No.11151, Thursday 31 Jul 2014, Mac

Nice and breezy offering from Mac. Quite a few clues to savour particularly liked PREVIOUS, STRIPPER, UNETHICAL and RAMPANT. Rather high number of anagrams (11 full and partial) but I noticed that only when blogging and not solving. Which goes to show how good the surface stories were.

ACROSS
1   Processed analog state (6) ANGOLA [ANALOG]*

5   Prior/priest is outwardly religious (7) PREVIOUS [priest=REV inside religious=PIOUS]
9   His job may involve wear and tear? (8) STRIPPER [CD]
10 Communication from landlord (6) LETTER [DD]
11 Creator's in favour of drug use, strangely! (10) PROMETHEUS [in favour of=PRO + drug=METH + USE*]
12 Repeat part of the chorus (4) ECHO [T]
13 Sound arising from the crone (8) COHERENT [THE CRONE]*
16 Matter lacking extra perspective (6) STANCE [extra=sub STANCE]
17 Don't forget about missing part (6) MEMBER [about=re MEMBER]
19 Running short of time, Rodley rode away fearlessly (8) DARINGLY [DARtING + rodeLY]
21 Post-man, say (4) MAIL [~MALE]
22 Be debriefed, proceed, then nod off (2,8) GO COMMANDO [proceed=GO + ,=COMMA + NOD*] Nice def.
25 Funnily, to multiply, an amoeba has to do this! (6) DIVIDE [CD]

Cartoon by Bhargav

26 Leaves sailor and son at sea (8) ABANDONS [sailor=AB + AND + SON*]
27 Adulterated lunch a stewardess brought (8) UNCHASTE [T]
28 Buzzes gotten from essentially vintage hard drinks (6) THRUMS [vinTage + Hard + RUMS]

DOWN
2   Recorder broadcast tenor (5) NOTER [TENOR]*
3   Drug (often pot) I used medically, at first (5) OPIUM [Acrostic]
4   He could be disarmed (7) AMPUTEE [CD]
5   Monitor, with radio emission sources switched, is ideal (7) PERFECT [monitor=PREFECT with Radio Emission switched]
6   Doctor listens and gets help (7) ENLISTS [LISTENS]*
7   For the most part, // at sea? (2,3,4) IN THE MAIN [DD]
8   A hint/clue misconstrued as unfair (9) UNETHICAL [A HINT CLUE]*
14 Musical turned into performance (9) OPERATION [OPERA + INTO*]
15 He bills me insanely for dress (9) EMBELLISH [HE BILLS ME]*
18 Go back and run to exit (7) REGRESS [Run + exit=EGRESS]
19 Cleared out, say (7) DECLARE [CLEARED]*
20 Unrestrained tirade about a politician (7) RAMPANT [tirade=RANT about A MP=politician]
23 Summer // snake (5) ADDER [DD]
24 Dug up material (5) DENIM [dug=MINED]<-

No 11150, Wednesday 30 Jul 2014, Exa

Enjoyable surface reading in most clues from Exa today. 

ACROSS
1   Stopping place to bust into parking surreptitiously (10) BREAKPOINT {BREAK}{INTO+P*}
7   ‘Absent’ primarily means this (4) AWAY {A}{WAY} &lit
9   Stock racing event? (8) STAMPEDE [CD]
10 A dance number incorporates slow song (6) BALLAD {BALL}{A}{D} How does A get into the middle? 'Dance number incorporates a slow song' would have been better.
11 Chortle let out reading novel cover (6) CLOTHE CHOrTLE*
12 It could indicate the centre for sorbet we enjoy drinking (7) BETWEEN [T]
14 Area of theatre where support gets a makeover (9) BACKSTAGE {BACK}{GETS+A*}
16 Can constant turning make fabric? (4) KNIT {K}{NIT}<=
18 Nerds right away circulating tips (4) ENDS NErDS*

