Thanks to all followers and visitors on the 10th Anniversary of this blog.
Please do attempt the special posted yesterday and send in your solutions.
1 By twelve, finally, deb is ready (6) BESIDE {
4 He could give you a ring and banter around nicely (8) JEWELLER {JE{WELL}ER}
10 Scientist to fly out before work, and jump into a pool (5,4) BELLY FLOP {BELL}{FLY*}{OP}
That's me doing a belly flop!!! Ouch!
11 Shoot well, hitting one in the centre (5) SPRIG SPRI12 Maybe hundred and one levels (7) SQUARES [DD]
13 Subtraction puzzle? (7) NONPLUS {NON PLUS}
14 Troikas have to carry buckwheat (5) KASHA [T]
18 Six rings suitor ordered — they are brilliant (8) VIRTUOSI {V{SUITOR*}I}
20 Better not in party (5) OUTDO {OUT}{DO}
23 Couples posing for this? (5-2) CLOSE-UP* &lit
25 Fine to avoid thriftiness, wearing casual dresses (1-6) T-SHIRTS THRI
26 Drunken jailor spending pound for wine (5) RIOJA JAI
27 Encourage policemen to eat a bit of radish, carrot and potato perhaps (4,5) ROOT CROPS {ROOT} {C{R
28 Say, stealing the old girl's monocle (8) EYEGLASS {E{YE}G}{LASS}
29 Fanatic to laze casually (6) ZEALOT*
DOWN
1 Grandmother's scarf (8) BABUSHKA [DD]
2 Lotus is blooming in US city (2,5) ST LOUIS*
3 Bill, after retiring, read my novel, eventually slept and fantasized (9) DAYDREAMT {AD<=}{READ+MY}*{
5 Old elixir, consumed at nine perhaps, for increase in power (14) EXPONENTIATION {EX}{PO{AT+NINE}*TION}
6 Shrink heading off to European city (5) ESSEN
7 Siren from extremely large oiler at sea (7) LORELEI {L
8 Rouge applied over a bit of skin that's wrinkled (6) RUGOSE {RUGO{S
9 Setter from France? (7,2,5) PLASTER OF PARIS [CD]
16 Very bad heat outside Switzerland causes a painful problem (9) TOOTHACHE {TOO}{THA{CH}E*}
17 Red coating helps one to take care of a home (5-3) HOUSE-SIT {HO{USES}{1}T}
19 Property of mine in India or Reno, possibly (4,3) IRON ORE {I}{OR+RENO}*
21 Confusion of slave drinking rum at work (7) TURMOIL {T{RUM*}OIL}
22 Build up a team, say (6) ACCRUE (~ a crew)
24 Software program is defective — returned without installing, primarily (5) EMAIL {L{I
GRID
17d typo in anno.
ReplyDeleteThanks corrected
DeleteHappy Anniversary THCC
ReplyDeleteThank you Ajeesh
DeleteHappy Anniversary THCC. Thanks to Col. for everything.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vasant
DeleteHappy 10th birthday THCC!
ReplyDeleteThank you Col and all the veteran setters and solvers for your passion. Looking forward to 20, 25, 50 years :)
Thank you Ramki
DeletePranams to all the Gurus here on the happy occasion! Many more happy returns of Anniversary
ReplyDeleteThank you Ram
DeleteHave so far received 10 completed solutions for yesterday's special
ReplyDeleteI am 2 short to complete and propose to have a go at it today. Thank you for having given time.
DeleteCongratulations to THCC and the Colonel for a decade of dedicated service to the Indian crossword community. May there be many more
ReplyDeleteThank you Kishore
DeleteCongrats Col for the blog completing a decade. I used to be late to office by 10 minutes because I couldn't leave the house till 8.30 until I see your blog. Learnt a lot from your blog. Thanks once again.
ReplyDeleteThank you Chandrasekhar
DeleteHappy Anniversary THCC!
ReplyDeleteThank you MB
DeleteLovely puzzle on this very special day. Col's own photo doing a belly-flop. How very apposite!
ReplyDeleteThanks KrisKross and Col.
Thank you Vasant
DeleteGreetings and Best Wishes on the 10th Anniversary of your blog, Colonel. May there be many more.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vinayak
DeleteGreetings to you Deepak on this special occasion. Your efforts to publish the blog everyday promptly at 8:30AM is indeed commendable. May this blog grow from strength to strength.
ReplyDeleteThank you Devanathan
DeleteCongrats Colonel on the special anniversary. We all have a learnt a lot from this blog,
ReplyDeleteThank you VP
DeleteBelated Best Wishes to Col. for successful completion of a Decade! No mean achievement. The Blog went up like a clockwork sharp at 8.30 day after day after day....
