Thursday 17 July 2014

No 11139, Thursday 17 Jul 2014, Incognito


On a trip to Hyderabad with Incognito today. Let's make it the venue for our next S&B meet, as and when we decide to have one.

ACROSS
1    Offer made in a street; a street right in the heart of 8 (4,4) ABID ROAD {A}{BID} {ROAD}
5    Liquor found in Ascot church (6) SCOTCH [T]
10  Churchman has six cars after losing first scooter (5) VICAR {VI}{CARs}
11 Mad platinum blonde without limb and ring is virgin (9) UNPLANTED {PlATiNUm+bLoNDE}*
12  See dully, confused after rookie left noisily (6) LOUDLY {LO}{DUlLY}*
13  Look, lime pickle and a bit of radish is more suitable (8) SEEMLIER {SEE}{LIME*}{R}
15  Mince fins following audible inhalation of air (5) SNIFF {FINS}*{F}
17  Activists of this movement sometimes burnt their supporters (6,3) WOMANS LIB [CD]
19  Authorises support of boxer to second English school (9) LEGALISES {LEG}{ALI}{S}{E}{S}
20  German left Ground Zero (5) ROUND gROUND
21  Upbraiders rue kerbs excitedly (8) REBUKERS*
23  Witch's husband, maybe, is good at spelling (6) WIZARD [C&DD]
27  Strangely United Nations and United States accept free for all pool (9) UNUSUALLY {UN}{US}{U}{ALLY}
28  Forming an axis with a team and a learner (5) AXIAL {A}{XI}{A}{L}
29  Gaur endlessly consumes tea with cake (6) GATEAU {GA{TEA}Ur}
30  Fashion a gold covering for trickster in fort famous for diamond mines (8) GOLCONDA {GOL{CON}DA*}

DOWN
1    Forty nine Romans carried broken down van to Smithy's block (5) ANVIL {VAN*}{IL}
2    Counting Indian completing in absence of criminal (9) INCLUDING {IN}{conCLUDING}
3    Countryside river is in front of mountain (5) RURAL {R}{URAL}
4    Gold is returned after a question about water colour (4) AQUA  {A}{Q}{UA<=}
6    Badly singe tower after the alien leaves a monument (9) CHARMINAR {CHAR}{MINARet} Did you know there is a replica in Karachi? See it at this link Charminar in Karachi
7    East African people say yes in Spanish after initial exclamation (5) TUTSI {TUT}{SI}
8    Had brayed animatedly in nascent state (9) HYDERABAD*
9    On top of the heap like 1 across (9) UPPERMOST [CD]
14  Helvetian aerobatic stunt with a type of cake (5,4) SWISS ROLL {SWISS} {ROLL}
15  Museum where famous psychotherapist chased a confused rascal after losing initial calm (5,4) SALAR JUNG {RAScAL}* {JUNG}
16  Mad fun Kamala had in palace at 8 (9) FALAKNUMA*
18  Commendation and praise for nation without leader (9) LAUDATION {LAUD}{nATION}
22  Johnson of the Cambridge Four (or was it Five?) was known to be abrupt (5) BLUNT [DD]
24  Primarily, Information Systems Audit is backed by a Catholic cipher (5) ISAAC {I}{S}{A}{A}{C}
25  A type of wiring for Sunderbans, for example (5) DELTA [DD]
                                               Cartoon by Richard
26  Security police cover a lapse (4) TYPO [T]

GRID

96 comments:

  1. Very enjoyable. Truly Indian. Was 'badly' needed in 6D ?

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    Replies
    1. I suppose it is needed to qualify 'singe'

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    2. Badly was used with two intentions. Char is supposed to be burn fully, where as singe may be more superficial. So to indicate intensity of the burn. Also, useful as a red herring for making solver think that an anagram is lurking.

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    3. Thanks, Shri. Aaapka bhi nambar aa raha hai !

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    4. I think I know what you mean, by your reply to Shri.

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    5. The red herring almost got me for a while.

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    6. @Raghu 916: Others too in the pipeline...

