In true Anitya style, the clues are short, crisp and entertaining
Across
7 Speaker with one old musical composition (8) ORATORIO (ORATOR I O)
9 OK-to-eat food item (6) EDIBLE (2)
10 Off with a method (4) AWAY (A WAY)
11 Cravings for advertisement locutions (10) ADDICTIONS (AD DICTIONS)
12 Bar special champion, right? (6) SPACER (SP ACE R)
14 Nope, get a change that allows free access (4,4) OPEN GATE (NOPE GETA)*
15 Repeated a profit with a profit (5,3,5) AGAIN AND AGAIN (A GAIN AND A GAIN)
17 Support tilt in compilation of books still in print (8) BACKLIST (BACK LIST)
19 Essays he's written in setback (6) THESES (HE'S in SET<)
21 Monsoon out to pour all the same (10) MONOTONOUS (MONSOON OUT)*
22 Black hat crushed for Thailand cash (4) BAHT (B HAT*)
23 Detenu ancestors secreted shade of meaning (6) NUANCE (T)
24 Maintain the pace to stay up-to-date (4,4) KEEP STEP (KEEP STEP)
Down
1 Act your age with good line at the top (4,2) GROW UP (G ROW UP)
I have, Anitya, but I have ... ;-) Now it is DG (not Col.Gopinath!) and Renga's turn ...
2 Remain, saint — always! (4) STAY (ST AY)
3 Test managed in rehearsal (5,3) TRIAL RUN (TRIAL RUN)
4 About small hint in heroic act (6) RESCUE (RE S CUE)
5 Yet one may have to die for this salary (6,4) LIVING WAGE (CD,DD)
Reminded me of that great cemetery where people were dying to get in ...
6 Board with big load of fish food (8) PLANKTON (PLANK TON)
8 New York bold to break seniors' complex (3,3,7) OLD BOY NETWORK (NEW YORK BOLD TO)*
I knew a group of old men who used to meet every week to engulf Gobi Manchurain. I used to call them the Gobi network
13 Suppresses ace's crossword entries (10) CRACKDOWNS (CRACK DOWNS)
To nitpick, suppesses = cracks down and suppressions are = crackdowns
15 One — one record almost due in similar version (8) ANALOGUE (AN A LOG
16 Witness at trial has hesitation (8) ATTESTER (AT TEST ER)
In 3d test became trial and here it is the other way around !
18 I, with two boys, pressed (6) IRONED (I RON ED)
20 Mimics Election Commission's tools (6) ECHOES (EC HOES)
22 Low pedestal (4) BASE (2)
GRID
FLASH NEWS: IXL FINAL WILL BE HELD IN BANGALORE
All the best to the participants. My apologies for not being able to make it as my class reunion is there on the same day at 1030. I will attend if that programme gets changed.
As per the undermentioned article from The HINDU, the IXL Finals are to be at Bangalore
ReplyDeleteTop Cruciverbalists to cross swords in Dec 21 finale
The article is from a reporter at Patna so the finals location should be authentic
Yes. Got the invite for ixl finals by mail and it said Blore
ReplyDeleteGood, I hope you can make it even though it's not in the place you desired.
DeleteAnother Flash News: This year the final will be among the top 20 in view of the huge participation. Have just got the invite. The relevant extract is as below:
DeleteA hearty congratulations to you from the entire team of the INDIAN CROSSWORD LEAGUE 2014!
As you are aware the Grand Finale of Indian Crossword League (IXL) is open to only Top 10 participants of the online rounds. But this year due to the large participation, it has been decided to offer an opportunity to participate in the Grand Finale to the participants ranked 11 to 20.
So views of participants are being heard
DeleteNo Col., I will not be there. I sent in my regrets
DeleteVinayak, that's a positive development. Ramesh, that's a negative development.
DeleteIt was the best of times and it was the worst of times ...
It might have been partly prompted by RJ (and I suspect some others in the top 10) opting out, leading to non achievement of a critical mass ...
DeleteWith RJ dropping out Suresh may get a call as he is at 21
DeleteRenga too can expect, should there be any more dropouts. He is at 22.
DeleteAgree with your nit on Crackdowns. Jarring.