ReplyDeleteMay the Blog grow from strength to strength and keep us all glued to it.
What we learned from the Blog? Well, words can't describe.Everyone feels it!
Thank you Paddy
DeleteBTW, in all this euphoria Ramki's Pangram seems to have been overlooked!
ReplyDeleteGreat observation Paddy!
DeleteWhen I saw Q,Z..I looked for it.
DeleteEnjoyed 13A Ramki. Nice one.
ReplyDeleteA doubt about 28A- 'Ye' from just old? Is it not old you?
ReplyDeleteIt is THE old
DeleteYes - Ye is also an archaic form of "the".
DeleteThank you Vasant.
DeleteCongrats to THCC and the Colonel on the 10th anniversary! Thank you Sir for everything.
ReplyDeleteThank you Satyen
DeleteCongratulations Deepak on the blog and it's continued success. It has also been a great networking platform. Best wishes
ReplyDeleteThank you Bhala
DeleteCongratulations to THCC and Colonel.
ReplyDeleteThank you Doc
DeleteCongratulations! After years of solving this puzzle on my own, it's nice to have come across such a friendly community. And I'm in awe of the Colonel's formidable crossword skills. May you keep going strong, sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you Amita
DeleteWent back in time and looked at the first month of Masters solving thcc. The cost 4 comments by richards but curiously 3 of them were deleted by the author. Was fun and exhilarating to do some of those clues "anno pending". I had copied quite a few and then realised I didn't have the date and setter copied. So I can't share them. But I would recommend an award to col or the dedication and service to new solvers through the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of award for a daughter escorted by parents (5) by sankalak.
Best wishes col.
Pls read: first 4 comments (not cost). And for (not or).
DeleteThanks Prasad
Delete{PA}{D}{MA}
DeleteReminiscences of THCC
ReplyDeleteIt was in 2011 when I was in Jammu that I serendeptiously came across the blog. Till then in Shimla & Jammu I had been solving THC on pen and paper. I had started solving Cryptic crosswords from 2010 seriously. In Shimla THC came after a 2 day delay, while in Jammu after a day's delay. My progress was slow in solving, I would look at next edition for the previous puzzle's unsolved answers. My frustrations with NJ's & MM's puzzles would be high, Sankalak and Gridman were elixirs! Neyartha was unsurmountable.
And then to take away all problems I discovered this blog. Bingo!
The whole perspective of crossword solving changed. I discovered among many things, Annos. I learnt a whole new set of jargons.DDs,CDs,Charades,all.
With passing years, I slowly became an average, good and continually improving solver.
I was a silent follower of the blog for a number of years. I became a hesitant commenter then a confident commenter.
Then I became a Setter! Here!
I became friends with a number of solvers,setters and bloggers
Through and through the blog has evolved me as a crossworder.
Thanks to the dedication of a man we all have come to admire.
Although i have been following this blog for only a year or so, I have learnt so much. As pointed out by several others, I felt all alone in my pursuit of trying to crack THC & often failing miserably, till I accidentally came across this blog. Since then, I have always felt a part of this community even though I am mostly a silent member who solves the crossword as late as 9-10pm daily. THANK YOU SO MUCH COL for this blog and the joy that it has brought into my life. Congrats to THCC and you on the 10th anniversary! Thank you Sir for everything.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have mentioned who you are, in case you have I seem to have forgotten. Could you clear the mystery now.
DeleteMakes interesting reading. Nice reminiscences. Nice to read about old friends though they are not actively participating these days. I was lucky in the sense that I was a silent follower only for a short while and started participating almost in the first year of our blog's start,thanks to the kindness of Cv who came home to register my name and initiated my participation. apart from learning to solve CW's I feel extremely lucky to have cultivated the friendship of so many good setters and solvers. I have been lucky too to have attended all the S&B meets from the beginning. Today, the day is not complete for me if I don't solve THC and at least read the blog if I do not have the time to participate- of course from wherever I am. One cannot ask for more!
ReplyDeleteDear Paddy, I think it was a great pleasure to know you and meet you(once in last year's IXL).As has been to know such great men like you.. CV Sir(whom I think is a family member),CGB Sir, Dr. Satyen Nabar(another close friend),Simpson Fraser(an extremely close friend), So many others!
DeleteThanks to this blog that I have met such wonderful people!
Me? Great?! Far from it. I consider myself fortunate to be among greats- both as persons and CW solvers.
DeleteOne of the highlights of my life has been Colonel's awarding me the prize for a clue on last year's special crossword. Colonel presented me one of the most memorable presents ever received by me.
ReplyDeleteThis till date has been my most memorable crossword experiences.
Thanks once again to the man who is an institution!!