Solve online here

Across – Diogenes

6              Secret member of the US army (7)

7              Snow leopard leapt endlessly (5)

9              Adverse vote (4)

10            Air a most dissonant piano in this place (10)

11            Suitable change (8)

13            Fallout of very loud English couple outside court (6)

15            Not that part of ancient history (4)

17            Stylish street houses made awesome rangolis to start with (5)

18            Regularly carved with hands (4)

19            Bar member’s wife wearing coat (6)

20            The sequence of characters? (8)

23            Free comic rated poorly (10)

26            Risk no small gain (4)

27            Appears to understand manuscript (5)

28            Detains criminal as an alternative (7)

Down – Diogenes

1              Groovily danced around us with great energy (10)

2              Island’s greeting includes a short cry (6)

3              Bits of strong elastic material around a joint (4)

4              Extremely vocal and extremely curious about ego  (8)

5              A bit of Mandarin Chinese (4)

6              Bite pastry cake without stuffing (5)

8              Hear a cheerleader’s complaint (7)

12            Marijuana informant (5)

14            Short truth – one lies about IT resources (10)

16            God’s way of expressing surprise (7)

17            Advertising is certain to conceal astonishment (8)

21            Former spouses have caught son’s indulgence (6)

22            Without clothes in snake dance (5)

24            Finished a bowler’s quota (4)

25            End a story as told (4)

Hello there, it’s been a long time. But we’re back, sort of. Thanks to Shuchi’s nudges and a bunch of (undeserving) birthday wishes to a crossword setter, I decided to confront the grid skeletons in my closet after a year and a half. Do solve and leave your comments.

SOLVE ONLINE HERE

Across – Cryptonyte

1 Short girl gets lighter but is still not a fit (8)

5 The guys winning a lot are the titleholders (6)

10 Express an opinion on recording with a model (5)

11 Of fair complexion, like Iain Hume conceding corner perhaps! (9)

12 When here, keep quiet and work to impress (4,5)

13 Brief of Peter Sellers (5)

14 We hear Ravindra Jadeja swearing? It’s entertainment! (6)

15 One covers the house – building material used as roofing (7)

18 Doctor admits tennis champion to make an implant (7)

20 Little brother eats first at small restaurant (6)

22 Reckless crossing a junction? That’s rubbish (5)

24 Save tigers delicately, no good being forceful (9)

25 Deliver a wide perhaps and choke over time (9)

26 Swindler deliberately losing first to trap one who’s innocent (5)

27 Layers going up a tar road first (6)

28 Fuel clique is missing, rule out of consideration (8)

Down – Cryptonyte

1 Blue flower many love to begin with (6)

2 It can add some spice – perhaps summer in a spot of pleasure (9)

3 Trite facial hair restyled, it could be a lifesaver (10,5)

4 Leather almost wet by tea (7)

6 Hunch: Arsenal tie may be disrupted, this can reimburse what you pay at the counter (6,9)

7 Pattern presented by weather department with hesitation (5)

8 Censored and played a movie (8)

9 Cocktail is a mix of rasam and a bit of Damassine (6)

16 Disinfectant cleaned grime on dice (9)

17 Wrestles skeletons within and is agitated (8)

19 Smoke up a joint and become miserable (7)

20 Trap six footer (almost six), for instance surrounded (7)

21 Posted it again? Dislike! (6)

23 Law or Robert Downey Jr. perhaps (5)

A Tom Swifty (or Tom Swiftie) is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. You can find a few examples here. They are immense fun if you are the kind of person whom your friends routinely groan at when you make poor  jokes.

So last night, in an attempt to find like-minded jokers I conducted a @kweezzz on twitter. The challenge was to identify the pun that fits the context and the number of letters indicated. The questions below (includes one bonus question which I missed). The answers will be posted in a week’s time, go ahead, give it a shot and post your answers/comments/death threats here. You could also yell at me on twitter here.

