Tuesday 24 January 2017

No 11912, Tuesday 24 Jan 2017, Aspartame


ACROSS
1   Harp on toyshop's ridiculous spiritual ideology (13) ANTHROPOSOPHY*
8   Frank to start a business (4) OPEN [DD]
9   Pub song by the French is sung by gondoliers (10) BARCAROLLE {BAR}{CAROL}{LE}
10 Art from Zagreb on saints (6) BONSAI [T]
11 Thou designed half of Toulouse barn (8) OUTHOUSE {THOU}*{toulOUSE}
12 Guy wearing an accessory and tank top at financial centre... (9) MANHATTAN {MAN}{HAT}{TANk}
14 ... is dropping off last baby that's looking dapper (4) CHIC Anno pending (Addendum - CHICk - See comments)
15 Extremely exact (4) VERY [DD]
16 Mouth cleanser (9) TOOTHPICK [E] How can I do that?
20 Grandchild lacking blood group system developed protection (8) CLADDING GrANDChILD*
21 Love breaking new connection (6) LIKING LInKING
23 Caught moving ahead at sale on sting ray, got warning (10) CAUTIONARY {(+c)CAU(-c)TION}{RAY}*
24 One student is celebrating Christmas (4) NOEL {ONE+L}*
25 Big brave fighting against Conservatives at research centres (13) OBSERVATORIES {OS+BRAVE}*{TORIES}

DOWN
1   Incense started burning on a container (7) AMPHORA {cAMPHOR}{A}
2   Vehicles America exported for tools (5) TONGS TONGaS
3   Restored short rebus — it included 3rd of July (7) REBUILT {REBUs}{I(juLy}T}
4   Arrest a goon taking n-nap in disguise as he is on a blacklist (7,3,5) PERSONA NON GRATA {ARREST+A+GOON+N-NAP}*
5   House hasn't been affected by lack of capital (6) SHANTY {HASNT}*{bY}
6   Editor hops around drunk sot looking up (9) PHOTOSHOP {SOT<=} in {HOP+HOP}*
7   Auditor’s tyranny starts to suffocate all caretakers providing life support (4,3) YOLK SAC (~yoke){YOLK} {Su...e}{All}{Ca...s}
13 Victor joins party to meet model with American historian (9) HERODOTUS {HERO}{DO}{T}{US}
15 Automobile company fired head of vehicles for tin — It may blow out (7) VOLCANO VOL(-v+can)CANO
17 Greetings made to friend beside house entrance — "Get in" (5-2) TALLY-HO {ALLY-Ho..e} in {TO} This can't be classified as a greeting
18 Acknowledge criminal's iron-grip on society (7) CONFESS {CON{FE}S}{S}
19 Most appliances are reported to have precision (6) RIGOUR {RIGs}{OUR}(~are)
22 Letters king wrote disheartened ninja (5) KANJI {K}{NInJA}*


31 comments:

  1. Nice puzzle..a bit tough but loved the early morning gymnastics..
    Thanks Aspartame & Col..

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  2. Raju:Kindly check your mail.Hope this will be useful to you on those days when the on line interactive version doesnt work

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Vasant. You are such an 'old' reliable ! I'll take a gander at it tomorrow morning as it is already 11pm here . Shall give you a feedback.

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  3. Few good ones from Aspartame. Thanks
    17DN: Col, you are right.

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    1. Do you mean "a few good ones"? AFAIK, "few good ones" would mean "no good ones". Could anyone confirm this, please?

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    2. You are a master of English. Why do you need confirmation?

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    3. A nice small but very vital point by CV- overlooked quite frequently without knowing the import.

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    4. It should have read 'Quite a few good ones ...'

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    5. From Freedictionary:
      get off a few good ones
      Fig. to tell a few good jokes; to land a few good punches; to manage to make a few strong criticisms.
      The comedian managed to get off a few good ones, but most of his material was old or obscene.

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    6. I am not able to lay my hands on the usage that leads to NO GOOD ONES.
      Can you cite some reference?

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    7. Here is what free dic has to say about few & a few:
      few

      – a few

      1. used in front of nouns

      Few and a few are both used in front of nouns, but they do not have the same meaning. You use a few simply to show that you are talking about a small number of people or things.
      I'm having a dinner party for a few close friends.

