Friday, 1 August 2014

No.11152, Friday 01 Aug 2014, From the files of Sankalak

It is always a pleasure to blog a Sankalak puzzle

ACROSS
1 Last month, the French engineer was to make an announcement (7) DECLARE (DEC LA RE)
5 Set free the backward wickedness borne by the German (7) DELIVER (LIVER on DE) (VILE< in DER) See comments
9 Famous painting by Raphael (7,3,5) MADONNA AND CHILD (GK)
10 Isolated area that may get hot somehow (6) GHETTO (GET HOT)*
11 Actor, not really antagonistic to the lead player (8) ANTIHERO (CD)
13 Sound first heard by caller from a singer suppressed by agitated Enid (4,4) DIAL TONE (ALTO in ENID*)
          This sound is now heard only by some of us dinosaurs who are sometimes immobile
15 Away in Baroda, lost (6) ABROAD (BARODA*)
18 Engineer in favour of starting evaluation in advance (6) BEFORE (BE FOR E)
19 Dawn marking a 24-hour recess (8) DAYBREAK (DAY BREAK)
22 He enlivens the soul, reversing decay (8) ANIMATOR (ANIMA ROT<)
24 Nothing very stupid in this Danish city (6) ODENSE (O DENSE)
27 Where to read to find hidden meaning in the text (7,3,5) BETWEEN THE LINES (CD)
          Reading between the lines, I'd say our cartoonists are obsessed with lines (curves or otherwise) and things between them, and rightly so ...

Cartoon by Rishi

Cartoon by Bhargav
28 Final stage of play to finish what is hunted (3,4) END GAME (END GAME)

29 Blunder by a girl, backing a cat perhaps (7) MISSTEP (MISS PET<)

DOWN
1 Journal (English) kept by father is spoilt (7) DAMAGED (MAGazine E in DAD)
2 Core group has to worry about daughter (5) CADRE (CARE about D)
3 He makes explanatory notes on “Art at Noon” perhaps (9) ANNOTATOR (ART AT NOON)*
4 Enthusiasm shown by an angel animatedly (4) ELAN (T)
5 Racket at home over a bit of gracious eating (6) DINING (DIN IN G)
6 Fruit for one lunch — it is prepared with nut removed (5) LICHI (1 LUNCH IT-NUT)*
7 Verbal expression of support or otherwise in the House (5,4) VOICE VOTE (GK)
8 The growth that a revolutionary courted without energy (7) REDWOOD (RED WOOED - E)
12 Worker upsets Indian state authorities initially (3) ANT (TN A)<
14 With botched facelift, daughter is distressed (9) AFFLICTED (FACELIFT* D)
16 Innocent, childlike women, playthings for little kids (4,5) BABY DOLLS (2)
17 Mechanical device found in English river (3) CAM (2)
18 Beginning to bluster, mob is in a brawl (7) BRABBLE (B RABBLE)
20 See punk disgraced in a riotous party (5-2) KNEES UP (SEE PUNK)*
21 British measure that could recoil (6) BOUNCE (B OUNCE)
23 A haven accommodating the oat grass (5) AVENA (T)
25 Musicians finding unity in the books (5) NONET (ONE in NT)
26 Sudden change of mind of wife over that man (4) WHIM (W HIM)

GRID :

A bonus cartoon from Rishi for yesterday's prime phrase*
* Typing this I wondered how a seraph* can be debriefed after an earthly mission if he went commandoin the first palc ...
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36 comments:

  1. Raghunath1 August 2014 at 08:42

    Slight corr in anno:
    5 Set free the backward wickedness borne by the German (7) DELIVER (LIVER on DE)

    D(ELIV<-)ER

    ReplyDelete
  2. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 08:50

    With so much snooping going on, overheard in some houses this morning:
    (1) " This is too much. I have to draw a line..."
    (2) "Go hang (the clothes) on the clothesline..."
    (3)"You! That line is mine!"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Col_Gopinath1 August 2014 at 09:05

    Let's have some uses of the word 'line'.

    I always travel by the line bus

    ReplyDelete
  4. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 09:13

    Telephone operator Miss Fonseca: "Boss, help! All my lines are down?"

