Saturday 3 July 2010

No 9885, Saturday 03 Jul 10, M Manna

ACROSS
1   - Agree when dispatched, from the sound of it (6) - {AS}{SENT}
4   - Pledges action on scolds (8) - {WAR}{RANTS}
10 - The place of the bibliophile? (7) - READING [DD]
11 - Not right to deter scholar, taking part in the discussion (7) - {DE{BA}TER}
12 - Time to act with adroitness in management (4) - {T}{ACT}


13 - A blockade that should yield dividends (10) - INVESTMENT [DD]
16 - Come in substance for the quantity (6) - AMOUNT Anno pending
17 - A German worker in metals? (7) - SCHMIDT  [E]
20 - Affirms foolishly with rest, the dope (7) - {ASS}{ERTS*}
21 - Many have no proper name to be given (6) - {A{NO}NYM*}
24 - Agree I can set off. It's not far (2,8) - {NO D}{I}{STANCE*}
25 - A Greek character takes a gamble in a way (4) - {BET}{A}
27 - Soon before being protracted (7) - {ERE}{LONG}
29 - Stop arrival in last carriage (7) - {B{ARR}IER}
30 - Focused on a victim (8) - TARGETED [CD]
31 - Claimed for oneself (6) - CADGED ? [E]
DOWN
1   - Get artist to stir graduate up in a centre of Sikh religion (8) - {AM}{RITS}{AR} <-
2   - As unfortunate as Romeo and Juliet in actors' dress that is loose (4,7) - STAR CROSSED*
3   - What both the skilled and unskilled carpenter may hit (4) - NAIL [CD]
5   - Ceremonial interview of niece, acceptable to DA, not proper (8) - {A{U}D*}{IENCE*}
6   - Possibly giving men a better discount (10) - REBATEMENT*
7   - Crazy person with an obsessive interest (3) - NUT [CD]
8   - Different levels of society assembled to start on time (6) - {STRA{T}A}
9   - A decent fellow works for someone else (5) - {A}{GENT}
14 - In conclusion, severe irritation is making life hazardous (11) - {END}{ANGERING}
15 - At most ninetten, you stress (10) - {UNDER}{SCORE}
18 - Odd about money – put the squeeze on (8) - {STRANG{L}E}
19 - Handicapped member declares he can safely fail to vote (8) - {I}{MP}{AIRED} ?
22 - Create a popular outlet (6) - {IN}{VENT}
23 - Dope in British Columbia, disturbed over fungal disease in apples (5) - SCABS*
26 - Part of city designated for a special purpose (4) - AREA ?[CD]
28 - Hesitation may make one miss the mark (3) - ERR [DD]



29 comments:

  1. Come in substance for the quantity (6)

    I don't like this clue; I am merely providing the intended anno:
    Come in substance - v. to come in substance - to come in quantity - to amount - AMOUNT
    quantity - AMOUNT
    Not an acceptable DD.

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  2. 11 ... taking part in the discussion

    Is this the def? How can this lead to DEBATER, n.

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  3. I presume Manna means the debater is taking part in the discussion!

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  4. Claimed for oneself (6) - CADGED ? [E] It is BAGGED.

    The relevant meaning of bag here being Make first claim on something; take possession of

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  5. 1 Agree when dispatched, from the sound of it (6)
    {AS}{SENT}.

    May be I don't see it, but what is the need for "from the sound of it" ?

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  6. It is a botched-up homophone clue.

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  7. A decent fellow works for someone else (5)

    This clue leaves me dissatisfied. What do others think?
    OK, the anno is A GENT, indicated by A and 'decent fellow'.
    What is the def?
    works for someone else, as Deepak has shown?
    But how can that lead to AGENT, whih is noun?
    Is the def the whole of the clue?
    If so, is it a proper &lit? Personally I don't think so.
    Many of these clues - except for those brilliant ones from unknown source - leave me cold.

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  8. Off topic

    I believe that Deepika Padukone has been voted sexiest in the world by FHM magazine.

    Really?

    Who decides? How? I am sorry I don't even know what this magazine is. Anyway -

    I am one of those who think this person is not a model model (if you know what I mean). Yet all these accolades come her way!

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  9. 8A,
    I don't get the Anno. If T is for time, from where does the extra A come?

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  10. @CVasi : AGENT isn't the first problem. Over the past few days we have been wondering about the standard of clueing and the general lackadaisical attempts by Manna.

