Sunday, 19 October 2014

CWE 2 - BUNDOBUST


OK, in view of the success of our previous CWE, I am conducting another CWE myself.

This time the word to clue is BUNDOBUST.

This word is used in Indian newspapers most often while mentioning the [preventive/protective] measures that the police take when a threat to the law and order situation is apprehended.

"But why all these big crowds and strict police bundobust, he wondered" - this is a quote from the novel "Such a Long Journey" by Rohinton Mistry.

So "arrangement" is a definition that you may use.

You can also use any other definition that you think is acceptable. I am sure the Hindi word must have other meanings as well ("settlement", for instance). But please give the authority that you have for using a definition other than 'arrangement' or 'settlement' - two that I find in English dictionaries.

Whether to precede the definition with 'Indian' or 'Delhi' (or any similar word) I leave it to you.

No other spelling variant of the given word is allowed. Please clue BUNDOBUST.

One entry per person in the Comments section. Note that once posted the entry cannot be edited. Nor do I expect you to delete an entry and repost an edited clue. So think well before posting your clue. You have a lot of time - the closing time for this CWE is  Saturday, Oct 18,  11.59 hrs IST. Results will be announced some time after the deadline.

The long duration is given so that more people can take part by using their spare time which may differ from person to person.

Finally, the winner may perhaps take on the mantle of conducting the next CWE at his/her own pace without being  deterred by time constraints or work pressure.

136 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ram
      Don't worry!
      Please delete the above post.
      Re-enter your clue after fixing typo(s).

      Delete
    2. Security vehicle's to go over embankment (9)

      Delete
    3. Yesterday had been to Tirupathi and had a nice darshan. Delay is regretted. Thanks for allowing a special permission to me!

      Delete
    4. As all are giving anno, suit I.
      Security - Defn
      Vehicle - bus
      To go over - OT
      Over - anind
      Over embankment - Bund to go first
      CV Sir, have a kid glove!

      Delete
    5. Review
      The word breakup is
      BUND O(BUS)T<-
      I like the def 'embankment' for 'bund'. The first time I must have heard this was when I lived as a boy in Sec'bad in the late 1950s from the area known as Tank Bund.
      Instead of attempting an A+B+C charade, it is a bold effort to attempt a charade consisting of multiple operations.
      It is a bold effort for any clue-writer to start with a second component and then give the first one saying the latter goes first.
      But I don't think the operations have been properly and logically indicated.
      Needs some revision, I think.

      Delete
  2. Submission by Mrs PP (copy pasted from the comments ection of Monday's regular post)

    My clue for BUNDOBUST:
    The crime boss and the good man find you twice busy beeping first to get security(9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      The crime boss and the good man find you twice busy beeping first to get security (9)

      If we jumble
      DON (crime boss) - ST (good man) - U U (you twice)- B B (?busy beeping first)
      we get the reqd. word.
      I accept 'security' as a def - when the police make bundobust that is what they are ensuring.
      The pic evoked by the clue is none-too-plausible.
      When they find me beeping first to get security, who will come? The don to strike me or the good man to hug me?

      Delete
  3. Roll in front of party vehicle before first tragedy leads to tightened security in India (9)

    Roll = BUN
    in front of = positioning indicator for surface reading
    party vehicle = DO BUS
    before = positioning indicator for surface reading
    first tragedy= T
    leads to = connector
    tightened security in India = defn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Thanks for expln.
      A scene from some street demo.
      And if a police vehicle bumps into an agitator, the police might clamp down.
      "party vehicle" for DO BUS is a good idea.
      The verb/noun switch in BUN is good.
      'first tragedy' for T may not be accepted by purists.
      The expansive def is OK.
      Though longish, the components are all tackled properly.
      SHORT LIST.

