Saturday, 21 March 2015

No 11348, Saturday 21 Mar 2015, Buzzer


Some aweseome anagrams from Buzzer

Across

6 Private hospital situated in towering government building (4,4) TOWN HALL {T {OWN} {H}ALL}
9 Prays aloud for approval (6) PRAISE {~PRAYS}
10 Drop by old university (4) OMIT {O}{MIT}
11 Brief Christmastime speech gets embellishment? (10) DECORATION {DEC}{ORATION}
12 Without pens average writer gets mad (6) WHACKO {W{HACK}O}
14 Similar like some sofas or tete-a-tetes (2,1,4) OF A SORT (T)
15 Damaging risks presently to mass irrigation technique (9,6) SPRINKLER SYSTEM {RISKS PRESENTLY}* (Addendum - {RISKS+PRESENTLY}*{M} - See comments)
18 Pick as an alternative retro style of dance music (7) ELECTRO {ELECT}{RO<=}
20 Testing spell of drought (3,3) DRY RUN (DD)
22 Couple of streets badly in a gridlock (10) STANDSTILL {ST}{AND} {ST}{ILL}
23 Dropping rupee set to rise (2,2) GO UP {GrO UP}
24 Paternal relation of big businessman needing no introduction (6) AGNATE {mAGNATE}
25 Figures out Mensa URL (8) NUMERALS {MENSA URL}*

Down

1 Tie in a bunch (4) KNOT (DD)
2 Perhaps Diamond's music style (4,4)
HARD ROCK (DD)
3 Special district/area in a Greek city (6)
SPARTA {S}{PART}{A}
4 ICU layout's designed in a prudent way (10)
CAUTIOUSLY {ICU LAYOUTS}*
5 A Highlander's neckwear (5,3)
ASCOT TIE {A}{SCOT TIE} 
7 Politician stopping to express appreciation and enthusiasm (5)
OOMPH {OO{MP}H}
8 Travelling folk come into a detachment (4,2,7)
LACK OF EMOTION {FOLK COME INTO A}*
13 Hostility from aircrewman in flight (7,3)
CRIMEAN WAR {AIRCREWMAN}*
16 Standing before small tailless cat (8)
PRESTIGE {PRE}{S}{TIGEr}
17 Mixture of certain coating for painter (4,4)
SODA LIME {SO{DA LI}ME}
19 Sample disc missing in an appliance (6)
TASTER {ToASTER}
21 Periodically buys out all stock (5)
USUAL {bUyS oUt AlL}
23 Tiger moth's a bug (4)
GERM (T)

Reference

Hospital=H,Old=O,Without=WO,Alternative=OR,Street=ST,Rupee=R (Addendum Mass=M)
Special=S,Area=A,Politician=MP,Small=S,Disc=O

GRID

27 comments:

  1. Thanks to Ramesh for volunteering to blog on Saturdays

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  2. Good idea to explain the abbreviations used in the crossword. Newbies will appreciate it. :)

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  3. Nice debut Ramesh.

    As usual anagrams are special from Buzzer.

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  4. Ramesh
    Welcome to you as a Saturday blogger.
    ***
    The idea of 'Reference' is good. But are there newbies/beginners around? Most of the bloggers are experienced solvers (even setters) and few comments appear from rank beginners.
    ***
    I am wondering if the Col. can consider shifting the sch. time (of appearance of the blog) to say 12 noon. If he does that, maybe a couple of others will chip in as bloggers on certain days as that gives enough time for them to attend to the morning's chores and write the blog after completing the puzzle.

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    Replies
    1. Most of the new solvers do not comment, but do visit the blog. The reference list hopefully helps them.

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    2. CV's use of the phrase 'Saturday blogger' reminded me of the phrase 'The Sunday Gentleman', which is also the title of a book by Irving Wallace. The phrase means something different from what we might surmise at first glance.

