Monday, 12 January 2015

No.11290, Monday 12 Jan 2015, Arden


Arden has got me scratching my head in some places. To paraphrase Newton, I have had to stand on Deepak's shoulders to complete this ...

Across
6 Lord, I'm at the fringes with every other person in the middle (5) MESNE (ME around pErSoN)  IMO, Mesne is an adjective meaning 'in the middle' describing a lord, intermediate between the superior lord and the serf/pheasant, and not meaning Lord by itself. Is in the middle an insertion indicator or a part of the defn. too?
7 Remedy against work for those disheartened (8) ANTIDOTE (ANTI DO ThosE)
10 Flavouring also has got it (7) ANISEED (AND has I SEE=got it)
11 Mineral production line (7) MARLINE (MINERAL)* LINE appears in defn. and light New word for me
12 Stops applying epoxy outside home (5,2) REINS IN (RESIN around IN)
13 Many a man over time becomes a monster (7) CHIMERA (C HIM ERA)
14 Prize item for present guarantor (4,7) GIFT VOUCHER (present=GIFT VOUCHER=guarantor)
19 Trailblazer's confusion — one sounds hesitant (7) PIONEER (confusion=PI ONE ER)
21 Mother's way of keeping things warm (7) THERMOS (MOTHERS)*
23 Rosaker — a genuine paperback (7) REALGAR (REAL RAG<) Both Rosaker and Realgar are new words for me
25 Soldiers suspect stronghold (7) REDOUBT (RE DOUBT)
26 One cut it, could be German (8) TEUTONIC (ONE CUT IT)*
27 Some are a vengeful lot — they spoil (5) REAVE (T)

Down
1 One in a well trying to come up (8) ASPIRING (I in A SPRING)
2 Queen rejected tax shelter (6) RECESS (ER< CESS)
3 Some good bowling by mover (6,4) MAIDEN OVER (AIDEN in MOVER?) Anno not clear (M for MAIDEN and OVER, after splitting MOVER into M and OVER) Thanks, Shrikanth. Pl. see comments
4 A bit of excitement hiding article (4) ITEM (T)
5 May be first and the last trouble (6) STRIFE (FIRST thE)*
          The lengths some people go to acquire some one else's trouble and strife ...
6 A girl wears just something skimpy (6) MEAGRE (A G in MERE)
8 Mendicant’s going round and round (7) DERVISH (CD)
       What a whirli-gig!
9 Perhaps Jatin at heart is, say, a painter (5) DEGAS (EG in DAS)
13 Correct to oppose law (10) COUNTERACT (COUNTER ACT)
15 Soldiers during battle, charge (7) FREIGHT (RE in FIGHT) Soldiers=RE used in 25a too
16 Fruit and butter — not hard in neighbouring country (8) RAMBUTAN (RAM BhUTAN)
17 A rope trick is entertainment (5) OPERA (A ROPE)*
18 Fly groups into outskirts of Toulouse (6) TSETSE (SETS in T..E)
20 Spoke nothing, was rebuked (6) ORATED (O RATED)
22 Take it close by a river (6) ENDURE (END URE)
24 Rail road worker (4) RANT (R ANT)

GRID 

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32 comments:

  1. Shrikanth12 January 2015 at 08:35

    Very entertaining puzzle. I have visions of Sankalak , whenever I do an Arden puzzle. Today in a couple of places, got the answer but not the anno.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kishore12 January 2015 at 09:04

    I am informed that in 9A the setter intended this Jatin Das
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatin_Das_(painter)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deepak Gopinath12 January 2015 at 09:26

    Hmmm ... my shoulders are holding up well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SandhyaP12 January 2015 at 09:34

      Thank God!

      Delete
    2. Kishore12 January 2015 at 10:07

      Aaaj kal paaonv zameen par nahin paDte mere ... Nice lyrics from Sampooran Singh Kalra ...who incidentally resembles CV to some extent ...

