Pulling up my socks helped me today, for once I went through an xChequer CW without a hiccup needed some Google help though, for 15A
ACROSS
1 … for every male at one time makes a pass (6) PERMIT {PER}{M}{1}{T}
4 Aura coming from a bishop through presence at church (8) AMBIENCE {A}{M{B}IEN}{CE}
10 Go the roundabout way to collect people in shifts (9) MOVEMENTS {MOVE}{MEN}{TS<=}
11 Animal arrived and left (5) CAMEL {CAME]{L}
13 See 12ac.
14 Capture one in revolutionary network (4) NAIL {NA{1}L<=}
15 Prison hospitals in Ground Zero at last (10) LAZARETTOS*
19 Wandering about in archaeological sites on grass (10) DIGRESSING {DIG{RE}S}{SING}
20 Black bottled beer having sufficient power? Quite the contrary (4) ABLE {A{B}LE}
23 Extract concession from mummy's boy (7) MILKSOP {MILK}{SOP}
26 Made uneasy in superb world of scholars (7) ACADEME {AC{MADE*}E}
27 Land shown in terrain diagram (5) INDIA [T]
28 Extinct reptile that's made us so great (9) STEGOSAUR*
DOWN
1 Politician stuffed, throwin' up fruit (7) PUMPKIN {PU{MP}KIN'}
2 Mad about his upset knockout (9) RAVISHING {RAV{HIS*}ING}
3 Merchant, film producer on a first-name basis as per one society post (6) ISMAIL {1}{S}{MAIL}
5 Score in total going up to one hundred (5) MUSIC {MUS<=}{1}{C}
6 Covers note entered in helpful hints (8) INCLUDES {IN}{CLU{D}ES}
7 One follows the point of writing about onset of monsoon clouds (5) NIMBI {NI{M
8 Recruits listen carefully to chief of staff (7) ENLISTS {LISTEN}*{S
9 Setters use these collections of anecdotes to carry weight (8) ANAGRAMS {ANA{GRAM}S}
16 Toughened, rough and lean, filled with energy (8) ANNEALED {ANN{E}ALED*}
17 Model's talented state reaching a plateau (9) TABLELAND {T}{ABLE}{LAND}
18 Songbird reportedly studied at dawn (8) REDSTART (~red){RED}{START}
21 This may be raised in surprise if Baywatch moves up a rank (7) EYEBROW {EYE}<=>{B}{ROW} Couldn't find B for Bay in Chambers
22 Rubber shoe, also plastic, in general, hard (6) GALOSH {G}{ALSO*}{H}
24 Deposit of gold supply on earth (5) LODGE {GOLD*}{E}
25 Head holds small stick (5) PASTE {PA{S}TE}
GRID
Same here. For the first time finished a xChequer puzzle before the deadline. Brilliant as ever.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking pumpkin was a vegetable.
ReplyDeleteSee what I found at Thepumpkinfarm.com
DeleteQuote
A pumpkin is not a vegetable; it's a fruit! In fact, it's a berry. Pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds. Within this family is the genus Cucurbita which includes gourds, winter and summer squash, and all varieties of pumpkin
Unquote
Remember reading in school that the tomato is a fruit too
DeleteKnew pumpkin is a fruit, but could not get the anno.
DeleteHad 12A as country cousins and was wandering around.
I thought of country cousins too. But lip service brought something els to mind immediately.
Delete29 Starting at last, the train initially goes around slums (8) GHETTOES {G{(-t)HE{+T}}{T}OES}
ReplyDeleteTHE - starting at last = HET
Train initially = T
Good going Sandhya
DeleteRe 12 and 13
ReplyDeleteWhen xC wrote this clue, did he have a foreboding of the Kerala youngsters' movement of Kiss of Love?
Incidentally whatever pics of this movement that I saw in newspapers had only people of the same sex in close-ups and I don't think I saw any 'kissing'.
Can anyone tell me what exactly is the aim of this movement?
Against m oral policing
Delete:-)
DeleteTo KISS & TELL the moral police to LAY off !!