ReplyDeleteI doubted and double checked before filling in. I did not want to lose my samosa on that a/c!
DeleteNice one Anitya. Enjoyed solving the crisp clues as Kishore put it,
Paddy, your wish has been fulfilled ...Please read comment under 1d
DeleteDitto
DeleteWhat's the comment about Renga?
DeleteRenga's handle/avatar - a boy with a cap on!
DeleteK
DeleteThank you for listening to Listeners' choice!
Coexistence- old & new!
DeleteFrom the mail
ReplyDeleteThe venue for the IXL 2014 Finale is:
TERI-SRC Auditorium,
4th Main, 2nd Cross,
Domlur II Stage,
Bangalore - 560071,
Karnataka.
India.
The participants are required to reach the venue on the 21st of December 2014 at 12:00pm sharp.
Same location as last year. But start time of 12 PM seems to be a bit too late.
DeleteA late start with a similar format may easily take it up to beyond 5pm leaving me a small window of making it at the fag end
DeleteI think it will be more appropriate and clearer if the time is mentioned as 12 noon or 12 midday.
DeleteIn this case, unlike the online round results, I don't think there will be any confusion though, as no one would imagine that the event would start at midnight!
DeleteAs suggested by CV, the THC Setters page has been created and can be visited using the link on top of this page. At present only details of Gridman and Afterdark are there.
ReplyDeleteThe remaining are requested to send me their write ups with a snap for inclusion in the THC Setters page.
Here's another article from The Telegraph
ReplyDeleteGirl (Shuchi) sails into crossword final
The noun and the verb in the heading are condescending.
DeleteYep, my reaction exactly on the reading the headline link - as if something unimaginable has happened.
DeleteI felt so too...
DeleteIn some parts of India that's the 'men'tality.
DeleteThanks, guys, for expressing your outrage at such 'men'tality, an unfair attitude towards the fair sex!
DeleteSunday 30th Nov "Sunday special" is going to be a Jumbo from Arden
ReplyDeleteThanks(for)giving
DeleteThis, Arden!
Good news! Will the quota per commenter be increased too, Sir?
DeleteYes, it will be 4PP
DeleteBut what about quota increase 4 the rest of us? Why quota increase only 4 Mrs PP ?
DeleteOh my Ramesh :-(
DeleteWhat a twist!!! :)
DeleteA news item today says a 17-year-old Brazilian boy has created a World record by typing 25 words in 17 seconds. That would have taken an eternity for me. He wrote:
ReplyDeleteThe razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.
And another eternity (if possible) for me to correct the spellings!
DeleteIs P's eternity longer than CV's. In maths, one talks of infinties in this manner, one being larger than the other ...
DeleteThe razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.
DeleteI took 60 seconds to type that !!
You are in second(s). Who is the first?
DeleteThe razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.
Delete~27 seconds :)
To be honest, I think 17 is pretty slow. Surely there are faster typers out there.
My typing speed at my peak (around 1977) was over the 120 wpm required when I passed my typewriting senior exam as quite a few of my age group might have done. That translates (at the then defined standard of 5 characters per word) to 600 characters per minute i.e. 10 per second. There were marks deducted for not finishing and for mistakes and I ended up getting a First Class. This passage is around 160 characters, which at that speed should have taken about 16 seconds. Adding a few seconds for the obscure words it will end up around 20. So, as Mohsin says, there must be plenty of faster typists out there. But I have slowed down and tend to make more typos (as all of you would know) these days.
DeleteActually it was typing the text message on a touch screen mobile phone.
DeleteSorry I did not specify this: I assumed most of you would have seen the report.
The lad used an iPhone 6 Plus and software company Syntellia's Fleksy keyboard.
Living Wage denied me the samosa today :(
ReplyDeleteHad mouthful of them today :)
Delete@Suresh:Agree with your nit on Crackdowns. Jarring.
ReplyDeleteI thought of putting it like this:
I've got a nit, ya with Anitya!
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
ReplyDeleteThat is 25 words in 8 seconds
Suresh, I can do better
Delete25 words
In less than 3 secs
Always knew that you were faster than me.
DeleteYour son is towering over you
Also doing what you did in 3 seconds I would doubtless make a typo
DeleteYes, he does that ... By over 6 inches
Delete