                                               Cartoon by Bhargav

19 Tragic recession spanning England with time? Take note — it's harmful (9) CIGARETTE {CIGAR{E}T<=}{T}{E}
22 Beer? Oddly a large can reduced stability (7) BALANCE {BeEr+A+L+CAN}*
24 Bright red wine's cold for son (6) CHERRY (-s+c)CHERRY
27 Help midget to get over depression (6) DIMPLE [T<=]
28 Man interrupted on a date and suspended (8) OVERHEAD {OVER}{HE}{A}{D}
29 In the middle of morning, I get down (4) AMID {AM}{I}{D}
30 Unability to buy pets; I’m sick sadly (10) SKEPTICISM*

DOWN
2   Later returned; I had to get back at one (9) RETALIATE {LATER<=}{I}{ATE}
3   Allow mind to work in partner's absence at lodges (5) ADMIT {A{MInD*}T}
4   Judge training outside court for position of power (7) PREFECT {P{REF}E}{CT}
5   Time travelling object (4) ITEM*
6   Models fit in capsule (6) TABLET {T{ABLE}T}
7   Bread provided regularly? (9) ALLOWANCE [DD]
8   A puzzle to dazzle (5) AMAZE {A}{MAZE}
13 A silver brought back home another time (5) AGAIN {A}{AG<=}{IN}
15 Editor put out cocktail ad in couple of pages before getting abducted (9) KIDNAPPED {K}{IN+AD*}{PP}{ED}
17 Rituals to dancing lessons (9) TUTORIALS*
20 Very old worker drinks nice rum (7) ANCIENT {AN{NICE*}T}
21 Fool around conservative church for entry (6) ACCESS {A{C}{CE}SS}
23 A blend served up with egg in principle (5) AXIOM {A}{XI{O}M<=}
25 Set of principles from the trips to Italy and Cuba (5) ETHIC {THE*}{I}{C}
26 Sound character written up in French books (4) NOTE {N{OT}E<=} (Addendum - {TO}{NE}<= - See comments by Exa)

GRID 

No 11149, Tuesday 29 Jul 2014, Spinner

Eid Mubarak

Spinner has spun up a nice one today. Liked the PURI.

ACROSS

1   U.S. people who work with numbers botched up tests in haste (12) ANESTHETISTS* 

                                                    Cartoon by Rishi

10 It’s Fibonacci’s first number, perhaps even (2,3) IF NOT {I}{F} {NO}T Anno for T not clear (Addendum - {I{F} {NO}T} - See comments)

11 Reproducing with a new covering (9) CANOPYING {C{A}{N}OPYING}

12 Power-up to celebrate (6) PRAISE {P}{RAISE}

13 Farmer traps Himalayan-origin bird (8) PHEASANT {P{H}EASANT}

15 Man to talk to Crown, say (9) HEADDRESS {HE}{ADDRESS}

16 Mark first of September: Spinner returns! (4) SPOT {S}{POT<=}

20 Part of grid left unoccupied (4) IDLE [T]

21 Model lifestyle with happy heart, following ultimate fantasies (9) SCULPTURE {S}{CUL{haPpy}TURE}

24 Company that’s cleverer, with time, becomes richer (8) COSTLIER {CO}{S{T}LIER}

26 Squabble in Puri, for example (6) TIFFIN {TIFF}{IN} Tiffin I presume is peculiar to Tamilnadu only           

Cartoon by Rishi

28 Blunder by a Don corrected by one who does odd jobs (6,3) ERRAND BOY {ERR}{AND BOY*}

29 Dine with extremely ceremonial splendour (5) ECLAT {E{CeremoniaL}AT}

30 Line like “Liquid loan lassoes learned lords”? (12) ALLITERATION [Def by example] (Addendum  {AL{LITERATI}ON*} - See comments)