    Line in the sense of telephone connection.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ramani1 August 2014 at 09:15

    I am yet to fall in line with you stalwarts!
    Today's score about 95%

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ramani1 August 2014 at 09:16

    Missing you Sankalak

    ReplyDelete
  7. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 09:16

    Cricket commentator: Here comes xxx from the Pavilion end. His line and length - always so perfect.

    Line and length here go hand-in-hand.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ramani1 August 2014 at 09:19

    Put UNCOVER for 5 across, COCOA (-NUT) for 6 down and got stuck up for 5 down AND 11 across. For ANT, I could not be an ANNOTATOR

    ReplyDelete
  9. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 09:20

    Live lines could be shocking! Achtung!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 09:20

    'Give me more' from the files of Sankalak.

    ReplyDelete
  11. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 09:25

    Line in Tamil ! = "Enna machchi. andha ponnukku line poadraya?"

    ReplyDelete
  12. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 09:30

    5D def,-'eating' to be highlighted.

    ReplyDelete
  13. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 09:43

    The McMahon Line was part of the Simla treaty.

    Line = Boundary

    ReplyDelete
  14. Col_Gopinath1 August 2014 at 09:46

    Punch line for the day, Paddy's 9:20

    ReplyDelete
  15. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 09:46

    Don't give me that line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 10:30

      Col.,
      Thank you. My 9.46 was in response to CG's McMohan line!

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam1 August 2014 at 11:11

      I am at the end of the line. :)

      Delete
  16. C.G. BHARGAV1 August 2014 at 10:01

    Col. : You will surely remember: Lamba daine, Chhota baye, ek Line-me...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Suresh1 August 2014 at 10:24

    Good fitness crossword.
    A small nit to pick on 23D. 'accommodating being the indicator for the hidden solution, can it also be a part of the fodder for the answer?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Unknown1 August 2014 at 10:28

    Such a pleasure solving a Sankalak puzzle. God bless your soul, Sir.
    Wish the new setters would emulate his style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. D.Srinivasan1 August 2014 at 10:35

      +1

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam1 August 2014 at 10:45

      + 2

      Delete
    3. Aakash Sridhar1 August 2014 at 21:09

      Definitely an enjoyable puzzle,
      And no disrespect but I don't think it's right for a setter to emulate an other for the sake of a bigger audience . Each setter has his/her own unique approach , understanding of rules, cloying background and inspirations that ultimately brings out a new flavour to the crossword and that must be respected.at times one is able to identify the setter by solving their work :)

      Delete
    4. Aakash Sridhar1 August 2014 at 21:11

      Clueing *

      Delete
    5. D.Srinivasan1 August 2014 at 21:31

      The pleasure I derive on solving Sankalak's puzzle is unique, because it fits into the way I have learnt to solve crosswords a few decades back. Sankalak had mastered the "arts" of Crossword clueing while the new setters are looking at the "science" of Crossword clueing , IMO

      Delete
    6. Aakash Sridhar1 August 2014 at 21:52

      I don't mean that
      Off the head I look forward to buzzer's tricky word plays and tightness, incognito's breeze , mac's less worded clues, sunnet's well-crafted pangrams etc.. Everyone's unique in their own way. There is no point in emulating a setter. Improvement might be another thing

      Delete
    7. VMA Nair1 August 2014 at 21:57

      I have to agree with Exa on style of each setter albeit for me Sankalak is(still) the greatest setter

      Delete
  19. raju umamaheswar1 August 2014 at 12:35

    Jahaan mai khada rehta hun, wahanse LINE shuroo hota hai

    Standing in a LINE is an unknown in India !

    All if us fall hook , LINE and sinker for SANKALAK'S crossies.

    Am I crossing the LINE, if I mentioned about the downfall of Nehru's dynastic LINE?

    Of course, nothing like theLashman Rekha line !!



    ReplyDelete
  20. Padmanabhan1 August 2014 at 13:23

    CG's cricket commentary at 9.16-
    'XXX bowling...'
    XXX sounds 'rum'my!

    ReplyDelete

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