Entertaining and delightful, with impeccable surfaces.
ACROSS
8 Breakfast food said to be arranged in sequence (6) CEREAL(~serial)
9 Articulate boy takes English in study (8) REASONED {REA{SON}{E}D}
10 Left informer to capture one’s photograph (8) PORTRAIT {PORT}{RA{1}T}
11 Syndicate’s vehicle allowed to return (6) CARTEL {CAR}{TEL<=}
12 Is concerned about getting a bit of sun stroke (6) CARESS {CARE{S}S}
13 Charm in girl’s way of writing letters (8) SPELLING {SPELL}{IN}{G}
14 Of noses, say, noses treated by rhinoplasty at the edges (7) SENSORY {NOSES*}{RhinoplastY}
16 Deleting wrongful user after a period of time (7) ERASURE {ERA}{USER*}
20 Guess motorway makes an about-turn in landed property (8) ESTIMATE {EST{IM<=}ATE}
23 Tool not in good condition, extremely loose (6) SICKLE {SICK}{LoosE}
25 I’m about to get into group indulging in amusement (6) GAMING {GA{M'I<=}NG}
26 Earning ire, possibly when interrupting a light meal (8) SALARIED {SALA{IRE*}D}
27 Cut pears, ate bananas (8) SEPARATE*
28 Built a piano in a small building (6) SHAPED {SH{A}{P}ED}
DOWN
1 Do up oven, eat stew with a bit of rhubarb (8) RENOVATE {R}{OVEN+EAT*} My COD
2 Kindly man left before the onset of evening (6) GENTLE {GENT}{L}{E}
3 Fresh lens care soap? (8) CLEANSER*
4 Object to an expert quiz (7) PROTEST {PRO}{TEST}
5 Ungainly, huge AC repaired (6) GAUCHE*
6 Plain refusal to have recipe included in stuffing (2-6) NO-FRILLS {NO}-{F{R}ILLS}
7 Belittle a college official arresting an engineer (6) DEMEAN {DE{ME}AN}
15 Sword … admitting it pierced a mark on the skin (8) SCIMITAR {SC{I'M}{IT}AR}
18 Not worried about a cruel person going over to besiege England (8) RELIEVED {RE}{LI{E}VED<=}
21 Smooth southern port (6) SHAVEN {S}{HAVEN}
22 Fleece an Asian (6) AFGHAN [DD]
24 Find fault with a long bone (6) CARPAL {CARP}{A}{L}
Delightful. Agree with the header -- maybe 15D could have been tweaked just a bit
ReplyDeleteAgree with you. Admitting leading to (I'M)is stretching it a bit. Rest of them gems with superb surfaces. Just delightful,esp. the COD- the Anind & fodder mixed up so nicely that it takes a while to sort it out.
ReplyDeleteI see no problem at all with I'm for admitting
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, no issues with that at all. Just the surface: puncturing a mark. But a really lovely one today
DeleteSmooth as silk. None of the answers nor any word in the clues needed the aid of a dic.
ReplyDeleteReally smooth one to-day! Thank you Textrous - made my morning brighter!
ReplyDeleteReally lovely one today.
ReplyDeleteIfeel much elated. Todays clues are solver -friendly 9&12a were new (news) to us.27a First I was trying for a plural word w/o knowing bananas is anag.indicator.cracked at last.Likewise 'caress' & 'shaven' equally appealing. In fine awholesome & entertaing puzzle.Kudos to Textrous.
ReplyDeleteThe font size in print edition, on some days are really challenging. Today's edition is O.K. But, yesterday was very bad. I request some of our setters to take-up the matter with their Editor. I have written to their resident editor.
ReplyDeleteWhich means you have not seen the Indian Express. You require a magnifying glass and a very fine tip pen, not to mention a surgeon's hand to do that crossword.
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