DeleteMe! is (in) a caMEl today!
ReplyDeleteBetter than average score for an XChequer CW.
ReplyDelete"Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad." - Anon
ReplyDeleteCV,
ReplyDeleteMore than a coincidence to have Amul cartoon on the subject in the CW page of TH (Back to the last page)
Typical Ex style. Beautiful clues. Liked GHETTOES the best.
ReplyDeleteJust a point about this :
20 Black bottled beer having sufficient power? Quite the contrary (4) ABLE {A{B}LE}.
Seems as if Black bottled beer "does not" have sufficient power, after the opposite comes into effect.
Would have been better if it was: Sufficient power in black bottled beer? Quite ...
That's a good one from Me!
ReplyDeleteToday Indian Exp - Listens out for recruits (7) - Coincides with 8 d
ReplyDeleteIn the IE clue, 'out' is a good anagrind of ' listens'. Can the same thing be said of ' carefully' in 8D here? ( although I did get the answer ' enlists')
ReplyDeleteKissing cousins may be a familiar phrase in western society but here, after getting ' cousins' I was trying all sorts of appellations but could not connect ' lip service' with kissing.
ReplyDeletewhat else could you connect 'lip service', SS? :)
DeleteSuresh trying to invite pp's wrath ?
DeleteActually with all the new voice recognition softwares lip service can me used to make laptops work.
DeleteI was 1) thinking of the usual meaning of lip service (not the physical)or 2) some sort of partial anagram to find a suitable descriptive word to go with cousin.
DeleteSomething like 'lip sympathy'.
ReplyDeletePlastic supply carefully ground (9)
ReplyDeleteNot my way of setting a clue please!
These are the new anagrinds I came across in clues 22D, 24D, 8D and 15A respectively. :)
Different anagrinds, but perfectly acceptable.
DeletePlastic,= pliable
supply = suppl(e l)y
Carefully= Full of care or troubled
Ground= grinded
MB, (9)?
DeleteThey are ANAGRINDS (9)
DeleteAgreed, Suresh garu. Added to my list of anagrinds. Always learning something new. :)
DeleteTo my way of thinking, an anagrind should contain some sort of hint to re-arrange the letters and find the anagram intended.' Carefully' in 8D hardly does that. ( An example of a good anagrind: Hide the real trouble ( 7)
DeleteNice example! LEATHER
Delete
ReplyDeleteI thought they were commonly used anagrinds to my knowledge ... :)
' Plastic' as an anagrind is understandable but it is difficult to accept ' supply', ' ground' and ' carefully'- they seem too far-fetched. And, if only the first letter of a word is to be taken ( as in e for earth in 24D and g for general and h for hard in 22D), should there not be a sort of indicator?
ReplyDeleteE for Earth & H for Hard are standard abbreviations. However G for General was new to me. Also, I have seen 'carelessly' used as anagrind, seeing carefully for the first time. I don't see any issue in Ground though. That is as acceptable as Plastic.
DeleteNot seen G for general and B for bay. Haven't seen carefully either earlier as an anagrind.
DeleteG for General is from MPAA rating - as in for General Audience - used in US for film certification
DeleteAnd B for Bay is probably an Atlas usage
If G is from MPAA rating then it's not fair. Could I then use A for audience?
DeleteI don't get it.
DeleteThere's no A here. As I see it, G is an abbreviation for General, which means that the film in question is suitable for General Audiences. I don't see a problem here.
G for general audience or general group ok . But in this clue it is just for general . Ok ?
DeleteI reckon so. In some countries, G is just referred to as "General." For instance, Singapore.
Delete8 down has also appeared in today's Indian Express crossword as "listens out for recruits".
ReplyDeleteNow we have a Capital Suresh in the group
ReplyDeleteI was about to ask that .. If vishakapattanam becomes capital 2 capital Sureshes :-D
DeleteWhile I agree with the G sentiment about using 'carefully' as an anagrind, this is the first time I'm conscious of 'supply' used in this manner, and I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteGH - General Hospital (yes, you may use H for hospital ;-))
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete