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| Rangoli by Gowri |
This crossword bids adieu to the year gone by. There is a nina (in the fourth column from the right) that reads, BYE ZOZZ. "ZOZZ," of course, is meant to be squinted at, to get a passable imitation of 2022 :-).
This puzzle is a double pangram: every letter of the alphabet appears at least twice in the solution, which is again a nod to 2022, the year that has an abundance of "2"s.
In fact, the puzzle is nearly a triple pangram—as another little homage to 2022, 22 letters appear at least 3 times in the solution.
Fitting in so many "J"s, "Q"s, "Z"s, etc. made it hard to create any thematic entries, and there aren't any. The surfaces of 5d and 6d allude to the end of the year and the beginning of a new year, respectively.
I try to not repeat an indicator word within a crossword, but "cut" (for omitting the last letter) slipped through in this one, making an appearance in both 9a and 19a.
Finally, yet again, a crossword of mine has landed on a number that is a reversible prime! Both 13751 and 15731 are prime numbers.
Personal notesAutumn
is in full swing here; leaves have gone through incredible shades of
red and yellow and are now mostly brown and falling. It's the best time
of the year, according to Oona, my 7-year-old dog. She loves to stand
under a large tree in my neighbourhood, waiting for large clusters of
leaves to fall. It's not the leaves themselves that actually interest
her—it's their shadows. These wispy shadows dart across the ground,
kindling a deep-rooted hunting instinct in her, as she probably imagines
them to be a fierce and/or edible swarm of creatures scampering around!
Here's an obligatory link to an Oona pic [https://twitter.com/
Wishing everyone a happy new year, one filled with dogs and cats and other good things.
21D Long is YEARN - Right Off is YEAN Around S(mall), M(edium) - YES MAN
ReplyDeleteThanks corrected
Delete16a typo. Not 0. Zero+slumps-more*.
ReplyDeleteThanks corrected
DeleteCol.. some extra characters at end
Delete10A (-d+v) ??? . Sree_Sree sir to rescue ..please
ReplyDeleteD=500. V=5. Hundredfold 1/100.
DeleteD is 500, V is 5. Hundredfold downgrading -> D 'reduced' to V
DeleteMy COD. A good brainteaser today. Thoroughly enjoyed solving.
It is there in the reference list
DeleteThat was great . I could not decipher hundredfold.. thank you to Sree_Sree and Veena
DeleteAmazing Puzzle. Thank you, Gussalufz and Colonel for the wonderful blog.
ReplyDelete+2
ReplyDeleteThank you Gussalufz for the wonderful double Pangram and the most enjoyable notes. Thank you Col. for giving 'Notes' its due importance. Since the setter had to accommodate so many parameters (set by himself) most of the clues had to be tougher than usual,but still enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteCol. must have had his hands full to put up the blog at 8.30!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyable crossword.
ReplyDeleteA few small comments.15D What is the role of 'surprisingly' in the clue?
11A Why pear shaped? A fig isn't pear shaped.
24A 'Better' is superfluous here
Correction. Apparently a fig is pear shaped. We only see what is sold in dry fruit shops
Delete24A- Better helps surface reading.
DeleteWhat we see is the dry form of fig- not its original shape.
DeleteI think 24A reads equally well without the word 'Better'
DeleteThat word confused me for a while, until I realised it was superfluous
Organised is not well accepted anind. better organised in the sense of reorganised fits the bill.
DeleteSurprisingly is the anind. Not in any particular order to indicate say is not in the same order.
DeleteOk. Makes sense
DeleteOur bible that was
ReplyDelete+3 Sailing in the same boat!
ReplyDeleteYes, those were the days when I used to struggle with the problems in that book. Fortunately, a year later I saw solutions in two parts for that book
ReplyDeleteGussalufz stretches himself beyond the possible limits in setting such extremely hard crossword puzzles. Thoroughly enjoyed solving. Took too much time though for completion.
ReplyDelete