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    3. Sir,
      So many people are quietly following the THCWC. Many may feel intimidated to post among such accomplished solvers and setters. So, I would welcome any effort to enlighten the beginners about the nuances / tricks of this exciting hobby. I am following this blog for some years and still I feel I am a beginner. I would throw a party to my self when I solve a puzzle completely. Though such days are very few and far between. Please, think of about the "have nots" also.
      Thank you everybody.

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    4. I never meant to be oblivious to the needs of the learners/beginners.
      In fact, over the past ten years and more, I have done/am doing my bit in helping these solvers through Yahoogroups, Orkut, WordPress and now Blogger.
      I still hold the opinion that the list at the end is superfluous and casts the burden of additional typing (which Ramesh has gladly accepted) because in the coloured parsing/anno given in the body of the day's post that H stands for Hospital (etc, etc) is patent.
      I think that just as the blogger gives, so the reader should receive, investing some time and patience.
      The list of abbreviations used in crosswords may be found in many websites dedicated to crosswords. That is always available for consultation.

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    5. I feel obliged to comment now, being a newbie and a regular follower of the blog. The explicitly mentioned references, I must say, helped me today to understand few things I couldn't get my head around when I looked at the solved answers. However, I wouldn't want it to be a burden to the blogger. This blog is a great help for people like me. Thank you all :)

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  5. Nicely presented Ramesh, thanks. And a good puzzle to boot

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  6. Received by email from Bhavan

    There are some problems with my blogger account so not able to post directly at the blog.

    Let me add my con gratulations to Ramesh on his fine debut. Hopefully he'll find it as interesting as solving the puzzle itself

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    Replies
    1. I haven't got the hang of blogging yet.It still takes me more time to blog than to solve.

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  7. Happu Ugadi/Gudi Padwa/Thapna/Cheti Chand/Sajibu nongma panba to all the folks

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  8. Welcome, Ramesh, as blogger. Happy Ugadi ! Liked the bold format.

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  9. Thanks for the warm welcome folks.

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  10. Nice debut blogging by Ramesh. Liked explanations given for abbreviations used in CWs. In fact, I was not aware that WO is for WITHOUT. No wonder I failed to get 12a WHACO. On the whole enjoyed solving. Thanks Ramesh and Buzzer. :)

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  11. At first glance, the blogging was different and so I got curious and scrolled down fast to look who the blogger is and was pleasantly surprised. Congrats Ramesh for a job well done. Ref. giving abbreviations is an excellent idea though it may involve extra work for the blogger. Thank you Ramesh.

    Bhavan- his usual best.

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  12. With 'WO' for without, I was easily able to get how the 'hack' was 'pen'ned.

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  13. I was able to get back to the Hindu crossword after a long gap today, and chanced upon a very nice puzzle to welcome me back! :) Thanks a ton to Buzzer and to our new blogger, Ramesh.

    I started marking out the surfaces I liked - 11, 12, 18, 7, 13, 16, 19 - then gave up because there were simply so many of them! As others have commented, many of the anagrams were brilliant. I must say, though, that the clue for 14 seemed a misfit in the overall high standard of the puzzle - not that it is a bad clue, but the surface reading jars a bit - IMO, of course! But this - and the somewhat obvious homophone in 9 - are more than compensated for by the virtuosity on display overall.

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  14. 15A: should be (RISKS PRESENTLY)* + M (from 'mass'). The definition's just "irrigation technique".

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  15. Very nice to have Ramesh join the blogging squad...and a nice puzzle too...
    Bhavan's generous and insightful Saturday preambles will be missed...

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  16. Has Bhavan been a regular on Saturdays? After all, he has a time advantage and blog on other days. Yes, his blogging is also special.

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  17. Welcome as a change of blogger, Ramesh ! Once you have the blog to yourself, its upto you to choose the format, subject of course, to the Col's consent. Anything to add to the training curve, is welcome . We all learn with each crossword new tricks and old ones too that have gone behind ! I went back to solving the Times of London from my collections and do find them fascinating and very refreshing, except for those obscure places in the UK that keep popping up in some clues. So good ;luck and keep on bloggin on !!

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