Sunday 2 August 2020

Special, Sunday 02 Aug 2020, The Zodiac

Three answers per commenter till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)
Please submit all your answers in one comment. 

(COMMENTS ENTERED WITH LESS THAN THREE ANSWERS/ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELTED WITHOUT NOTICE, UNLESS THE COMMENTER SPECIFIES THAT IT IS A COMPENSATION FOR A REPEAT)

ACROSS
1   Unusually large line to drink English tea (4,4)
5   Was money returned for tool? (6)
9   Rocky wet areas could be a source of salt (8)
10 Big name in performing arts (4)
12 Acquit individual involved in old charge (9)
13 Something happening at constant temperature (5)
14 Man abandoning thought isn't new (4)
16 Commanded submissive son to be banished (7)
19 Surprisingly, Pesci and Pacino, say, are remarkable! (7)
21 Model scholar - extremely knowledgeable (4)
24 Fellow with some desirable quality (5)
25 Doctor (plastic surgeon) leaves Aspen, perhaps, to become a member of an organisation (4,5)
27 A gamble for support (4)
28 Voice on the radio: Scandinavian journalist dead (8)
29 Reported murder in vehicle (6)
30 Panic in this year's awful! (8)

DOWN
1   Puzzle teaser for festive holiday (6)
2   Why the Queen raised a child (6)
3   Good to be idle in Japan (5)
4   Corrupt dealer steals money for gemstone (7)
6   Healthy batting record, breaking poor streak finally (2,3,4)
7   Police officer solved strange case in the end (8)
8   Rich source of oil that ONGC discovered off-shore in the beginning (4-2-2)
11 Mock exam before last paper (4)
15 Movie maker's story on top of mountain (9)
17 Material similar to most chalcogens (8)
18 Eat gruel somehow and manage (8)
20 Records work from start to end (4)
21 Spooner's middle-aged? Well, shame! (7)
22 Putting $1000 on racing horse is acceptable (6)
23 Lost a diadem having rings (6)
26 Valmiki at last covered by moving ants, becoming a sage (5)

Across Lite version can be accessed at ZODIAC 5

Today's special has an additional interactive version using Exolve software developed by Viresh Ratnakar. Most probably next week onwards I will be using only the Exolve interactive version, unless there are any glitches today. Please indicate problems if any with your comments.





Enjoy.
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83 comments:

  1. Ramani2 August 2020 at 10:33

    26d SA(I)NT*
    20d -S LOG +S
    18D REGULATE*

    ReplyDelete
  2. R Nagendra Prasad2 August 2020 at 10:33

    10A: STAR...ARTS*
    27A: ABET...A(BET)
    18D: REGULATE...(EAT,GRUEL)*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 10:34

    21 MAKE: MA K...E
    27 ABET :: A BET
    20 LOGS : Letter shift from SLOG

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prasanna Rao2 August 2020 at 19:58

      CV sir, MA substituted for Scholar. Am I right?

      Delete
  4. P. Venkatesan2 August 2020 at 10:34

    4D: EMERALAD {DEALER+M}*
    10A: STAR {ARTS}*
    9A: SEAWATER {WETAREAS}*

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jacob Brahmakulam2 August 2020 at 10:35

    9a SEAWATER wet areas*
    21a EX ONE RATE
    13a EVEN T

    ReplyDelete
  6. R Nagendra Prasad2 August 2020 at 10:35

    Replacement for 18D,
    1D: EASTER...TEASER*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 10:36

    Compensating
    10 STAR (anag = performing - of arts)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Vasant2 August 2020 at 10:37

    1d Easter. TEASER *
    2d RE<+A+SON
    12A EX(ONE)RATE

    ReplyDelete
  9. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 10:41

    I vote for continued and sole use of Exolve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. raju umamaheswar2 August 2020 at 11:46

      Acroslite does not open ! I prefer it.

      In the new system, too much of scrolling to be done. Numbers occupy more space in the grid. If that can be rectified?

      I have finished the grid. not posting any answers

      Delete
    2. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 11:50

      If Across Lite does not open how do you prefer it!!!

      Delete
    3. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 11:54

      Which system involves scrolling Puzzle Me or Exolve?

      Delete
    4. raju umamaheswar2 August 2020 at 11:55

      It is only today. I dont know why !

      Delete
    5. raju umamaheswar2 August 2020 at 11:57

      I think it is puzzle me ?

      Delete
    6. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 13:31

      Keep 2 windows open and switch between them,which is easier than scrolling up and down. One window for doing the puzzle and another for entering your comments.

