Chemistry was my downfall in school and college, I could never remember chemical names, atomic numbers and formulae, today however I fared well, 21D was the first to fall in the starred clues after which the rest was easy. An excellent CW with some outstanding clues. I leave it to visitors to work out the portion regarding the area of Hawaii. (Addendum as a refinement)
Note: The five starred clues carry no direct definition, but their solutions share a rare commonality. At the end of each solution, you will also find an isolated area in an Hawaiian island retreat, which is unclued.
ACROSS
1 - Sir, her shoes were trampled by draught animals! (5,6) - SHIRE HORSES*
9 - Prior leaves Father’s office with the address (5) - (-pri)ORATE (Addendum - (-past)ORATE)
10 - *Yankee rail conductor (Rob) loses heart (9) - {Y}{TTE}{R(-o)B}{IUM}
11 - Fold the contents of the purple attache (5) - PLEAT [T]
12 - Baffled courier holds a coin of western focus (11) - EURO{CENT}RIC*
13 - Takes care of harbours (6) - NURSES [DD]
14 - Rig the net gains to include a large vase (7) - F{URN}ISH
18 - *Dry year-round (7) - {Y{TT}R}{IUM}
20 - Navy chief leaves orphans upset in the lighthouse (6) - PHAROS*(-n)
24 - Need (unwritten) inside rickety canoe when you fall over (11) - O{VERBAL}ANCE*
26 - Enthusiastic people may be full of this (5) - BEANS [CD]
27 - Pulls back to interrupt the erratic siren with the guides (9) - IN{SPIR<-}ERS*
28 - Present? It is not our auditor’s (5) - THERE (~their)
29 - Troops from the east captured by scheming Maori rep in Nero’s kingdom (5,6) - ROMA{N EM<-}PIRE*
DOWN
1 - Oil source revealed in an odd story about 26 Ac (8) - {S}{O}{Y}BEANS
2 - Explain the note found inside the malfunctioning printer (9) - IN{TE}RPRET*
3 - Area destroyed by revolutionary because of a canal issue (7) - EARA*{CHE}
4 - Greek hunter loses the right to a new kitchen bulb (5) - O(-r+n)NION
5 - *A degree held by the senior (8) - {S{A}{MA}R}{IUM}
6 - Fake coupons identified by touch (7) - SOUPCON*
7 - Mined aluminium is partially returned and taxed (5) - LADEN [T<-] 8 - Harbour hammock (5) - BERTH [DD]
15 - An almost tranquil gite built in the African grassland (9) SEREN(-e){GETI*}
16 - *A musical instrument for the Taiwanese leader (8) - {LUTE}{T}{IUM}
17 - The ship in the sea goes west to follow the auditor’s victim (8) - {A{SS}ES<-}{SEE}
19 - Nature’s alarm destroys 70 per cent of the storerooms (7) - ROOSTER*(-mos)
21 - *Dr. Watson’s friend takes down the Spanish website (7) - {HOLM}{IUM}
22 - Peter out to exchange the note for a discount (5) - (-re+a)ABATE
23 - People die to meet him (5) - MAKER [CD]
25 - Say salaam to the star officer (5) - (~bow){BO}{SUN}
Mine too, Col! I crashed and burned spectacularly in Chemistry in 12th, specially inorganic :(
ReplyDelete29 Troops from the east captured by scheming Maori rep in Nero’s kingdom (5,6)ROMA{N EM<-}PIRE*
ReplyDeleteTroops = Men. So, 'is from the East' a reversal indicator?
Wonder what an atheist would say to this:
23 - People die to meet him (5) - MAKER [CD]
Raghunath,
ReplyDeleteYou are right East is the reversal indicator.
@ Raghunath:
ReplyDeleteWonder what an atheist would say to this:
23 - People die to meet him (5) - MAKER [CD]
Well, the clue is actually a play on the idiom 'meet one's maker'.
If an atheist wants to take issue with the other reading of the clue, i.e, 'dying - very eager', then, so be it!