Looks like Aferdark has, just like Gridman, given up tea!
ACROSS
1 Sailor drunk and ruddy (6) ABLUSH {AB}{LUSH}
4 Firm’s high officials finish off snakes (6) COBRAS {CO}{BRAS
9 Say, Shakespeare’s armour piece! (4) BARD [DD]
10 Monkey which had egg soup cooked endlessly lacks liveliness (10) LANGUOROUS {LANGU{O}R}{SOU
11 Copied a single in CD (6) CLONED {C{LONE}D}
12 Wife led here in confusion by charmer (8) WHEEDLER {W}{HEEDLER*}
13 Suspended Jordan due for reform (9) ADJOURNED*
15 She follows American guide (5) USHER {US}{HER}
16 Handheld song source for prayer (5) PSALM {P{S}ALM}
18 Emergence of crooked generalissimo off Lima (9) EGRESSION GENER
22 Save lion injured in a republic (8) SLOVENIA*
25 Changed Indian pop singer’s pupils indeed (10) REMODELLED {REMO}{DE{LL}ED}
26 Camp’s head replaced by English guide (4) EASE (-b+e)EASE
27 Cummerbunds given as prize following series lead (6) SASHES {S}{ASHES}
28 Cherished an affair by Bolshevik (6) ADORED {A}{DO}{RED}
DOWN
1 Used audiovisual and spread ideal (7) AVAILED {AV}{IDEAL*}
2 Overloaded learner before maverick dean (5) LADEN {L}{DEAN*}
3 Alloy having iodine is harder (7) SOLIDER {SOL{I}DER}
5 Works on old prince’s causes (6) OPUSES {O}{P}{USES}
6 Church screens warped predecessor for misplaced PC (9) REREDOSES
7 Sweden monarch nearly unknown for English press (7) SQUEEZE {S}{QUEE
8 Aware of weekend global convergence (13) KNOWLEDGEABLE*
14 Insensible Open House one side (9) OBLIVIOUS {OB{L}{I}VIOUS}
17 All of you, perhaps! (7) SOLVERS [CD]
19 Refined English soldiers’performance lacks energy (7) EMENDED {E}{MEN}{DE
20 No war on fake soap powder has been defied (7) OPPOSED {SO
21 Princess includes former spouse in expansion (6) ANNEXE {ANN{EX}E}
24 Applaud rebel on comeback again (5) CHEER {CHE}{ER<=}
Maybe he prefers Coffee
ReplyDeleteA his rae i will become amil Nadu
DeleteNice one from AD. Applaud his efforts to come up with different themes for puzzles.
ReplyDeleteThanks Raghu
Delete24 Applaud rebel on comeback again (5) CHEER {CHE}{ER<=}
ReplyDelete'Again' appears superfluous
Rebel = CHE
on=RE; comeback <=
May be Shrikanth can confirm but I took 'on' as the connecting word with 'again = RE' which makes a comeback to become ER.
DeleteSame here
DeleteBhavan, thanks for rescuing :) But I didn't clue that way. It happened inadvertently. Because I felt that the sentence was hanging. Again added a bit of drama if you really consider it as someone making a comeback.
DeleteWhen I read the clue, it seems to so obvious. But it is getting difficult to remember what was running in mind while cluing because of this long gap between publishing and setting.
DeleteThere is no doubt that it works: "A on B" in a Down clue,as in the present case, can mean only one thing – AB.
DeleteHowever, had this been an Across clue, then it would have meant BA. [Crosswordunclued.com 13.2.12]
'Comeback' means a return to a former position, status, etc
With 'again, it looks the rebel has been successful for the third time.
He was 'there'.
He made a comeback.
He made a comeback again.
It was a suggestion for consideration that even if 'again' is dropped, the clue is crisp.
Are "again" and "re" interchangeable? I got my doubts
DeleteI had a similar doubt re SHE and HER in USHER
DeleteAs far as I can see, they are used interchangeably on restroom doors. Some go with HER and some with SHE. Otherwise I don't see a connection.
Delete14 Insensible Open House one side (9) OBLIVIOUS {OB{L}{I}VIOUS}
ReplyDeleteTrying to figure out the anno. Is it 'houses side one'?
14 Insensible Open House one side (9) OBLIVIOUS {OB{L}{I}VIOUS}
ReplyDeleteOpen = OBVIOUS
house - container indicator
one = I
side = L
But, they (I and L) are not in that order contained!
Yeah Venkatesh. I figured this out only when I saw it in print this morning :( ...the natural substitution would have been fifty one, but then it doesn't make surface sense and also had T ... So I reversed it, but failed to insert a reversal indicator.
DeleteThanks. Addition of 'up' might have taken care of this.
DeleteYou are one up on others. Not just the solutions, even the clues lack 'T'.
Also, like Raghu said, shouldn't the indicator be 'houses' to indicate A includes B? House doesn't make sense grammatically?