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCTMS3gYB0

      Delete
  4. Deepak Gopinath12 January 2015 at 09:41

    Any fair maidens with ideas for the anno of 3D?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shrikanth12 January 2015 at 09:45

    M for maiden and over as it is.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Suresh12 January 2015 at 09:59

    Good one Shrikanth. This clue seems to have bowled our maidens over

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chaturvasi12 January 2015 at 10:09

    My dear Kishore,
    Just returned from the temple.
    Had a look at the preamble.
    A request, before I read any further...
    Please upload a selfie of your head, with places where you scratched thereon marked X. TIA.
    Your friend
    CV

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore12 January 2015 at 14:10

      My dear CV,
      Thank you for your missive requesting uploading of a photo of the scraped pate. I regret, however, my inability to accede to your esteemed request since the Helfie stick is yet to be invented. I suspect that you might not have to wait for a long time. Please take heart in a news item in The Economic Times today which documents the arrival of the Belfie stick, designed to help a photographer to make a graphic record of his/her own bottom. These inventors, no doubt, follow the bottom up approach. If they have gotten to the bottom of affairs, they will certainly get on top of the issue. They will certainly be enthused, encouraged and energised by your enquiry that a demand exists for such a product. You need not also be worried about my scalp returning to its former glory in the short run as it is not long before there is further collateral damage caused in view of certain fiendish setters waiting around the corner.
      Viva la friendship,
      K

      Delete
    2. Kishore12 January 2015 at 14:16

      P.S. I also reserve the right to present the evidence in person on the 8th proximo

      Delete
    3. Kishore12 January 2015 at 14:31

      P.P.S. The evidence, to wit - a head, is proffered only to the head of the gang and not to any Tom or Harry who may express inclination to do so. As the cognoscenti are aware, Dick's name heads the list of those who have communicated their inability to attend.

      Delete
  8. Chaturvasi12 January 2015 at 10:22

    I have said I don't solve THC now as I used to do regularly, religiously and yes, you guessed it, fanatically every day for decades.
    Now I don't!
    Yet I had a chance to see 3d and I got the anno instantly and effortlessly.
    But the mover in question is someone who might also be one who shakes.
    For M is not capitalised.
    I don't know if Mover plays cricket.If he moves anything it must be Scrabble tiles!
    He is a walker who stops by flora and fauna in Chennai. He has written a book titled 'Nature Rambles'

    ReplyDelete
  9. Abhay12 January 2015 at 10:23

    Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle - thank you, Arden! I especially liked the clues for ANISEED, ANTIDOTE, REDOUBT, and RECESS - the surface of the last one seems apt since, about 20 years ago, "ER" agreed to join the great unwashed in paying income tax!

    Thanks to Kishore (and Shrikanth and, per Kishore, DG!) for clearing up some parsing questions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore12 January 2015 at 14:35

      That's a royal scam, Abhay. ER pays taxes to the Exchequer (not Bhala), who in turn gives it back to her as pocket money. The great unwashed are, however, taken to the cleaners in the exercise. What a washout!

      Delete
  10. Padmanabhan12 January 2015 at 12:47

    I had a few blanks in my grid today. I knew why the moment I read K's preamble. I was looking for shoulders for support to stand on. I got one- our blog!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Padmanabhan12 January 2015 at 16:20

    K seems to have got into the PGW mode due to his recent exploits with Psmith and his friends! I refer to his bottom up approach to things and I look forward to the presentation of evidence which I am sure would be one of the highlights of the S&B meet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suresh12 January 2015 at 17:08

      Never realised that Kishore could do Shirshasana

      Delete
    2. Kishore12 January 2015 at 18:37

      P, pl ref my 231 wrt the head

      Delete
    3. Mukundala Balasubramanyam12 January 2015 at 19:56

      While on the subject of 'heads', a sign at a barber's saloon in Juhu, Bombay says : "We need your heads to run our business!"

      Delete
    4. Kishore12 January 2015 at 20:06

      If you are heading there, someone may be tailing you

      Delete
    5. Mukundala Balasubramanyam12 January 2015 at 20:13

      But bald eggs are of no use to them, you see!

      Delete
  12. raju umamaheswar12 January 2015 at 21:31

    Kishore: It would have helped if you had clarified that Sampooran Singh Kalra is our respected poet and lyricist Gulzar saheb. His lyrics are all so elusive, surrealistic and evocative of purity and nature. He alas also wrtoter the lyrics for that abominable Beedi jallayee de for which Bipasha Basu did the item jig !!

    His synergy with RD Burman is soul-binding of two creative persons.

    ReplyDelete
  13. akelarajput13 January 2015 at 12:56

    hi kishore,i m newer in crossword but i agog to solve puzzle.would u please help me out how to easly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kishore13 January 2015 at 15:36

      hi a, attempt the crossie daily and follow this blog regularly and

      Delete
  14. akelarajput13 January 2015 at 12:57

    get this..

    ReplyDelete

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