Tuesday 13 August 2013

No 10850, Tuesday 13 Aug 2013, Buzzer

 Some enjoyable, though ticky tricky, definitions from Buzzer today.

ACROSS
1   Cold liquor with a hint of barley grain (5) CRUMB {C}{RUM}{B}
4   Group is mostly loyal to ultimate cause (9) COMMITTEE {COMMITTEd}{E}
9   British queen about to appear in slip (7) BLOOMER {B}{LOOM}{ER}
10 Singular burning urge to eat a date or sweet (7) SUGARED {S}{UG{A}RE*}{D}
11 Sign of rickshaw alongside a tree perhaps (9) AUTOGRAPH {AUTO}{GRAPH}
12 In absentia, Ravenclaw’s diadem (5) TIARA [T]
13 Rang English church to get reference book (6) ECHOED {E}{CH}{OED}
15 Judas and people he betrayed (8) PEEPHOLE* Never knew that most of us had a Judas at home!!
18 Double check the development of staff (8) STUNTMAN {STUNT}{MAN}
19 Publicity in charge faced backlash temporarily (3,3) PRO TEM {PRO} {TEM<=}
22 After delayed start, talk gas (5) ARGON jARGON
24 Creatively bloody low film industry (9) BOLLYWOOD*
26 Shape or form of carbon (7) DIAMOND [DD]
27 Loads of delays in broadcast (7) WEIGHTS (~waits)
28 Gives out order to send spies (9) DISPENSES*
29 Before time like a nobleman? (5) EARLY [DD]

DOWN
1   Outsiders in China live around land leading to Gobi (7) CABBAGE {ChinA}{B{BAG}E}
2   Regular curbs on anti-German warship (1-4) U-BOAT cUr-Bc On AnTi
3   Please do visit our home (2,2,5) BE MY GUEST [CD] [DD] - See comments
4   Breakfast item ordered on the phone (6) CEREAL (~serial)
5   Evil description of Bond’s boss? (8) MISCHIEF {M}{IS}{CHIEF}
6   Gathered under popular bar (5) INGOT {IN}{GOT}
7   Hill on a front converted to Shivaji’s stronghold (5,4) TORNA FORT {TOR}{A FRONT}* Been there twice on a hike while at Pune.
8   Aged men sadly in final stages (7) ENDGAME*
14 Girl under rough training for a figure like this? (9) HOURGLASS {ROUGH*}{LASS}
Which is your shape?
16 Official policy from not so eccentric personality (5,4) PARTY LINE PERsoNALITY*
17 Moving abroad to settle in The Bahamas island (8) BARBADOS   {B{ABROAD*}S}
18 Burnt and dead inside like a fish? (7) SCALDED {SCAL{D}ED}
20 Simplicity in style followed by a primitive dwelling (7) MODESTY {MODE}{STY}
21 Every other cult has more than one fool (6) CLOWNS {CuLt}{OWNS}
23 Rising in honour of a stoned woman? (5) NIOBE {NI<=}{OBE}
25 Distinct feature of hypnotherapy (5) OTHER [T]

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85 comments:

  1. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 08:32

    A to Q under 14d

    1d

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 08:39

      What is this, Kishore?

      I was about to ask the Col as to whom among his readers does he expect to answer his question under 14d and you, like a mundrikottai have come with a cryptic reply.

      I was always under the impression that these terms relating to body shapes applied only to women.

      I just can't imagine a man having an hourglass appearance or did one with gynecomastia failed to correct it?

      Delete
    2. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 08:44

      Why female only? Most of the ace body builders have hourglass figures.

      Delete
    3. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 08:44

      A to Q - Answer to question :-P

      Delete
    4. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 08:50

      Most bodybuilders have V-Shaped figures

      Delete
    5. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 08:52

      That V is part of the upper half of an hourglass

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:10

      @CV: Better to be a mundrikottai than an OCOM !

      Delete
    7. Richard13 August 2013 at 09:14

      Is mundrikottai an equivalent of haazirjawab in Urdu? Just curious to know.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:17

      Literal meaning is 'kajubi', but idiomatically since the acaju kernal protrudes out of the apple, it means one who jumps the gun...

      Delete
    9. Richard13 August 2013 at 09:17

      And if it means 'cashewnut', what's the context?