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    7. Should be interesting. A la David Lean?

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    8. Lean and me ?! You must be joking. You have seen my photo.

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  2. Apologise for the twin 'mad's. I should have changed one of them to something else.

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  3. Excellent crossword from Incognito, not only because he's highlighted Hyderabad's landmarks, but to write an easy one, I feel requires plenty of skill.
    I filled in Abid Road (1a) first, not having got (8d) Hyderabad initially. Other shopping places in twin cities have overshadowed Abid Road these days.

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    1. I belong to the era, when I studied at Little Flower at Chirag Ali Lane and the only good restaurant in town was the Taj Mahal Cafe, just off Abids (Sarovar near the Mint came later). Other favourite haunts near Abids were AA Husain & Co (booksellers),the GPO (for new stamp issues and first day covers) and St. Anne's Girls School (for ornithological purposes).

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    2. You mean St. George's Girls School? The school you mention is in Secunderabad. Don't know whether you bunked classes to go to Lighthouse to watch English movies. Like I wrote earlier, this theatre used to play Ventures during interludes

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    3. You are right, it was St. G's. a little beyond the Taj Mahal Cafe, if I recollect right. That is the trouble with we ornithologists. We miss the woods for the birds. I believed in Liberty to watch movies...

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    4. And you didn't have to be a diplomat to watch them in Embassy.

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    5. My sister studied in St. Anne's Girls School while I was in Mehboob College High School. Way back in late 1950s.

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  4. Now I understand your comments @11:20 to MB better

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  5. Read 'yesterday's 11.10 in the place of 11.20

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  6. 'Mad' blonde could have been 'Stupid/ Dumb' blonde, I felt. Apologies to blondes, no malice intended.

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    Replies
    1. Do we have blondes in India, other than the dyed ones?

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    2. In which case the apology is withdrawn, because they are really dumb ;-)

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    3. Reminded me of my experiments with Hydrogen Peroxide, circa 1973.

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    4. I too did try that experiment

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    5. I used to hollow out fused bulbs to use as containers for heating my concoctions.

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  7. Nice theme. Made me feel nostalgic of all the places mentioned. Thanks Incognito.

    8d - I know a state is variously used to mean a country or state but can Hyderabad which is a city be described as a state?

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    1. I suppose he meant the old Hyderabad state of the Nizam. But was that nascent?

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    2. Hyderabad was a state till 1948

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    3. Yeah Raghu wasn't sure what the reference was to.

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    4. 'Had brayed animatedly in princely state' would have been better

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    5. Col. at 9.16- Very apt. I hesitated before filling in Hyderabad,then made it considering the theme.

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    6. the def was 'in nascent state' i.e. in Telangana. I know Bhavan is not in favour of the 'in India' sort of definitions, but sorry about that. I see it used quite often in the Brit puzzles.

      Yesterday's ET5594 had:
      28a Old lady meeting a girl in Spain (7)
      23d Dramas aren't the same in India (6)

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    7. Incidentally, I came across the word 'nascent' for the first time in Hyderabad, with our Chemistry teacher Mr Poornachandra Rao telling us that when we prepared oxygen what we got was nascent oxygen. He did not tell us the meaning of that word and the whole class neither knew the meaning or spelling of nascent and (me including) did not bother to find out. We just mugged the spelling.

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    8. OK, I missed it because I wasn't looking for it.

      Each setter has his/her own style. They can't cater to all solver's whims, so never mind my pet peeves.

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    9. Deepak's alternative is certainly better, in the long run, for if any one tries this puzzle after passage of some time, the nascent state's novelty would have worn off. In my defense, I tried to keep it topical.

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  8. Though I've not met 'me!' in person, does the toon for 22d describe him in some sense?

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  9. @Incognito Thanks for trip to Hyderabad after 5 years :)

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  10. Thanks, Kishore. You kept your word. Yesterday you said that today's CW would be more to my liking. Well, being a Hyderabadi, I could get all those highlighted places, just like that!
    23Dn Blunt was the last one to fall. Had to Google for it. Thoroughly enjoyed this simple and elegant puzzle. :-))) Thanks once again, Kishore.