DOWN

2   Doctor Lenin, a pro unrivalled! (9) NONPAREIL*

3   Drop games to a team (3,5) SET ASIDE {SET} {A}{SIDE}

4   Break in without permission to see-saw (4) HACK HACKsaw (Addendum - [DD] - See comments)

5   Instrument designed with inlets? (3,7) TIN WHISTLE*

6   Soapiest liquid to disperse and remove fishy pigments (6) SEPIAS SoAPIESt*

7   God who resides in Kashi/Varanasi (5) SHIVA [T]

8   Stumbles after view’s cut on both sides (5) LIMPS gLIMPSe

9   A fool consumed shake (7) AGITATE {A}{GIT}{ATE}

14 Insect, flier or leather hunter? (7,3) CRICKET BAT {CRICKET} {BAT}

17 Minister’s office overthrown in soil of Tropical-America (9) PORTFOLIO [T<=]

                               Cartoon by Rishi

18 Hanukkah, Halloween and Holi have their origins in these (7) AITCHES [Def by example]

                                               Cartoon by Bhargav

19 Small weapon of 7 is loud (8) STRIDENT {S}{TRIDENT}

22 Gangster follows extremely confidential working of a genetic copy (6) CLONAL {ConfidentiaL}{ON}{AL}

23 Flies in angst, all over the place (5) GNATS*

25 Country’s ultimate tennis Open returns (5) SYRIA {tenniS}{RYIA<=} (Correction - {tenniS}{YRIA<=} - See comments)

27 He makes things colourful, adding yellow to red liquid (4) DYER {D{Y}ER*}

GRID

No.11148, Monday 28 Jul 2014, Aspartame

I wonder what's on the cards* today ... Let us 'focus' on 10a and 8d for a sub-theme

Setter's note: Starred clues have no definition but belong to the same category

ACROSS
6 Practical person is alert and active (7) REALIST (IS ALERT)*

                                                    Cartoon by Rishi

7 Cool to get lad in for long-lasting effect (7) CHRONIC (CHIC with RON in)
          Though commonly used by setters, I personally do not like a random name poking into the word play, where we need to work backwards after getting the definition. Clueing Ron as Weasley, as a setter did a few days back, or Ronald is more fair, imo ...
9 Herded a herd (5) DROVE (2)
10 Focus on erotic movements when surrounded by noise (9) DIRECTION (EROTIC* in DIN)

                                                   Cartoon by Rishi

11 Moving often to snatch her goo (2,3,2) ON THE GO Anno not clear (alternate letter) See comments
13 Outstanding drink has a dash of lemon and turmeric (6) BELTER (BEER with L T)
15, 19 Ride bare pony that’s hopeless? (7,6,6) DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR (Rev.Anag. of RIDE BARE PONY with DAMAGED as Anind) My CoD
20 Dance is a person’s favourite retirement (3-4) ONE STEP (ONES PET<)
*23 Drape work design (4,5) DRAW POKER (DRAPE WORK)*
24 Fired? (5) CASED Did not get it ...
26 Supporter said “I have to run” (3,4) EYE BOLT (~I BOLT)
27 Anxious over sun burns (7) NERVOUS (OVER SUN)*

DOWN
*1 Ancient king on the radio (4) FARO (~PHARAOH)
          Recently appeared in THC
*2 Odd seed found in marsh land (6) MISERE (SE in MIRE)
*3 Player who makes great jabs? (4,5) STUD POKER (CD)
4 Attempt to grab haystack using a bit of espionage and deceit (8) TRICKERY (TRY around RICK E)
5 Anomalous tint in disc cannot be identified (10) INDISTINCT (TINT IN DISC)*
6* Animal kills Asian and heads north, chased by another animal (3,3) RED DOG FOX (DeER<  DOG FOX) See comments
7 Part of a cauliflower that’s used to make cheese (4) CURD (2)
8 Multinational company’s accountant retires — basically cut off from focus (6) CENTRE (ac<CENTuRE)
12 Is such a member caring or inconsiderate toward the group? (4,6) TEAM PLAYER (CD)

