No 14540, Friday 18 Jul 2025, Avtaar

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS

1   Movie choice announced - "Old town in Tennessee's outskirts" (7) PICTURE {(~pick)PIC}{Te...{UR}...eE}

5   Foot fragments outside entrance to Harappan digs (7) FATHOMS {F}{AT{Ha...n}OMS}

10 Like to go on reading (4) PEER {PEE}{R}

11 Egg stored in box is close to first drawer (10) CARTOONIST {CART{O}ON}{IS}{f..sT}

12 University taken over by government is bust (6) STATUE {STAT{U}E}

13 Luncheon's organised without entree? That is unusual (8) NONESUCH lUNCHEONS*

14 Lawyer's restraint binding banks in suit (9) BARRISTER {BARRI{SuiT}ER}

16 Weld aluminium counter holding bucket with long handle (5) LADLE [T<=]

17 School tournament's finale followed by every one (5) TEACH {t...nT}{EACH}

19 Open platform in disused craft leaked, leaving shores of Latvia (9) AFTERDECK {CRAFT+lEaKED}*

23 Country doctor participating in a cricket match, entertained by accountant (8) CAMBODIA {C{A}{MB}{ODI}A}

24 Unsound regulation adopted by leading Central bank (6) FLAWED {F{LAW}ED}

26 Spooner's cooks look for drink (6,4) SPRUCE BEER (~ brews peer to spruce beer)

27 Bird's stomach opening out (4) ROOK bROOK

28 Mike distributed sheet describing promo (7) HEADSET {HE{AD}SET*} A mike per se cannot be a headset

29 Kant's original perception about new religious scripture of fundamental importance (7) KEYNOTE {Kant}{EY{N}{OT}E}

DOWN

2   Avtaar's joining new English cadet for beverage (4,3) ICED TEA {I}{E+CADET}*

3   Card-sharp wins nothing (5) TAROT {TAR{O}T}

4   Condition of insects about to be freed (7) RICKETS cRICKETS

6   Somewhere near a field, German's hidden (6) AROUND {A}{gROUND}

7   Exercise routine in Shetland Islands almost completely performed without trellises, essentially (9) HANDSTAND  {SHeTlANDislANDs}*

8   Say, Chicago's problem taken up by leader of Indiana state in US (7) MUSICAL {SUM<=}{In...a}{CAL}

9   Saw open rifle shot clipping head of Connery in "The Man Who Would Be King" (6,2,5) PRINCE OF WALES {SAW+OPEN+RIFLE}* over {Co...y}

15 Covered with hard stones all over, fencing of castle keeps bulging, basically (4-5) ROCK-BOUND {RO{Ca...e}{Ke..s}{Bu...g}OUND}

18 One-time rich model (7) EXAMPLE {EX}{AMPLE}

20 Insist on measure supporting church (7) ENFORCE {EN}{FOR}{CE}

21 Idiot stealing the lady's smoking thingy (7) CHEROOT {C{HER}OOT}

22 Keep commercial now (6) ADHERE {AD}{HERE}

25 Top of arching, mostly inclined projection on stage (5) APRON {Ar...g}{PRONe}

Reference List

Old Town = UR, Foot = F, To go = PEE, Reading = R, University = U, Accountant = CA, Promo = AD, New = N, Religious scripture = OT(Old Testament), English = E, About = C, Measure = EN, Church = CE, Commercial = AD

No 14539, Thursday 17 Jul 2025, Vidwan

Solution to 19D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance. 

Open for anyone to solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

9   Prove...a sun explodes and becomes this! (9) SUPERNOVA* Semi&lit

10 Record with ceremony (5) WRITE {W}{RITE}

11 City of naked monk (3) RIO pRIOr

12 Recent, never changing control point (5,6) NERVE CENTRE*

13 Arctic creature found via sonar whaleboats (7) NARWHAL [T]

14 Royal scheming about gallery (7) STATELY {S{TATE}LY}

16 One final deposit appallingly stuck-up (4-11) SELF-OPINIONATED*

20 Seen and humiliated after one's banished (7) SIGHTED SlIGHTED 1 or L is banished?

21 I do invocation perhaps for custodians (7) SANCTUS [CA] {SANCTUS+I+DO}* = CUSTODIANS

23 Consistently trusts this for nutty trip ice-cream (5-6) TUTTI-FRUTTI {TrUsTs+ThIs+FoR+nUtTyThIs}

25 Exclude local staff (3) BAR MD

26 Problem of spirit lamp basically (5) PERIL {PERI}{Lamp}

27 Urbane company representing outer America (9) COURTEOUS {CO}{OUTER*}{US}

DOWN

1   German cheats wearing red undergarments (1-7) G-STRINGS {G}{ST{R}INGS}

2   Regularly support on-air ruckus (6) UPROAR {sUpPoRt+On+AiR}

3   Time to soak! Taking day off, Kitty wears ordinary dress for rainy day! (6,4) TRENCH COAT {T}{dRENCH}{C{O}AT}

4   Runs into tender large weed like Gongura (6) SORREL {SO{R}RE}{L}

5   Wife took high risk for a ride on lake (5,3) WATER SKI {W}{ATE}{RISK*}

6   Over-sentimental bit that we enjoy (4) TWEE [T]

7   Abuse at spies' party (8) MISTREAT {MI'S}{TREAT}

8   Dissidence seen in lady's essay regularly (6) HERESY {HER}{EsSaY}

15 Publicly talk about a new sister at the Company with vacuous title (10) ANNUNCIATE {A}{N}{NUN}{CIA}{TitlE}

17 Girl at EU distracted Bond (8) LIGATURE*

18 Implied charge about religious education (8) INDIRECT {INDI{RE}CT}

19 Suspicion is that Charles broke this! (8) D?S?R?S? 

20 An exercise form can be puissant (3-3) SIT-UPS [CA] {SIT UPS+AN}* = PUISSANT 

21 Stalwart has energy to sail forth (3,3) SET OUT {S{E}TOUT}

22 Couple without work clipped small shop at a fair, in addition (2,4) TO BOOT {TwO}{BOOTh}

24 Second line in that is inch (4) ISLE {I{S}{L}E} 

Reference List

With = W, German = G, Red = R, Time = T, Day = D, Ordinary = O, Runs = R, Large = L, Wife = W, New = N, Religious education = RE, Energy = E, Work = W, Second = S, Line = L