Friday 18 June 2010

No 9872, Friday 18 Jun 10, Nita Jaggi

We've been Shanghaied!
ACROSS
8   - Ambassador is over on stage not being caught in action (14) - {RE}{PRESENT}{AcTION} !?! Shouldn't this be Representative ?
9   - Want to first develop the land (6) - {D}{EARTH}
10 - Pill bottles may be obtained at this outlet (8) - PHARMACY [CD] 
11 - Play the guitar inside the ship in an old city (8) - {S{TAGIRU}S}
13 - Chew back odd ends of the swallowed stuff (6) - {GULP}{E}{D}<-
14 - Sweet language (6) - DANISH [DD]
16 - Checks with a consultant to develop hospitals finally (6) - {PROBE}{S}
19 - Southern territory of the Greek city (6) - {S}{PART}A How about the A ? Why not Old City here?
21 - Arty second home designed in the borders of Abidjan (8) - {B}{OHEM*}I{A}{N} Where did I come from?
23 - Sealed containers (8) - AIRTIGHT [CD]
24 - No bad habit of the learner (6) - {NO}{VICE}
26 - To glorify the President, note that the dean and apostle together are enigmatic (3,2,1,8) - {P}{UT} {ON A PEDESTAL*}What kind of note is UT ?
DOWN
1   - Pulled in an advertiser oddly out at six (8) - ARRESTEDvi*
2   - Encourage some leaders purposely (4) - SPUR [T]
3   - Nab the woman beneath (6) - {NET}{HER}
4   - Condemn the Democratic leader initially executing the foreign agents (7) - {DE}{SPISE*}
5   - An outsider is on the street, confines with hesitation (8) - {ST}RANG{ER} Confines and rang ? What's the connection here?
6   - Losing boxer mumbles but breaks down (10) - STUMBLEBUM* Should have been Losing compiler!
7   - Old boy climbs up for you to rinse out one fabric (6) - {BO<-}{U}{CLEan}
12 - Mostly give birth to one acceptable race (10) - {GENERATe}{I}{ON} Generation and Race !!
15 - City has constructed a new good hospital with an Indian leader (8) - {SHA*}{N}{G}{H}{A}{I}
17 - In silence go up again somehow to capture Henry in the city (8) - S?A?C?L?
18 - Countenanced wrongdoing (7) - ABETTED [CD]
20 - Bishop is a fussy American (6) - {PRIM}{US}
22 - Watch the predator (6) - HUNTER [DD]
25 - Write-in for the Vatican in the book in English (4) - {V}{OT}{E}

54 comments:

  1. @ COL: Your top line says it all. BTW, Shanghai and Bangalore being cities which have been converted into verbs.

    Today Sparta is called Sparti, but extra letter is still unexplained.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not happy about 16a either.

    FIFA:
    The coloured goalie is raw? (5)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Since NJ has used many city names today, here is an interesting top 50, of course I have censored No 1

    Here’s a list of the top 50 most Bizarre city names around the world and trust me some of them are really bizarre, funny and weird. The number one is surely unbelievable but it is true. So here we go:

    50) Hot Water (Mississippi, USA)
    49) No Name (Colorado, USA)
    48) Hooker (Oklahoma, USA)
    47) Odd (West Virginia, USA)
    46) Normal (Illinois, USA)
    45) Okay (Oklahoma, USA)
    44) Plain City (Utah, USA)
    43) Embarrass (Minnesota, USA)
    42) Bird in Hand (Pennsylvania, USA)
    41) Hygiene (Colorado, USA)
    40) Looneyville (Texas, USA)
    39) Gravesend (England)
    38) Whiskey Dick Mountain (Washington State, USA)
    37) Hell (Michigan, USA)
    36) Disappointment (Kentucky, USA)
    35) Middelfart (Denmark)
    34) Wetwang (England)
    33) Lolita (Texas, USA)
    32) Shetland Islands (Scotland)
    31) Cockburn (Western Australia)
    30) Dollarbeg (Scotland)
    29) Wagga Wagga (Australia)
    28) Can do (North Dakota, USA)
    27) Ass (Ukraine)
    26) Gayville (South Dakota, USA)
    25) My Large Intestine (Texas, USA)
    24) ii (Finland)
    23) Pussy creek (Ohio, USA)
    22) Needmore (Texas, USA)
    21) Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu (New Zealand)
    20) Beer Bottle Crossing (Idaho, USA)
    19) Poopoo (Hawaii, USA)
    18) Sexi (Peru)
    17) Acme (West Virginia, USA)
    16) Burning Well (Pennsylvania, USA)
    15) Assawoman (Virginia, USA)
    14) Dead Chinaman (Papua New Guinea)
    13) Dwarf (Kentucky, USA)
    12) Big Bone Lick (USA)
    11) Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Wales)
    10) Truth Or Consequences (New Mexico, USA)
    9) Climax (Michigan, USA)
    8) Fart (Virginia, USA)
    7) Blowhard (Australia)
    6) Why (Arizona, USA)
    5) Dildo (Newfoundland, Canada)
    4) Intercourse (Pennsylvania, USA)
    3) Boring (Oregon, USA)
    2) French Lick (Indiana, USA)
    1) F***ing (Austria)