      Delete
  4. Cross bound to shatter security arrangements (9)
    Cross = AnInd
    bound = Anagram fodder
    to shatter = BUST
    security arrangements (9) = {BOUND}*{BUST}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the explanation.
      In the sense of 'limit' or 'boundary', I have always seen the word used in the plural form of 'bounds'. E.g., In her skimpy dress, the girl exceeded all bounds of decency.
      That is why, it didn't occur to me that the surface suggested someone crossing a limit.
      However, on some more consultations with the dict, I find that they say the word is usu. in plural.
      That means (and I have found some examples) it is used in the singular in certain contexts and by certain professionals.
      The clue evokes a very plausible picture - of a revolutionary leader exhorting a disciple to overstep in a street demo (of which we now see so many nationally and internationally).
      Cross = angry, perturbed, I accept as an anag signal.
      So the clue now goes into the
      SHORTLIST

      Delete
  5. Born free, black American at last gets security (9)

    B = Born
    UNDO - Free
    B - Black
    US - American
    T - At last

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good clueing. However, a suggestion for consideration of AD:
      it may be racially improper to use 'black' American. So, it may go against the apparent meaning of the clue.

      Delete
    2. Review
      After all this, my task is simple. To put this clue straight in the SHORT LIST.
      I don't think the term 'black American' is rude.

      Delete
  6. Clarified doubts on hairstyle arrangements (9)
    (DOUBTS)* on (BUN = hairstyle); A on B = BA = BUN+(DOUBTS)*
    def= arrangements (Oxford)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In fact, when we say 'police bandobust' we always think of arrangements that they have made.
      I found the meaning 'arrangement' given in the dictionary that I looked up and online Hindi- English translation rather inadequate.
      That is why I carefully used the term 'measures' in my write-up.
      Is the Hindi word a noun that is uncountable?

      Delete
    2. I read the etymology as Persian ' Binding & tying'

      Delete
    3. Review
      Thanks for the anno.
      This hairstyle I remember from the heads of actresses in old Tamil films (nowadays hair must fall over the shoulders with the woman constantly brushing it away with upraised elbows and showing the depilated armpits).
      I can imagine a young girl pointing to a hairstyle in a glossy magazine and asking the coiffeur if it would suit her and getting some clarifications on her doubts.
      So in the surface reading we must imagine the speaker to be a hairstylist.
      I am not sure if the collocation "hairstyle arrangements" is apt. "hair arrangements" OK. Hairstyle arrangements?
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  7. O! It is protected by an Indian dyke and a chest for security (9)
    O is enclosed on either side by
    Indian dyke- Bund
    Chest- Bust
    (Bund)O(Bust)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Word breakup and component arrangement are OK.
      But the surface leaves me cold.

      Delete
  8. BUNDOBUST: Englishman's BAND OR BUST for Law and order?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      I didn't say anno/expl must be appended.
      I am ready to accept 'law and order' as def (by supplying the word arrangements after that myself and also ignoring the capital letter L in 'law').
      Why Englishman? What role does the venerable gentleman play here?
      If I take BAND OR BUST as a magisterial order barked out by him, what does that mean?
      How do we drop the needless R in that capital declaration to get the required word?

      Delete
    2. I meant an Englishman's accent Bundobust -- Band or bust !! r is silent here !
      In good humor as a first shot in clueing. I.m sorry, i gave the parsing.

      Delete
  9. Britain's top peacekeepers have doubts about security arrangement (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charade of components B UN plus anag. of DOUBTS ('about' being the anag signal). Technically sound.
      Absolutely smooth surface reading and a very plausible scenario.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  10. CV: Winner to take on the mantle of creating the next one? Wah !! literally an anthakshari is being mooted ?!

