Solution to 14A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.
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| Rangoli by Gowri |
1 Arduous work, conserving paintings (8) TOILSOME {T{OILS}OME}
5 Idiot frequently wastes money? Exactly (2,4) AS SUCH {ASS}{mUCH}
10 Director rejected steering apparatus that’s more primitive (5) RUDER RUDdER
11 Curiosity about primarily illegal racket (9) NOISINESS {NO{Il...l}SINESS}
12 No locks in this area? (4,5) BALD PATCH [CD]
13 Right to curb drugs essentially after many get ruined (5) KAPUT {AP{drUgs}T}<=>{K}
14 Turn to get hold of most advanced mask (6) ?E?E?R (Addendum - VENEER {VE{NEw}ER} - See comments)
15 Indian actor without work starting to moonlight as member of stage crew (7) PROPMAN {PR{OP}{Mo...t}AN}
18 Scout excited about couple of females in shortened jeans (7) CUTOFFS {CUTO{FF}S*}
20 Guy fractured leg in wreck (6) MANGLE {MAN}{LEG*}
22 Intimate about initiation of beef ban (5) DEBAR {DE{Beef}AR}
24 One attracting strongly is unmarried, pressing shy maiden to go out (9) LODESTONE {L{mODEST}ONE}
25 Ineffectively deal with intoxicated damsel in hotel (9) MISHANDLE {DAMSEL+IN+H}*
26 Working during day shifts to dismantle ship’s gear (5) UNRIG dURING*
27 Memorable start to cruise on fancy yacht (6) CATCHY {Cr...e}{YACHT*}
28 Fool consuming one peg around lunchtime — drunk, if you ask me (2,1,3,2) AS I SEE IT {AS{1}S}{T{1}EE<=}
DOWN
1 Cooking broth with ultimately nutritious pulses (6) THROBS {BROTH*}{n...uS}
2 Patient’s request to tackle extremely unusual growth at the earliest (9) INDULGENT {IND{Un...aL}{Gr...h}ENT}
3 Punished by bully after bit of equipment left in store broke (8,3,4) STRAPPED FOR CASH {RAPPED}{FORCe} in {STASH}
4 Fell over, upturning container in track (7) MONITOR {MO{TIN<=}OR}
6 What pro-firearms activist might do to stand firm? (5,2,4,4) STICK TO ONES GUNS [C&DD]
7 Consume drink containing drug after starting to unwind (3,2) USE UP {S{E}UP}<=>{Un...d}
8 In haste, nervous model is stammering (8) HESITANT {IN+HASTE}*{T}
9 Accident victim is haplessly crushed (6) MISHAP [T]
17 Professor, acclaimed, strangely left out (8) ACADEMIC ACClAIMED*
19 Non-liquid food is sold out (6) SOLIDS*
20 Abandon body outside seedy den (7) MADNESS {MA{DEN*}SS}
23 Stupefy with drink first to steal ring (5) BESOT {BES{O}T}
Reference List
Money = M, Director = D, Many = K, Female = F, Maiden = M, Hotel = H, Day = D, Drug = E, Model = T, Left = L, Ecstasy = E
TalePiece
By Gowri
TEENAGE TRAUMAS
Anjali's problems started right from the time, she entered her teens. Not one to find her school work TOILSOME, she excelled in ACADEMICS. Endowed with a natural green thumb, she could convert any BALD PATCH into a verdant garden. Although not an actress, she regularly participated in her school plays as a PROPMAN. By rotation, she was her class MONITOR, every 3rd month. No, she was never STRAPPED FOR CASH, even though she came from a middle class background.
You might be wondering, what the issue was. AS I SEE IT, her lone problem was her WEIGHT - or rather lack of it. Anjali was puny by all standards. With her short height & anorexic figure, you could hardly spot her in a crowd. Into her teens, she realised, boys AS SUCH never noticed her.
Rahul was a new boy who joined her class. He was from MELBOURNE & had a VENEER of sophistication which the local students found quite CATCHY. Soon he joined the theater club. Auditioning, he got selected for the main role in that year's play.
Seeing him in CUT OFFS, during the weekend rehearsal, Anjali, found herself infatuated with him. She was in charge of costumes, stage props & prompting. Initially he seemed INDULGENT of her.
Anjali was at that age, when Love is the LODESTONE of life & in no time, she was completely BESOTTED with Rahul. In his presence, her pulse THROBBED so fast, that she was HESITANT to talk to him, let alone prompt him during rehearsals. She knew this was MADNESS. He probably did not even know her name.
