Special, Saturday 24 Dec 2016, Balderdash

TWO ANSWERS per commenter till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)
Please provide your answers in one comment.            

                

                                             A SPECTRAL SYMBOL FOR X'MAS                                     

As against the two dimensions, which are familiar to crossword solvers, i.e.  ‘Across’ and ‘Down’, this puzzle is 3 dimensional. The third dimension is ‘Away’. The cubical grid is visualised as five layers (each layer being a 5x5 square) of the cube in the grid below. The directions Across, Down and Away are marked alongside the grid for your reference. All answers are 5 letters long, but one of them is made up of two words. Solve like you would solve a regular puzzle – you have crossings from an additional direction as you go along. It might make things easier if you fill in the Across and Away answers first, and then the Down clues.

After solving. if you look around the middle of cube, you may find some connections to the festive season, as indicated in the title. Though at the heart of it, you will find a sweet nothing. These may be mentioned in the blog after the entire puzzle has been solved here.

 

Across
1	Ace loses first place resulting in strain
4	Joint bowel movement?
7	Run around a fortune-teller’s aid
10	To some extent, bosun cleans relative
13	G-man who treats spirit
14	Sir, returning key terminals can be dangerous
15	Flyer one buried in piece of land
18	Mason arrived carrying sound equipment
19	Look around a zoo initially, and take possession by force
Down
1	Provide online joke
2	Do better with some luck after old age
3	Time to let out river
4	Slightly moves borders
5	Sportsman brought into this world around first of June
6	Watt consumed right liquid, for example
7	Badly frustrated after loss of well-organised trade in areas under control
8	Initially, respected Indian sadhu having intellect
9	Meth manufactured around end of July for Herb
Away
1	First lady takes books to convention, perhaps
2	Queen embraces Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. That’s hot stuff!
3	Idiot gobbles egg, for example
10	Old city(German)’s presser
11	Go over religious symbol
12	Portal’s bad net/line
15	Violently opposes, leaving Post Office, to get money
16	Nail broken when travelling around American island
17	Number of Magi’s dimensions found in this puzzle

This format of the puzzle is not supported by AcrossLite. Hence, a printable version is available at
Balderdash9.

Enjoy

Solution Grid

Two Themed entries CROSS and GHOST run across the centre of the central layer, forming the symbol of a cross.  At the absolute centre of the cube is a O or 0 signifying 'Shunya' or nothing.

It is a pangram

Special, Sunday 20 Nov 2016, Balderdash

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

BLACK OR WHITE?

I am not referring to the present POTUS or the POTUS-elect. No, I am also not referring to the colour of your money, though that may be of topical interest. Nor am I referring to Michael Jackson’s song. I am not even referring to those squares you stare at in a crossword grid. In a world war of sorts that is raging now, one sometimes gets Black and sometimes White. Sometimes Black wins, sometimes White and sometimes neither. After a dozen battles, there is a possibility that it might move into rapid mode and  blitz or end in Armageddon.We have heard that they have even used Trumpowsky! What will be the final result? Well, we should know by the end of the month, though the winner has been, at different points, Black or White. Wouldn’t you want to know the answer in black and white? Let's see what the squares say ... 

ACROSS
8   Arab lads saunter to place serving greens (5,3)
9   Greek style found in medallion icons (5)
10 Lug student to nobleman (4)
11 Animal's horn's broken around midpoint (5)
12 Egg's round and has some violet and unusual mould for starters (4)
13 Shake dry in 10 shakes (6)
15 New hairstyle without using a drop of lotion results in frenzied excitement (8)
16 Excited Mongolians in absence of Ali designed parts of time-keeping devices (7)
18 Smuggle broken goblet with ring (7)
21 After garden trip commenced, had a bite with teeth (8)
23 Send away old bird (6)
25 Macy's restructured organisation for youth (1,1,1,1)
26 River animal loses tail at the end of struggle (5)
27 Gentlemen, at first, usually hold list for ordering at a restaurant (4)
29 Animal commonly seen in Kenya lately (5)
30 Tom's at Head Office with some French terminals (8)

DOWN
1   Wine found rejected during a vacation (4)
2   Lothar dances and gets old tart (6)
3   Aden beer poured out for terrier, perhaps (8)
4   Maidens wait for this man? Correct! (2,5)
5   Stop going back around four swings (6)
6   Blameless Sara left non-sectarian organisation (8)
7   Prepared ten curries for inspector (10)
14 Indian moron has no right to travel in these times (4,6)
17 Mad Alan's bad drawings (8)
19 Injured humans left damaged apartment house showing dramatic performance (8)
20 Enchant female dog around beginning of Easter week (7)
22 Windbag's top class cars crashed (6)
24 Drum to manufacture initially, and repeat (3-3)
28 North Eastern England port's primary vegetable (4)

