Wednesday 6 August 2014

No 11156, Wednesday 06 Aug 2014, Gridman


ACROSS
1   Tear apart salesman coming back with sketching material (3,5) ART PAPER {ART PA*}{PER<=}
5   Extra amount to a dearie for a long scarf (6) TIPPET {TIP}{PET}
9   University official is in favour of Congress leader's eminence (7) PROCTOR {PRO}{C}{TOR}
10 One held underwear with mark inside (7) HOSTAGE {HOS{TAG}E}
11 Besides, that heron's shaking (5,4) OTHER THAN*
12 One that turns either way (5) ROTOR [CD]
13 Am going round the man in polite interruption (4) AHEM {A{HE}M}
14 “Shiver ___ ___, shiver my soul” (2,7) MY TIMBERS [FITB]
17 The kind of lens to capture worker abandoning pachyderm in toto (9) TELEPHOTO {T{ELEPHant}OTO}
19 Weaponry from a foreign liner (4) ARMS {A}{RMS}
23 Sticker showy in the extreme and cheap-looking (5) TACKY {TACK}{showY}
24 Philosopher mixes up Heinz sect (9) NIETZSCHE* What a tongue twister of a name!
25 They rate good darers becoming lax (7) GRADERS {G}{DARERS*}
26 One beginning to loath insurance company — it's wrong (7) ILLICIT {1}{L}{LIC}{IT}
27 Cheek feature of old Hindi actor (6) DIMPLE [DD]


28 Advocates for top of political heads (8) PLEADERS {P}{LEADERS}

DOWN
1   A couple of pages on royal cricket ground to get sanction (8) APPROVAL {A}{PP}{R}{OVAL}
2   You once caught mythical bird's foot (7) TROCHEE {T{ROC}HEE}
3   Sweet course moves faster! (6) AFTERS*
4   Possessions that you can’t have in heaven (7,6) EARTHLY THINGS [CD]

                                                                     Cartoon by Rishi

6   Mark fashionable writer (8) INSCRIBE {IN}{SCRIBE}
7   Glib talk about Labour leader's old record (7) PLATTER {P{L}ATTER}
8   Unnamed folks hoarded gold — that's the speculation (6) THEORY {THE{OR}Y}
10 Indication of a hundi theft? (4,2,3,4) HAND IN THE TILL [CD]
15 Feeling quite fit? OK! (4,4) VERY WELL [C&DD]
16 Like the finest, so put up fire-proof material (8) ASBESTOS {AS}{BEST}{OS<=}
18 Cry over former partner's demand (7) EXCLAIM {EX}{CLAIM}
20 Get about the bike again and conduct a salvage operation (7) RECYCLE {RE}{CYCLE}
21 Put on, good man looked older (6) STAGED {ST}{AGED}
22 A zeal effused with a flowering shrub (6) AZALEA {A}{ZEAL*}{A}

GRID

46 comments:

  1. Someone please translate - konjam soru podunga.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Literal translation 'Please give me some rice' this ia an entreaty from beggars asking for some food.

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Deepak. Sorry, Sandhya.
      I wanted to add an asterisk to the phrase and insert a translation in small print but I was not equal to it within the time. Also, I am groping around and learning use of drawing/paint tools. Yet to go a long way! Maybe I should do a course but I am not sure if there is any tailored to an old man with failing memory.
      In any case, introducing occasional Tamil phrases in my writing is in my grain and I can't help it!
      I have used 'rettamandai' in the Page "Solving THCC interactively..." (see link above under the THCC logo). Translation, anyone?

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    3. No! Let us see what a Ram, Paddy or CGB has to say!

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    4. If you google for 'rettamandai' the top of three returns is my use of it!
      Bravo, THCC!
      Literally, it is what MB says.
      Means 'large head',
      BTW, while most men have one 'suzhi' (small bald patch from which hairs grow in different directions) on their head, some men have two.
      It is called 'retta suzhi'.
      What is the English term for 'suzhi'? In other regional languages?

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    5. There is chuzhi in Malayalam which means whirlpool

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    6. The word 'retta' in Tamil reminded me of இரட்டை வாழைப்பழம், Double Banana (A banana in two-in-one shape) Hence my answer 'double head'. :)

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    7. In Tamil the term 'suzhi' - similar one in other languages - means
      curl, circlet
      zero
      whirlpool
      whirlike formation of hair

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    8. It is similar to the whorl we see in fingerprints

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    9. It's called a whorl on the head as well

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    10. I am reminded of 'rettai vaal' (literal meaning 2 tails) figuratively meaning a very mischievous person or generally a boy.

      Delete
  2. CV regarding your comment on cutting trees in your early morning post in yesterdays CW. The local authorities in Bangalore have gone on a tree plantation spree all over Bangalore, unfortunately most of the trees that are planted are under overhead electric lines, which means they will not be permitted to grow beyond a certain height or they have been planted under the spread of an existing tree which means that they will not grow for want of sunlight and in any case when there already exists a tree I don't see why one has to plant another one in it's shade?