    ReplyDelete
  11. SS & Shrikanth take the cake so far- setters both..mm!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chest secured, bound all over for this (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. REVIEW
      Now this is also a very good clue, provided you pause and take your mind off the chest of all those women and men in newspaper ads for bras, banians, T-shirts. etc.
      What is secured here is a hundi lest it should be broken into (as it happens so often in our temples).
      If you have seen some of those suitcases on our airport conveyor belts, you are bound to know how this chest has been tied, taped, sealed, marked..
      Here the def is well-concealed in this.
      At home, we would lock the steel cupboard and let the key just in its hole.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  13. Association to back taking on transport arrangement (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. REVIEW
      As I said above, I had not asked for anno/expln.
      For this, I had to take pen and paper and write out the word. The components fell in their place. (Or should that be 'places') Do people in a crowd crane their neck or necks? Or, gentle readers, do you scratch your head or heads?
      BAND O(BUS)T<-
      The 'juxtaposition' in 'transport arrangement' is excellent. It is a colloction by itself. But here the first word is a component, the second, the def.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
    2. Wasn't the spelling supposed to remain the same? Not to pull a rug from under Ramesh's feet, but Band would have given that much more opportunity as a component.

      Delete
    3. Well, well, well.
      I didn't remember that the word to clue is BUNDOBUST.
      I had specified that no spelling variant should be used.
      I reviewed the clue as a clue without the comp. requirement in mind.
      The clue, however, remains in the SHORTLIST.
      * * *
      I agree this is a difficult word to clue as the def element is highly limited.
      Maybe a great deal of entertainment is lost but we have had variety in word breakups.

      Delete
    4. Bund = Association/league http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bund

      Delete
    5. So it was my mistake.
      After all, the breakup is BUND O (BUS)T<
      As the clue-writer has now quoted authority and as Chambers too has it (Bund) with the meaning 'league' which indeed is an association or confederacy, I am putting this entry in the

      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
    6. So it was my mistake.
      After all, the breakup is BUND O (BUS)T<
      As the clue-writer has now quoted authority and as Chambers too has it (Bund) with the meaning 'league' which indeed is an association or confederacy, This entry stays firmly in the

      SHORTLIST.

      See Raghunath's comment below on this clue.
      I am overruling it.
      I just now saw a wild sport on a Kannada channel in which a city-bred slim, pencil-thin girl or girls were expected to push down a muscular young villager with his hands tied at the back and this on a clayey surface.
      When the girl took him on, she had her arms around him.
      When X takes on Y I can see Y sort of going into Y.

      Delete
  14. Arrangements in Delhi Durbar? Buttons mixed, nary a model bishop anyway (11)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Another clue for which I had to take out pen and paper.
      All the components are there. All of them are indicated properly.
      The def are the first three words, where the Indianness of the word is indicated.
      Mixed is a good anag signal.
      The letters to be deleted from the anag fodder are all indicated well, though the solver has to do a bit of work (e.g., RR for 'bishop').
      Any durbar is likely to have strict security arrangement, so I like the idea of juxtaposing part of anag fodder (durbar) with the def with that qn mark.
      I also like the quaint del ind "nary a ..."
      All to the good.
      The surface reading lets down all this hard work.
      A clue must lead to a story, an image, a mental picture in a believable manner.
      What are these buttons mixed? Whose? How? Why is the Bishop here instead of attending to his religious duties? If 'mixed' is the ang signal, 'anyway' is prob the anag signal to indicate that T R R A - the letters to be deleted -are dispersed.

      Delete
    2. “You never get a second chance....
      ...... to make a first impression“
      – Will Rogers

      Thanks for the detailed and educative analysis.

      The word picture I attempted was that the Right Reverend Bishop unfortunately got his buttons on his black cassock mixed while preparing to attend the Delhi Durbar, but then he never was a model (ideal) bishop anyway. Just like a toon recently that showed a person putting the button one hole higher than its intended place!

      While I was reading up on their 'habits', I noticed that, in Roman Catholic heraldry, while there is no difference in their dresses, a bishop is distinguished from archbishop in that he wears an ecclesiastical hat with only six tassels on each side of his coat of arms, while the latter has ten.

      In hindsight, 'Preparation for' would have suited the clueing as that also means Bundobust.
      Though I missed the shortlist, the effort was worth it. Thanks again.