1. “I represent this company” said Tom ______ (6)

2. “This angle is less than 90 degrees” observed Tom _______ (7)

3. “Let’s sign this contract and be friends” said Tom ________ (8)

4. “You’ll have to come back later, I’m consulting now” said Dr Tom _________ (9)

5. “Sir, the axle shaft is broken, you’ll have to leave the vehicle with me” said Tom ____________ (12)

6. “I am a Manchester United player” said Tom ________ (8)

7. “Mom, I was only pulling your leg” said Tom ____________ (12)

8. “We are ready to go to school now” said Tom and Tim _________ (9)

9. “Wear this amulet, it will bring you good luck” said Tom __________ (10)

10. “Hey jailbird, this offer is too good, give in” said Tom with _______ (8)

11. “I am stuck in a labyrinth” said Tom _________ (9)

12. “The appetizers are yummy, I’m waiting for the lavish main course” said Tom ______________ (14)

13. “2 of the 4 cards I’m holding are of the same suit” admitted Tom ____-_________ (4-9)

14. “Muscles in my face twitch involuntarily” said Edgar Allan __________ (10)

15. “I have an extreme case of H1N1” said Tom _____________ (13)

16. (Bonus Question) “Are you the shopkeeper? I am looking to buy a bunch of stuff” said Tom ___________ (11)

Many thanks for all the queries about whether someone had finally done the right thing and hit the site admin with a hatchet. Unfortunately the answer is no. It appears that cryptic crossword compilers are considered geeks and we as a class take a long, long time to score.

Meanwhile we also took part in the iGate inter-corporate Scrabble tournament and won. We received the trophy from Nigel Richards.

You can find the online-solvable version of this grid here. Happy solving.

Across – Diogenes

1 Praise a group taking the baton freely (1,3,2,3,4)
9 Computers 101 follows introductions to all basic algorithms (5)
10 Love to wear soft leather shoes heading out to special events (9)
11 Overdo one’s part – bump out of bed around the morning (3,2,2)
12 Free of guilt, criminal loves to follow a bishop (7)
13 Act of affection left out after small passing shower (8)
15 Extremely disappointed to be rejected drinks (5)
17 Weird, almost faulty step (5)
19 Captors hold them close to themselves in torrid times (8)
22 Start to chastise a very reluctant bank worker (7)
23 You send a message across the street to steal the spotlight (7)
25 Trial account? (4,2,3)
26 A pint rum is not appropriate (5)
27 Shimmying hot wet lass, she hogs the limelight (6,3,4)

Down – Cryptonyte

1 Not caring about a road fork (6)
2 It beeps when encountering a metal weapon (5)
3 Left out a dry person in upcoming presentation (7)
4 Army recall the time the destitute were uplifted before recession (5,10)
5 Apprentice in a trade? (8,7)
6 Agassi’s missed silver returning hollow tosses and serves (7)
7 Learning wok legend’s cooking (9)
8 Libel according to terms in legalese (7)
14 Slips as sails come undone (9)
16 Cloths for illusions to change king to a book (7)
18 Fat for soap die preparation (7)
20 Australia’s Ponting’s first one to have century against England, a sign of things to come? (7)
21 Grant overcome by painful expression(6)
24 Key West remains flooded (5)

Social message this Diwali – Do not endorse products exploiting child labour.  To show our support to this cause, Cryptonyte – who is still very much a child in terms of clueing experience, has not contributed anything to this puzzle.

Happy Diwali to all you crackers

Interactive version available here

ACROSS – Diogenes

1) Difficult to imitate a printer’s handiwork? (4,4)
5) Score falling short by eight dozen (6)
10) One used to give a sound hiding? (7)
11) Reporter coming in or going out of crack house (7)
12) Bill Clinton nearly turned in an improvised performance (2,3)
13) What a singer might be at the end of a performance? Discordant (3,2,4)
14) Tenable cash spelt out around the end of tenure? (7,5)
18) What’s applicable to all colleges admitting a student (12)
21) Slippery one pocketing 90, loaned capital (9)
23) Lincoln had nothing against Democrat in house (5)
24) Published material not beginning to appear in general examination (4-3)
25) View round the wing of a bird (7)
26) Screw up, lacking confidence to go outside for a drink(6)
27)They may ruin masts at sea right away (8)

DOWN – Diogenes

1) Henry’s manly rendering of an anthem (6)
2) Trouble-maker not close to upending a lottery (6)
3) Party bachelorette lacking hot moves (9)
4) Play tapes or reels on this (8,6)
6) Husband hugged by spouse mostly has female smell (5)
7) Enticed to consume drug, one’s out of action (8)
8 ) They possibly go around part of a golf course chasing Asian canines (3-5)
9) Jerky leg actions suit animated hand movements (14)
15) Employment status (9)
16) Broad-spectrum drugs? (4-4)
17) Daughter is about to miss show (8)
19) On which a speaker may be starting to preach hatred (6)
20) A game played in nets (6)
22) Dare soldiers to hold up failure (5)

TIB #17 seems to have been a toughie. We received brickbats and curses from all over. The pick of the lot came from Aruna –

A: Have you been under the weather lately?
TIB: No why?
A: Because I’ve been cursing you since last Sunday for a devilishly difficult TIB #17.