Across Lite version can be accessed at BALDERDASH 8

Enjoy

Update 1st Dec.2016: At the World Chess Championship concluded yesterday, Magnus Carlsen retained the title of the World Chess Champion, as highlighted below in the solution grid of this puzzle:

Special, Tuesday 06 Sep 2016, Balderdash

This is a Barred grid. Please follow the special instructions for today. Please also note the special instruction under the title of the crossword

FOUR answers per commenter. Please attempt TWO Across and TWO Down clues till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)

Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Sometimes one gets away ...

In wordplay for many clues, something needs to be dropped in order to match with the definition ...

ACROSS
1   Perhaps American moon's pale (5)
6   Twinkler's step (4)
9   Starchy evening willowherb has no flower (4)
14 Cruciverbalist's island (4)
15 Leaders of league, union, society and trust display desire (4)
17 Rave about crime show detective (4)
18 Uncommon mutilation of rear parts (4)
19 The French have a meadow (3)
20 Simple scheme (4)
21 Instant messaging objective (2)
23 Servant and king's communication device (5)
25 Bull looks at plant (6)
28 Feline returns with primarily kinky nail (4)
30 Assist a wager (4)
32 Botanical angle pertaining to one of the axes (4)
33 Naughty kid's demeanour results in damage (6)
34 Indian state's river creature (7)
36 Consumption of calcium by animal leads to foolish chatter (4)
39 Fast snake! (3)
40 Eats excitedly before times of arrivals (4)
42 Stunning American academy drive (7)
44 Stud's making mistake (6)
48 Burn a piece of furniture (4)
49 Adventurer's disease (4)
50 Upper class headgear returned to state (4)
51 Nomad Rastafarian's old city (6)
54 Bank's network gets space ... (5)
57 ... with Latin alien (2)
58 River plane (4)
60 Prohibit drinking place (3)
61 Anger as a result of gear misalignment (4)
63 Holy man - Indian holy man (4)
64 Galahad gives up girl to friend (4)
65 Neuropathologist's money (4)
66 Laurel's blemish (4)
67 Duck mews incoherently (4)
68 Greek letter had convoluted tale after initial dithering (5)

DOWN
2   Chief of British Airways (3)
3   Twist prawn - twist after removing tail (4)
4   Drink obtained from seasonal elderberry (3)
5   Ailing, deformed animal (6)
7   Berber outrage/riot after loss of ring (6)
8   Tosca sort of tie (5)
10 Depend on electrical device (4)
11 Admiral's armed movement (1,1,1)
12 His mirth leads to homicide (12)
13 Nuclear scientists may devoutly wish for this crucial religious gathering (8,4)
15 Creature goes back to safe area (3)
16 Levy's car for hire (3)
22 Injure little lady (3)
24 Also known as a kayak, after discharging bovine animal (3)
26 Leave previous lover having sex appeal (4)
27 American island's units of measure (4)
29 American accountant's cap's awry (3)
31 Broken husk's gray matter (4)
32 100 square metres region (3)
35 GM's car company with pole positioning (4)
36 Macy constructed an organisation founded on the principles of muscular Christianity (4)
37 King's vehicle has unknown ... (4)
38 ... cocktail from Kirkland (3)
41 Top model island (3)
43 Mouth has bacon, lettuce and eggs for starters; eat quickly! (6)
45 Made a distressed cry when red oar was lost (6)
46 Spoil and dash (3)
47 Not Scottish, North American and English (3)
49 Sail in the afternoon to hymn (5)
52 Footballer's half Spanish lady (4)
53 Fagan gives up ends for leader (3)
55 Put down song (3)
56 Marx's lark flew (4)
59 Vessel tax (3)
61 Correct after removing first typo and despair (3)
62 Found grotto regularly (3)

Enjoy.

Present solved position of the grid is available HERE for ready reference

Special, Sunday 10 Jul 2016, Balderdash

PLEASE NOTE FOR TODAY

Observations if any on the CW may be offered after the entire CW is solved.

Only 2 (TWO) answers per commenter till 1 PM (Annotations compulsory). After 1 PM one more answer can be submitted in case any are remaining.

Please enter your pre 1 PM submissions in one comment.