DeleteHouse would make sense grammatically if it were a plural like; 'opens' (to) house L&I.
DeleteNice puzzle.
ReplyDelete5D Works on old prince’s causes (6) OPUSES
Going by the pattern of similar Latin terms, just wondering as to why the plural form of OPUS cannot be OPI? (Oh! quite a pie!) ;-)
My dictionary says OPERA is also a plural form of OPUS.
Wiktionary and 'Your Dictionary' have this usage note:
DeleteThe most common plural of opus in English is opuses.
Some people use the Latin plural, opera.
Opi is fairly common in the field of classical music, though mostly in informal contexts.
The use of any of these three pluralizations may result in the speaker being corrected, though opi above all should be avoided in formal contexts.
Richard, if one of your Mangalorean friends is making unwarranted overtures towards you, and you want to lightly censure him, a little frivilously but at the same time keep him at arms length by using his surname, you could say " oh, Pai!"
DeleteThank you AfterDark for an enjoyable CW. Centum today!
ReplyDeleteRegarding CV's toon, mark the time!
ReplyDeleteWho is the gent in the veshti?
DeleteI first thought it was a selfie. But then CV has a white top, and the Col. is not bald. I am not sure-ish about Sure-sh as there are no wheels around ....
DeleteWhat's wheels go to do with Suresh?
DeleteHe cycles as he solves
DeleteCycling, of course!
DeleteI thought he was on the treadmill.
DeleteI meant Suresh is usually on the treadmill.
DeleteNo treadmill only run-of-the-mill cycle. Also no dhoti.
Delete:-)
DeleteYou should have been a setter, I mean our type.
Had good time, Afterdark! Thank you - to DG for the blog.
ReplyDeleteA query re 5d: I am not sure how causes equals uses. Am I missing something?
As a noun , yes Abhay ... http://www.chambers.co.uk/search.php?query=use&title=thes
DeleteThanks, Shrikanth - as happens so often in these cases, it seems so obvious now! :)
DeleteNice cartoons, both!
ReplyDeleteKishore: I think yours would have worked just fine without the explanation!
23 Run away from English player’s cover drive finally (6) ESCAPE {E}{S}{CAP}{E}
ReplyDeleteS in answer is from?
Player Raghu
DeleteBridge player? OK.
DeleteIF player's = E's
DeleteTHEN English is not required.
I used E for English , S for player . players in this context could have not been used in plural. Hence so
DeleteEnglish players = E + S(outh)
DeleteI think the clue also would have worked like the way Venkatesh has shown with an apostrophe
DeleteAgreed
DeleteThe plural 'Players' for E S is not required.
DeleteIf player - E(ast), player's becomes E'S
Combining this with 'cover' (CAP) and 'drive finally' (E), we can get the solution.
Good puzzle to come back to, Afterdark/Shrikanth!
ReplyDeleteGood morning all.
Thanks Rita
DeleteThank you Shrikanth for giving a nice workout for my brain cells in the morning- with or without 'T'! Enjoyed it though I was found short on the NE corner. Probably I was 10A.
ReplyDeleteNice cartoons. Now we have the luxury of two!
Yrs,Kishore. Noted the time in the cartoon as well as the white spots on Laden's beard. Attention to details!
'English' for 'E' has been used 4 times - 23A, 26A, 7D and 19D.
ReplyDeleteProbably, a variety in clueing may have helped.
Point taken Venkatesh
DeleteAFTERDARK has managed to put everyone to grope in the dark, with his magic jumble of words, excluding chai ! what next, a theme on coffee, may be? my favourite brain stimulant?
ReplyDeleteA typ[ical cryptic cluing and very KNOWLEDGEALE use of anagram of WEEKEND GLOBAL 1 That then becomes the clue of my day ! Thanks, Shri can (-T) !
Thanks Raju. I didn't tell you. On the 3rd week of Feb I was at Cbe and I called both your numbers. Also sent a message. Thought of catching up with you.
DeleteI was probably at the Ganga Hospital, tending to my wife after her knee replacement surgery. However, I didn't see either the missed calls or the message ! How come?
DeleteMy loss !! Better luck next time. You are in Bangalore, isn't it?
Happy Birthday Sandhya
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Sandhya
ReplyDeleteToday, SandhyaP and Sridhar Shenoy Panchmal celebrate their birthdays.
ReplyDeleteMany HAPPY RETURNS of the Day to both of them.
Happy birthday wishes to both Sandhya and Sridhar. Many happy snruter of the day. God bless you !
DeleteNice Lipogram Aferdark:) You are making us ask Is here anyhing Shri kanh do?
ReplyDeleteThanks Sowmya
DeleteHappy Birthday Sandhya
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Sandhya and Sridhar
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Sandhya
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday greetings to Sandhya and Sridhar Shenoy Panchmal.
Delete