                                                    Cartoon by Rishi

14 Loathsome sailor to rush and make Henry the leader (9) ABHORRENT (AB H tORRENT)
16 Political play on a soldier receives ton of support (8) AGITPROP (A GI T PROP)
          For example, Mukhyamantri
17* Be free and good at heart (6) BRIDGE (BE with RID and G inside)
           

18* Ship needs cushion on second deck (6) SPADES (SS with PAD E)
21* Leaders of European Union converse heatedly regarding euthanasia (6) EUCHRE (Acrostic)
22* Half the cadbury chocolate is eaten by son (4) SKAT (S kitKAT) Shouldn't Cadbury have a capital C? And if I remember right KitKat is from Nestle, not Cadbury
25 Ban on containers recalled (4) STOP (POTS<)

GRID :

Special, Sunday 27 Jul 2014, DaVinci

Welcome to yet another new setter DaVinci. Bouquets and brickbats are welcome with your answers.
Three answers per commenter (with annotations as usual) upto 6 PM

ACROSS
1   To gamble, bring with you a glass of alcohol (4, 1, 4, 4)
10 Touch-up artist is starting on stroke (9)
11 Daring jumps without gravity--extreme! (5)
12 Two-wheeled self-balancing vehicle reportedly transitions smoothly (5)
13 Sanyasi gave up right to speak (9)
14 Start over by taking control, along with these (3,3)
16 Ashwatthama ultimately took a piece of straw for a divine weapon (5)
20 To shock friends (standing back-to-back), chop-off head (5)
21 Class property (6)
25 Dad's sister's friend is a dummy (4, 5)
26 His favourite movie might be 'Thirteen Angry Men' (5)
27 Respiratory equipment for newborn in South Africa (5)
28 What the successful author might do--enjoy drinks in bar? (9)
29 Church in Palestine is renovated for tourist attraction (7, 6)

DOWN
2   Confiscate Shakespeare's final triplet featuring revolutionary poet predominantly (8)
3   First lady takes flyer to flee (5)
4   Thief lost egg for second time to gander (6)
5   Espionage technique in projects undertaken by unidentified (8)
6   No job essentially--one cruises smoothly in these offices (9)
7   Liquor dealer supplies crucible (6)
8   Traditional Friday wear, trimmed to clothe us (2,5)
9   Pokes nose right into cakes (5)
15 Revolting peasants captured knight in passing (2,7)
17 Rang up Weasley on the phone, to get pot for brewing potions (8)
18 Serif, sans curve, is to produce undesirable result (4-4)
19 Shortcomings in spinning threads (7)
22 Peek into Kandahar's history is disturbing (5)
23 Invalidate matrimony; middleman gets rings (6)
24 My love, irrational and extremely romantic, is heedless (6)
26 Dessert made from kabab (5)

Across Lite version can be accessed at DAVINCI 1

Enjoy.

No 2801, Sunday 27 Jul 2014

ACROSS
1   What the grower will sell is brought out of wood, cut by Charlie (4,4) CASH CROP {C{ASH} {C}ROP} Anno not clear (Addendum - {C}{ASH} {CROP} - See comments)
5   Leader of Blackadders in court case concerning clan (6) TRIBAL {TRI{B}AL}
10 Floating voter atop passenger boat (9) VAPORETTO*

11 Letter from Greece from male in dry area (5) THETA {T{HE}T}{A}
12 Little boy bitten by Dorothy's dog in place on Lake Ontario (7) TORONTO {TO{RON}TO}
13 One taking beer, tucking into variety of feta (3,4) TEA LEAF {TE{A-LE}AF*} Cockney rhyming slang for 'Thief'
14 To hear all the soccer players on the pitch at once is a frustrating situation, fully (5-6-3) CATCH-TWENTY-TWO {CATCH}-{TWENTY-TWO} My COD
17 Guards cursed - skunk let out (14) KNUCKLEDUSTERS*
21 Shakespearean merchant showing giant onions at the centre (7) ANTONIO [T]
22 What tireless seamstresses do, we hear, for a despicable type? (2-3-2) SO-AND-SO  (~ sow and sow) (Addendum - (~ sew and sew) - See comments)
24 Willow, more healthy-looking right away (5) OSIER rOSIER
25 Huge robin perplexed one next door (9) NEIGHBOUR*
26 Commander about to complete programme (6) AGENDA {AG{END}A}
27 Access for transport (8) ENTRANCE [DD]