      Delete
  15. You bust the British agent somehow to make security arrangements !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A sensible surface reading here.
      Maybe a higher-up in the polie dept.is talking to a colleague in the lower ranks.
      'somehow' is anag signal.
      The fodder
      U (from 'you') BUST
      Then?
      BOND from 'the British agent'.
      As part of the anag fodder is concealed here, I had some initial hiccup in unravelling the letters but that's my problem, not the clue-writer's!
      I like the phrase 'busting an agent' as part of the security arrangements.
      I don't like EMs at the end of a clue if that has no proper justification. Here I can imagine this clue sentence to be part of a long conversation where the higher-up, upon hearing a reservation mumbled by his subordinate, says this with the undertone 'Nee ellaam indha departmentukku laayakkaa?"
      So, expressing my misgiving about the indirect anagram fodder, I am putting this clue into the SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  16. But buns do shake for an arrangement (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      On reading this clue, I went to a cake shop near my home and looked intently at a tray of buns in the glass shelf.
      Not a shake. Not a stir.
      Minutes ticked by and a salesgirl came and asked me "Sir, enna paakkareenga? Enna venum? Sollunga. Alladhu edaththai kaalipannunga."
      At that time another customer, a portly woman, turned from the icecream line and walked to the door.
      It was then that I saw movement.
      I went home and looked up the online urban dictionary.
      buns - the curvy contour of a girl's gluteus maximus muscles as seen from behind.
      I have already said that I hate this dict.and will never swear by it. So I turned to Collins.
      buns (informal, mainly US) the buttocks
      I liked this matter-of-fact, non-sexist definition. See why I don't trust the urban dictionary?
      A good, unconcealed anag fodder.
      A nice anag signal.
      An apt def.
      But all to nothing!
      Meanwhile the buns stay where they are.

      Delete
  17. Bizarre at first but sound arrangement (9)

    Bizarre at first = B
    BUT SOUND = anagram fodder
    Arrangement = anagram indicator and definition
    &lit if you think that a bundobust is bizarre at first but sound :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Thanks for the anno.
      Letter component + anag
      A good ind for the letter B.
      A nice, direct anag fodder in BUTSOUND.
      Smooth surface reading.
      For def, re-read the whole clue that is short.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  18. Cancel boarding second class vehicle on time for settlements (9)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Review
    settlements is def
    vehicle is BUS
    time is T
    boarding may be a c/c ind
    BAN may be from Cancel
    Help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. B = Second Class. Vehicle = Bus. Cancel = UNDO going inside B and BUS on T.

      Delete
    2. Review (contd.)
      Thanks, Raghunath. I didn't think too hard!
      Am going out now, Will come back and continue writing.

      Delete
    3. So it's B(UNDO)BUS T
      No prob with the components or the way in which they have been arrayed.
      However, the surface doesn't mean much to me though I can stretch things a bit and also accept some bizarreness.
      It falls short of the shortlist.

      Delete
  20. Note
    The deadline has been altered.
    Now it is midnight Sat, Oct 18 IST.
    Results will be out on Sun, Oct 19 morning.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Carey Street bound unfortunately before a settlement's made (9)

    Carey Street = the state of bankruptcy
    bound = headed (follows the noun or adverb) AND fodder for anagram
    BUST = bankrupt
    (unfortunately)* (anagrind) - so, BOUND>BUNDO
    before = clue elements positioning indicator - so collectively BUNDO+BUST
    = BUNDOBUST = Settlement (in OED) (def.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bud, thanks for the detailed explanation.
      If you had not given those helpful notes I may not have been in Queer Street
      All components are fine. Cryptic grammar is fine. The def is not the first word(s) or the last word(s) so a solver (when the answer is not known as here) is momentarily puzzled and has to think a little.
      Part-anag fodder is indirect - not only in UK crosswords but even in THC most setters avoid that. It is still seen even in UK 13x13s. It may be condoned in an otherwise good clue.
      Here the subject seems to have been left to the imagination of the solver. I mean who's on the road to bankruptcy?
      One may be bound for Mumbai. I might say a Mumbai-bound passenger fell ill (note the hyphen. I am rather old-fashioned in the use of hyphens.
      In other words I am a bit uneasy about the surface reading of this clue,
      Unless there is a better explanation.
      For unusual treatment of the word, I am placing it in the SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  22. Peace keepers provide vehicle to pass through Bhutan's security arrangement

