ACROSS
8 Food for a king in church (4) CAKE {C{A}{K}E}
9 Pimpri smelter has a refractor (5) PRISM [T]
10 Six balls are completed (4) OVER [DD]
11 Grandma, in America, idiotic clot left welcome mat in tatters (6) MEEMAW {WE
12 Robbery of a town on the French railway (8) BURGLARY {BURG}{LA}{RY}
13 Killer's half an inch behind fools (8) ASSASSIN {ASS}{ASS}{IN
15 Parsee can make a shawl (6) SERAPE*
19 Churchmen's normal male issues (7) PARSONS {PAR}{SONS}
22 A shoe with straps? It may smell good when burnt (6) SANDAL [DD]
24 Container has unknown, initially liquid, group of chemicals (8) CARBOXYL {CARBO{X}Y}{Li...d}
26 Break French law before old city election at first (8) FRACTURE {FR}{ACT}{UR}{E
28 Chap may go before Walker for a drink (6) JOHNNY (~johnnie)
31 Nails levy on air (5) TACKS (~ tax)
32 Dash to garage front for ladder part (4) RUNG {RUN}{G
DOWN
1 Stun Azed at sea (4) DAZE*
2 Denigrates Elizabeth hugging setter and a king (8) BESMEARS {BES{ME}{A}{R}S}
3 Man on board (on board a ship) deposits eggs (6) SPAWNS {S{PAWN}S}
4 Grabbing excitedly without right led to large explosion (3,4) BIG BANG G
5 After morning, brothers have first invocation along with a food for the gods (8) AMBROSIA {AM}{BROS}{I
6 English lexicographer's a hunter of birds (6) FOWLER [DD]
7 Buzzer, before first round, gets a beverage (4) BEER {BEE}{R
14 Cyrillic letter in possession of Schwarzenegger (5) SCHWA [T]
16 Famous Quaker's Chinese money — a coin (5) PENNY {PENN}{Y}
18 California reduced travel allowance to old Indian city (8) CALCUTTA {CAL}{CUT}{TA}
20 Suffocates small mummies (8) SMOTHERS {S}{MOTHERS}
21 For starters, study chemistry, that is, new chemical equations at first, as part of this (7) SCIENCE {S
23 Solve: Put a fish in a river (6) DECODE {DE{COD}E}
25 She is confused after jar is returned to Jatin 'Kaka' Khanna (6) RAJESH {RAJ<=}{SHE*}
29 Nobody's sister, I hear (4) NONE (~nun)
GRID
Piece of cake today! :)
ReplyDeleteCheese cake, actually... And thereby hangs a tale starting right from the beginning of time
Delete25A:Reminded me of the much oft mimicked line, "Pushpa, I hate tears"..& golden hits..Aradhna,Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Anand..
ReplyDelete25D
Delete"Babumoshai, zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai jahanpanah. Usse na toh aap badal sakte hain na main. Hum sab toh rangmanch ki kathputhliyan hain jinki dor uparwale ki ungliyon main bandhi hain. Kab, kaun, kaise uthega yeh koi nahi bata sakta hai. Ha, ha, ha."
DeleteBut that wasn't the motive of including that name in this puzzle...;)
DeleteThe way 28a is spelt the clue is faulty, unless may can be the homonym indicator. Typically knowing the setter, he would have found the clue irresistible even though he is a TT
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteImo, Johnny and Johnnie are not homophones ... They are the same word spelt in different ways, like memaw and meemaw
DeleteThat is right. But Johnny does not come before Walker. Only JOHNNIE does. And when you are dealing with names it makes a difference
Delete+i from the setter?
ReplyDeletePut in sperms for 3D and missed' Meemaw'- so familiar in U.S.cartoons. A slip between...
Man on board - missed the chess board. Should have been careful when there were 2 boards.
???? ," put in sperms", Paddy?
DeleteKishore's +1 is for the irresistibility bit.
DeleteMe too. SS for ship, PER for on board and M for man.
DeleteNice pangram puzzle! That man on board stole my samosas!!
ReplyDeleteNitpicking-
ReplyDeleteCalcutta- old city or old name for a city?
Had me wondering for a while, before the fracture settled it.
Calcutta is an old city. Kolkata is its new name. There can't be an old name for a new city, whereas there can be a new name for an old city. However, unlike Chennai and Madras which are phonetically quite distinct, Kolkata /Calcutta, Bangalore/Bengaluru are just the local and pre-Anglicisation usages
Deleteaha .. had none as nuns and forgot to enter Quid :( but think would have got it.. carboy was new.. so was wondering whether carbonyl or carboxyl.. 4d yippee wonderful theme today.. one my eternal favs.. parsons, big bang, physics, meemaw, fowler of course :) penny, rajesh, science, even calcutta, even burglary, decode, smothers.. did i miss anything.. thank u thank thank u incognito :)
ReplyDeleteCheese CAKE
DeleteNow you know why Koothrapalli is here
DeleteMaybe BEER goes well with moo shu pork
DeleteANAND HEE ANAND TODAY
ReplyDeleteSee some further Comments under yesterday's blog where my mission statement appears.
ReplyDeleteI wholly agree with what you have stated, but am also aware that some setter/s do not like their puzzles being blogged (even if there are no comments on clues or the puzzle). I was specifically told by a setter that it was not correct of me to blog on another setter's puzzle.
DeleteI still think there is some misunderstanding.
DeleteWe needn't go into specifics but in my opinion no setter should have any objection to another setter blogging/commenting on his crossword.
Yet, if there is an objection, it must be for some other reason.
Having said that, I must ask if we know of any UK website where a setter reviews another setter's crossword. I vaguely remember instances of a setter commenting on another setter's work under a blog written by a non-setter.
