ACROSS
1 Syrian leader heading out from crisis? That would reap harvest (6) SICKLE {S
4 Angry guards manipulate supply for crop sustenance (8) IRRIGATE {IR{RIG}ATE}
9 Unoccupied office apartment broken in not long ago (2,4) OF LATE {FLAT} in {O
10 Piece of satin woven as silky nautical sheets (8) SKYSAILS {S
15 Strike in a valley in Pakistan (4) SWAT [DD]
16 Be obsessed with problem, exhausted when taking side (6,4) FIXATE UPON
19 Ideologues spell out their stories without retro-appeal (10) THEORISERS {
20 Useless plant, but not so for a user (4) WEED [C&DD]
23 Swallow innards of crabs or beetles (6) ABSORB [T]
25 Finely penned chorus increasing in volume (8) SWELLING {S{WELL}ING}
27 Ultra-thin models jilting husband to run away (4,4) TURN TAIL {ULTRA+T
28 Temple city employs half-Jain priest (6) PUJARI {PU{JA
29 Theology's unstable; seldom gives another changeover (8) REMODELS {RE}{SELDOM*}
30 Toss out the outdated from the outset (6) THRESH
DOWN
1 Women's stories where nurse is murdered with garden equipment (7) SHOVELS {SH
2 Religion had four parts to devote attention to (9) CULTIVATE {CULT}{IV}{ATE}
3 Once in a while oldie eats pine fruit (6) LITCHI {ITCH} in {
6 Without doubt I spend a dollar for renewal (2,6) IN SPADES {I+SPEND+A+S}*
7 Say a proper goodbye (5) ADIEU {A}{DIEU}(~ due)
8 Each authoritarian belonging to China? (7) EASTERN {EA}{STERN}
11 Start if planned in the early stages (2,5) AT FIRST*
14 Distresses caused by husband's darts (7) HARROWS {H}{ARROWS}
17 One gives information about the subject premise (9) PREDICATE
18 Pair spoke at length and divided fairly (8) PRORATED {PR}{ORATED}
19 Haul over capsized rubbish vehicle (7) TRACTOR {TRAC<=}{TOR<=}
21 A setter could be so brutal (7)
22 Go up hill, exhausted, in order to turn up soil (6) PLOUGH {GO+UP+H
24 Turkey outwardly puts up, say, some pluck (5) STRUM {TR} in {SUM}(~ some)
26 Dig into box containing cash (4) TILL [DD]
GRID
12a web=E, training=pe
ReplyDelete16a fix ateup on
ReplyDelete30a threshold-old
17d is DD
ReplyDelete16 Be obsessed with problem, exhausted when taking side (6,4) FIXATE UPON Anno pending
ReplyDeleteProblem: FIX Exhausted: ATE UP + ON
21d doggish CD&D?
ReplyDeleteCould be mean but brutal?
Delete17D One gives information about the subject premise (9) PREDICATE
ReplyDeleteGrammar: subject and predicate
Jai Kisan... May he be saved from drought.
ReplyDeleteWEED too may be considered a thematic word.
ReplyDelete21 should be DOGGISH where 'setter' is that breed of dog.
ReplyDelete20a is D&CD? weed is what a user smokes, & it is a useless plant
ReplyDeleteRamesh, sorry, didn't see your earlier Comment. The dog could be beastly or brutish, I think, when it attacks someone. The compilers may be mean.
ReplyDeleteHave plenty of blanks today, so I feel this setter's mean ;-)
DeleteA farmer may use RAKE and he might grow LITCHI ! Deepak, you may have to highlight more !!
ReplyDeleteRake is also a theme word
ReplyDeleteTough going. But brilliant clues. Exactly as a cryptic should be.teasing all the time and when the answer is there, you start feeling why didn't I see it earlier :)
ReplyDelete+2
DeleteTough going indeed. Unusually I could solve only six clues. I thought of sorrows for 14D but of course couldn't explain it. Thought of MAN U for 13A but could not go beyond that.
DeleteA doubt in 25A - Penned is the container Ind.so as per wordplay would finely not contain chorus ? That is well around sing !!
ReplyDeleteProviding fodder ;-)
DeleteHa-ha. If I did that would be terrible.
DeleteThis is not just one clue to provide fodder. There are plenty;-)
DeleteFodder could be today's theme word :P
DeleteOnly time will tell ...
DeleteSeriously, if A penned B, B goes into A.
DeleteIf A is penned by B, A goes into B.
A drop of poison will spoil a potful of nectar.
DeleteCV @9:11 A penned B works both ways. Depends on whether you read it as
DeleteA penned, B
or
A penned B
But in 24d I am having some doubt about the construction
The first part- does it not have to be A penned, by B? Or should it be taken for granted?
Delete24D seems MU(TR)S<-
DeleteBhala @9:50 For A in B, I am afraid I can't accept "A penned B" without proper punctuation after 'penned'. For me, without punctuation, "A penned B" is only B in A.
DeleteRe 24D, the anno is as Col has provided. Put up=Display, so TR outwardly displays SUM.
DeleteA smooth run of four days came to a grinding halt today! So tough the puzzle was...yet managed to score 50%...and happy with that...pass marks!
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised. What makes this puzzle more difficult than any on previous days?
DeleteIt seems that setters will alwys be groping over fixing the difficulty level of a puzzle.
I have said that I can never set out with the aim of making a puzzle 'hard'.
I make puzzles... solvers find some 'easy', some 'hard'. What some solvers find 'easy' others don't and vice versa.