      Delete
    10. Richard13 August 2013 at 09:19

      Kishore seems to have answered my question in the meantime, and also admitted he is one..;-)

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:22

      Ref 910

      Delete
    12. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:25

      Heads Up:

      As I launch my new line of work on Thursday, Aug 15th, hereafter, the gun may be the subject of a ceasefire after 9am till I return to the roost

      Delete
    13. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 09:27

      Something like "Late Lateef"?

      Delete
    14. Shrikanth13 August 2013 at 09:28

      The nut in Cashew fruit is outside. That's the context. Eager Beaver. :)

      Delete
    15. Shrikanth13 August 2013 at 09:30

      The nut in Cashew fruit is outside. That's the context. Eager Beaver. :)

      Delete
    16. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:30

      Pl read kernel for kernal in 917

      Delete
    17. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 10:11

      BTW, OCOM is 'Oppukku chappani, Oorukku mankottai'

      Something similar to the Kannada, 'AaaTakke unTu, lekkake illa'

      Delete
    18. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 16:53

      Like to have English version too please !

      Delete
    19. Richard13 August 2013 at 18:52

      Loosely translated it means, 'Counted in for fun, but out of the reckoning for all practical purposes'.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 08:32

    15 Judas and people he betrayed (8) PEEPHOLE* Never knew that most of us had a Judas at home!!

    I only knew of Judas'Gate

    ReplyDelete
  3. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 08:45

    11 Sign of rickshaw alongside a tree perhaps (9) AUTOGRAPH {AUTO}{GRAPH}

    'Sign' of Buzzer having lived in Pune/ Maharashtra, where Rickshaw: Auto and in the South Auto: Autorickshaw

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:11

    Yesterday, my ref to KO was an error. But before that PTO was a ref where O = Over

    ReplyDelete
  5. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 09:24

    3 Please do visit our home (2,2,5) BE MY GUEST [CD]

    Is this a DD? Do visit our home = BE MY GUEST = Please

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 09:55

    Regarding Rawalpindi and Delhi, I quote a remarkable anecdote from The Freedom at Midnight:

    "... was a telephone line linking India and Pakistan. Thanks to that line it was still possible for Rawalpindi 1704 to call a number which might have been a world away, New Delhi 3017. Those were the private numbers of the Commanders-in-Chief of the Pakistani and Indian armies. They were British. They were close friends. They were former comrades in the old Indian Army.

    Just before five o'clock on the afternoon of Friday, 24 October, Maj.-Gen. Douglas Gracey, replacing General Messervy who'd been sent to London, got his first intimation of what had happened in Kashmir through a secret intelligence report. It gave the raiders'strength, armament and their location. Gracey did not hesitate. He immediately went to the private phoe in Messervy's quarters and communicated that precious information to the last man Jinnah would have wanted to get it, the man who commanded the only force which could deny Kashmir to the raiders, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army .

    Lt.-Gen. Sir Rob Lockhart, a Scot and a Sandhurst classmate of Gracey's, was stunned by his old friend's report. He in turn communicated it to two more people, both of them English: the Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten, and Field-Marshal Auchinleck."

    ReplyDelete
  7. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 09:56

    Nice one from Buzzer. Didn't notice too many clues infested with parasites. So wonder why the Col. felt so ;)

    I Had 22A ~(Hour gone).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 09:59

      I had 22A as ~(Hour gone).

      Delete
    2. Bhavan13 August 2013 at 10:01

      May be the ticky reference is to me :) I did say ...A bee in one's bonnet... in the grid. Didn't I?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 10:10

      Now that you mention it...

      In the second and fourteenth row...

      Delete
    4. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 10:10

      Very nice one buzzing around in 2 and 14.

      Is 3 D a DD?

      Delete
    5. Bhavan13 August 2013 at 10:22

      Yes Raghu, it is: Please do // visit our home

      Delete
  8. Col_Gopinath13 August 2013 at 10:23

    TICK(s) removed using TRICK(s) :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 10:31

      I, at first though TICKY was a typo?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 10:32

      And time to put up the highlighted solution grid, Deepak

      Delete
    3. Col_Gopinath13 August 2013 at 10:32

      Yes it was and it turned out to be an unitentional one as I did not see the Nina.

      Delete
    4. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 17:12

      Buzzer "The Trickster" ! He played tricks yesterday and today as well !!