CUP & SOCCER

ACROSS
1   Result of badly carting feet up at Rowling building (2/3 words) (11)
9   Tried badly and flagged (5)
10 A laboratory flower is white (9)
11 Mad birdies fly around lady marriage attendant (10)
12 For starters, sensuous, authentic Red Indian garment (4)
13 Primarily English sour about common currency units (5)
15 Not taking into account the fact that one good knight has rings (8)
17 Irritated parents grab model in part of church (8)
19 Sweetheart often found in a hexagonal cell (5)
22 Consumes wheat semolina to some extent (4)
23 What the chaps across the pond may call that spherical object of play (6,4)
26 Most competent partly climbed tallest mountain (9)
27 Policeman John's Arctic residence (5)
28 Sportsmen sell RAF boot excitedly (11)

DOWN
1   Ancient dialect formulated from Persia (not eastern part), however you pronounce or spell it (5)
2   Takes care of problem involving garment stored between four letters? (9)
3   Makes harmless (by using magic) by giving children or peacekeepers weapons (6)
4   Wonderful consequence of taking half gram - with a zest for eating grass (7)
5   W/T-here was a nail in the chair,
   ‘E did not take adequate care,
   And his trousers did it snare,
   Resulting in ____ and ____.
   (use one of this rhyming pair) (4)
6   Chemical process involving extreme tension and iteration, with release of energy (9)
7   Bleats about beastly accommodation (6)
8   Iranian royal is troublesome (6)
14 Boar's feet may be cooked to make this food (5,4)
16 Not this clever, ... or else ... (9)
17 Rearranged parchment, after getting rid of torn map, shows ditch (6)
18 Saw vehicle parked in empty pub (7)
20 Cry and cry again "Chicken" (6)
21 Alcoholic liquid formed on decomposition of ale, etc (6)
24 Sprinkle salt under a book, for example (5)
25 Last quarter of this is equal to itself (4)

Across Lite version can be accessed at Balderdash 6_Cup&Soccer

Have a ball ... or two ...

This is the "correct" solution ...

... and not this ....

Special, Sunday 01 Jun 2014, Balderdash5 A Little Story, about some Mad Men

A Little Story, about some Mad Men*

The mad leaders of Railway Workers' Association are in a small Karnataka town.They move to get into a car and go ahead. Travelling to Latin airway's railroad terminus they order, "Stew, without a hint of  watercress, first, then a bit of dal, waiter!". "Stop, change sides before first train departs destroying the goose which has expelled an egg." "A snake is after George!", Edward panted. "Climb up a small church and leaving first alderman,go up. Go up, Sir, before 'e comes". "A heartless boa climbed on Edward's head and reduced intoxicated dash the first Kannadiga had in the stronghold",  insinuated a Chair Car customer endlessly before starting dining. With resentment, a neutral girl wrestled the unknown mad men (in Asia) with loss of memory tiredly, without ego, and packing them into a set of modified wings.

*Well, that's an odd story you might say. I told you so upfront! Maybe, you will have to overlook a few odd usages and even some grammatical mistakes. But the above paragraph constitutes the across clues for this puzzle. The enumeration (the blank cells to be filled in each across slot) can be seen from the grid, but you will have to figure out where one clue ends and another starts.  A single sentence may contain one or more clues, though no clue spans across the end of a sentence into the next.

DOWN
2 Modify an American advocate's exercise (5)
3 American bad-land stew (4,4)
4 Incidents of anger directed by or against fellow drivers (4-5)
5 French utilise safety device (4)
6 Run and endear to get the tail-bit (4-3)
7 A police department in charge is vitriolic (6)
8 Signify heavy weight is immersed backwards in the river (6)
11 Hermit ages abnormally (4)
15 Observe water-body endlessly with ecstasy (3)
16 Stamina to endure an accident involving first car (9)
17 Colour of nitroglycerine mixed after confused client left (4-4)
18 Thin English film director (4)
19 Immaculateness of little sister was observed after a month (7)
21 Prohibit a North American fruit  (6)
22 Tintin's dance (3-3)
25 Mathematician king beheaded by expert, at first (5)
26 Wide awake and having a plan (4)

INSTRUCTIONS
One Across clue and One Down clue per person (with annotations) till 6 pm or till stocks last. Please give the text of the clue too when giving answers to the across clues.

The Across Lite version is available at the following link BALDERDASH5-A Little Story, about some Mad Men

Please remember that in the Across Lite version the Across clues are not as per actual clue numbers.

Enjoy.

Special, Sunday 13 Apr 2014, Balderdash

Three answers per commenter (with annotations) till 6 PM.