Hopefully this time’s TIB is a little easier Please leave your comments.

Interactive version available here.

Across – Cryptonyte

1) Prime suspect to stall policeman (5,9)
10) Tie up crook and apprentice in prison (5)
11) Weaker Tendulkar perhaps missing out on ton needing just one (9)
12) Model’s endowed with gold for the picture (7)
13) Is famished terribly, fed this dish (7)
14) Reportedly searches for religious followers (5)
16) Hold on tight allowing to tear softly, it’s debilitating (9)
19) On which one would lie down and stretch? (9)
20) A clown upturned eggs laid on grass (5)
22) Looking back, the representative in Rome was a King (7)
25) Candy causing tissue in the mouth to degenerate (7)
27) Tissue and bone a vampire’s heading out to eat live (9)
28) Mother’s cooked nan – heavenly food (5)
29) It was said earlier that accomplished supervisors got in without getting caught (14)

Down – Diogenes

2) Unprepared footballer caught missing at Euro award’s final (4-5)
3) Dog lets go of black bird (5)
4) Body left in church cell (9)
5) Cuts flesh up around cadaver’s head (5)
6) Reluctant to accept work following the love for spiritual study (9)
7) Something to eat for student to fit into two-piece, having lost one kilo (5)
8 ) Delinquent pocketing a piece of jewellery (7)
9) An entrance with small stones (6)
15) Spooner’s whooper scene to follow shortly (9)
17) Fiery rum and gin in bar (9)
18) In conclusion, getting hot for female is a natural quality (9)
19) Stock price rising in a bet gone wrong (4,3)
21) One with a nest broken has no parent (6)
23) Upright, religious and short on love (5)
24) Repeated memorization required to cover university course (5)
26) Step mother, man and old boy showed up (5)

We all know there are two ways of saying the same thing – some people see a glass half-full and some others see it half-empty (and as the SMS joke goes, the engineer says the glass is twice as big as it should be.) Similarly there are two ways of indicating an anagram with extra letters.

1) DULL – Deletion of Unwanted/Leftover Letters

Solvers would have encountered many clues of this type which say “A – B = C” or “Anagram Indicator + Fodder – Extra Letters = Definition ”
This clue from Diogenes for instance –

Disarmament collapsed in the absence of a strategist (10)
Highlight this line to see the solution : Disarmament* – a = Mastermind

2) FRESH – Fodder = Result + Extra/ Superfluous Humbug

Any sensible human (other than Cryptonyte) refers to this kind of clue as a Composite Anagram. Here the setter is telling the solver, Extra letters together with the answer will give the fodder anagrammed – “A = B +C”. This kind of clue is uncommon but a regular feature in advanced cryptic crossword. We have a typical example in Azed 1937. Clue 9 Down reads

Ah, this valve has transformed the radio (6)
Highlight this line to see the solution : Ah + triode = (the radio)*, &lit, Answer = Triode

Some more examples and explanation of the Composite Anagram can be found here. Will TIB #18 contain a composite anagram clue? There’s only one way to find out – Hack into our online doc (and when you find it blank, it would be great if you could make Cryptonyte’s share of clues.)

Cheers!

Online version here.

Across -Cryptonyte

1)  The banks were corrupt to take money, says the story (6,3,4)
9)  On air, retracted passages (5)
10) Incredible fluke, winning championship (ousting number one) and all that the pot holds (9)
11) Is old king backing a foreigner? (7)
12) Prescription that could give a guitarist withdrawal symptoms? (7)
13) Wolves toy with kids (8)
15) Sees model being taken away, expresses disappointment (5)
17) Lies on and on to get money, sparing nothing (5)
19) Bleeding is a general feature at the start of gunfights (8)
22) Composition to act out in California (7)
23) One gives credit to the author perhaps (7)
25) Captain Planet perhaps salvaged our sphere (9)
26) One admitting to swinging both ways goes to poetic lengths (5)
27) Dejected kid, he resorts to rope towards the end (4,2,3,4)