And then came the time for trying out the costumes. Anjali had taken real pains to design the costumes, by googling for references. It was an Egyptian play & Rahul played a slave. Accordingly, his costume was bare - with no frills & in a dull khakhi colour. When he saw his dress, he was really put off. He wanted it changed. The way he addressed the issue, he couldn't have been RUDER. Although Anjali was not the type, she decided to STICK TO HER GUNS & refused to budge.
On Monday, when they met for rehearsal, she found out that USING UP his good will, Rahul had tried to have her DEBARRED from the play. However, their Drama teacher, also the director of the play, refused to heed. Rahul then started playing dirty. Purposely MISHANDLING the props, he tried to make her take the rap. Once, he tried to MANGLE the backdrop screen & when she caught him red handed, he pushed her off the stage. Even amidst the NOISINESS, everyone heard her crashing into the lights in the Orchestra pit. As people rushed towards her, she managed to pick herself up. She glanced up & saw real terror in Rahul's eyes. He knew he had crossed his limits.
She announced, it was a MISHAP & she had lost her step. Excusing herself, she went to clean up. In the wash room, as she took off her glasses, she realised her blinkers were also off. All her romantic feelings for Rahul were KAPUT & she saw him for who he was. Just a narcissistic boy, full of himself & not worth a second glance.
Later, when he apologised to her, she could see him & see through him clearly. She walked away with her head held high, her heart a clean wiped slate.
The fact that Anjali blossomed into a real beauty in her last year of school & had all the boys chasing her including Rahul is a story for another day.
Happy to get 100% before 8.30!!
ReplyDeleteSuper, Paddy 👍
DeleteAgain the 2 long and most enjoyable columns at 3 & 6 Dn.
ReplyDeleteDr.X excels in these.
Colonel - i am not able to post my tale. Have mailed u. Will u put it up? Thanx
ReplyDeleteYour comments are going into spam. Maybe due to the length
DeleteI am sorry. May be i will make it into several shorter posts.
DeleteThanx
LOLITA & OTHER BANNED BOOKS
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in my late teens, I was first introduced to LOLITA. Ironically I heard about Kubrick's movie before I came across Nabokov's novel.
In a land practising strict literary CELIBACY, on hind sight, I am surprised that my Dad asked me to read the book. Unfortunately our local librarian had his own notions of what is appropriate reading for so-called CHASTE young girls. Many a times, he had already OBJECTED to my choice of reading material & refused to let me borrow the book.
This set me wondering - what could have caused this kind of MAELSTROM about a book, that is considered by many to be a literary masterpiece? At various times, the book has been banned almost everywhere, from EGYPT to ALEPPO, from ARARAT to ATLANTA, by the reigning moral BANDICOOTS of the times - many of whom may not have got past the fictitious forward by John Ray. Infact in certain countries, CORPORAL punishment was meted out to those found in possession of the book.
Finally, my friend suggested, we could buy a second hand copy from a used bookstore. There, we had to hunt high & low, through sagging shelves, filled with an ENSEMBLE of books on almost all topics imaginable. Finally to my delight, I found LOLITA, nestling between 2 huge tomes - History books about Indian RAJAS!!
To my surprise, it was not a huge book. Merely 300+ pages with an indistinguishable dull green cover. By now, I was really ENRAPTURED, with the mere idea of delving into Nabokov's mind. Along with a packet of MACAROONS, I parked myself, in my favourite chair & opened the book.
I actually finished the book in one go. Down the years, I have had several reactions to the book, some POLAR opposites of earlier views. Though the subject matter is so sordid, the literary prose really moves you & keeps you thinking for a long time.
However, one thing is for sure. If anybody reads Lolita, expecting to be titillated, they will find themselves disappointed. It is more of a bitter hearted satire on American values in the mid 20th century. It is the controversial subject matter, that may have led to its banning. Otherwise, the so called erotic passages are very few & far between.
On the other hand, the book does have many literary merits. There is a genuineness to the writing, straight FROM THE HEART, which draws the reader in. No doubt, the protagonist (or antagonist) Humbert Humbert is a REPRESSOR of sorts. By marrying & then killing Lolita's mother he becomes a USURPER of her guardianship, thus taking advantage of her. Yet the author COVERS sufficient GROUND, to indicate that LOLITA was a willing participant in what transpires between the two. But being a minor & one with a wavering mind, she GOES OFF THE BOIL, frequently, which perhaps leads to her final escape.
But in the end, it is quite clear that the author does not condone Humbert's behaviour, because Lolita was just a child & indirectly implies that it is the onus of the adults to behave responsibly. He infact calls Humbert a hateful person - a vain & cruel wretch.