It(puzzle's difficulty) is totally dependent upon the solver's ability...the setter always aims at creating good & fair clues I think
DeleteTrue. But there is also an average or middle, as far as the solvers are concerned. I cannot suddenly become brilliant overnight. But I feel setters have some control over the difficulty level, either in choice of words or clueing. I was about to type +1 for MB when I read your comment. Our opinions are shared be earlier commenters as well.
ReplyDeleteNumber of Anno pendings by Colonel Sir 4 is an indication that it was a tough puzzle!
DeleteAm sure the setter had no intention of making it a tough one but it turned out to be a difficult one to solve all the clues.
DeleteAfter ploughing my way through, missed out on thresh & doggish...A toughie that was challenging all the way...the theme helped in getting many clues...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy these anagrams...from an old post..a few cliched ones, a few new ones:
ReplyDelete"NARENDRA MODI"
"RARE DIAMOND"
"SONIA GANDHI"
DILIP VENGSARKAR A SPARKLING DRIVE
PRINCESS DIANA:END IS A CAR SPIN
MONICA LEWINSKY:NICE SILKY WOMAN
DORMITORY:DIRTY ROOM
ASTRONOMER:MOON STARER
DESPERATION:A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES:THEY SEE
A DECIMAL POINT:I M A DOT IN PLACE
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE
MOTHER-IN-LAW: WOMAN HITLER
Sonia Gandhi..Doshi Nagin(!!!)
DeleteFor a grand finale I liked WOMAN HITLER :)
DeleteNarendra Modi and Rare diamond are not anagrams. Check no of letters
DeleteRight..Extra N
DeleteHow NARENDRA MODI (12) becomes RARE DIAMOND (11) ?
DeleteWith Modi there should always be some exaggeration. :)
Delete1D: How did SHE lose her E?
ReplyDeleteNurse=EN
DeleteRamesh, if I may, for the sake of Unknown...:)
Delete1D : Women's stories where nurse is murdered with garden equipment (7) SHOVELS {SHe}{nOVELS}
Please click the link underlined nurse...Under the heading Worldwide Australia... you will find that Nurse means Enrolled Nurse i.e EN.
In the clue she I mean the nurse has been murdered...so delete E & N from SHe nOVELS to get SHOVELS!
Thanks. I did not know that Nurse is EN (enrolled nurse).
ReplyDeletePut down DOGLIKE at 21D and got chewed up on 30A
ReplyDeleteThreshed?
ReplyDeleteok.. i found todays xword very very hard to crack.. was very distracted to add to my cup a woes :) missed weed (which is obvious now i see it).. mainly coz i had doggish as anguish .. could not parse shovels and thresh.. thanks for that :) thresh is a very good clue.. but shovels i find it iffy ... too many subsitution and take aways.. skysails, epiphyte would not have got without help, as words i didnt know existed :)in spades meaning without doubt is also new.. always thought it meant uhmm.. in large quantities without discrimination :) so IMO excepting doggish and shovels a pretty fair xword from scintillator :)
ReplyDelete'To call a spade a spade' is the expression which leads to definiteness.
DeleteRead the latest in Crossword Unclued; Nice Clues by Exa too.
ReplyDelete*** Deepak, if I may be allowed a plug...
ReplyDeleteFriends,
Jewels and Other Stories
by Charukesi
Translated from Tamil by C. G. Rishikesh
This book, published privately, was released at a function in Chennai a couple of days ago. Priced at Rs. 120, it can be had at Rs 100 after an applicable discount. All but a few copies of the printed copies were sold out on that day itself. Some stray copies may be available.
The entire proceeds from book sales go to a charity organisation that trains special children in music.
Anyone interested, please write to chaturvasi@yahoo.com
As only few copies remain, availability on a first come, first served basis. Out-of-station (Chennai) orders will have to bear Speedpost charges.
I will serve the order. Money transfer can be done to me after you receive the book.
For some amusement read and solve Clue 1 ac in today's THBL Brand crossword 114
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/business-line-catalyst-crossword-114/article8508375.ece
Re 25A, I believe there are two interesting issues here: 1) appropriate tense of wordplay components and 2) punctuation in wordplay.
ReplyDeleteOn 1), I see two acceptable scenarios: either use the present tense (simple or progressive) or let the tense be elided. The simple present is quite common, and appropriate, as facts and general truths have to be described in this tense ("Component A covers Component B in answer" is a "general truth"). The present progressive (A covering B) is also used in good measure. Alternatively, the explicit tense could be elided: In (A has to cover B in answer), the clue is a phrase rather than a sentence, and the 'has' must be added in order to complete the sentence. This is also common: we use (A B removed) to actually mean (A, B is removed).
In contrast, the simple past tense is not appropriate as the tense of wordplay. To quote Richard Rogan, the Times Crossword editor, "The simple past tense merely tells a story, which seems odd in the context of cryptic wordplay." Imagine a line from a chemistry textbook: "The solute dissolved in water to form a solution.", as opposed to "The solute dissolves in water to form a solution." Thus, "SING penned WELL" is not a grammatically correct wordplay for SWELLING.
Coming to the second issue on punctuation, I believe in general there is a lot of flexibility available in the wordplay with regard to punctuation. In a game where solvers are regularly asked to ignore punctuation in wordplay, what is wrong in accepting an elision of a comma? If one is fine with (A B removed) to mean (A, B is removed), (A penned B) to mean (With A penned, B) should be fine too, no?
Refer my post at 9:02, I am disappointed :-(
ReplyDeleteLOL..i really think you are missing the...um.."fodder"
Delete