'CROSS
1 Silly removing son to put Penny on the spot (6) PIMPLE (-s+p)PIMPLE
4 Works of one kinky spouse (6) OPUSES*
9 Fix monsieur’s demise (4) MEND {M}{END}
10 Priority in file to exclude nothing but include point (10) PRECESSION PR(-o+e)ECESSION
11 Joiner provides crumpled cover for rookie (6) VELCRO {VE{L}CRO*}
12 Worn out deity returned with pink note before (3-5) DOG-TIRED {DOG<=}-{TI}{RED}
13 Security booth built by stern ox (6,3) SENTRY BOX*
15 Mellow: self-pity cured on elf’s exit (5) TIPSY S
16 Honour engineers for being overweight (5) OBESE {OBE}{SE} I see only one engineer in the clue.
18 Ignoring felon’s boss is no good firstly (9) CONDONING {CON}{DON}{I}{N}{G}
22 Ill disposed ire behind misused bribe ends in disorder (8) BERIBERI {BRIBE}*{IRE}*
23 Club’s move is cunning (6) CLEVER {C}{LEVER}
25 My melodist composed boldly (10) IMMODESTLY*
26 Hideous fruit, by the sound of it (4) UGLY (~ugli)
27 Steel grey building let out for hot spring (6) GEYSER {S
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DOWN
1 Introduce President’s rewritten decree (7) PRECEDE {P}{DECREE*}
2 Detectives with them returned to Doctor (5) MEDIC {ME'}{DIC}<=
3 Polyester dressing without drug for chronic infection (7) LEPROSY POLYES
5 Promise quiet step (6) PLEDGE {P}{LEDGE}
6 Doubt on Corps’ pious sin undone (9) SUSPICION {C+PIOUS+SIN}*
7 Ducks duck out of two-wheelers (7) SCOTERS SCO
14 Evidence provided in crusty surroundings of one doctor’s opponent (9) TESTIMONY {TEST{1}{MO}{N}Y}
17 Mysteriously submerge skipperless vessel (4,3) BEER MUG
19 Deceived firm unknown indeed (7) DECOYED {DE{CO}{Y}ED}
20 Prodded miss then escorted (7) NEEDLED {NEED}{LED}
21 Remove envoy who smuggled molten silver out (6) DELETE DELE
24 Eject new troupe giving out nothing (5) ERUPT TR
Logging in early.Holiday here because of Ramnawmi. Smooth puzzle.Could get through in double quick time.Same doubt in 14 D(N=opponent).Also unsure of the anno of 20 D.Thought Miss=Nee but got stuck for then =D
ReplyDeletevasant
DeleteWhen you 'miss' sugar in your coffee , you may 'need' it.
I think that's the setter's idea in 20d.
The real problem arises when you miss a miss
DeleteWhere have all the A's gone ;-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that there were no As until you pointed out!
DeleteNor did I till Kishore pointed it out to me in an email
DeleteGreat job AD. I think I should remove it from the 'A'cross as well :-)
ReplyDeleteI thought your mentioning as 'CROSS subtly sent the message to all :)
DeleteThe second Lipogram by AD!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was 'E' last time.
DeleteThis oneis not by AD. It is by D
DeleteShall we call it 'D? (following Col.)
DeleteI am sure the D will issppr next!
DeleteIgnoring vowels is a tough job, but done so very nicely that I did not miss it until I saw it here. Great!
ReplyDeletePreferred 'preference' for 10A and got into suspicion in the NE. Talking of North, N is usually a player but turned an opponent here!
Loved velcro- toying with welder for a while.
Had to look up dendrologist.(Spell check pointing out an error!)
Ignoring vowels is tough, but done very nicely here so I did not miss it until I noticed it here- trying to rewrite my first sentence without A!
DeleteGood attempt Paddy ! :)
DeleteIt is wonderful to see setters of THC imposing restrictions upon themselves and coming out with reasonably good puzzles, affording pleasure to the devoted band of solvers.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that they must be elated at the welcome that their puzzles get in blogs such as this.
However, it's doubtful whether the top or even middle-level editorial staff of the publishing company are aware of what is going on in a 'corner' (sorry, Colonel, for borrowing your word) of the paper.
For my part, I recently sent a note detailing the features such as theme, Nina, peripheral message, occasional puzzles to celebrate certain days, clue acrostic... (have I left out anything?)
Cheers, ladies and gentlemen.
Note: I did include 'lipogram' but that has been leftout in the post above.
Delete3D- deletion of drug?
ReplyDeleteKishore 9:06: By fter drk!