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry. Enu to be added (9)

      Delete
    2. No marks reduced for late insertion of the enu!
      I passed over it because I was not too sure of the anno immediately!
      Peace keepers _ UN
      vehicle - BUS
      pass through - c/c ind
      Bhutan - BT (internet domain)
      Do we get DO from provide? A dict def for 'do' is "to provide a service or product for customers to buy" (I don't think we use this much in India, do we?)

      B( UN DO BUS )T
      Excellent surface reading.
      SHORTLIST

      Delete
  23. Gilt-edged bond in Berlin collapsed with zero security arrangement (9)

    German Govt. bond is called BUND
    BUND(O)BUST

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat.
      Indications for components fine.
      Some purists may say that we get BUND from BOND by merely changing a letter and also with such a detailed ind. For me easiness of a clue is not an issue. It is the handling of the components and the overall reading.
      The only weakness is the weak c/c ind ('with').
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
    2. Was toying with "instrument" for "bond" but stuck to the latter. Thanks for the input on the containment indicator - "having" would have worked better perhaps?

      Delete
  24. Arrangement abounds, but without a security plan (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Smooth surface.
      Good anag discovery.
      If I start off with 'arrangement' as the def, I will fall by the wayside.
      The ind for deleting 'a' from anag fodder merges so beautifully with the surface reading that you may miss it!
      The def 'security plan' is novel and completely acceptable.
      Drawback is the nounal anag signal preceding the fodder.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
  25. Down clue:

    Secure arrangement of hairstyle/do on top of head (9)

    Secure arrangement = def
    of = connector
    hairstyle = BUN
    do = DO
    on top of = connector
    head = BUST (as in a statue)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Thanks for the anno - though I don't need it every time to understand a clue.
      The word breakup BUN DO BUST is familiar but the way it is handled by the clue writer is different.
      The component DO is handled well here. Hairstyle/do can be read as : Take your pick - hairstyle or (hair)do - whichever you prefer.
      This one is on top of head. Head is obvious but it is not behind but atop - like a gopuram.
      Must be a big one but the hairstylist has taken care in keeping it in place. Many hairclips must have gone into it, I guess.
      Don't know as I have never gone to a unisex beauty parlour. (Have you, man or woman?) I have gone only to men-only barber's shop. And it's the same one for the past 45+ years. Except that the original barber has passed away and in his place there is a relative of his to do the job.
      The streetside, smalltime beauty parlours always have the prominent sign "Women and children only".
      There is one right opposite my house. I pass by it every day but I have never stood by to watch someone 'before' and 'after'.
      In the neighbourhood there is this Institute for Driver Development. Once I stood there for an hour or so. The marked man who came out was as slim as when he walked in.
      SHORTLIST

      Delete
  26. Release Bandits' leader captured in a police raid in Indian Settlement (9)

    (B(UNDO)(B)UST)
    Release - Undo,
    Bandits' leader - B,
    captured in - C/c indicator,
    a police raid - Bust
    in - connector
    Indian Settlement - defn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had something similar:

      Arrangement to free/ release boy caught in police raid. Felt 'boy' being ct in a raid didn't sound right unless he was doing drugs or something like that.

      Delete
    2. Review
      Thanks for the explanation,
      Neat breakup, seamless surface reading.
      Indian Settlement - Def is very good, taking our mind away from a mere payment to some political and military adventure.
      Don't know why Bandits is capitalized. Is there any significance? Apt, first-letter ind.
      Before I saw this clue, I had found that 'bust' has the sense 'police raid'.
      SHORTLIST.

      Delete
    3. Thanks CV sir, the capitalisation is a typo and unintentional. Didn't change it due to the no edit rule.

