Some doubts and, according to my knowledge, inaccuracies ...
ACROSS
1 Similarity of shapes of crooked, impish rooms (11) ISOMORPHISM (IMPISH ROOMS)*
9 British writer to mourn for His Highness' overthrowing (1,1,5) H H MUNRO (H H MOURN*)
As earlier, I always remember his Open Window and indulge in romance at short notice
10 Blesses head-hunter, permits… (7) HALLOWS (H ALLOWS)
11 … almost all men to help revolutionary press (5) MEDIA (MEn AID<)
12 Most tense character examination (7) TAUTEST (TAU TEST)
15 The notion is almost perfect (4) IDEA (IDEAl)
16 Miser’s case made of woollen cloths (10) CASSIMERES (MISERS CASE)*
Sage Kashyap has gone a long way to Kashmir, Cashmere and Cassimeres
18 Fleeing sailors head north without encrypting… (10) ABSCONDING (ABS, N in CODING)
20 … some Aboriginal languages (4) ABOR (T)
23 Signals for prisoner caught in Indian river (7) BEACONS (CON in BEAS)
a premonition on the part of KKK?
24 A bird found in African city (5) ASWAN (A SWAN)
I thought it a bit unfair to refer to a continent when looking for a city. If a setter clues in an Indian village (over 6 lakh of them, according to the web), I think something must be done to narrow down the possibilities, like naming the State (I am not sure if even this will be enough), if not the district.
26 Rogue leaves continent for European country (7) AUSTRIA (AUSTRALIA - AL, with his cap-one)
27 Armour plate to block boyfriend (7) JAMBEAU (JAM BEAU) New word for me
28 Sad prisoner uses calculating device (7,4) NAPIER'S RODS (SAD PRISONER)*
knew them as Bones
DOWN
2 Sailor gets degree in Pakistan province (6) SINBAD (BA in SIND) I thought the province was Sindh ...
3 Tie up the second James Bond? Not quite (4) MOOR (MOORe) Factual inaccuracy here!
Roger Moore, was the 3rd, not second to play it in movies, Sean Connery and George Lazenby being the earlier ones. He was the first choice and could not take it up because of his commitments to The Saint. And that is not counting others who played in non-film formats or spoofs, like David Niven in Casino Royale
4 Listen again, then croon when practising (10) REHEARSING (RE-HEAR SING)
5 Break in a football game is two-thirds of the tie (4-4) HALF TIME(Anno not clear) 2/3 of tie is TI, and then rev. anagram to HALF TIME which is also half TIme See comments
6 Englishman partly scores with druggie (7) SCOUSER (SCOres USER)
Liverpool reminds me of the Beatles
7 Almost punish head of useless play for being quirky (9) WHIMSICAL (WHIp MuSICAL)
8 Smear wise man with soil instead of ash, at first (6) SMUDGE (SAGE with MUD instead of A)
13 Girl locks the fern (10) MAIDENHAIR (MAIDEN HAIR)
14 Spaceman cooks tuna roast (9) ASTRONAUT (TUNA ROAST)*
Remember this word, Deepak ? ;-)
Cartoon by Rishi
17 Compositions, strangely incorrect, lack rhythm initially (8) CONCERTI (INCORrECT)*
19 Hookah’s tip cut by a blunt knife initially for last Raja (7) SHEESHA(anno not clear) BAKSHEESH=A,B,K+A See comments
21 Fought, lost first round, wept loudly (6) BAWLED (BrAWLED)
22 Headman in Indian city pulls up rug (6) NAMMAD (M in DAMAN<) Could not find it in Chambers
25 Open a container (4) AJAR (A JAR)
ACROSS
1 Similarity of shapes of crooked, impish rooms (11) ISOMORPHISM (IMPISH ROOMS)*
9 British writer to mourn for His Highness' overthrowing (1,1,5) H H MUNRO (H H MOURN*)
As earlier, I always remember his Open Window and indulge in romance at short notice
10 Blesses head-hunter, permits… (7) HALLOWS (H ALLOWS)
11 … almost all men to help revolutionary press (5) MEDIA (ME
12 Most tense character examination (7) TAUTEST (TAU TEST)
15 The notion is almost perfect (4) IDEA (IDEA
16 Miser’s case made of woollen cloths (10) CASSIMERES (MISERS CASE)*
Sage Kashyap has gone a long way to Kashmir, Cashmere and Cassimeres
18 Fleeing sailors head north without encrypting… (10) ABSCONDING (ABS, N in CODING)
20 … some Aboriginal languages (4) ABOR (T)
23 Signals for prisoner caught in Indian river (7) BEACONS (CON in BEAS)
a premonition on the part of KKK?