    The list with some images can be seen at BIZARRE CITY NAMES

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not surprisingly 33 of those 50 are from the USA

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi everyone

    Today too I solved about 50% and then put my hands up.

    8A I had confidently put in REPRESENTATIVE and got stuck at 7D'

    Deepak: 21 - Arty second home designed in the borders of Abidjan (8) - {B}{OHEM*}I{A}{N} Where did I come from?

    That was a good question. Many would be inclined to say 'from Coimbatore!' :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL, damn funny list...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deepak @ 08:54 - the list was hilarious. Thanks for bringing in some cheer amidst the Xwd-solving blues.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @CV: Describes the status of my confidence !

    @Col: Great list. Look CV has clairvoyantly mentioned Erode. Not to forget Ziro. I got an initial doubt if number 21 was longer than the previously touted longest place name (number 11). It visually looks longer. But a quick check showed 11 being longer than 21 at 58 by one letter.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kishore, just curious... What's with your goalie obsession with goalies?

    ReplyDelete
  10. CV and SR,
    Reference your solution at the ORKUT group, for 17D, it will not fit the crossings. NJ seems to have given the wrong clue for 17D. it looks like she is copy pasting clues from a data base that's why the answers for 15D and 17D are the same.

    ReplyDelete
  11. L in lower case takes less space that's why 11 looks shorter, and there are 11 of them there. What a coincidence 11 looks like two ll's

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rufus has a published clue for 11 in The Guardian.

    ReplyDelete
  13. VJ: Next to Goa lies the sea !

    ReplyDelete
  14. While on city names, I found the name of Gita's host city - Granite Bay - also interesting, but certainly not bizarre. I have come across similar names in southern part of India. (Maybe in the north as well.)

    I am sure Tamil Nadu will have an equivalent of Granite Bay somewhere. Around my city we have places with names beginning with 'Mura' which in local languages means 'Granite quarry'. Btw, what is the background of 'Karikal' or 'Karaikal'?

    In out district we have a place called Karkala (derived from local words for 'black stone') - a Jain pilgrimage centre which has a tall monolithic statue of a Jain tirthankar.

    ReplyDelete
  15. @Col: Twice Shanghaied: {SHA*}{N}{G}{H}{A}{I} and
    {SH}{ANG(H)AI*}

    ReplyDelete
  16. @ Rich:Ane-kal (elephant rock), Hogene-kal (Smoking rock); Castle Rock (UK) is the best of all, sounding quite Anglican until one goes deeper: UK being Uttara Kannada district.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Speaking of unusual city names - did you know there's a Vedic City in Iowa?

    http://www.maharishivediccity.com/

    BTW, Event(s) created on Orkut and FaceBook announcing the Sloggers & Bloggers Meet.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Pattadakal and Namakkal also come to mind.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Read here about KARKALA and
    MORE ON KARKALA

    Can someone tell me about Karaikal, after reading the above threads? It is several meanings, I'm told - like 'fish pass', 'lime mix' and 'canal'.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kishore@9:09,
    I know we've been double Shangaied but the second one doesn't fit in the scheme of things

    ReplyDelete
  21. correction to 09:29 - 'It has several meanings...'

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Col: 929: You are perfectly right, of course. But can NJ fathom the angst of the poor sap who fills in 17d first?

    ReplyDelete
  23. 17D. I read the discussion in the Orkut community and also tried to see if the clue for 15D fits the crossings. Nothing works.

    Maybe it is STANCHLY. Though how that means In silence I am not sure and Stanly is a county not a city.

    ReplyDelete
  24. And talking of Granite Bay, I was in Roseville CA for a couple of days in May.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Suresh
    My daughter and her family live in El Dorado Hills in the same area of CA. I have stayed there twice and visited Granite Bay often though at a time when I did not know Gita Iyer. We might have been in the same gatherings without knowing each other.
    Recently at a wedding in Bangalore a visitor from Sacramento recalled my part in a group dance during an event there.

    ReplyDelete
  26. An old friend from college days is a practising Accountant in Roseville.

    Small world

    ReplyDelete
  27. @Suresh - Why didn't you look me up? GB is an unincorporated part of Roseville. I was at HP Roseville for 15 yrs! We could have solved - wait, gnashed our teeth - together!