      With the surface I was going for Indian settlement(n) = an indian locality or enclave, may be somewhere outside India, like little India in singapore 😊

      Delete
    4. I am not removing it from the SHORTLIST.
      The typo capping of B is condoned.

      Delete
  27. Re: Ramesh's

    Association to back taking on transport arrangement (9)

    Since there has been a discussion on this clue, wanted to point out an error. Probably Ramesh meant 'in' for 'on', otherwise the clue does not work.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Lead banjo has muffled sound but elaborate arrangement (9)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abhay -
      I know where you're coming from!
      A different word breakup.
      A good anag signal.
      Very good surface reading.
      An extended but apt def.
      But, could you please check treatment of word breakup.

      No Comments by others, please.
      Leave it to the clue-writer concerned..
      I think the clue could do with a revision.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for your feedback, CV. Does this address the problem?

      Lead banjo has muffled sound but interleaved, elaborate arrangement (9)

      Delete
    3. Maybe the fault was with me when I wrote the review.
      Now I think your original clue was B + anag of sound but
      In which case there need be no revision.
      Expressing my apologies for a hasty review (because of 'has' - which at first I did not see as juxtaposition ind but rather as a c/c ind.
      I am accepting your first ver. and placing it in
      SHORTLIST

      Delete
    4. Thank you! Perhaps I should have given the annotation with the original clue. It was indeed intended to read as you have parsed it here.

      Delete
  29. Volunteer needed
    As I am now tied up with some translation/editing work as well, I need some help in the 'exercise'.
    Would someone put all the shortlisted entries in a single file and send it to me after the deadline? I will recheck it and choose three for the podium.
    Please express willingness here itself so that work may not be duplicated. TIA.
    Note that I have placed one clue in SHORTLIST after a second review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Midnight Saturday is a bit confusing is it midnight Fri - Sat or midnight Sat - Sun

      Delete
    2. I'm not volunteering to do this as I will be attending a Schoolmates bash on Sat evening and I expect to get sloshed at the bash.

      Delete
    3. I should think it means just before 12.01 a.m. Sun
      (Opinions welcomed)
      In any case I have now changed it to
      Sat 11.59 hrs.
      Hope it's amply clear now.

      Delete
    4. I VOLUNTEER TO SEND YOU THE SHORT-LISTED ENTRIES BY 19.00 HRS. ON SATURDAY....

      Delete
  30. I had a couple of alternative clues that I found interesting. Is it okay if I post them here after the deadline expires?

    ReplyDelete
  31. After the announcement of results there should be no problem in posting them here.
    .
    BUT

    Honestly, as we have had so many clues for this word, if you still have any good clues, why don't you reserve them for a time when you become a setter for TH or even a Sun special here so that those remain fresh then.

    You may send them to me by private email.

    Let it not go waste without the clue being in its element - which is a grid as I always say.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Arrangement tips to Bihar, UP, New Delhi, Orissa, Bengal under security threat(9)
    Anno: Arrangement: Definition
    tips: Acrostic Indicator; to: connector; Bihar.......threat acrostic fodder

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Review
      Good to see a different clue type. This time an acrostic.
      "tips to" is a nice acrostic signal.
      But the moment you see a list of items, you could guess there is an acrostic.
      "The phrase "arrangement tips" (arrangement a nounal adj?) does not seem to be a natural phrase.
      I have no problem with ' tips to ..." I can imagine an authority providing tips to States and UTs.
      I think New Delhi is a city while Delhi is NCT. So that seems to be odd man out in the list. Also, West Bengal is the State, not just Bengal.
      "under security threat" as part of fodder is very good.
      Good off-beat effort.

      Delete
  33. Thanks for the review. Shall try harder to make it to the short list next time

    ReplyDelete
  34. It’s always a pleasure to see the same word or phrase clued in different ways . . .

