Friday, February 11, 2005

The Hindu Crossword 8214 Solutions - by Vinod & Rajagopal

Across
1 The stormy sweat produced by an immersion heater perhaps (3,5,6) HOT WATER SYSTEM (The stormy sweat produced = ana. THE+STORMY+SWEAT)
9 A kind of grey coat (8) CATEGORY (ana. GREY+COAT -- looks like the compiler is trying to use the word 'kind' as the defn., as well as the anagram indicator. Dear compiler, please get your basics right. This is unfair clueing)
10 Made eastern dropsy (5) EDEMA (ana. MADE+E -- Identical ploy here)
12 Members at grassroots levels (4) TREE (??)
13 He has continuous pains (5) ACHES (??)
14 Knotty problem for navigators (4) REEF (Direct)
17 Writer will try first (8) ESSAYIST (try=ESSAY, first=IST)
18 The French unwilling to curse (6) LOATHE (The French=LE, where did OATH come from??)
20 Edible seed of leguminous plant (6) LENTIL (Direct)
21 Insular type confesses to calumny (8) ISLANDER (confesses to calumny= I SLANDER)
25 Abruptly stopped movement of the stupid person (4) JERK (Double Defn.)
26 Regal look of intensity (5) GLARE (ana. REGAL -- try spotting the ana. ind. and please do let me know if you find it)
27 Small piece of land is let into water here (4) ISLE (Container => IS LEt -- Don't ask me why there are so many redundant words in the clue. Where actually needed, words are absent, and vice-versa)
30 Stop providing comfort in the civil service (5) CEASE (comfort=EASE, civil=C??)
31 Abundant giving one has developed (8) GENEROUS (Direct??)
32 Unimportance felt by astronauts (14) WEIGHTLESSNESS (Direct)

Down
2 Journeys that widens the mind (7) TRAVELS (Direct -- The clue itself is gramatically wrong)
3 Cut down and dismissed as superfluous (4) AXED (Double Defn.)
4 Despiriting work for the clergy (8) EXCORCISM (direct)
5 Pens with the French form of appearance (6) STYLES (Pens=STYS (Now, that's not the correct plural form), the French=LE=>Pens with the French = STY(LE)S)
6 We have second thoughts and throw it all up (4) SPEW (ana. WE+S(second)+P(no idea where it comes from))
7 First principle of an electric heater (7) ELEMENT (Double Defn.)
8 Lacking enthusiasm he'd surrounded Alfred with affection (4,7) HALF HEARTED (He'd=HED, Alfred=ALF, affection=HEART=>he'd surrounded Alfred with affection = H(ALF HEART)ED)
11 Sailor on the point of becoming a chimney sweeper (11) STEEPLEJACK (Sailor=JACK, point=STEEPLE??)
15 Mountain top dwelling place (5) EYRIE (Direct)
16 Assent mother gives the migrant (5) NOMAD (Assent=NOD, mother=MA=>Assent mother gives = ana. NOD+MA -- As I've remarked earlier, an anagram of synonyms is extremely inelegant)
19 To cut off gives alien an eye-opener (8) ESTRANGE (alien=STRANGE, eye-opener=E=>E + STRANGE)
21 Ran back to describe in detail (7) NARRATE (Ran back=NAR, someone please explain where RATE come from)
23 Controversy of argument (7) DISPUTE (Direct)
24 Cut — although negligible(6) SLIGHT (Double Defn.)
28 Detached piece of a glacier (4) BERG (Direct)
29 He rose to become the god of love (4) EROS (rose to become=ana. ROSE)

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