24 A bird found in African city (5) ASWAN (A SWAN)
I thought it a bit unfair to refer to a continent when looking for a city. If a setter clues in an Indian village (over 6 lakh of them, according to the web), I think something must be done to narrow down the possibilities, like naming the State (I am not sure if even this will be enough), if not the district.
26 Rogue leaves continent for European country (7) AUSTRIA (AUSTRALIA - AL, with his cap-one)
27 Armour plate to block boyfriend (7) JAMBEAU (JAM BEAU) New word for me
28 Sad prisoner uses calculating device (7,4) NAPIER'S RODS (SAD PRISONER)*
knew them as Bones
DOWN
2 Sailor gets degree in Pakistan province (6) SINBAD (BA in SIND) I thought the province was Sindh ...
3 Tie up the second James Bond? Not quite (4) MOOR (MOOR
Roger Moore, was the 3rd, not second to play it in movies, Sean Connery and George Lazenby being the earlier ones. He was the first choice and could not take it up because of his commitments to The Saint. And that is not counting others who played in non-film formats or spoofs, like David Niven in Casino Royale
4 Listen again, then croon when practising (10) REHEARSING (RE-HEAR SING)
5 Break in a football game is two-thirds of the tie (4-4) HALF TIME
6 Englishman partly scores with druggie (7) SCOUSER (SCO
Liverpool reminds me of the Beatles
7 Almost punish head of useless play for being quirky (9) WHIMSICAL (WHIp M
8 Smear wise man with soil instead of ash, at first (6) SMUDGE (SAGE with MUD instead of A)
13 Girl locks the fern (10) MAIDENHAIR (MAIDEN HAIR)
14 Spaceman cooks tuna roast (9) ASTRONAUT (TUNA ROAST)*
Remember this word, Deepak ? ;-)
17 Compositions, strangely incorrect, lack rhythm initially (8) CONCERTI (INCORrECT)*
19 Hookah’s tip cut by a blunt knife initially for last Raja (7) SHEESHA
21 Fought, lost first round, wept loudly (6) BAWLED (B
22 Headman in Indian city pulls up rug (6) NAMMAD (M in DAMAN<) Could not find it in Chambers
25 Open a container (4) AJAR (A JAR)
Managed to get the anno for 5d.
ReplyDeleteKishore, if you had used your fertile mathematical brain, you'd have got it.
I don't have it, leave alone fertility of it, but the anno came!
half-time is TI
And that's two-thirds of TIE !
I highlighted TI in TIe as 2/3rd but did not get the rev. anagram for HALF TIME.
DeleteThanks, CV
As I am into organic farming, I do not use any fertilizer ...
DeleteExcellent work by CV.
DeleteBut what does the clue mean?
Kishore, there's no rev anagram involved.
DeleteSorry, not anagram. Rev. ... What word is suitable here? To say TI is Half time ...
DeleteOrgan-ic farming? What's that?
ReplyDeleteHar-vesting ...
DeleteFor 19d,
ReplyDeleteTip = baksheesh - a, b, k + (raj-)a ?
Wow!
Deletea doubt - wouldn't the 'for' signify a subsitution ...?
Deletemight 'by last Raja' been a better choice?
Delete+1. But is the order followed in deletion?
DeleteI don't think 24a is unfair. "A bird" and the crossings A_W_N do a sufficient job of narrowing down the possibilities. Giving the name of the state (or district!) would make it solvable without the wordplay.
ReplyDeleteWhat do others say?
I didn't think it was unfair either.
DeleteWhat I do have a problem with is not indicating which alphabet the character belongs to in 12ac
Some cryptic crossword clues have just the def "city" - without even naming the continent in which it is located.
DeleteHere at least the continent is given.
With the crossings and the SI, one should have no difficulty in getting the answer.
US synonymic puzzles wouldn't just give 'African city' for ASWAN. Some ref like Egyptian, Nile, dam would be there.
So Kishore may be justified in his opinion.
Kishore's grouse holds good for 22D as well, more so because the answer is not a very common synonym for rug
DeleteRe Alphabet character. It's used in THC earlier w/o the 'Greek'.