DOWN
1   Guinea pig fed it in space (6) CAVITY {CAV{IT}Y}
2   Excellent management, but lacking foresight (5) SUPER SUPERvision
3   Very bad record the Parisian released (7) CHRONIC CHRONICle
4   Aiming to get the nobleman KO'd (3,3,3,5) OUT FOR THE COUNT [DD]
6   Take back religious education pamphlet (7) RETRACT {RE}{TRACT}
7   Yeoman, no vegetarian it would appear (9) BEEFEATER [DD]
8   Game of par golf, surprisingly, including eagle at last (8) LEAPFROG {L{eaglE}APFROG*}
9   Propose father, on the quiet, somehow engages son (3,3,8) POP THE QUESTION {POP} {THE} {QUIET+SON8}
15 A home in a somewhat historical region of France (9) AQUITAINE {A}{QUIT{A}{IN}E}
16 Fine spiritual leader describing house in a state (8) OKLAHOMA {OK}{LA{HO}MA}
18 Similar type, socialist (7) KINDRED {KIND}{RED}
19 Tutor in pain during most of period (7) TEACHER {TE{ACHE}Rm}
20 Beginning to add gravy, say (6) SOURCE (~ sauce)
23 River in NI county in flood (5) DROWN {D{R}OWN}

No. 11147, Saturday, 26 July 2014. Afterdark

Standing in for Bhavan this morning, I had an engaging time with this crossword.
To make this post participatory, I am leaving some  clues (answers provided) to be annotated by my readers. One visitor, one anno, please.
In Clue 24dn, Afterdark does a 'lift and separate' on his name. Hope he has pulled himself together now.

ACROSS
1    Prompting to include five top educators for research... (13) INVESTIGATION  - insertion of  V E in INSTIGATION
10    …one saw joy in trouble? No chance in hell (2,3,4) NO WAY JOSE - anag. of ONESAWJOY
11    Mention about accepting Head Honcho's principles (5) ETHIC - insertion of H in ETIC (rev. of cite)
12    Lie about crackhead's passion (5) CHEAT - cha. of C HEAT

                                                                        Cartoon by Rishi

13    Changes model's right replies from woman to female (9) TRANSFERS - cha. T R ANS(-w+F)ERS
14    Domain of Samajwadi Party leaders in this stage (6) SPHERE cha. SP HERE
16    Worry about having no currency? (4) EURO - cha. of EUR (rev. of RUE) O
19    Say, a mammal left you in the past (4) ONCE - deletion  O(-u)NCE
20    Reasonable to deny credit for eatable (6) EDIBLE - deletion  (cr)EDIT
25    Begged to stop including surprise elements, for starters (9) ENTREATED - anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
26    Lived with newlywed first lady over time (5) DWELT - cha. of DWE (anag, of WED) L T
27    Star Sapphire recreated, perhaps out of bones (5) TARSI - anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
28    Since tail was operated, it's rigid (9) INELASTIC - anag. of SINCETAIL

29    Lament about strange scrooge's integration in group of companies (13) CONGLOMERATES  - anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)