      Delete
  10. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 10:42

    Replacement
    26 SAINT :: I in SANT (anag of ants). I like the Indian touch, though I am sorry for the miserable situation the saint is in:

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jacob Brahmakulam2 August 2020 at 10:44

    compensating for 9a
    1a EARL GREY; tea; {LARGE}* {R{E}Y}

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gemini2 August 2020 at 10:44

    18 D REGULATE EAT GRUEL ANAGRAM
    23 D DIADEM Lost a from diadem diadem a=diadem
    26 D Valmiki at last=I moving ants-sant sant i= saint

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 10:45

    I think Valmiki was a saint even before he was covered by ants. Attention needs to be paid to surface meaning even as wp is taken care of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kumaresh K R2 August 2020 at 11:50

      I knew he was a dacoit at one point and then he met the Seven Sages, one of whom gave him a mantra to chant. To my knowledge, he became a saint only after the other sages blessed him when he came out of the anthill.
      Of course, I may be mistaken or there could be variations of the tale.

      Delete
    2. sree_sree2 August 2020 at 12:03

      +1 to setter. the story we heard is that he was a tribal dacoit. Narada gave him a mantra to chant (after a long moral story of family pleasures vs eternal lib) and christened him valmiki. Valmika in sanskrit means ant-hill. (long tapasyas are indicated by growing ant-hills in movies!).

      Delete
    3. Chaturvasi2 August 2020 at 12:06

      Oh I an sorry. I am not well-versed in mythology.i am and I have been in a blissful state. Pl consider my comment as withdrawn.

      Delete
    4. Gemini2 August 2020 at 12:16

      Response to Sree_sree WRT Valmiki. According to one version, VALMIKI is not a tribal dacoit. He was a brahman, by name, VISHNU SARMA, of course a dacoit. And the rest of the story is as what has been narrated..

      Delete
  14. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 10:45

    1A- Earl Grey- (Large E Ry)*
    2D- Reason- Why- Re (=<)A Son

    Doing only 2

    ReplyDelete
  15. P. Venkatesan2 August 2020 at 10:46

    Replacement for repeat:
    30A: HYSTERIA {THIS+YEAR}*

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gemini2 August 2020 at 10:56

    2 Dn: compensating for the repeat of 18 D:
    KIDDIE. QUEEN- DI. DIKE= Constructed, raised

    ReplyDelete
  17. Satyen Nabar2 August 2020 at 11:03

    6D IN THE PINK IN + TH{EP}IN +(-strea)K

    21D MORTIFY Spooner of Forty My

    25A GIRL SCOUT (PLASTICSURGEON)* -ASPEN*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sree_sree2 August 2020 at 11:07

      21d tweak!

      Delete
    2. Kumaresh K R2 August 2020 at 11:51

      The Spooner is correct, sree_sree. It was the anno I was going for.

      Delete
    3. sree_sree2 August 2020 at 12:08

      well the middle aged forty-me missed, well. thanks.

      Delete
  18. Gemini2 August 2020 at 11:06

    22D: Compensating for the repeat of 26 D

    KOSHER . =Acceptable. $1000=K. Horse racing ( snag) plus k= kosher

    ReplyDelete
  19. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 11:10

    22D K(thousand) HORSE* KOSHER
    8D WELL (source of oil) TO DO (acrostic - The Ongc Discovered Off shore)
    13A EVEN(constant) T(temperature) EVENT

    ReplyDelete
  20. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 11:24

    Compensating two repeated

    3D G(good) LAZE(to be idle) GLAZE
    24A desirablE QUALity T EQUAL

    ReplyDelete
  21. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 11:26

    Exolve is very good. An issue i am encountering is after solving a few if I refresh the page the solutions filled up aren't retained. Grid is blank again. How to save solved items?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Viresh Ratnakar2 August 2020 at 11:52

      [Hmm reposting as my reply did not show up]

      I'll try to help with your issue. Please email me at viresh at gmail dot com.

      Does this happen with every refresh or only sometimes? What device and browser are you using? Can you fill a few entries and then send me the URL that you see in the browser. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 12:20

      will write to you Viresh

      Delete
    3. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 12:28

      Colonel your comment saying that solutions didn't disappear for you is missing now.

      I tried a few times but every time it didn't save. Then i used the laptop to solve and mobile to check and refresh.

      Delete
    4. Viresh Ratnakar2 August 2020 at 13:18

      I found one issue that I have now fixed. If you can clear your browser cache and then refresh and check whether answers still disappear, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

      Delete
    5. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 13:49

      Nothing lost for me when refreshed. Quite happy with it.