    ReplyDelete
  28. @Chaturvasi - the visitor returned today, and promptly called me to inform me of your presence at the wedding.

    There is photographic evidence that our paths have crossed - Avaniyavattam. The only female there. In 9 yards.

    I am standing a few feet behind you and your SIL ;-)

    @Suresh - who is the accountant? I bet I know him.

    ReplyDelete
  29. @Gita. Hemant Parulkar. His wife Ashwini runs a shop called Alterations Express for outfitting garments.

    I did not realise you were close by. Besides I was on a rushed holiday for 2 days at his place and then spent 2 days at Fremont. For some reason I thought you were somewhere near New York

    ReplyDelete
  30. VJ and Kishore: Ref to your GOALIE talk, view this: AMUL GOALIE

    ReplyDelete
  31. Richard, link's not working.

    ReplyDelete
  32. VJ @ 11:47 - It's working fine from my lappie here, using Mozilla Firefox. Anyway, try this:

    http://www.amul.com/hits.html

    ReplyDelete
  33. Col; @14A
    So Sweet of you!!
    Now that my son has gone to live in Denmark and he is so fond of pastries, I am sending him this puzzle and your sweet picture.Thanks for the delight offered

    ReplyDelete
  34. Dr@12:14,
    What a puzzle to send to your son!! I am sure there are better CW's to send him rather than these offerings of NJ.

    ReplyDelete
  35. CV@10:56, Suresh@11:02 & Gita@11:15,

    The world just got smaller, a few feet infact!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Col; @12.21

    Take heart sir,

    I sent only 14A and Not the full puzzle.

    I am aware that he can't stand (like most of us here)NJ's offering.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Col:@ 8:51
    Bizarre City Names.

    I had passed through the Station No 11 in Wales 2 decades back, advertised then as the "Station with the Longest name in the world". I still have the Picture Postcard of this station.
    Today I have learnt that No.21 in New Zealand has overtaken that record!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Dr.@12:39
    Actually the longest is the old Thai name for Bangkok which goes like
    Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit

    In Sanskrit this is
    Krung-dēvamahānagara amararatanakosindra mahindrayudhyā mahātilakabhava navaratanarājadhānī purīramya uttamarājanivēsana mahāsthāna amaravimāna avatārasthitya shakrasdattiya vishnukarmaprasiddhi

    If you look at Wiki for Bangkok you can also listen to the pronunciation

    ReplyDelete
  39. @12.39
    I stand corrected.Did not see Kishore's comment@9.00 on 11 & 21.

    and Thanks Suresh on Thai name for Bangkok.

    How much to learn from this forum!!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Dr

    11 has 58 characters.

    21 only 57.

    Suresh

    The old name for Bangkok, 168 (ignoring spaces).

    ReplyDelete
  41. Deepak and Kishore: Re Shanghai and Bangalore being used as verbs, I thought of telling you about the book
    BANGALORED the expat story by Eshwar Sundaresan, a good friend and former media colleague of mine. He is an IT techie-turned-fulltime-author, based in Bangalore.

    @ Shuchi, this might interest you as well.

    ReplyDelete
  42. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  43. @ Richard/Col. Read the link and found the Madras Sappers were linked to a torpedo of this name, the regiment the Col. served with !

    ReplyDelete
  44. Kishore 15:34 - Thanks. I had already thought of giving that firstworldwar.com link as well, but then from the link I gave it would have been picked in any case, just as you have done.

    ReplyDelete
  45. @ Rich 1130: Shows that I aint the only one with the goalie fetish. The link brought a lot of memories back as this was an ad campaign I used to look out for over the years, and felt sad when the hoarding near Johnson Market stopped carrying them. Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Going thro the list of place names again, if Wagga Wagga can figure why not Doom Dooma, Assam

    ReplyDelete
  47. @COL: THe US has more funny sounding places than many other countries. There's Truth or COnsequences, New Mexico. Temperance, OH etc etc.

    @Richard: the 'kaarai' of Karaikal stands for scrub forest. The suffix is 'kaal', not 'kal'.

    ReplyDelete
  48. VJ 0900: See the third one on this page:

    http://www.amul.com/1990hits/page2.html

    ReplyDelete
  49. Today's answer is GREEN. Tomorrow not a goalie.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Richard, it's working fine now... Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Kishore (20:30) funny :)

    ReplyDelete
  52. 21 A - Where did I come from? - Deepak Sir turned child - didn't he?

    ReplyDelete
  53. A great redound! Congrats, subramaniam.

    A child asking an innocent question!

    ReplyDelete

deepakgita@gmail.com