      Here are a few ideas that might help you.

      When you use few without 'a', you are emphasizing that there are only a small number of people or things of a particular kind. So, for example, if you say 'I have a few friends', you are simply saying that you have some friends. However, if you say 'I have few friends', you are saying that you do not have enough friends and are lonely.
      There were few resources available.

      2. used as pronouns

      Few and a few can be used in a similar way as pronouns.
      Doctors work an average of 90 hours a week, while a few work up to 120 hours.

      Many were invited but few came.

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    8. This we all know. Where does it say that few means NONE? I need a direct answer.
      Even Chambers didn't mean that way to my knowledge.

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    9. On reading the definition, few means none or almost none..a few would mean some

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    10. You are right Vasant.
      We may probably have to look into some usage dictionaries, but this is an oft stated point and I have no doubts whatsoever.

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    11. I don't think you'll find any dictionary that says few = none. Few by definition is > 0. However the difference between 'few good clues' vs ' a few good clues' is what CV was trying to highlight. As a quirk of the language more than anything is how I saw it.

      Here is the entry from chambers under few :

      'few' (fewer, fewest) adj not many; a small number; hardly any
      • She had few books on the shelf. pronoun (used as a plural) hardly any things, people, etc
      • There were few today, but many yesterday.

      'a few' a small number; some
      • He took a few into the garden
      • He had a few rabbits in the hat.

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    12. Thanks for the great clarifications. I guess it was wrong usage on my part. Thanks for the enlightenment.

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  4. TALLY HO reminded me of Shammi Kapoor who used to cry out this in his movies. I thought that this would only mean good bye like TATA bye bye ( is that the correct spelling?) etc . Col should be able to giv the actual meaning of Tally Ho as I feel it was a typical British military phrase.

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    Replies
    1. Not that, watch the one at this link

      https://youtu.be/75SRg70XrVY

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    2. The phrase tally-ho is a largely British phrase, which originated from the activity of foxhunting, and other forms of hunting with hounds, shouted when a rider or follower sees the fox. Today the term has evolved to have other meanings, most of which relate to 'pointing out' or 'spotting' a 'target'. - Wikipedia
      So in those days'Tally ho' meant 'Charge' or 'Attack'.
      In past decades when say an American, spotting a Briton in the US, might have cried 'Tally ho', it being a typical British expression uttered when a quarry is spotted.
      Over ages, it might have lost the 'attack' aspect and served as a friendly, humorous, recognisable, appreciative greeting.

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    3. Baar baar dekho, hazaar baar dekho
      Yeh dekhna ki cheez hai hamara
      Dilruba..taali ho..taali ho
      From movie Chinatown

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    4. Yes Deepak. Bar bar dekho aur hop hop karo

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  5. Col: Oh, so many good memories ! Shammi kapoor in one of his rare appearances with a moustache. That's Shakila, the perky young damsel who had that enchanting smile. If I/m not mistaken, the man with the accordion must be Goody Servai (A parsi?) who had cabaret band in Bombay , playing in hotels.

    Our very own Usha Uthup was usha Iyer whose father was Inspector Sami with the Bombay Police.Usha had a sister by nam Uma. She had blazed a new trail in Bombay by singing with her inimitable Konjeevaram sarees in night clubs in Bombay. A pioneer in western music who still regales us. I'll posy one of her comic features if I can tomorrow.

    CV: Thanks for the etym of Tally Ho ! Reminds me of another Hollywood Hollywood, Jolly good Jolly good !

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  6. Col.,
    Move the handle bar around to make room for the toothpick to enter!!

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  7. Hey is no one gonna comment on the spicy ones day today?? 20 24 25.. Indirect anagrams.. use of celebrated as agi.. ?? Rh not being together... What's going on ??

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    Replies
    1. Thought 20A was ok
      24 & 25 were indirect anagrams.

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    2. Agree with Vasant.

      IMO 25 would read better by replacing 'big' with 'so' while also avoiding the indirect anagram.

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  8. Deletion letters- RH- Do they have to be together?

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    Replies
    1. Yes they do not have to be together..they have to be in the same order

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