Down – Diogenes

1)  Country gecko losing tail, when turning up to chase the bee (6)
2)  King finding gold under the queen’s slip! (5)
3)  Jack’s line is monkey business (7)
4)  Last offer to carry one to relative abroad (4,2,2,5,2)
5)  Express grief at the aeronauts’ crashing around Ohio after entry to earth (3,4,5,3)
6)  Registers new records after topping in equestrian (7)
7)  See assistant’s right to vote cut off by a knight (9)
8)  Mark, from Flanders, heading out for Belgium’s capital (7)
14) Boy having a rum punch that might give him a kick-start (9)
16) An initiation befitting one’s held in the outskirts of Buckhingham (7)
18) Bird fight to follow boxing match (7)
20) Why I rambled about a local currency getting out of hand (7)
21) One gives credit to an article (6)
24) Say a flipper one edges (5)

Solutions to TIB #16

Online version available here

Across – Diogenes

1) Performers of music or revolutionary arts maybe (9)
6) Kid’s magazine (5)
9) Toils to win power for those with special skills (7)
10) Runs away from sweets, reportedly (7)
11) Annoyed to lose the pound gained (6)
12) Extraordinary lyrist held court paying close attention to detail (8)
14) A strong draft beer taken after a drop of gin (4)
15) Naughtily ogle at her when model’s caught in the __________ ? (10)
18) Deserter returned to embrace a ruling coalition with three sides (10)
20) Road work sign (4)
23) Financially rewarding study award I got in London district (8)
24) Having even less money, put zero deposit in advertising (6)
26) Winning card (Hearts) getting one to victory (7)
27) Cases, for instance, involving glue suffocation indoors (7)
28) Severe cold hasn’t begun (5)
29) No good to get terribly aroused about involving a risk (9)

Down–  Cryptonyte

1) Suddenly finished? About time! (9)
2) Fine money (7)
3) Devout holy man is missing, daughter realised (6)
4) Cast away on ship (4)
5) I.Bishop comes back in – logical, no run conceded extra (10)
6) Pyridines (without Yttrium) violently fired (8)
7) Mark’s having no handicap (7)
8 ) Dress a young one has to try (5)
13) Grew vigorously, fire should be put out (10)
16) Press agent to remodel resort (9)
17) Expert playing well, Joyce perhaps (8)
19)  Evening. Yours truly’s right on the circuit. Unit of force India, Giancarlo’s first (7)
21)A storm to the navy’s a burst of frenzied activity (7)
22) Fever checked at the start, first tip of thermometer’s in contact with this body part (6)
23) Go into specialist doctor’s emergency room (5)
25) Drop of lemongrass in utensil to cook something up (4)

Online version available here

Across – Cryptonyte
1 Beckham for one also hit goal, terribly unequal match (5,3,7)
9 Sings in improvised notes (7)
10 A moment in agony in between (7)
11 Gulf – one third of Malayalees in profit (5)
12 A key to the dickey? (9)
13 Directive for graphical user interface – noise’s good (7)
16 Humpty Dumpty’s act? Ruler failed to end the confusion (7)
17 Influences a mischief-maker’s deeds (7)
19 Passionate cricket match – most popular (7)
20 Do elegant gymnastics appear stretched? (9)
21 Black marketing book caught (5)
23 Skipper gains nothing leaving out a legend (7)
24 India has information for all to see on LeT’s core player (7)
25 Right now, Tottenham’s best player is unprepared? (4,2,3,6)

Down – Diogenes

1  Physician’s mobile clinics given e-permits to operate on the road (7,8)
2  Essential drop of tincture in the container (5)
3  Refrain from eating the last morsel of tofu cake (5)
4  Horse getting endlessly obese, possibly eating from this? (7)
5  Skims through flicks (7)
6  Eye small take away from model – could this be what stylish people do? (4,5)
7  Silver vault breached by a shirt needle (9)
8  What comes before I belittle? We both turn to make personal remarks (3,5,3,4)
14 I respect preparedness and you are unprepared! (9)
15 Secretly break up citing no love (9)
18 A cloth tent when erected, catches the eye (7)
19 Chemical treated dry skin appearing outside (7)
21 What marks a refrain in song, especially upon reflection (5)
22 Begin drunken revelry (5)