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  11. Thank you 'Incognito' for a nice start to the morning- a good brainstorming exercise. Enjoyed it immensely.
    8D- Did you mean 'at the time of Independence' by nascent?
    Very interesting to read about Cambridge 4/ 5. Never heard about it. Thank you Col. for the links.

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    Replies
    1. Pl ref my 939 above on the same topic. Telangana was referred to as 'the Promised Land' in one of Incognito's previous puzzles.

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    2. Yes, I saw it later. It is still a promised land. Cho's oft repeated favourite quote-" Promises will be kept- as promises."

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  12. Fully enriched with photos of Hyderabad landmarks. Interesting to read about the replica in Karachi. One learns a lot of things.

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  13. I remember watching the soldiers walking out of the cuckoo(?) clock in Salr Jung. A big crowd would wait around for the hourly (or was it half hourly?) bell.

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  14. Incidentally, it is also a pangram, which is presently quite a common creature in these environs ...

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    Replies
    1. Like you missed the trees for the birds, we missed the general theme for the highlights.

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    2. When triceratops roam the steppes, unicorns are but ten a penny ;-)

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    3. We need encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri etc. to understand your 11.05 puzzle!

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    4. Oh quite simple, really! While we have triple pangrams from AD, single ones have been flooding THC. So just another one would not cause much excitement.

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  15. Enjoyable one, Incognito - thank you. The very first clue (1a) led me to 8, whence it was smooth sailing all the way.

    Very nice surfaces overall. Mild disappointment with 14 - putting "type of cake" in the clue made it a piece of cake!

    Thanks to DG and the cartoonists. Especially liked Richard's mildly naughty take on the 'upturned' delta.

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  16. Thanks Kishore for the nostalgia trip to Hyderabad ! The cutlets at Taj Mahal Cafe and the egg bondas at Hilton Cafe right at the entrance to my University ( Osmania) were awesome. I believe Hilton Cafe has now made way to CCD.
    +1 for Colonel's suggestion to have an S&B meet at Hyd.

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  17. The exhibit which I loved the most at Salar Jung is the marble sculpture of the veiled maiden. I find that most amazing

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    Replies
    1. That is right Raghu. I did not remember the actual name.

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    2. That was a real masterpiece- even the idea.

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  18. Interesting!! Why Hyderabad?

    I don't get 17A... Could somebody explain? And not sure if the clue is grammatically right.

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    1. Women libbers in a protest march were reputed (wrongly) to have burnt their bras. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_America_protest

      No problem with the grammar, I think.

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    2. VJ, why not Hyd? Some other place some other time, but one has to begin somewhere.

      In respect of the supporters that were supposedly burnt (or may be not), did the buy new ones for the arson, or old unusable/unwashed ones used is a moot question, but I suppose the must have exited from those supporters before firing them

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    3. Well was wondering if there was an occasion or something. These days you got so many "day"s that you kinda lose track :)

      I suppose so too. The thing that separates "pretty" and "not so pretty."

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  19. I extend my 18d to Incognito as well. Quite a feat to get themed non-English proper nouns into the grid while keeping it easy.

    With Bobby Jasoos one day and this puzzle the next, it's as if I am doused in the sights and sounds of Hyderabad.

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    Replies
    1. Aap aise nakko bolo ji. Jab aisa hota hai, ek do-chhar mauz khako ek das faTAfaT khaalo ... hallu hallu sab Theek ho jaenga ...

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    2. How, kya bolein yaroon!

      Aap logaan Haiderabad kab aarain bolo. Paradise hotel ka biryani khilaton, Irani hotel ki chai pilatoon, Karachi bakery ka biskut dilatoon, rackshey mein Charminar ki sair karatoon.

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    3. Nice Hyderabadi jargon by Kishore and Raghunath! Can't compete with them. :)

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    4. Kaikoo? Mere poTTon ko mere bachpan ki shaandaar purani haveli dikhane koo, ek baar main lakdi ka pool ke bajoo waale goodluck bakery ke pass aaya tha. Par jab woh compound ke darwaze par gaya, to wahaan ek naya board nazar aaya - "brothers of St.Gabriel" karkoo.security waala andhar jaanekoo nahin choDenga bola!