      Delete
    6. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 14:20

      I deleted that comment by mistake

      Delete
    7. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 18:02

      Thanks Viresh. After clearing browser it works well the solutions remain

      Delete
  22. Murali2 August 2020 at 11:33

    28A (FINISH)(ED)
    23D STADIA ==>

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mukundala Balasubramanyam2 August 2020 at 11:35

    6dn : IN THE PINK (IN)(TH(EP)IN)(K)
    8dn : WELL TO DO (WELL) (Thaat Ongc)(Dis covered)(Off-shore)
    11dn : JEER (JEE)(paapeR)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mukundala Balasubramanyam2 August 2020 at 11:40

      Correction Anno 8dn (WELL)(TO)(DO)
      T O D O are first letters of 'that ONGC discovered off-shore)

      Delete
  24. swathi2 August 2020 at 11:42

    16A- REIGNED (resigned - S)
    7D- SERGEANT ( STRANGE+casE)*
    19A- SPECIAL (PESCI*+ AL(pacino))

    ReplyDelete
  25. Shruthi Ravi2 August 2020 at 11:52

    5A - PITSAW (WAS+TIP)<=
    14A - USED (MUSED-M)
    15D - SPIELBERG - (SPIEL+BERG)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Rajan2 August 2020 at 12:04

    7D: Definition = Police officer. Solved = anagram indicator for "strange". End of "case" = E. Anagram of strange + E = SERGEANT
    19A: Definition = Remarkable. Surprisingly (anag. indicator) Pesci + Al (from Al Pacino) = SPECIAL28A: Voice on the radio = homophone indicator. Scandinavian ~ Finish (for Finnish). Journalist = ED for Editor. FINISHED = dead (definition)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Mukundala Balasubramanyam2 August 2020 at 12:07

    Compensating 8dn

    29ac : SLEIGH ~Slay (hp)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 12:09

    Nice to see a lot of new commenters today

    ReplyDelete
  29. raju umamaheswar2 August 2020 at 12:09

    just tried Viresh's. Its very convenient.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 12:10

    Last one to be solved 17D

    ReplyDelete
  31. Rengaswamy2 August 2020 at 12:13

    17d: ASBESTOS (gk)
    29A: SLEIGH (~SLAY)

    ReplyDelete
  32. sree_sree2 August 2020 at 12:14

    17d AS (BEST) (O)(s)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rengaswamy2 August 2020 at 12:17

      Well solved

      Delete
    2. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 13:48

      Os from Chalcogens?

      Delete
    3. Kumaresh K R2 August 2020 at 14:37

      Oxygen and sulphur are part of the chalcogens group in the periodic table. Their chemical symbols are O and S, respectively.

      Delete
    4. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 15:30

      I seem to have forgotten my basics in Chemistry!

      Delete
    5. Vasant2 August 2020 at 17:00

      Never knew VI A group elements were called Chalcogens.

      Delete
  33. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 12:19

    Good one Zodiac. Very enjoyable. thanks

    ReplyDelete
  34. Col_Gopinath2 August 2020 at 14:22

    Thanks for the special Kumaresh

    ReplyDelete
  35. raju umamaheswar2 August 2020 at 14:52

    Col. Was there any problem with Acrosslite today .? Why couldn’t I open it ?

    Viresh’s grid works well.Even in my IPad. I couldn’t get Acrosslite in my I pad all these days so far. So I m happy. Would that mean you ditch the Old Faithful.?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kolluru Koteswara Rao2 August 2020 at 15:04

      I too feel so.
      The acrosslite link is not active to me too.

      Delete
  36. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 15:36

    Is it possible to open the CW on a different folio like Acrosslite,in sated of on the same page like today? That will solve Raju's problem of scrolling up & down. We can solve in one folder and keep the other folder for entering comments.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Padmanabhan2 August 2020 at 15:37

    Once we hit the publish button,it goes back to the top of the page.

    ReplyDelete
  38. ramesh ss2 August 2020 at 18:09

    Open a new window in the browser use first one for solving and the second to refreshh

    ReplyDelete
  39. Ajay2 August 2020 at 18:32

    I prefer this new interactive grid on the page itself as in the past i have never been able to do it properly on across lite version as it always stalls on my computer and was a huge deterrent. Was able to almost finish the crossword today thanks to the exolve version. Please continue with exolve. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  40. Prasanna Rao2 August 2020 at 20:04

    Extremely enjoyed Today's Grid. Unfortunately I could not participate due to site works. However, I solved 12 puzzles sitting at 7 pm. Esp. Valmiki, 13A & 22d...was too nie. Thanks to Mr Kumaresan. & Shri. col. too.for interactive grid. Have a Nice Day

    ReplyDelete
  41. A-VM2 August 2020 at 20:58

    Nice one Kumaresh

    ReplyDelete

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