Wednesday 13 January 2010

No 9739, Wednesday 13 Jan 10, Sankalak

ACROSS
 1  - With a repaired, reset grip, Owen gets something to make driving easier (5,8) - POWER STEERING*
10 - Food contaminant puts an ox in fatal trip (9) - AFLATOXIN*
11 - Quick moving one, parish priest swallows big apple? Quite the opposite (5) - N{I}{PP}Y
12 - People protect a leader of vaids, an expert (5) - M{A}{V}EN New word for me
13 - Unpleasantly noticeable virus, to be controlled (9) - OBTRUSIVE*
14 - Cedar tree of the Himalayas…. (6) - DEODAR [CD]

16 - …and another tree, black, rich variety (5) - {B}IRCH*

19 - Severance within the limits of aerospace is serious (5) - A{CUT}E
20 - Oxford University in one-day matches? Detestable! (6) - ODI{OU}S
25 - Mouth organ (9) - HARMONICA [E]

26 - Czech author of The Trial (5) - KAFKA [E]
27 - A half-note both ways (5) - MINIM [CD]
28 - Boundary set by a saint around thick frost (9) - PE{RIME}TER
29 - He may cause ‘relative’ embarrassment to town dwellers (7,6) - COUNTRY COUSIN [CD]
DOWN
 2  - Old boy, playing violin, is in a state of forgetfulness… (8) - {OB}LIVION*
 3  - ….consumed, in a trance, a tenuous state (5) - EATEN [T]
 4  - Church official gets cross, being taken in by author Anya (6) - SE{X}TON
 5  - Scientist, good man escorted by one German on either side (8) - {EIN}{ST}{EIN}
 6  - Name a big cat caught by socialist and given up (9) - RE{N}{OUNCE}D

 7  - It provides cover for a consumer (6) - NAPKIN [CD]
 8  - Master, targeted, was seriously wounded (6) - {M}{AIMED}
 9  - Over-stimulated and excessive in a prefix (5) - HYPER [DD]
15 - TV artist, not necessarily a sailor (9) - ANCHORMAN [CD]
17 - One providing bare entertainment (8) - STRIPPER [E]
18 - Bits of paper thrown at wedding in church not fit for reconstitution (8) - {C}ONF{E}TTI*

21 - Shining brightly when filled with leading players (6) - STARRY [DD]
22 - Caprices often coupled with fancies (5) - WHIMS [CD]
23 - New troop trained without any delay (6) - PRO{N}TO
24 - Material that is wonderful, almost luxurious (6) - {FAB}{RIC(-h)} Nice clue
26 - Edible weed procured from a Kumarakom businessman (5) - KOMBU [T]

8 comments:

  1. A very good morning to all of you.

    Many interesting clues. 29A, 5D, 17D, for example.

    Sparks of wit and creativity here and there.

    26 Edible weed procured from a Kumarakom businessman (5) KOMBU
    I got it as a hidden answer. First I thought it could be a word from one of the South Indian languages. (KOMBU in Kannada means the horn of an animal and also a blowing musical instrument. In the days of yore, the latter was in fact was made of domestic animals' horns. So the name may have stuck.)

    A Google search revealed its Japanese origin, meaning a weed.


    Richard

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  2. Hi all,

    Thanx Col, for taking me into the club. Enjoyed Sankalak's setting today. Also moved up from 1330 to 1100. Though a little anxious about keeping this winning streak with Nita Jaggi around. Somehow, she (right?) stumps me.

    Made one mistake. Nippy instead of Nappy. In horse training Nappy also means jumpy or quick moving. Hence the slip.

    Thanx again col for the welcome.

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  3. Fairly easy & comfortable setting today.

    @ Colonel - re 'Maven' : I first came to know about it from the book 'Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell. You may find it as an interesting read.

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  4. @Suresh MS,

    NJ starts from the day after tomorrow so gear up for that. Not to worry you will move up to long before 0830 as the days go by.

    @Afterdark,

    Thanks for the info, shall look that up sometime.

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  5. @Suresh MS,
    You are right NJ is she.

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  6. @Suresh MS,
    I didn't know that meaning of NAPPPY

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  7. William Safire, who wrote a column on the English language in the New York Times (which was reproduced in Frontine and ToI) and who passed away some months ago, was known as word maven.

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  8. Hi friends

    I may not have access to the Net tomorrow, Jan 14. So here's wishing you all a happy Pongal / Makara Sankranti in advance.

    Richard

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