DOWN
2    Capital in a modern and ancient Greek town without a leader of people (3,5) NEW DELHI - cha. of NEW DEL[p]HI
3    Wrongly type to include girl’s country (5) EGYPT - insertion of G in EYPT (anag. of type)
4    Fish tourist cooked without iodine (6) TROUTS - anag. of TOUR[i]ST after deleting I
5    Explosives danger quashed by Emergency Services (8) GRENADES - cha. of GRENAD (anag. of danger), E S
6    Having assessed, trustee replaced headmaster who was revered (9) TREASURED - anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
7    Atrociously overcharges the grave dug out for earth pigments (6) OCHRES- anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
8    Broken casks had new refreshments (6) SNACKS - insertion of N in SACKS ( anag. of casks)
9    Digital money exchanged initially by accountant silently (1-4) E-CASH - cha. of E CA SH
15    In other words, outfight the drunk Engine Driver's performance (9) RENDERING - anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
17    Routine arrangement to get nuclear particle (8) NEUTRINO - N (nuclear) in NEUTRIO (anag of ROUTINE)
18    Engineer joined new senate, but he didn't attend (8) ABSENTEE- anno. to be provided by any reader :: (Since attempted; see Comments)
21    Draw a crumpled necktie with first knot loose (6) ENTICE - anag. of NECTIE after deleting K from necktie
22    City harbour replaced British chief with Portugal's (5) PERTH - sub. of P for B in BERTH
23    Sound equipment set dismantled again by the Disc (6) STEREO - cha of STE(anag. of SET) RE O
24    Affix After Dark's initials in this place (6) ADHERE - cha. of  A D here

                                            Cartoon by Bhargav

26    Play medico went with wet nurse lacks finish (5) DRAMA -  cha. of DR AMA[h]

No.11146, Friday 25 July 2014, The Phantom

17

ACROSS
8 Work offer engineer got, didn’t involve travel (6) EFFORT (OFFER* T)
9 Aussie hooligan’s endless desire to lift a posh car (8) LARRIKIN (LIKINg around Rolls Royce) Had to cheat for this one ...

10 Mark’s facing principal for bad behaviour (8) MISCHIEF (M IS CHIEF)
          Bond's?

 

                                            Cartoon by Rishi

11 Has built a room outside retreat (6) ASHRAM (HAS* A with RM outside)
12 Shoot (holding sawn-off firearm) a silhouette (6) FIGURE (FIRE holding GUn)
13 Last four knocked out in ODI Semi-final, resulting in changes (8) MODIFIES (ODI SEMI Final)* (knock of last letters of final)
15 Left in anguish lady is gutted, obviously (7) PLAINLY (L in PAIN LadY)
17 Germany’s rowing team crosses lake in joy (7) DELIGHT (D EIGHT crossing L)
20 He, she or I for example favour love between sisters (8) PRONOUNS ( PRO O between NUNS)
22 A hero’s at sea or on land? (6) ASHORE (A HERO'S)*
23Constant noise in radio set (6) STATIC (CD,DD)
25 Reluctance about wearing fashionable suit to get raise (8) INCREASE (IN RE in CASE)
26 Hard-working man follows regular drill at institute (8) DILIGENT (DrIlL I GENT)
27 Spooner’s free pics used as an introduction (6) PREFIX (Spoonerism of Free Pics)

   Cartoon by Bhargav

DOWN
1 Bureaucrat’s absent regularly since 1{+s}{+t} April being disheartened (8) OFFICIAL (OFF sInCe I ApriL)
2 Study about big cat with cubs oddly left out result! (10) CONCLUSION (CON C LION outside cUbS)
3 Victory for a thousand in go-slow endeavour (6) STRIVE (V for K in STRIKE)
4 Tyro left Florida, got into crime, caught right away in disgrace (3,4) ILL FAME (L L FA in crIME) my anno is defective for FA is not the short form of Florida. Taking FLA, and presuming tyro left means deletion of L, I am still in trouble)
5 Organised labour to separate strand of silk and fabric (8) ORGANDIE (ORGANIsED)*
6 Angle chiefly formed involving side, hypotenuse (4) FISH (acrostic)
7 Individual blocks traffic leading to outburst (6) TIRADE (I in TRADE)
14 Fighter by mistake at criminal den is nervous (10) FRIGHTENED (FIGHTER* DEN*)
16 Has uncle put out fires? (8) LAUNCHES (HAS UNCLE)*
18 Water finally entering, had craft in trouble (8) HARDSHIP (R in HAD SHIP)
19 Helps Jenny escort sister at junction (7) ASSISTS (ASS escorts SIS at T)
21 “Keep on batting”, conveyed the Australian openers (6) RETAIN (RE IN carrying T A)
22 Acknowledge century’s record breaking performance (6) ACCEPT (C EP in ACT)
24 During exercise one runs over to fall (4) TRIP (1R in PT<)