    - a clue-writer in a similar clue-writing forum elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Heard Mr Mehta say "Become two, enough!" with time - what an arrangement!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wordplay is charade with a homophone, a Hindi word from Eng def and a letter component..
      The sound device is from Hindi to English.
      I have said I don't know Hindi. I can't speak or write in that language. If I try and utter a sentence in Hindi, my wife - a woman of many tongues ('nuff said) - will laugh. The other day when a roadside peddler - obviously from the North - helped me in some way, I said 'Dhanyavaad'. He smiled and repeated the word. He must have guessed that this fellow, obviously a Madrassi, can't speak Hindi and he's trying to use what he learnt for the South Indian Hindi Prachar Sabha's prathmic exam or the basic exam of the Central Hindi Directorate.course or maybe from the Let's Know Hindi: A Word A Day board at SBI: धन्यवाद Thanks
      In any case the WP is
      "बन दो" bus T
      There's homophone signal. Mr Mehta (Ved or Vinodh?) plays his part to suggest that we have to do a language shift.
      We two, Ours Two - This I have heard. It could even be We Two Ours. Here the surface reading does not go that far. It seems Mr Mehta advices a young man and a young woman in love to go ahead and marry despite parental opposition. And then under his breath he seems to say 'Over time you will realise it's Enough."
      All in all, a clever clue written in a playful mood to provoke laughter.
      Laughter it has generated as can be gauged from 'wah,wahs' registered by readers. I join in that chorus but I am not placing it in the shortlist.

      Delete
    2. I must confess that I had meant - this as a conversation to a paav bhaji wala - two bun enough!!!

      Delete
  36. Chest boxes rigorously bound as a security measure (9)
    BU (NDOBU)* ST

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This clue from my fellow clue-writer in a UK-based clue-writing forum is a c/c with the content being an anag.
      Anag fodder is good.
      Anag signal is good.
      Def is OK
      The def for BUST too is OK.
      OK, OK, OK.
      But I am not putting this in the shortlist because I don't like the collocation 'chest boxes'. It is very unnatural. Or so I thought! On googling, I find the term is used by makers of furniture.
      So it goes into the SHORTLIST.

      Delete
    2. I personally feel 'Chest covers' would have been much better

      Delete
    3. That's a good edit.
      In surface reading and in wordplay that works well.

      Delete
  37. Never heard of the term 'chest covers' but it's true that as a sentence it reads far better than what's above ..surprised it made it to the short-list even then..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is because I did find the existence and usage of the term/phrase 'chest box/chest boxes'. So I accepted it. And the whole clue sentence makes good sense.

      Delete
    2. I did not intend 'Chest covers' as a term.
      Chest covers - Covers put on chests like Book covers etc

      Delete
  38. SHORTLISTED clues (so far)

    (1) Roll in front of party vehicle before first tragedy leads to tightened security in India (9) (Kishore)

    (2) Cross bound to shatter security arrangements (9) (Col.)

    (3) Born free, black American at last gets security (9) (Shrikanth)

    (4) Clarified doubts on hairstyle arrangements (9) (Bhalchandra)

    (5) Britain's top peacekeepers have doubts about security arrangement (9) (Srivathsan)

    (6) Chest secured, bound all over for this (9) (VJ)

    (7) Association to back taking on transport arrangement (9)(Ramesh)

    (8) You bust the British agent somehow to make security arrangements ! (9) (KSK)

    (9) Bizarre at first but sound arrangement (9) (San)

    (10) Carey Street bound unfortunately before a settlement's made (9) (Bud)

    (11) Peace keepers provide vehicle to pass through Bhutan's security arrangement (9) (Raghunath)

    (12) Gilt-edged bond in Berlin collapsed with zero security arrangement (9) (Sreeni)

    (13) Arrangement abounds, but without a security plan (9) (Renga)

    (14) Secure arrangement of hairstyle/do on top of head (9) (Bhavan)

    (15) Release Bandits' leader captured in a police raid in Indian Settlement (9) (Maddy)

    (16) Lead banjo has muffled sound but elaborate arrangement (9)(Abhay)

    (17) Chest boxes rigorously bound as a security measure (9) (Aakash)

    ReplyDelete
  39. As stated in the preamble, the contest is open till 11-59 a.m. today, Saturday, IST.