DeleteLater, one found an Indian district (5) T-E-I
DeletePlease try solving without using Google or Wiki. Those of you who are familiar with the place will be easily able to solve it. Others, I am sure you can solve it, with a bit of Googling, since first letter is known. But I personally don't like the clue I've written ...
I have purposely used the same length and given letters 1,3 and 5.
DeleteTHEN I. Is it in TN?
DeleteI felt KKK's clue should have been little more specific.
Yes, it is ... Near Madurai
DeleteBefore reading later messages I solved it. But because I live in TN and I know the district name (notorious for female infanticide in its villages) and also because three out of five crossings are given.
DeleteHaving said that, if the SI is clear, there is no need to specify the State.. The def 'Indian district' is fine.
Also to be considered in this discussion about Aswan is the fact that A might not have been available to many solvers since the crossing word too is obscure ... and again with a ref to an Indian city in it ... and not in Chambers. For me, Aswan fell before Nammad.
DeleteShuchi, Nammad was the last one in for me. You must have got it before Aswan if you had A-W-N to help you. Hats off to you!
DeleteWhich hats? You're known to wear many of them !!!
DeleteWhen I used to play cricket, it was a bowler. When I went to central America, it was a panama. When I wanted to restore a son to his parents, it was a stetson ...
Delete...a hat-rick of hats, to boot!
DeleteTypo : to boast ;-)
DeleteThe boot goes on the lower extremity, the boast emanages from just under the upper extremity (not talking of arms here), that is why it is called talking through one's hat
DeleteThanks, Kishore. YESTERDAY, one of my favourite songs. In the early seventies, I had bought an EP and used to play it on our gramaphone.
ReplyDeleteYes, yesterday, my woes seemed so far away, but today, ... ;-(
DeleteSeeing the inaccuracies with the puzzle, I must then, perhaps, continue with the song : 'Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be...'
Delete;-)
DeleteThat's the spirit. I know you are sloshing with ambrosia....
The first few across clues where a breeze and when I started with the down ones, the first two hit problems ...
..'there's a shadow hanging over me'. I could hardly complete the puzzle! :-(
DeleteThat must be the Dementors. You might be knowing what when JKR donated a mill to the anti-Scottish-independance movement she said those who sought sepration were 'Death Eater' ...
DeleteWhat ho!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, as ever, thanks for the comments and the feedback.
Kishore sir, the ambiguity that you have alluded to is a fair point. I shall try and cut it out in the future.
Bhavan, I take your point and agree. There should ideally be contect to the character. Shall try and avoid ambiguity in this regard as well.
Raghunath, well, when I was clueing in this puzzle, the Champions League knock-out stages were on; and in these, each tie is a two-legged affair with half-time in one game technically being only one-furth of the tie. Hence, tried to play a little around that. Perhaps the framing might've been better.
Thanks again, and please do keep the comments and feedback coming.
Mera 'Sir' kaaT do, yaar ! ;-)
DeleteI commented because Half Time has time as a unit and Tie does not have the same unit, so I felt the clue missed something to equate the two, to make sense.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKishore @ 10:19 : Mera 'Sir' kaaT do, yaar !
DeleteWhat ! Want to become headless?
Man became tailless long ago, and yes, he lost his head too, somewhere down the line
DeleteI think losing one's head still continues!
Delete...and ofc, there is no excuse for the Moore gaffe! Inexcusible.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think I call myself a bit of a Bond fan.
Sigh!
I think you should have typed "Sig"
Deletematches with Sind ;-)
Wazza say?
DeleteKishore
DeleteIt is Punjab and Sind Bank.
Sind is an accepted spelling, though Sindh may be more common.
Agree on that. But KKK is talking of Pakistani province, not an Indian bank ... They might even accuse us of interfering in their internal affairs ...
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindh
DeleteThere is a ref to a historical province called Sind, to be fair to KKK. Then, do we need an archaic ref.?
from thefreedic:
DeleteSind (sɪnd) n.
a province in SE Pakistan, in the lower Indus valley. 24,980,000; 54,407 sq. mi. (140,914 sq. km). Cap.: Karachi.
Raghu, the name as pronounced and written in Devanagari, Urdu and Sindhi is aspirated ...
Deleteसिंध (Devanagari) ; Urdu: سندھ Sindhi: سنڌ
However, I concede Chambers has ref to Sindhi or Sindi with defn 'native of Sind'. But should we not spell it like the Pakistani's do? Will it be acceptable to have Dilli or Dehli for Delhi?