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    5. Not jargon, MB. The mot juste would be patois, pronounced to rhyme with fatwa

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    6. OK ! :) I am not much familiar with local (Urdu) dialect spoken here, reason being, I became a permanent resident of Hyderabad since 2010 only. I was here way back in 1968-1981 while serving in IAF at Hakimpet.

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  20. 17 Activists of this movement sometimes burnt their supporters (6,3) WOMANS LIB [CD]

    I condemn this movement. Up-lifters of the downtrodden should not be treated like this ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Renga, what are you up to? The may bw downfallen , but never trodden

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    2. You are risking a 'Tut-tut'.

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    3. Kishore, What's with missing out the 'y' in 'the.'?

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  21. Padmanabhan7:59 pm GMT+5:30
    Dhoti is mentioned. My father as an advocate regularly used to wear dhoti & black coat to courts, of course with a turban. But the dhoti used to be worn in the traditional style (pancha kacham) This was allowed even during the British rule. All these are for courts and Govt. offices. But when it comes to a private club who and by whom will a dress code will be enforced ? It sounds logical that it should be decided by the club committee and its officials. I don't think Govt. can intervene or impose. Those who adhere may attend and those who do not, may boycott. Am I right?

    Ammamma ! Mama mia ! Ammaji breezes in quickly before the wind blows it off and some one tells LEG IS LATE before it is too late !!! I have never worn one as it will never stay in its place !

    Incidentally, here in CBE, they even sell a belt in white with velcros complete, to hold the Dhoti's place in our lives !! and who folds up his Dhoti, Dabaang style, other than Seenu mama to jump on to the velcro band wagon?

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  22. CW in place in TH with clues and grid, but cognito, I mean no Incognito. Something has to be missing.

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    1. The final horizontal line of the grid is missin too. Efforts of apps will come a cropper

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    2. The missing 'g' in your msg is intentional,I suppose (to go with TH)

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    3. Both the apps have picked up the CW last line missing notwithstanding

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    4. That is certainly a good sign

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  23. Kishore,
    Did you do yesterday's CW in ET?
    6D- The undertaker's ground one hopes to reach? (3,8,4)

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  24. On Hyderabad -

    During our last - and so far the only - visit to the great city, we had the privilege of visiting so many places, including Charminar, Salar Jung, Golconda and others.

    For any new visitor, I would also recommend a peek into the Sudha Cars museum, the brainchild of Sudhakar K. (Click and read.)

    He told me that on a certain day of the year, they hold a rally of all these cars, created in different shapes and sizes, on selected thoroughfares of the city.

    Fascinated by the name Lakdi Ka Pul, I went around looking for wooden bridge. Couldn't find. Does it really exist now?

    And, Raghu, you reminded me of my favourite Karachi biscuits. Addiction-forming indeed!

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    Replies
    1. I used to live on Red Hills Road and my school was near Abids. So everyday we used to ride our bicycles to the railway gate just before Nampally station which had the Public Gardens on the other side and carry our bikes through (this gate is now replaced by a footbridge). Our return journey was always over Lakdi ka Pul and even then over 40 years back, it was a concrete bridge.

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  25. Replies
    1. You are absolutely correct !

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    2. So it should have been
      1 Fifty one Romans retreated with broken down van to Smithy's block (5) or
      1 One and fifty Romans carried broken down van to Smithy's block (5)

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  26. Replies
    1. Please read:
      http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2010/06/roman-numerals.html

      Apparently, I am in good company as this seems to have gone past The Guardian's vetting too

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  27. But is not IL the normal way to write 49? I mean the original Roman method. Similarly IC is 99. In Hindi also 9's are always different- one short of fifty etc. (Unchas)

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  28. Sorry Kishore & Mohsin. I stand corrected.
    But I learned something today- that the subtraction is possible for the next 2 higher digits.
    Thank you.

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