No 13825, Wednesday 29 Mar 2023, Hypatia

Solution to 12D 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.

ACROSS

9   Game played by Beijing Airport security? (7,8) CHINESE CHECKERS [DD]

10 Minute tear at the edges stops sail flapping in wind (7) MISTRAL {M}{{IS{TeaR}AL*}

11 Secure line to hold uniform in washing (7) LAUNDRY {LA{U}ND}{RY}

12 Finally crack math problem with university's capital (9) KATHMANDU {c..cK}{MATH*}{AND}{U}

14 Cook pasta or light snacks (5) TAPAS*

17 A bit of mushroom in pizza, say - not hot pepper (7) PIMENTO {PI{Mu...m}E}{~ThO} (Correction - {PI{Mu...m}E}{NOT*} - See comments)

19 Quarantine taxis Ola temporarily parks inside (7) ISOLATE [T]

21 Could be a lot closer to a lion's claw! (5) TALON {A+LOT}*{lioN}

23 Separate dirt from trifle (6,3) FILTER OUT {TRIFLE}* [RA]

25 Bottle thrower (7) PITCHER [DD]

27 Start to talk about rings like novel author (7) TOLKIEN {Talk}{O{LIKE*}N}

30 Very small amount of what a scuba diver may want? (1,4,2,3,5) A DROP IN THE OCEAN [DD]

DOWN

1   Scheme conning average man, basically! (4) SCAM Acrostic &lit

2   Prejudice oddly seen in Brit also (4) BIAS {BrIt+AlSo}

3   Say, gondolier's cheerful supporter, per Spooner (8) FERRYMAN (~merry fan to ferryman)

4   Cook often covering large non-stick surface (6) TEFLON {TEF{L}ON*} Teflon is a trademark name

5   Snack service in India's massage retreat (8) BHELPURI {HELP} in {I}{RUB}<=

6   Sex after a conservative queen becomes free (6) ACQUIT {IT}<=>{A}{C}{QU}

7   Persuade courier to take book for son (4) BEND (-s+b)BEND

8   Cycle right outside parking spot (4) ESPY (-y}ES(+y)Y over {P}

12 Kilometre over a place's gone (5) K?P?T (Addendum - KAPUT {K}{A}{PUT} - See comments)

13 Dog biting master's tongue (5) TAMIL {TA{M}IL}

15 Starting from Paris, the French essentially stop philosopher (5) PLATO {Pa..s}{LA}{sTOp}

16 Writer entering empty set, exhausted (5) SPENT {Se{PEN}T}

18 Cancelled European band's subscription (8) OFFERING {OFF}{E}{RING}

20 Forget to supervise (8) OVERLOOK [DD]

22 Broken mobile phone stores nothing (2,4) NO HOPE {N{O}HOPE*}

24 Cool it! Chill..Have some fruit (6) LITCHI [T]

25 Request and switch sides in game (4) PRAY P(-l+r)RAY

26 Basically tournaments use really fresh grass (4) TURF Acrostic

28 Judgement of advocate initially taken down (4) IDEA (-a)IDE(+a)A

29 Nobody listened to sister (4) NONE (~nun)

Reference List

Minute = M, Line = RY, Uniform = U, University = U, Large = L, India = A, Sex = IT, Conservative = C, Queen = QU, Book = B, Son = S, Parking = P, Kilometer = K, Master = M, The in French = LA, European = E

No 13824, Tuesday 28 Mar 2023, Hypatia

Solution to 18D 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.

ACROSS

8   Hypatia's hot menu is infection resistant (6) IMMUNE {I'M}{MENU*}

9   Spooner's screen appeared showing solitaire, say (4,4) CARD GAME (~guard came to card game)

10 Lad's network blocked by discontented ballad singer (3,5) BOB DYLAN {BO{Ba..aD}Y}{LAN}

11 Avenger's cross protecting a chest (6) THORAX {THOR}{X} over {A}

12 Appeal for "Caught" before Sharma bats taking single (8) CHARISMA {C}{HAR{1}SMA*}

13 Celestial object around a square drifting without energy (6) QUASAR {A+SQUARe}*

14 Felt neglected (4,3) LEFT OUT {FELT}* [RA]

17 Ridicules admitting small time clowns (7) JESTERS {JE{S}{T}ERS}

20 Drive a couple of minutes to visit that woman (6) HAMMER {H{A}{MM}ER}

22 Stop next to a poor house (8) BUNGALOW {BUNG}{A}{LOW}

25 Bikes languished near Sabha's entrance (6) MOPEDS {MOPED}{Sa..a}

26 Opens one-time forgotten Women's Institute after renovation (8) UNTWISTS {WomenS+INStiTUTe}*

27 Film fan behind line for crunchy snack (8) HAZELNUT {HAZE} and {NUT}<=>{L}

28 Basically Vedic Indian sages hailed nearly universal God (6) VISHNU Acrostic

DOWN

1   Drunkard had very little time before he nursed one drink (8) SMOOTHIE {S{MO}OT}{H{1}E}

2   Crows flying up from bored ruminants (6) MURDER [T<=]

3   Troops with weapons to trade sides in kingdoms (6) REALMS {RE}{A(-r+l)LMS}

4   Disgrace Indian party under scrutiny (7) SCANDAL {DAL}<=>{SCAN}

5   Almost plagiarize quite complex analysis (8) CRITIQUE {CRIb}{QUITE*}

6   Complain after working with soldier climbing up or backward (8) IGNORANT {RANT}<=>{ON}{GI}<=

7   One lamp broken by a horned animal (6) IMPALA {1}{LAMP*}{A}

15 Damaged flat transferred without current unit (8) TAMPERED {Tr...eD} over {AMPERE}

16 Not expected to lose head right away in revolt (8) UPRISING sUrPRISING

18 Supporting Britain's king in settling down (8) R?O?T?N? (Addendum - ROOSTING (-b+r)ROOSTING - See comments)

19 Kidnaps bachelor seen in American channels (7) ABDUCTS {A}{B}{DUCTS}

21 Hooded jacket shared by woman or a kid (6) ANORAK [T]

23 Regularly ignored, in fact, his view's original (6) NATIVE {iN+fAcT+hIs+ViEw}

24 Close to Mahatma, South Africa followed that man for the principle of non-violence (6) AHIMSA {m...mA} and {SA}<=>{HIM}

Reference List

Caught = C, Energy = E, Small = S, Time = T, Minute = M, Line = L, Troops = RE(Royal Engineers)Indian Party = DAL, Right = R, Britian = B, King = R, Bachelor = B, American = A