ACROSS

1   Male Indian sage writes after friend gets ancient records (4,11)

9   Support between one learner and a rookie: That's not allowed (7)

10 Can be rational (7)

11 Stone found when dad was in Australia after start of tour (5)

12 Chum, money can get you stuff (8)

14 Camouflaged amongst high noise on radio (3,2)

15 Make rugged by treating hunger with only one egg (7)

17 Graduates consume Mex food? On the contrary, that's hot sauce (7)

19 Food from Caucasus highlands? (5)

21 Confrontational courses due to intelligence agency going back on established routes (8)

23 Cancel publication after loss of an article (5)

25 African sped carrying magic stick (7)

26 Shine first in valley (7)

27 Mad grad's sis listens to SOSs (8,7)

DOWN

1   Have a jolly good time, father! Then don't write gibberish! (5,3,4,3)

2   One may find a frog sitting on this fleur-de-lis notebook (4,3)

3   Journals about weapon stores (9)

4   River flowed back in Israel incessantly (4)

5   Passive resistance at software major's boss's Indian house (10)

6   Controlled General Electric stove (5)

7   Announce when I blush excitedly after first proposal (7)

8   And all tins should be recycled in outhouses in Scottish archipelago (8,7)

13 See communication devices fixed behind ten unknown instruments (10)

16 Drawing attention to oneself during play when male deer split gin behind headless pup (9)

18 Put fertiliser in vehicle storage spaces (7)

20 Frank singer of 'The Girl from Ipanema' (7)

22 Computer that may be black (5)

24 Grows old a second behind time (4)

Across Lite version of the crossword is available at the following link BALDERDASH 4

Enjoy.

Special, Sunday 10 Nov 2013, Balderdash

Three answers per commenter with annotations, upto 6 PM.

The Vertebra above the Axis

 

ACROSS

3   A Pole not having right gas (5)

8   Universal constant found in thither Canadian territory? (5)

9   37 chopped up on a rocky ridge (5)

10 Manage German boat wheel handle (4)

12 Falls on the US-Canada border (7)

14 Small European peninsula was a part of the USSR (7)

15 Root held by goddess when going back (4)

16 This level is usually said to be mean (3)

20 Straw returned without testing first leads to armed conflicts (4)

23 Old army captured princess in this country (5)

24 Locus of a point halfway between 3 and 40 (7)

25 Suck endlessly about a Bolivian Capital (5)

26 Liquidate mixed lime without setter before time (4)

27 Drug associated with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (3)

29 Magma found in Malavalli (4)

34 Pete holds a mammal in capital city (7)

36 City where a cart is heard to take the place of five in an island (7)

37 Growth climbing up in a beer tavern (4)

38 A boy lost an egg on a ship at the bottom of the ocean … (5)

39 You heard three times (both sides included) some rock ... (5)

40 Opposite of 3 ! (5)

DOWN

1   Anyhow, with energy and without pain, confuse an animal (5)

2   Looks with wide eyes at spectacles (7)

4   All right, an artist has lady's finger (4)

5   Hundreds or thousands of kilos (4)

6   A bone of contention between us and Pakistan, Sir, for example (5)

7   Mark heard refrain after sailor went away (5)

11 Hand over produce (4)

13 Something that goes with carpets and herrings (3)

17 Broadcast a song (3)

18 You may fall over this in a flat world! (4)

19 Orient rattling seat (4)

20 Mae, for example, shall never meet 19 ... (4)

21 Stone a missile after alien leaves (4)

22 Chairman found in Macao after accountant went away (3)

24 General returns with a fish (3)

26 Can't women wear this handcuff (7)

28 Fix temperature at badger colony (4)

30 Turkish military commander captured by Hagar (3)

31 Type of cat tag found in outskirts of Bombay (5)

32 Beats around an animal (5)

33 Yap but settle accounts (3,2)

35 Therefore, Latin ogre mutates (4)

36 Without hesitation, it's a jester's business (4)

To attempt the Crossword on a separate page follow the link BALDERDASH

Enjoy.

Special, Sunday 18 Aug 2013, Balderdash

Three answers per commenter. Annotations compulsory.