ReplyDeleteHowever, at the time of its initial publication AFFRONTS were heaped on the author & he was publicly decried in Europe & elsewhere. Eventhough the book has been constantly featured in the top 10 literary works of the US, many people often dismiss it as a CHARM OFFENSIVE. However no other book was been able to EDGE OUT Lolita from the top of the American Best Sellers List for a long time.
The literary merit of the book stands unquestioned on 2 important counts.
1. It is in the exalted company of other masterpieces like Ulysses by James Joyce, Lady Chatterley's lover by D.H. Lawrence, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley etc as the most controversial & hated books of the 20th century.
2. It has inspired many artists from other fields to attempt adaptations, the most noted being Kubrick's movie. Infact, even the famous ballet dancer NUREYEV, was supposedly so taken in by the novel, that he wanted to do an opetatic adaptation of the same.
It took me several years & a lot of growing up, before I understood, why my Dad had asked me to read the book. Not only did he want me to have a comprehensive literary exposure, he also thought, I was old enough to formulate my own values & judgements regarding both morality as a whole & the dealing of it in literature.
Wah!. What I like about your tailpieces that I hardly notice the capitalized words. You have a knack of fitting them so smoothly into the narrative.
DeleteAt the cost of repetition I suggest that you do a compilation of all your stories for publication at some future date.
Excellent tale Gowri!
DeleteOutstanding!
DeleteThank u so much !!! Doc, Suresh & Vasant.
Delete14A VENEER : VE(NEw-w)ER
ReplyDeleteWell done. The 'most advanced' tag for deleting the last letter is- most times- confusing. I struggled. One tends to think in terms of superlatives.
Delete"one per week"!
DeleteLovely Annotation
DeleteWell solved KRM 👍
Delete🙏.Thanks.
DeleteSurprised to read a book review, very well done.
ReplyDelete14 A i ve solved, but post it later, giving chance to others
ReplyDelete14 A
ReplyDeleteVENEER = MASK
TURN = VEER
MOST ADVANCED = NE(W)
SO, Insert NE INTO VEER = VENEER
Well cracked Sarathi 👍
Delete🙏
DeleteAn engaging crossword today. Thanks Dr. X
ReplyDeleteGowri - very nice tale piece. And such a marvellous Rangoli of Ardhanareeswarar.. I am really running out of adjectives.. Excellent!!
Thank u.
DeleteThanks Veena 😀
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAS SUCH BALD PATCH Vladimir became HESITANT,
ReplyDeleteWithout NOISINESS with any resident,
Became pruder
Not RUDER,
No MADNESS, No MISHANDLE, no incident!!
Simply good!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyable grid and nice talepiece as usual from Dr X and Gowri!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ramki 🙏
DeleteThanks Ramki. 😊
DeleteVery enjoyable puzzle. Many favourites with brilliant word play. Bald patch made me laugh out loud, nice one! Thanks Dr X for yet another entertaining puzzle. Solving it in the morning has made my day!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Ramesh! 😀
Delete@ Paddy - Doctor is a great one for superlatives. He ones called me the BRAINIEST (ofcourse in jest!!!). Ha ! Ha! Should have framed it.
ReplyDelete😀
Delete@ Paddy again - a book review becos
ReplyDelete1. Was reminded of all that i wrote, which is true. No fiction.
2. The words themselves didn't fall easily into a story.
Just mentioned it was a different genre. Anything that is interesting is always most welcome. Different subjects add a lot of variety. I also thought that it was difficult to bring in the clued words to suit this write up. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThank u. 😊
DeleteThank You Dr. X for an enjoyable Puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMost welcome Vasant 👍
Delete26A a good example for a clever Xword clue!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteA doubt about 16D- 'Bar' is supposed to be anagrind?
ReplyDeleteAnd Bar,is it Anag. indicator?
ReplyDeleteModel is anagram indicator. Bar is T
DeleteInterestingly solved many. but, I struggled for KAPUT, LOADSTONE. 3 & 6d. ESP. the 1A - straightaway solved from Dic. MELBOURNE, INDULENT & BESOT are todays Favorite. Took long time to crack few puzzles. but my heart is not permitting to give up. thanks to Dr X. your puzzles induces me to complete.
ReplyDeleteplease read it as INDULGENT. typo in my previous post @21:44
Delete@ Gowri, Nice tale and your Ranoli looks superb. it's a good Treat for our eyes in margazi days.
ReplyDelete@Gowri
ReplyDeleteSomeone taught Rahul:
Anjali anjali pushpaanjali
Anjali anjali pushpaanjali
Poovae un paadhathil pushpaanjali
Ponnae un peyarukku ponnaanjali
Kannae un kuralukku geethaanjali
Kan kaanaa azhagirkku kavithaanjali
😆
ReplyDelete