GRID :

N0 11145, Thursday 24 Jul 2014, xChequer

Another good one from xChequer. I filled up 'slippers' at 4A and beat around the bush to search for 6D.

ACROSS
1   See 15 ac.
4   Queen wears casual trousers with loafers (8) SLACKERS {SLACK{ER}S}
10 Grant meant to be distributed without regressive tax (9) ALLOTMENT {A{LLOT<=}MENT*}
11 See 15a
12 American city fashionable earlier (7) CHICAGO {CHIC}{AGO}
13 Following spinner's introduction, two men caught at cover (7) SHEATHE {S}{HE}{AT}{HE}
14 Nip small children (4) TOTS [DD] (Correction - {TOT}{S} - Thanks to SMS from Ajeesh)
15 & 1ac., 11ac. Offer things of value to people who don't appreciate them? Sensible to scrap, few are involved (4, 6, 6, 5) CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE* Never heard this phrase before

See the Pearls cast after these swine !!

19 Transport for invalid where part of foot can disengage toilet locks (10) WHEELCHAIR {W{HEEL}C}{HAIR}
20 Friends hit back (4) PALS <=
23 See-saw overturned? Height of nonsense (7) EYEWASH {SEE+SAW}*{H} (Addendum - {EYE}{SAW<=}{H} - See comments)
26 Religious traveller, around fifty, sanctimonious and resolute (7) PILGRIM {PI}{L}{GRIM}
27 Hong Kong university receives excellent poem (5) HAIKU {H{A1}K}{U}
28 Rivals work from either direction before spreading net in opposite directions (9) OPPONENTS {OP<=>PO}{N{NET*}S}
29 What one perhaps does with old tyres, dreadfully serrated? (8) RETREADS*

                                                                                    Cartoon by Rishi

30 Fools taking time to show strengths (6) ASSETS {ASSE{T}S}

Cartoon by Rishi                                               Cartoon by Bhargav

DOWN
1   A combination of two animals: binturong and red panda? (7) BEARCAT {BEAR}{CAT}

2 & 22 dn. Two beginners tied in blanket finish scrambled to get method to complete this puzzle say (4,2,3,6) FILL IN THE BLANKS {FI{LL} IN THE BLANKS*}
3   It's allowed by Russia, a liberal tradition (6) RITUAL {R{IT}U}{A}{L}
5   Much described universal flower (5) LOTUS {LOT{U}S}
6   Pampered, yet firm on son to be prepared with education (8) COSSETED {CO}{S}{SET}{ED}
7   Electronic reference book for law (5) EDICT {E}{DICT}
8   They search; there are limits to knowledge that wise men possess (7) SEEKERS {SEE{KnowledgE}RS}
9   Adjusted cap on the monument for dead soldiers (8) CENOTAPH*

16 Shadow churchwarden possibly, end where gas gets exhausted (8) TAILPIPE {TAIL}{PIPE}
17 Change positions to bring up variety (9) REARRANGE {REAR}{RANGE}
18 Prayer certain to bring joy … (8) PLEASURE {PLEA}{SURE}
19 … if meteorological condition's sound (7) WHETHER (~weather)
21 Savoury snacks from Assam, so fresh (7) SAMOSAS*
22 See 2 dn.
24 Prince Victor has bounce (5) EVICT [T]

                                Cartoon by Rishi

25 Bone seen in heads of Himalayan yaks or Indian donkeys (5) HYOID {H}{Y}{O}{I}{D}

GRID

No 11144, Wednesday 23 Jul 2014, xChequer

Excellent as usual from xChequer.
Got bogged down after a blazing start in the NW corner but finally prevailed, unlike the last time around. 12A was last to fall after cheating!