A rag man comes round again

Across

    1  Prizes for engineers heading hospital sections (7)

    5  Tallboy's compartments for underclothes (7)

    9  Lad went after vehicle for a container (6)

  10  Untied, reformed and joined (6)

  12  Pass around baths (4)

  13  Note, water-fall from the sky goes here (5)

  14  Cupid's sore back (4)

  15  Bony structures usually stowed in cupboards (9)

  21  Consumed a tangerine extract initially (3)

  22  Beverage heard to be found in Ooty (3)

  23  In no sense, can this be prohibitions about torn money (2,2,5)

  28  Lion King's nemessis's wound (4)

  30  Newton was provoked into thought by Adam's fruit (5)

  31  Money can be found in neurosurgery (4)

  32  This kind of labour is not for the ladies? (6)

  33  An influential person's large callibre weapon (3,3)

  34  Vows acknowledged with "I do" (7)

  35  Warlike manner in which learner followed rattled Amrita (7)

Down

    2  Day dreamers with energy put headgear first in a ship (9)

    3  Apprehends detentions (7)

    4  Option between perform and perish: Pass behind the opening split open (2-2-3)

    6  Perform multiplication and come across (3,4)

    7  See a clever chap on a headland (7)

    8  Sat on an egg at a horseshow (5)

  11  Beat a tin with energy (4)

  16  You can open any lock if you use one of 15 with this (3)

  17  Sign like a lion after losing a number (3)

  18  Place ball on a type of shirt? (3)

  19  Either way, she is a sister (3)

  20  Polls about reefer and ... (9)

  23  ... country sport in Bundi (7)

  24  Falls back again before an artiste (7)

  25  Topographic depiction of spam sent back (4)

  26  Circulating air came to the new world (7)

  27  Trick of building snow vehicle on time (7)

  29  Telecom major's concealed symbol (5)

To attempt the crossword on a separate page follow the link BALDERDASH 2

Enjoy.

Special, Sunday 02 Jun 13, Balderdash

1. Each commenter can give three answers with annotations.
2. Answers to the additional clues marked as North, West, East and South are also part of the quota of three.

Left, Right, Left ....

As you will see, this is an unorthodox grid because:-

1. The four corner areas do not have any connection with each other (or so it seems).

2. There is a central area unlinked to the above.

c3. There are a few squares which apparently do not form part of any word to be filled in. These have been filled up in advance since they do are unlinked.

Proceed in the usual way you solve your puzzles.

The part below is not essential to or compulsory for solving the puzzle. However, it can offer an extra twist.

Once you solve the entire puzzle, you will notice:-

1. There are four crosses in the grid. If you start from the square to the north of any cross, and go around the cross either from the left or from the right, up to the square to the south of that cross, you will get two words of 5 letters each which are similar to each other in structure and spelling but differ very slightly.

2. A similar variation may also be seen in the squares diagonally adjacent to the central square.

Alternatively, you may want to solve the words around the crosses first, before attempting to solve the regular clues.

For doing this the clues are:

North: Chap is penniless (5)

West:  Weak beat (5)

East: Insipid pattern (5)

South: Colourless gap (5)

Each of these clues has two definitions and no wordplay. The two answers have exactly the same spelling except for one letter. One answer goes round the cross from the left and the other from the right, though not necessarily in the same order as given in the clue.

ACROSS       

7   Ivy-league university where maize is placed in front of tailors' four feet (7)

8   Food for an unending body of soldiers (7)

9   Make a monk give up his habit (7)

10 King, before dark times, created jumpers (7)

11 Rearrange file for a period till death (4)

14 Be complicit in a crime to beat revolutionary (4)

15 This, when old, may be seen on top of flagpoles in the U.S. (5)

18 Expand outward and erupt suddenly (5)

21 Energy, money and a bit of daring can get you an expensive metal (4)

22 God with zero noise (4)

23 Strange dialect's stronghold  (7)

25 Engineers mould and form into new pattern (7)

27 Off and on football tournament held in honour of Malaysian independence (7)

28 Extra cloth stitched with thin material seems like arranging to an auditor (1,6)

DOWN        

1   This when ingrown may lead to elation? (7)

2   Remodelling earring made him more mad (7)

3   Bar endlessly and form a group (4)

4   Latin American labourer is an office assistant in India (4)

5   Glossal sounds made by Mulligan after dropping some money and running around (7)

6   Wing component made by dad after consuming some egg (7)

12 Furtively, at first, saw disembowelled lady twice (5)

13 Big number right in the centre (5)

16 Initially Zambian iodine was modified and charged (7)

17 Personal identification documents that are like greetings for a Muslim festival (2,5)

19 North has no right to make gin cocktail from scratch (7)

20 Frigid wind can pin you both ways. Good! (7)

24 Scared sounds made by females during geek shows (4)

26 Without opening hardish sort of vegetable (6)

Correction - 26 Dock and put back thin slippery fishes (4)

Enjoy.

LINK TO SOLUTION