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    Replies
    1. Just to boost statistics. Other regular campaigns which bite the dust regularly are garbage segregation, cleaning of storm water drains, maintenance of footpaths (laying, unlaying, relaying and what not) , maintenance (!) of potholes, landfills, water-logged underpasses (both vehicular and pedestrian), controlling crime rate by not registering complaints, ... the list is endless ...

      These are a few of my favourite peeves...

      Delete
  3. Nice one. Liked Hostage clue.

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  4. What's the mark in your underwear? He, he.

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  5. Deepak
    When the Corporation sends out workmen to dig pits for tree-planting, they are told to make holes every so many metres. There is no supervision and the men do their work thoughtlessly ignoring impediments.
    A sapling was planted right next to an electric transformer opposite our compound.
    Every time the powermen come for their maintenance work, they lop off branches that veer towards the facility.
    The tree is stunted and now leans into the roadside. Every time a bus passes by, the branches are brushed and there is a ''sada,sada' noise.

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  6. Regarding yesterday's query on gridfills, I sometimes do a different thing (but not for TH, where we are required to have a limited number of grids). I put in some words and fill in crossing words that match and keep on blocking squares before or after a word, keeping in mind the specs that may be involved. Here the grid develops as I work and I need to keep track of changing the other side of the grid to maintain symmetry.

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  7. Thanks Gridman! Chai and samosas today.
    Good morning all!

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  8. Chai and samosas in which order, RM?
    While I will eat samosas, rinse my mouth and then take coffee (as I want the taste of the beverage to linger in my mouth), my wife will munch samosas and sip coffee.

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  9. I missed my Chai and Samosas today because I couldn't get 10A and 10D. :(

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  10. Does anyone know why the THC Online link is frozen at 02 August? I am travelling without access to the physical paper for two weeks - not having the online version either is leading to cold turkey!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In all probability due to the following

      03 Aug being a Sunday. On 04 Aug online edition of the paper had clues with no grid, on 05 & 06 Aug the CW is yet to be uploaded in online edition !!!

      Due to the above none of the apps can source the CW

      Delete
    2. Thanks for clarifying that.

      Delete
  11. For 10 A, Gridman could have written a clue for the word GAMBLE

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  12. What if SIMPLE &DIMPLE with PIMPLE turn out to be twins? DOUBLE_TROUBLE?
    PIMPLE brought me memories of PGW"S PIMPLY-faced popeyed poop !!

    On retta Mandai, without being insensitive to the morphology of the pates, one such model used to be termed as STUDE BAKER !! Remember this old limousine ? Deepak? a picture?

    This run of Gridman seems to be a smooth ride in such a STUDEBAKER !! or a BUICK 8 ?

    Pictures of some flowers or scarves like TIPPET help us put an image on the word ! helps in thought association for the memory bank . Thanks to those contributors.

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  13. CV sir, like your wife, I too enjoy a bite of samosa then a sip of coffee! But with so much 'calorie counting' now, the joy of biting into a hot samosa is getting rarer and rarer!

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  14. The farmer in the cartoon might perhaps be given a shave and haircut, but he looks too healthy to be an Indian famer, not sure why Amma is obliged to feed him. Vandaarai vazhavaikkum Tamizhagam? ;-) (Tr: sort of like 'Athitthi devo bhava' but focussing on the Tamil land.)

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  15. If one has a locally saved file (using acrosslite or puzzler's cave) of TH crossword, would there be any copyright issues sharing that file/link on this blog for the benefit of others ?

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  16. I think so - private sharing by email or otherwise might be OK but making the AL/PC file available in a public forum may infringe on the copyright laws - unless one has obtained permission from the copyright owner.
    Who is the copyright owner? The paper or the setter?
    And what is the opinion/law on apps making available THC to a wide audience (when the CWD is available in the web edition)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If private email sharing would be OK, then one can place the file in say his/her google drive/folder to which access is allowed only upon email request.

      But seriously, as has been discussed many times in this forum, TH should not be making us think of such hacks in this day and age of digital media.

      Delete
  17. Here's a thought for TH: crossword subscription. No, I don't need the entire paper, but would you mind selling the PDF crossword for a reasonable fee on a daily/monthly/annual basis, with access to archives for a little extra? (Hey, the managed to make a subscription out of The Young World!) That may seem a little OTT* given that The Guardian is able to offer a web-experience free of charge to virtually everyone in the world, but at the least it may make the TH pay a little more attention to the crossword section.


    *Although I can imagine Raju Umamaheshwar welcoming the idea with enthusiasm! :D

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  18. The average potato filled Samosa contains 350 calories. Hence it qualifies as junk food.

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  19. Navneet. I buy the hindu only for the crossword given the erratic online and impending death of orkut.

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