ACROSS
1   Features etc. contorted with snakes coiling around (7) ASPECTS {ASP{ETC*}S}
5   Uncertainty of obligation overcoming one in nine (7) DUBIETY {DU{B{1}E}TY} Be from 9

9   Be prepared: Rule by mother-in-law (9) BERYLLIUM {RULE+BY+M-I-L}*
10 Additional article in gold (5) OTHER {O{THE}R}
11 Name dropping in this language? Polish maybe (6) FINISH FINnISH
12 Musical instrument is held by thumb, a stringed instrument perhaps (7) SISTRUM {S{IS}TRUM} Very devious construction by xChequer as this is a percussion instrument

14 Green light is beyond line of sight (4) LOOK {L}{O}{OK}
15 Feelings conveyed by son over essentially painful occasion (10) SENTIMENTS {SEN{TIME}{paiNful}T}{S} (Correction - {SE{paiNful}{TIME}NT}{S})
19 Ignoring son's bedtime in general (10) BOYCOTTING {BOY}{COT}{T}{IN}{G}
20 Correct time to repent (4) TRUE {T}{RUE}
22 Visible understanding? (7) INSIGHT {IN}{SIGHT}
25 Account with money to cover outstanding operation (6) ACTION {AC}{TI{O}N}
27 Further sex trade curbed (5) EXTRA [T]
28 Army officer in prison having a rough ride (9) BRIGADIER {BRIG}{A}{RIDE*}
29 Alarm from empty resort installed in flat (7) STARTLE {STA{ResorT}LE}
30 Marched on England, primarily an error by Germany (7) ELAPSED {E}{LAPSE}{D}

DOWN
1   Sailor, bachelor, a father (4) ABBA {AB}{B}{A}

 "Bachelor Boy"

When I was young, my father said,
"Son, I've got something to say."
And what he told me I'll never forget until my dying day.

[Chorus 1:]
He said, "Son, you'll be a bachelor boy
And that's the way to stay.

Son, you'll be a bachelor boy until your dying day."
                       Cartoon by Bhargav

2   Prison may spread a streak of meanness (9) PARSIMONY*

Cartoon by Rishi

3   Company, extremely loyal, that's a dog (6) COLLIE {CO}{LoyaL}{IE}
4   Tricky exam to say the least? (9) SLIGHTEST (~sleight test) (Addendum - (~sly test) - See comments)
5   Barriers broken by oriental women (5) DAMES {DAM{E}S}
6   Small section in buds and flowers (8) BLOSSOMS {BLO{S}{S}OMS}

7   Underground, nitrogen missing in air (5) ETHER nETHER
8   Railway official may arrest criminal carrying diamonds (10) YARDMASTER {YAR{D}MASTER*}
13 Bureau head hides dog with obesity (10) FLABBINESS {F{LAB}BI}{NESS}
16 Gallery filled by four past ten? Not sure (9) TENTATIVE {TEN}{TAT{IV}E}
17 Clients regularly drifting around former princely state for illegal drugs (9) NARCOTICS {N{ARCOT}ICSlet*}
18 Long to embrace, almost going crazy touching (8) POIGNANT {P{GOINg*}ANT}
21 Levels achieved by soprano above A-sharp while ascending (6) STRATA {S}{TRAT<=}{A}
23 Literary truths in Sanskrit from Dasaratha's wife, I'm left uplifted (5) SUTRA SUmiTRA
24 Finally appoint competent board (5) TABLE {appoinT}{ABLE}
26 Brought up food — through the mouth? (4) BRED (~bread)

GRID