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  11. @Dr : Add one more to the botched clue list. And another for the typo in 15A (nineteen)

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  12. Bhavan
    If there were a crossword editor and if the crosswords were assessed, many of these puzzles won't see the light of day.

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  13. NO DISTANCE, STAR-CROSSED, REBATEMENT, UNDERSCORE (ignoring the misprint) - where do these clues come from?

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  14. I think I will stick to only what I like: It was ERELONG before I hit it on the NAIL. 3D was a cool one with not only the two types of carpenters but crossword solvers also hitting it. Liked Amritar moderately. Couple of donkeys in 1 and 20.Reminds me of a riddle I had made a long time back: Ahead of hundred and fifty donkeys: (5,6) Some of us might have held that position long back.

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  15. 2D - that is loose, an anagram indicator?

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  16. 12A - Isn't 'in management' unnecessary ?

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  17. CV@8:53,

    Isn't an agent a person who works for someone else? For example LIC agent, Commission agent etc. The clue seems okay to me.

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  18. 9D probably would have been better as

    A decent fellow, he works for someone else.

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  19. Giridhar@9:49

    Loose is the anagram indicator

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  20. A typo in 19d.

    @ CV: Regarding the Padukone: The first Padukone in films Vasanthkumar Shivshankar Padukone is highly acclaimed. His screen name was Gurudutt.

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  21. 9D: My understanding is that it is OK to use verb phrases to define a noun that could stand as their subject. This is not Ximenean, but many crosswords (including Azed) allow it.

    So, "works for someone else" can be accepted as definition for AGENT, as AGENT is the subject of the verb phrase.

    I like 2D and 6D today.

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  22. Shuchi

    You will notice that 2d and 6d are also among the four or five that I marked as 'outstanding' - in more senses than one.

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  23. Hi CV Sir, I'd missed reading your 9:07 comment earlier, thanks for mentioning it. The difference between the four clues you've highlighted and a lot of the rest is painfully obvious!

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  24. 8D STRATA Presumably the last A stands for annum and equated to time

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  25. Suresh@12.12

    Thanks for the explanation. Difficult to presume this though I solved this word.

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  26. WEEKEND TRIVIA

    Further to Kishore's 10:16 on the Padukone connection with Mumbai movieland:

    Guru Dutt's father, Shivashankar Rao Padukone, hailing from Panambur, Mangalore, later settled in Bhawanipore, West Bengal. Bengali culture and way of life seem to have influenced Guru Dutt a lot. Added to this, since Dutt is a common Bengali surname, he was thought to be, and is still being believed to have been, a Bengali. He married a Bengali actress-singer, Geeta Roy, who thereafter came to be known as Geeta Dutt.

    Does anyone remember one of Guru Dutt's memorable movies, Chaudhvin Ka Chand? Its memorable songs, set to music by Ravi, included the title song, soul-stirringly rendered by Mohammed Rafi and Badle badle mere sarkar nazar aate hain by Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar.

    Guru Dutt's younger brother Atmaram too was well known as a moviemaker. His Umang had Subhash Ghai making a debut as a hero. Ghai failed to make a mark in his acting career, but after turning a director, the next decade on, went on to become the most-recognized showman in Bollywood after Raj Kapoor.

    Guru Dutt's mother Vasanti's cousin Balakrishna B Benegal also had a connection with the tinsel world as a film poster painter. Her another brother Sridhar's son, Shyam Benegal, is a big name in the industry.

    Guru Dutt's sister Lalita Lajmi nee Padukone has been a celebrity painter. Her daughter is the renowned film director, Kalpana Lajmi (also spelt 'Lazmi').

    Deepika, as known to most of us already, is the daughter of former Badminton world champion Prakash Padukone. Not sure if the two Padukone families are in any related to each other.

    Incidentally, Padukone is the name of a village in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district in Karnataka. It has been a practice among the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins to adopt the place-names as family names / surnames in meaningful commemoration of their ancestors and family roots.

    Examples - Karnad, Benegal, Shirali, Chandavarkar, Mankekar, Ankola, Gersoppa, Nilekani, Koppikar, Nagarkatti (shortened in some cases as Nag, like Anant Nag), Kaikini, Hattangadi, Kalyanpur etc. All these owe their origin to towns and villages in the Kanara districts of the western coast of Karnataka.

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  27. Correction:

    Not sure if the two Padukone families are anywise related to each other.

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  28. Last call for votes!

    In case you have not participated in the poll yet, do so now. Poll closes tonight.

    Do you like the non-cryptic clues in The Hindu Crossword?

    Results will be announced early next week.

    ReplyDelete

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