ReplyDeleteOnce TH did print something like that
DeleteTHCC CC update
ReplyDeleteNow I have to receive only two clues from a single participant to get on with the job of putting the puz together.
Congrats 'D.
ReplyDeleteCV @ 9:15: Thanks!(Unable to post through Reply Button)
ReplyDeleteKishore @9:25: so as per the clue the real problem arises when you need a miss & when you miss a need!
ReplyDeleteThere's many a slip 'tween the lip and the lip ...
DeleteI could have made it naughtier by using one more s ...
DeleteBut whattaheck, we are talking about a lip-ogram, aren't we?
DeleteKishore@9:29 to 9:31: Now I know how Yuvi must have felt facing Malinga's Yorkers!
ReplyDeleteOne has to feel sorry for Yuvraj Singh. He became a huge joke on watsapp after India's defeat, well with lots of funny forwards floating around soon after the game
DeleteNice puzzle, Afterdark. Missed out on 10 and 18 Across. I too failed to notice that letter 'A' was missing in all the clues ! Great show AD !! Looking forward to many more innovative puzzles of this kind from you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHow must he now feel facing the country's bouncers?
ReplyDeleteReplying to Vasant @ 949
DeleteTuck the tail btn his legs and vanish from the scene !!!
DeleteMore of a captain's fault, I feel (though I am a fan of his leadership confirmed by the confirmation of experts as captain of World XI)
DeleteKishore @ 9.28 I am sure the D will issppr next!.
ReplyDeleteIn that case will he be called "Incognito" or "The Phantom"?
The Will'o'wisp wraith
DeletePictures of cars used by Kishore can be seen HERE AT THIS LINK
ReplyDeleteThe big black one was hard to steer and gave a good exercise to one's arms but touched 80mph quite easily.
DeletePower steering was unheard of those days. One really needed to have strong arms and of course quick reflexes. It must have felt like hauling the full weight of it- of course it must have weighed a lot when fuel consumption was never in consideration.
DeleteI think nowadays you need much quicker reflexes than in those days. Whatever you say the good old Ambassador is roomy. I too drove one from Coimbatore to Ooty and back, way back in the early 70' s, lack of power steering was never a problem even while negotiating the hairpin bends in the ghat section.
DeleteThose days the roads were narrower and did not have medians, but the traffic was less too. Worse, the medians nowadays can give you a false sense of comfort as many a time I have seen a tractor-trailer or a truck coming the wrong way. I used to drive an Ambassador in 1983-85 when we were in Goa and I did the Goa-Mangalore stretch at least 30 times (15 round trips) without feeling the strain of steering, though power steering was not there. For the first year or so, we did not have the Kali bridge at Karwar and had to take the car across the river by ferry.
DeleteI have driven both types of cars and the difficult in not having a power steering is felt the most in 1st gear , i.e. slowest of speed , rest of the times it hardly made a difference. A moving wheel's friction is less maybe. Not too sure.
DeleteWell laid-out clues.11a first I thought sth. to do with carpentry.8dvery nice arrangement(syntactically)equally appealing semantically.20d-prodded nicely. I didnt miss it. Well-rounded puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to see that After Dark has made a very innovative puzzle without the letter A.
ReplyDeleteHe must have made many a clip and a slip between the lip and the lisp, spilling the A . He is indeed an Alpha-elider and a Beta compiler than most ! Must have got DOG-TIRED after all that arduous task. As the Bengalis would exclaim: BERI_ BERI good !
I did not notice the missing 'A'. interesting bit..
ReplyDelete16A and 3D: I had similar doubts
11A wasn't sure how the L stepped in
nice puzzle on the whole :)
Lovely grid AfterDark. Didnt notice the missing A - very clever. BEER MUG was hilarious. So was OBESE and CLEVER. Wondering about the use of N as opponent (they would be opponent only for EW right?). Over all, really loved it. Managed to finish it as well (except for DELETE), so that was a bonus too...
ReplyDeleteYesterday we had 'Kinky Sex', in one of the clues (1 Ac) and today we have 'Kinky Spouse' (5 Ac) ! How about tomorrow ?!
ReplyDeleteCan't hardly wait is it?
DeleteFingers crossed ! :)
DeleteTook time but completed the grid today.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the encouragement. As CV Sir always points out, if not for this blog and its members it would take tremendous motivation to set a crossword and that too with variations. I wonder how he and his peers did them those days tirelessly. Here we have 40 days to set one puzzle and we can take all the time to try different recipes and we also get instant feedback. So thanks is due to Colonel. Ciao till next month.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the most used letters in English are A, E & T .. Maybe a T disappearing is a thought.
ReplyDelete