Across
1 A gun in such hands could be dangerous (7-5) TRIGGER-HAPPY (CD)8 Reach out to embrace the doctor in the assembly room (7) CHAMBER {REACH}* Around {MB}
9 Minaret in Assam features a part of the eye (6) RETINA (T)
11 Intentionally got poorly made bottle for gin concoction (9) MEANINGLY {MEANLY} Around {GIN}*
12 Clear in understanding that a missing hothead needs expulsion (5) EMPTY {EMP
14 Fail to snare alternative inside a small bed (4,5) COME SHORT {CO{ME SH}{OR}T}
16 Dismiss // criticism (4) FIRE (DD)
18 Unsure about gate encircling the castle (4) TORN {TO{R}N<=}
19 Anil's gong used in a musical gathering (9) SINGALONG {ANIL S GONG}*
21 Rig looks out-of-place somewhat in a dome-shaped dwelling (5) IGLOO (T)
22 Shreds for the lads trapping an insect (9) SMIDGEONS {S{MIDGE}ONS}
23 Auditor's depressed after a Greek character is caught with small pastry sheets (6) PHYLLO {~PHI LOW}
25 Monarch gets rid of a vitamin in some fruits and freshwater fishes (7) PERCHES {PE(-a+R}CHES}
26 Act as a host by voicing right to shun hooter in trouble (2,3,7) DO THE HONOURS {~DUE} {SHUN HOOTER}*
Down
2 Naval officer married Lara at sea (4,7) REAR ADMIRAL {MARRIED LARA}*3 Most talkative toddlers cut out the article with a return label around it (8) GABBIEST {GA{B
4 For example, ten drowning in the northbound stream is shocking (9) EGREGIOUS {EGR{EG}{IO}US<=}
5 Trouble with the luxury car driving into something used as fodder (5) HARRY {HA{RR}Y}
6 Time for the king with the baggage-attendant to monkey around (6) POTTER {PO(+T-r}TER}
7 Irritate by censoring article written up in old style over there (3) YON {YON
8 Son at the wrong place in Universal tour gets a newspaper cartoon (5,5) COMIC STRIP {CO(-s)MIC (+S)TRIP}
10 Absence of a lid distressingly breaks down some drugs (10) SYNERGISTS {
13 Greek character and the Spanish work with her to get to the thinker (11) PHILOSOPHER {PHI}{LOS}{OP}{HER}
15 Dangerous prison's number put on top by one making a living off a sport (6,3) TENNIS PRO {TEN}{PRISON}*
17 Fair trials are unlikely in this court (8) KANGAROO (CD)
20 Oscar's discarded bootleg concoction in a chalice (6) GOBLET {B
22 Gem from Boulder (5) STONE (DD)
24 Note sent up in an open box attached to a long pole handle (3) HOD {HOD<=}
Reference list
Doctor=MB, Alternative=Or, Gate=Not, Castle=R (Rook), Greek character=Phi, Monarch=R (Rex), Vitamin=A
Article=A, For example=Eg, Ten=IO, Luxury car=RR (Rolls Royce), Time=T, Article=An, Son=S, The Spanish=Los, Work=Op, Number=Ten, Oscar=O, Note= Doh
Color/Font Scheme
Definition,Solution,Component letters,Anagram Indicator,C/C indicator,Reversal Indicator,Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator,Deletion Indicator,Homophone Indicator,Movement Indicator,Positional Indicator,Substitution Indicator
Nice clues. Egregious took long time. I expected non-existing enrageous there.
ReplyDeleteOverall, liberal one from Neyartha in a row.
Theme: HARRY POTTER books - CHAMBER,PHILOSOPHER's STONE, GOBLET of FIRE
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandhya Garu
DeleteWow!Great job in dpotting the theme
DeleteWow! Missed it. Knowing Neyartha, should have looked for one. Felt it was slightly tougher and a bit devious than yesterday. But interesting all the same.
ReplyDeleteI think Ramesh had a lot of work to do today. Thank you.
It is almost a year since I started blogging for THCC. I have enjoyed doing it & hope the commentators & the visitors have enjoyed it as well.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good time to collect feedback. Please let me know 1) What you like 2) What you do not like 3) What I can do to improve your experience of the Saturday blog.
You are doing great Ramesh! Your abbreviations and indicators lists must be a great help for the newbies as well as the regular solvers. I really admire your patience for colour coding - must be taking so much time to do it early in the morning! :)
DeleteYour blogs are great experiences..I relish them..Keep up the great job!
DeleteRameshji: W couldn't have asked for more. You are so full of humility. I join all others here in congratulating you on a marvellous job on Saturdays.
DeleteWhat we like: That you should continue to be so patient !
What we don't like: The thought that you will stop doing such a good job.
What we would like to recommend? Nothing can be better than what you are doing and hence continue with the good work.
You have converted and ennobled a drab black and white crossword into a work of colourful art. Has any one ever done this before? If not, a place in the Book of Records is highly recommended.
There used to be a very aged old compiler called Barry Goode (aka Beggar !) in Nairobi, who would unfailingly produce a colourful Christmas- themed grid and clues to match the occasion every year in a Magazine(Executive) where he used to contribute. You remind me of him though your are much younger to him ! God bless you ¬
Torn costed me my samosas today :) Initially the going was fast and smooth and then the going got tough for me .. got across with some help. 8d was seriously cute :) 26a..didnt guess Do was hp for Due.. thanks for that Ramesh. Always enjoy the blog since it helps with the parsing esp and the interesting links. Atm cannot think of any major suggestion - just perhaps solvers and esp setters perhaps sharing their experiences and talking about some solving/setting stories. Thanks to all..
ReplyDeleteI did a Lots of mistakes...Rod instead of hod..expel instead of empty with the result had 4 wrong answers...
ReplyDeleteLovely x word from Neyartha as usual
Ramesh,
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your blog and that is why I mentioned it. Very detailed and great help in easy parsing and of course the colour coding makes our job much simpler, though time consuming for you. Helpful though I am oldbie! Hats off!
Your Saturday blogging is simply superb, Ramesh! Especially the colourful Reference list is of immense help to average solvers like me. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteAverage?! A pretty high average,I should say.
DeleteFeel just above average!
DeleteExcellent job Ramesh, none could perhaps beat you when it comes to colour coding. Your painstaking efforts teach us all an important lesson on how to crack and what to look for in a crossword.
ReplyDeleteKeep going Ramesh and thanks.
Great work Ramesh.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work, Ramesh. Plenty of effort involved. It's ideal for newcomers to the blog and crosswords. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the feedback. The one piece I would like to do is to have some way of representing components in the word play to the components in the solution.
ReplyDeleteFor example in
6D Time for the king with the baggage-attendant to monkey around (6) POTTER {PO(+T-r}TER}
I would like to have some way of showing that T comes from Time, R from King, PORTER from baggage attendant. Any suggestions of how to do it without having to spend too much time in formatting would be appreciated.