      Delete
  9. VJ13 August 2013 at 10:32

    Gobi and Cabbage???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Col_Gopinath13 August 2013 at 10:34

      Gobi in hindi is Cabbage. In fact 'Bundh Gobi' for cabbage and 'Phool Gobi' for Cauliflower and if I am not wrong 'Gaant Gobi' (Gaant is Knot) for Knol-Khol

      Delete
    2. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 10:38

      I think VJ probably means Gobi required reference to the Indian word?

      But, I like the plausibility in the clue conn. China to Gobi (desert)

      Delete
    3. VJ13 August 2013 at 10:41

      Oh, I didn't know the Hindi word for Cabbage.

      Delete
    4. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 10:41

      I think VJ has a point. There should have been an indicator to signal an Indian/Hindi word

      Delete
    5. Bhavan13 August 2013 at 10:49

      The English language adapts words from a variety of languages including Hindi. Chambers has:

      gobi (n): A cabbage or cauliflower. ORIGIN : Hindi and Punjabi

      Why would it need an indicator any more than say

      autograph (n) : A signature. ORIGIN : Greek autos + graphein ?

      Delete
    6. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 10:55

      None of the online ones had it. Hence my comment @10:41.

      Delete
    7. VJ13 August 2013 at 11:07

      I hardly know any Hindi and I thought Gobi was a different vegetable altogether.

      Well I ain't never had no Gobi Manchurian with Cabbages in 'em and hence my surprise.

      Delete
    8. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 11:09

      Ramesh you would have got a whole load of links if you searched for 'Gobi' Manchurian :-)

      Delete
    9. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 11:18

      Links yes. But no Dictionary ref to Gobi :). Possibly the first time I think I have seen the online dictionaries not having a word which is available in the printed edition.

      Delete
    10. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 11:53

      Oxford dictionary online has it :) http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gobi?q=Gobi

      Delete
  10. Unknown13 August 2013 at 11:08

    Cabbage, in North India, is known as 'bund gobhi', and cauliflower is 'phool gobhi'.
    Tricky puzzle to-day, couldn't complete it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 11:32

    Gridman once had the following clue:

    27 Desert town near Erode in south India (4)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 11:41

      Reference to Gobichettypalayam ? Is that called Gobi too?

      Delete
    2. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 11:48

      Uncle Google helps confirm that the above is true. It ( Should it be he ?) also says it is spelled as Gobichettipalayam.

      Delete
    3. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 12:53

      Had been to Gobi near Erode way back in 1966 for an Annual Training NCC Camp from school.

      Delete
    4. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 12:59

      Travelling from CBE, as you just enter Gobi at left there is a famous marriage hall in spacious grounds. I have attended one or two weddings there.

      Delete
    5. Suresh13 August 2013 at 13:11

      And my father once worked for Gubbi & Co in Bombay.

      Delete
    6. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 13:15

      I think 'gubbi' in Kannada means sparrow!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 13:29

      Also, there is a town called Gubbi near Bangalore. A famous Kannada thatre director Gubbi Veeranna was from that place. There used to be a Gubbi Veeranna Theatre in Majestic area of Bangalore.

      Delete
  12. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 11:36

    Chambers on my machine has the sense 'vegetable' for Gobi.

    The online Chambers does not have it because it isi what is called the 21st Chambers Dictionary that is an abridged dictionary eliminating archaic, obsolete, Scot and other language derivations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard13 August 2013 at 11:59

      GOBI had appeared as 21A in No.10565, Tuesday 11 Sep 2012 by Skulldugger, but without any specific definition.

      I thought Gobi was well understood as cauliflower in many places.

      Delete
    2. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 12:02

      There I thought it was ref to the desert

      Delete
  13. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 12:40

    1D :I too took GOBI for the desert ! Anyway am happy to get pass marks 60% today !!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 13:01

    My aoologies to all & VJ. I wrongly ascribed the comment re the Indian signal for Gobi to him which set the cat among the pigeons-;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 13:06

    I don't know Hindi but I know the Hindi terms for some vegetables because the cook/bearer/maid in our IAF quarters used to mention them.

    Added to this was the Sutton's Seeds catalogue that my father, interested in gardening, used to get.

    Thus I remember barbati, kohlrabi and so on. Ah, do we have a theme there? Maybe or maybe not!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 13:08

    Is any visitor put off by these tangential Comments?

    Does itt ake away from the merit of the crossword?

    Should comments be confined strictly to the clues and their workings, classifications, nits, pans and pots?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suresh13 August 2013 at 13:13

      If it were to be confined to the clues etc., we would need NJ back to give life to this blog.

