must know where we stand.
NO !! I disagree ! Humility, thy name is CV ! Each compiler here is unique , like the ones in the UK. Don't forget, it is their native language whereas , for us, an acquired language. Even then, having done quite a few of the UK crossies, we can certainly take pride in our achievement. I never could think so, had I been in Nairobi without having had a chance to see the Hindu compilers. I used to collect the latter through some sources but never cared to solve until very recently from my lot. We have excelled in our acquired craft. I wonder whether any non-Indian and in particular, any Britisher tries our efforts and with what ''attitude'' Natives, eh?!
ReplyDeleteRaju - Now you're treading on a dangerous terrain. This talk of native language and non-native language, of Indians and non-Indians and of natives and whatever is the opposite of it, is something that I don't like.
ReplyDeleteIt is a mindset that is no longer valid in this era of the Internet and social networking and message boards.
And it ignores that this very blog has a visiting friend from abroad, Dave, who has praised THC unreservedly. And when he came to Chennai I met him. And in Bangalore some setters have met him.
What do you mean by 'acquired craft'? Is it something that we can buy at the Mall?
DeleteCV: Knowing me so well as you claim, I can never be a racist as I have lived the best part of my life in a multi-racial society. Whenever I mention native it is in the sense of what I used to be called by my white friends in Nairobi ! I'm a very tolerant, democratic and eclectically inclined person as can be seen even from my family background.
DG: I buy TOI only for the centre page, the middles and the articles that appear there. Their crosswords suck and I never even bother to look at them. But one thing I can say in their credit a and the articles that are there ! Alas , I have to buy the whole paper ! Their Sunday crossie is interesting in the main paper but other days are useless.
However, I must say this to their credit :They are quite innovative and socially aware and do a lot of good by their projects as a publication company. This is what I call as developing and evolving !
Today, I feel that I have set the cat amongst the pigeons. I shall desist fro boring others !
Our Bhavan is the latest of friends here to be blogging on 15sqd. Visit
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fifteensquared.net/2014/06/17/financial-times-14650-gurney/
I and Shuchi have been there!
(No grammar notes on my last sentence, please!)
Tnank you CV.
ReplyDeleteNice opening lines by Bhavan.
I have not gone through the CW clues yet.
Where can I get the grid?
ReplyDeleteClick here: FT 14,650 by Gurney.
ReplyDeleteThank you Venkatesh.
DeleteCV: Knowing me so well as you claim, I can never be a racist as I have lived the best part of my life in a multi-racial society. Whenever I mention native it is in the sense of what I used to be called by my white friends in Nairobi ! I'm a very tolerant, democratic and eclectically inclined person as can be seen even from my family background.
ReplyDeleteDG: I buy TOI only for the centre page, the middles and the articles that appear there. Their crosswords suck and I never even bother to look at them. But one thing I can say in their credit a and the articles that are there ! Alas , I have to buy the whole paper ! Their Sunday crossie is interesting in the main paper but other days are useless.
However, I must say this to their credit :They are quite innovative and socially aware and do a lot of good by their projects as a publication company. This is what I call as developing and evolving !
Today, we have had a good exchange where I have learnt a lot to keep to myself. Pasand apni apni, Khayaal apna apna. I shall refrain myself from expressing myself honestly !