Friday, January 16, 2009

The Hindu Crossword No. 9432 Saturday, January 17, 2009

She's getting weirder by the day ................................

Across

 1 To support an alternative note of a film covered by a loud tone conforming in every respect (13) PROPORTIONATE

 8 Some lotus destroyed by grain disease (5,4) LOOSE SMUT

 9 Rate to take each minute particle out at first (5) TEMPO

10 Leave an asylum (7) RETREAT

12 Almost add in to point out a dark area (6) SHADOW

14 Have had enough of an officer in court (3,2) FED UP

16 No doubt America returns the Royal Engineer (4) SURE

19 Half dry an animal in a street car (4) TRAM

20 An account of a celebration covering a Latin bird species (9) TALEGALLA

21 Food prepared in a plate (4) DISH

22 Right to rent back the ridge (4) REEF

25 To follow the heart in a court proceeding (5) CHASE

27 Search for a silk tape (6) FERRET

29 Time to retort around an energetic person (7) TROTTER

32 Habitual practice to trap the holy man (5) USAGE

33 Cannot be heard at home to turn in a notice for one lawyer in the East (9) INAUDIBLE

34 Symbol on a vehicle for a postal worker (6,7) LETTER CARRIER

Down

 2 Go bad to cover the very large queen bird (7) ROOSTER

 3 Published article on non-aggression (5) PIECE

 4 Monarch to go back to return the cat at a point in a lonely place (6) REMOTE

 5 Small amount to oddly sip on tea (4) IOTA

 6 Cut a circle in the Holy Writ in Switzerland (5) NOTCH

 7 Sea pigeon let loose in an undercover activity (9) ESPIONAGE

 8 Birds in the corner of a boat at the side (5) LARKS

11 To damage a large cliff in Thailand (7) AFFLICT

12 An attacker has a long fishing line (7) SPILLER

13 Overheard to modify the place of worship (5) ALTAR

15 Deity taken up in the morning to turn the code of belief (5) DOGMA

17 Common characteristic to convert in valuers (9) UNIVERSAL

18 Liquid solvent, article accepted by the queen (5) ETHER

23 Wholesome food on each desk (7) EATABLE

24 Right in to withstand a comic play (5) FARCE

26 Rats at to chew more than one layer (6) STRATA

28 Former partner has difficulty on Tuesday to make an effort (5) EXERT

30 Start off to join metal pieces advanced in years (5) OLDER

31 Support a dish in hand (4) PIER

9 comments:

Dabbler said...

Yes, I agree. Nita Jaggi's clues are indeed lame/weird(after seeing her clues for a week). Full credit to you for your due diligence in solving them. Would you mind me asking how long do you take to solve the crossword? (on an average)

Chaturvasi said...

That would probably depend on the particular compiler! Previously THC did not carry bylines. Now they do; so we should be able to say who is easy, who is hard and who is middling in difficulty.

Dabbler said...

Yep, I agree it would depend on the compiler. Just curious because, to be able to squeeze this within the daily routine, you people must be fast. Great job from Anokha for keeping up the blog by almost consistently posting daily solutions.

Chaturvasi said...

On most days I should be able to finish a weekday HC in some 15 minutes.
On most days again the crossword in New Indian Express takes less than that time. Here more than 60 per cent of the puzzle I solve straight off - that is without entering the words in the grid and getting help from crossings. Visit the group The Hindu Crossword Solutions on Orkut, in which NIE xwd as well as THC are solved by members (providing annotations).
For UK puzzles such as the FT and the Sunday HC, it is 30 minutes.
See my blog on Tuesday FT puzzle in www.fifteensquared.com

Unknown said...

Sorry!
Read www.fifteensquared.net
(not .com)

Dabbler said...

Wow ! 15 minutes is super fast. At the first look, your website seems pretty comprehensive. Will take a closer look at it. Should I call you people "crosswordaholics" or is there a better word for it? :-)

Chaturvasi said...

Fine. But I hate the word cruciverbalists - sounds so pretentious!

Chaturvasi said...

To clarify:
www.fifteensquared.net
is owned and maintained by someone in the UK. I have been a mere blogger on FT puzzle every Tuesday for the past one year - one of two from Asia and only one from India.

Dabbler said...

Yeah, I realised that. In fact I guessed that you must be "Rishi" in the bloggers' list. (Now that you're the only Indian, that is confirmed).