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 13:52

      Truly well said !!!

      Delete
    3. Lakshmi Vaidyanathan13 August 2013 at 16:13

      @ CV sir, without comments and discussions this blog will be like a dull classroom :)

      Delete
    4. Richard13 August 2013 at 16:24

      +1

      Delete
  17. Raghunath13 August 2013 at 13:24

    We've all appreciated a very nice, well written puzzle. I don't think there's any harm in involving in a bit of banter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13 August 2013 at 13:33

      These are the last two days of my banter and I am sure Richard, Raghu and MB will keep it going...

      Delete
    2. Suresh13 August 2013 at 13:38

      Why?

      Delete
    3. Chaturvasi13 August 2013 at 13:45

      He is getting into a situation that will keep him away from the PC and home for certain hours during the day when he will be adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing without any distraction and detraction. The summer will be working through all seasons.

      Delete
    4. Suresh13 August 2013 at 13:53

      Good way to sum it up

      Delete
    5. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 14:24

      Kishore @ 1.33
      We will be badly missing you and your "SHORE"(noise) for sure. As far as banter is concerned, you are the source and others used to take cue. I'm after all a "cog in the wheel". You have forgotten Renga who can set the ball rolling jolly well !(Not to forget many others)

      Delete
    6. Richard13 August 2013 at 15:47

      He is sure to keep a few of us unemployed...

      Delete
    7. Richard13 August 2013 at 16:26

      If it is put to poll, there could be a landslide in favour of K's staying active here...

      Agree, folks?

      Delete
    8. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 16:42

      Certainly.

      Delete
  18. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 17:35

    15A : What is Judas, the traitor, doing with the peephole !? TRAITOR = PEEPHOLE ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RameshJ13 August 2013 at 17:43

      From Col's link : Judas(n) : a peephole or a very small window in a door Also called judas window judas hole

      Delete
  19. Nadathur Rajan13 August 2013 at 17:55

    There is also a Judas Kiss. This is used in the context of an act of betrayal, especially one disguised as a gesture of friendship.

    This also bears a biblical allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot (Matt. 26:48).

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 18:13

    Thanks RameshJ and Nadathur Rajan for enlightening me !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deepak Gopinath13 August 2013 at 18:20

      MB,

      I think I had mentioned it to someone else earlier that unusual words are normally provided with a link in the main post (underlined words mean there is an embedded link) which if you follow will take you to a page with more details on that word. Like PEEPHOLE in the main post has got a link embedded.

      Delete
    2. Mukundala Balasubramanyam13 August 2013 at 18:38

      Sorry Col.Saheb ! Yes, you did mention about the links meant for peculiar/new words, some time back. Generally I do go through them. Today it was a slip on my part.

      Delete
  21. raju umamaheswar13 August 2013 at 22:21

    Deepak & Buzzer:

    Thanks for your comments on mine yesterday. I do appreciate that my comments go in late and hence I tend to overlook those from others. I wonder whether any one even bothers to read the tail-end comments of minef each day. MB had confirmed that he did.
    Bhavan:RawalPindi vs.Delhi-- comments were tongue-in-cheek relating to the current frosty relationship between India and Pakistan, frosty more on the Pak side and warmer from the Indian. India bears all the brunt of their cold- shouldering and barbs whereas India's bear-hugs with them seem to be unbearably hot for them !! -- My comments had nothing to do with your cluing which I did find a bit offbeat and out-land-ish .

    Today's crossie is another one that sent me buzzing for answers, flitting like a drunken bee !!

    GOBI- a nice decoy clue to get the solvers off-guard !!

    Incidentally, with all due respects to my muslim- lady friends, my wife calls the Hijab that is worn by the ladies from the Bohra community as a Bandh-Gobi as they are covered head to foot , not necessarily black but in multi-colours !! No offence meant to any one please !

    And there in Coimbatore, Indian restaurants do cater Gobi Manjurian- I used to take it as a Manjari having married a Gopi. !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bhavan14 August 2013 at 09:13

      Raju, in spite of your disclaimers, I for one found your "joke" about hijab extremely distasteful.

      Delete
    2. raju umamaheswar14 August 2013 at 18:31

      I'm extremely sorry, Bhavan, but I had very honestly meant my disclaimer, believe me !!

      Sorry for any ruffled feathers and hurt sentiments .It was a harmless comment with no bad intent on my part and I shall refrain in future.

      Delete

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