Yes, no dilly-dallying! One should be specific about the name of the city/place etc.
DeleteFor those who cannot read the script:
DeleteIn Urdu after the abbreviated S(in) and N(oon) there is a D(al) duly modified by a H(called a 'dochashmi he')
In Sindhi, the dochashmi he is replaced by an abbreviated terminal H(e)
Recently, in some context, after saying I am not a great consumerist and I don't care much for brands except for a few faithfuls, I mentioned in an email to Sowmya Ramkumar my favourite brand of [men's] talc. Thar figures in today's BL Brand Crossword.
ReplyDeleteI dont see a problem with ASWAN. It is not an obscure city. And the clue leads to it directly.
ReplyDeleteProblem with Roger Moore for sure
Anent a discussion above -
ReplyDeleteKishore,
When did you wear topee?
When you went .. ...?
____- er-____ !
DeleteCan't decipher it ! Looks like a Top-Secret Code !!
DeleteQuite simple, if you read it in the context of CV's comment:
DeleteWhen do I wear a toupee: The answer for that goes into the first 'blank'.
The second blank is, of course, a dash ...
Ha! It's all Balderdash!! :)
DeleteI know aswan more for the dam than as a city.
ReplyDeleteMe too. And it is not even a capital, and we are, remember, referring to a continent with over 50 countries. The canvass is, indeed, large.
DeleteKishore,
ReplyDeleteI was reading earlier entries reg. organic farming-
They do use fertilisers, only the natural kind not chemical and yes, no pesticides for sure. Without any fertliser..
Oh, yeah I do you use compost. Also, pesticides too are used, but simple ones like neem oil.
DeleteAnd, yes, technically both compost and neem oil are 'chemicals' too, but organic
DeleteAmazing when I first learned about the no. of chemicals present in our body. Looks like there is nothing in the world without chemicals.
DeleteJJ, in New Delhi, gives a rug (6)
ReplyDeleteNAMMAD N(AMMA)D Thanks to Paddy below!
DeleteJ for Amma!
ReplyDeleteJust read an article with amazing pictures about collection of Himalayan honey. We hardly realise how much of effort goes into various we consume- and sometimes waste also inconsiderately. Worth a look.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.talkpundit.com/news/animals-and-nature/nepal-ancient-honey-collecting-tradition-r38
Just two days back a friend gave me 3 types of honey: thyme, acacia and lichi. Based on the season, I blieve, the bees collect pollen from different flowering plants, giving a distict flavour to that honey. All the 3 varieties have distinct shades of colour, flavour, consistency and sweetness.
DeleteReally amazing what these insects can do. Their natural powers are boundless. I have heard that honey is the only edible item which does not get spoiled over time in any conditions of temp. & pressure without being refrigerated. Of course if one does not take precautions ants will devour it.
DeleteToday's KKK kicked ke up some place, but got up and dusted myself alright.
ReplyDeleteDid ye-all read my article on Bindi yesterday in this blog? I log in late , unfortunately
I find that only CV and MB are ""laters"". like me ! Thanks for your comments any way. CV I always write and send in my articles and do not care about their fate. In the past, a least, we had rejection slips but nowadays even that courtesy is lost.
Letters to the Editor columns are exclusive to a few like the listeners of the Vividh Bharti of yore !
Appropos your post on BINDI yesterday. You have refered to it as an instant announcement of a married and happy housewife. Probably there is some confusion between bindi and sindoor (usually worn by married women along the parting of their hair or the ""maang").
DeleteRemember Deepika Padukone's famous dialogue from Om Shanti Om:
Ek chutki sindoor ki keemat tum kya jaano, Ramesh Babu?
Ishwar ka ashirwaad hota hai - ek chutki sindoor
Suhaagan ke sar ka taj hota hai - ek chutki sindoor
Har aurat ka khwaab hota hai - ek chutki sindoor
The first word should have been 'Apropos (of)', which is similar to 'anent'.
DeleteI will try to translate. Please correct if need be.
DeleteRamesh Babu, You wouldn't know the value of this blob of sindoor.
God's blessings go with it.
It is the crown on the head of the married woman.
To possess it is the dream of every woman
Skulldugger had a clue for 'double entendre' yesterday. CV has provided an illustration today with highlighting to make sure no one misses the pun.
ReplyDelete