Greased Lightning! Long ones well handled!
Across
8 Delay in airports at northern Colorado resolved (15) PROCRASTINATION (AT AIRPORTS AT N CO)*
9 Time to jump? (4,4) LEAP YEAR (CD)
10 Latin book about second grade advocate (6) LIBBER (LI(B)BER)
It is defined 'a member or advocate of a movement calling for the liberation of people or animals'. Actually short for liberator or supporter of liberation, I think. Not very sure whether it can be equated to advocate. Then, even a pacifist, is an advocate. An advocate is a person who advocates something. Then, will it be ok to clue in 'advocate' as a 'person'?
11 Worry after crawler initially misinterprets post (5,4) SNAIL MAIL (SNAIL M AIL)
12 Mark II? (5) TWAIN (CD,DD)
15 To begin with, many (one thousand and one) plead for an imitation (7) MIMICRY (M I M I CRY)
17 I used to represent this in Vogue (7) CURRENT (CD,DD) Remember V=I.R
19 Game of cards, essentially delightful after commencement (5) RUMMY
20 Slaughter family at outhouse (9) BLOODSHED (BLOOD SHED)
23 Clergyman whose moves are slanted (6) BISHOP (CD,DD)
Initially stands to the right (or left) of the Knight, but can travel only half the board being the only piece which has no access to the other half
25 Reportedly eye control in the navy (3,5) SEA POWER (~SEE POWER)
26 Ruthenium, Neon footprint scattered in a black hole? (5,2 ,2, 6) POINT OF NO RETURN (RU NEON FOOTPRINT)*
Down
1 Surgeons exhibiting drive (4,2) URGE ON (T)
2 Cutting is pessimistic, surprisingly caught in doubt (10) SCEPTICISM (-IS=PESSIMISTIC+C)
3 Distinct impression of nasty market war (9) WATERMARK (MARKET WAR)*
4 Minor planet missing the first organic compound (7) STEROID (
5 Approach shown by Chang, Lendl (5) ANGLE (T)
6 Shot nocturnal creatures heading north (4) STAB (BATS<)
7 Joker — one mad, extremely eccentric, independent criminal (8) COMEDIAN (ONE MAD C I)* Thanks to Sandy
13 Promise initially shown by deserving poet (10) WORDSWORTH
14 Apply final touches after broadcast to pretend to be better (3,2,4) PUT ON AIRS (PUT ON AIR S)
16 Under cover head of staff interrupting marriage at once (2,6) IN UNISON (IN UNI(S)ON)
18 Stick with Windows say, in the end (7) CLOSING (CL(OS)ING)
21 Rulers break down south-eastern empire heartlessly (6) EMEERS (SE EM
22 Second cache to store printer's data (5) SPOOL (S POOL)
24 Hospital as well as agency (4) HAND (H AND)
7 Joker — one mad, extremely eccentric, independent criminal (8) COMEDIAN (ONE MAD EC I)* ?
ReplyDelete{ONE MAD C I}*
Ta
Delete19 Game of cards, essentially delightful after commencement (5) RUMMY (rUMMy)
ReplyDeleteI didn't understand the anno for this.
cards essentially = R
Deletedelightful after commencement = YUMMY - Y
So, RUMMY
RyUMMY
DeleteSo def is only 'game' and not 'game of cards'.
DeleteI took it so even before I cracked it and was looking to reverse anno Rugby. :)
DeleteThanks VJ & Ramesh!
DeleteCould get neither Yummy nor Rummy, maybe I was a Dummy! :-(
DeleteAnother good one again. Thoroughly enjoyable. Though I am not a big fan of using abbreviations in anagram clue, unless their positions are specified. But that's my opinion. We have discussed it here and its acceptable.
ReplyDelete16 D: Is undercover = 'in'?
ReplyDeleteProcrastinated before filling 1A. Doubts cleared only after seeing the blog. Could not get (In=At)
ReplyDeleteI could not get the other long one too.
Rummy? Yes, it was though I filled in.
Nice CW, but lots of If's.
Shot= Stab was a little unconvincing (2 different methods of hurting) but thought of a stab of pain while getting 'shot' (injected).
ReplyDeleteLeap Year & mark II were enjoyable. Mark II led inevitably to our good (?) old Amby.
Take a shot at this clue=take a stab at this clue
DeleteYes, on second thoughts I could convince myself. I filled it doubtfully.
DeleteI liked mark Twain & 'Leap' year very much. Good thinking.
13A : Promise initially shown by deserving poet (10) WORDSWORTH (WORDS WORTH)
ReplyDeleteI think the Anno could be (WORD S WORTH).
Typo : 13 Down.
DeleteDeserving is WORTH or WORTHY? I thought it was the latter.
DeleteNice one VP. Enjoyed. What are you doing in Colorado, thought you were in San Jose?!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLiked T clues 1 and 5, the latter more.
ReplyDelete16D In for under cover doesn't seem satisfactory.In crosswords, In usually stands for at home or fashionable. Again for ' in unison' , 'as one' might have been a better definition than ' at once' which means immediately.
ReplyDelete13A Word for promise is ok but how can ' worth' be 'deserving'? Worthy is deserving and worth is merit.
16D- I too had the same doubt about 'In unison' being immediately. On checking Free dic. gives this meaning also.
DeleteNice puzzle ..
ReplyDeleteAbout 9 A it doesn't really define 'leap year' .. It's just a pun.. So as a CD it fails for me..
Isn't Time a leap year?
Deletei would say that's a stretch
DeleteI can accept 'time' to be 'leap year' and 'jump' to be 'leap', but 'time to jump' as a whole can't define a 'leap year'.. more like a half-baked CD ... seems to be popular these days..
Delete