Setters have different ways of working. Even working within laid-down principles, one may bend rules while another doesn't. Is it that embarrasments arise if one setter of the latter ilk comments on a setter of the former ilk? Quite possible. So it might be a good idea for setters to avoid blogging on another setter's work This may work in the UK but in our country the crossword does not have too great a following so it may become inevitable for a setter to blog and as he does that other setters' puzzles may come under scrutiny.
After I as told it was not proper for me to blog on another setter's puzzle, I specifically asked what the position would be if I only blogged with the answers and wordplay, within offering any comment on the quality of the clue (I always presferred to say "anno not clear " or "I don't seem to get it" sort of usage. Even that was described as improper.
DeleteI have no intention of disclosing the name of the setter, who managed to dissuade me from blogging and steered me on to other activities....
DeleteI think we are still missing something here.
DeleteNo setter would normally have any objection to another setter writing a blog/commenting. After all, the setter too is a reader/solver when he comes to blogging.
If a setter has an objection to another setter blogging on his puzzles, it must be for another extraneous reason - we don't know what.
It is not necessary to reveal names.
DeleteWhen someone specifically tells you, in person, that "it is not correct on your part to blog on other setter's puzzles", I think there is no chance of any misunderstanding
DeleteHaha while it is not necessary, really wonder who it could be.
DeleteKishore, if it is only one person or two then just keep off when they are setting. The others do not seem to mind.
DeleteWE LIKE YOUR COMPANY.
+1 sincerely!
Delete+1+1+1. In India people cast many votes!
DeleteWas the back problem the main reason for you to stop blogging?
ReplyDeleteThe back problem was the reason to take a break, which got extended ...
DeleteCV,
ReplyDeleteRead your comment about ET repeating CW's which you had mentioned to me earlier. Anyway, since my memory is far shorter than that I do not mind a repeat after such a long time (if I have the time).
Changing topic.... Back to today's puzzle ... Anyone other than Srividya is familiar with the theme ?
ReplyDeleteDo not watch TV much. Big Bang is interesting from the few that I have seen.
DeleteKishore@ 9.42 gives a hint to the cast and the rest should follow (thanks to google, Suresh, Kishore & Srividya)
ReplyDeletePadmanabhan,
ReplyDeleteThe fact that human memory is short is not a valid reason for repeatedly publishing crosswords.
I have so far set more than 900 puzzles. Can I now start re-sending puzzles from No. 1 (published in 2001) for TH to use them again?
That is intellectual dishonesty.
ET should not repeat puzzles. If they do, then they must say the puz is a reprint - they needn't necessarily mention the dates of earlier publication(s). Yes, puzzles are now reappearing for third/fourth time in the paper. Shame!
I agree with you 100%. But looking at it from new solver's point of view something to spend time in an interesting way. I treat it like re reading a good (?) book. I have a few of them.
DeleteCV: If the gap between two appearances of the same puzzle is long enough, what's wrong in it? One may have a sense of de javu. I have experienced difficulty in solving the repeat a second time even though the first one was gone through with ease, especially the THCC ones. What are the chances of one finding a repeat too soon? Again, some solvers could have missed out the earlier one and hence get a chance to solve it as though it is the first time?
ReplyDeleteIf the setter's name has been syndicated, what's wrong in republishing it and how does it become intellectual dishonesty? Is there a problem in re- reading a classic or a popular book several times over ? I agree, there must be a mention when a repeat is published; that may assuage the peeve of some one like you.
I have enjoyed doing the same ET crossies a second time over as I seem to get repeats - one from Bombay and another from CBE. It also helps those who missed earlier ones due to absence from the country and return to find a repeat to be solved the first time.
Am on the same page as you ? ( as Kenyan politicians comment!)
A solver buying 100 or more copies of a crossword book and doing the same puzzles over and over again and probably applying for an entry in a record book hor having done the same puzzles for most number of times is one thing. I have no problem with that. But a paper using the same set of puzzles again and again, that too without an indication of reprint, is anotther thing. It is cheap, dishonest, execrable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It's just as bad as copying and publishing the same article on many different days. It shows that the daily doesn't really care much for this section. If they feel this way they may as well do away with the feature instead of exposing their indifference. At least it won't dilute the paper's brand value.
DeleteToday's puzzle is easy, proved by the fact that I was able to complete it.
ReplyDeleteGood. Unknown.
ReplyDeleteAre you unknown to yourself as well?
Unknown is also Incognito, though not me
DeleteYes, I don't know myself. Until I realize myself as Brahman (as in Aham Brahmasmi) in the adwaitic way of Adi Shankara, I will continue to be unknown to myself.
DeleteKnow thyself, goes the saying.
ReplyDeleteHi all: Making a guest appearance after long. Re Vasant's post on Rajesh Khanna's trademark dialogue delivery, I faintly remembered the following. Correct me if it is not verbatim.
ReplyDeletePushpa, oh pushpa, bahut dhoondne ke baad maaloom hua ki mithai sirf jo jageh pe milti hai. Ek mithaiwale ke yahan aur ek tumhari awaaz....
Will be happy if someone can give me the correct version.
This may neithrt be complete nor fukly accurate, but that 'jo' should be 'do'
DeleteCant remember the entire dialogue but i should say right...although remember amar prem & the touching relation between pushpa & nandu and of course all the songs...ye kya hua..kuch tau log kahenge..raina beet jaaye...bada natkhat hai ye..chingari..doli mein bithai ke kahan...
DeleteThanks, folks, for your comments
ReplyDeleteKishore, yes, it was just a typo.
ReplyDelete