    But as I have been making live reviews, I am now making a shorter list from the shortlist:

    (1) Roll in front of party vehicle before first tragedy leads to tightened security in India (9) (Kishore)

    (5) Britain's top peacekeepers have doubts about security arrangement (9) (Srivathsan)

    (11) Peace keepers provide vehicle to pass through Bhutan's security arrangement (9) (Raghunath)

    (15) Release Bandits' leader captured in a police raid in Indian Settlement (9) (Maddy)

    My thanks to all participants. Now and then we have been having CWEs in our Comments section, started by someone or the other on an impulse. I think this is the first time that a CWE has been held in more formal circumstances.

    The response has been very encouraging and, as my shortlist shows, the quality of participation was of a high order.

    Inevitably, in the final selection of "most favourite" clues, my thoughts, with my own personal preferences (and maybe prejudices) will come into play. I don't call them "the best" - as if the ones that I have chosen are not. I trust my participants understand this.

    When I do select the final clue(s), I will certainly say why!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Renga,
    Thanks for pointing out a discrepancy in an earlier post of mine.
    I have now made the necessary amendments.

    ReplyDelete
  41. RESULTS
    I gave mulled over the clues in the shorter shortlist.
    In my opinion they are all worthy ones.
    So I am refraining from grading them.
    The writers of these four clues may have commitments each in a different way so I don't want to declare a winner and expect him to conduct the next CWE
    Any one of these four may, if he so wishes, offer to conduct the next CWE. By declaring their intention, each by turn may also conduct a CWE over the next four weeks.
    I believe I have been fair, but if I have made any mistake or misinterpretation in the appraisal of clues, please excuse me.

    ReplyDelete
  42. So the Gold, Silver and Two Bronze medals (like in boxing) have been shared by four. Congrats (in no particular order) to Kishore, Srivathsan, Raghunath and Maddy.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The nominees for the best Clue Setter Award are - Kishore, Srivathsan, Raghunath and Maddy. And the Winner is....wait for the morrow please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MB you have not read CV's comment at 1:36 PM above?

      Delete
    2. Well Sir, I saw the post alright but I had missed the gist of the matter, by oversight! Congrats, winners!

      Delete
  44. Thank you Col, Mrs PP, MB and CV. I don't think I am capable enough to critically assess 25 or so clues. A few clues probably. I'd rather do a 'fourth umpire's' job (the one who gets the box of balls on the field), a la GCB. However, let's see what Kishore, Srivathsan and Maddy have to offer. Congratulations to them and also to those who participated.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Congrats to the winners Kishore,Srivathsan, Raghunath & Maddy. Looking fwd to the next edition

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thanks CV Sir and everyone for the comments and likes... I will be travelling on work for 2-3 days this week so would be hard pressed for time. But If Kishore of Srivathsan have other more pressing commitments and choose to opt out I can take up the gauntlet...Though I may not be able to post prompt responses like CV sir do as good a job as him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A four way distribution also could be thought of.

      Delete
  47. Can't imagine how much time it must have taken to write all those reviews.. Thanks a lot CV sir .. And congratulations to all winners : )

    ReplyDelete
  48. Congrats to the winners. Hats off to cv sir for this herculean effort of critically analysing all the clues!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A special thanks to CV for a stupendous analysis.

      Delete
  49. Congrats to the winners and thanks to all. Was away with guests for most of the day and hence coming in only now. Ok, friends, Indians, Maddy and Srivathsan, if you don't mind, I shall take on the proverbial gauntlet or as our DIY-COW friends call it, the Albatross, which I shall carry till I pass it on to the person who earns it, in my h.o. , though my reviews may not be as sound or detailed as CV's. I shall put up the page with a submission time limit of the end i.e. 23:59 of Saturday, 25th October. The good word that you need to tighten your belts with is CUMMERBUND.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Come the morrow and a formal post shall be posted. Results may be posted post IXL submission on 26th.

      Delete

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