Neat one from Lightning.
Across
1 Travelling salesmen problem (8) LAMENESS {SALESMEN*}5 Like lime // tart? (6) ACIDIC (DD)
9 Drag mace over bridge, say (4,4) CARD GAME {DRAG MACE*}
10 Complicated, unfinished button on teletypewriter (6) KNOTTY
12 Former tennis star, always on time for starters (5) EVERT {EVER}{T
13 Bird, fantastic at the start of championship game (9) SUPERBOWL {SUPER B}{OWL}
14 Periodic osmosis saves plant (6) COSMOS (T)
16 Hard wind sliced Mohawk for one (7) HAIRCUT {H}{AIR} {CUT}
19 Timeless rental agreement essentially ripped apart (7) ETERNAL {RENTAL
21 Assassin to strike British isle (6) HITMAN {HIT}{MAN}
23 Boring story describing odd settee on ship (9) TASTELESS {TA{S
25 Flower petal I lackadaisically held (5) LILAC (T)
26 Eskimos freeze soldiers (6) ICEMEN {ICE}{MEN}
27 Traveller’s data processing device primarily made for power (8) COMMUTER {COM(-p)(+M
28 Finally dispatching garbage to cave (6) GROTTO {
29 Accidentally close to fortune (2,6) BY CHANCE {BY}{CHANCE}
Down
1 Pawn seal opener (6) LACKEY {LAC}{KEY}2 Sullen chief operator let out cipher used for communication (5,4) MORSE CODE {MOR
3 Nobleman beheaded in a period of darkness (5) NIGHT {
4 Snacks from Assam in pieces, therefore returned inside (7) SAMOSAS {SAM{OS<=}AS*}
6 Fraud busted, cast into Tihar at last (3,6) CON ARTIST {CAST INTO
7 Same day appeal turned over to begin with (5) DITTO {D}{IT}{T
8 Tyre coil damaged by mineral (8) CRYOLITE {TYRE COIL*}
11 Work on a hard fish (4) OPAH {OP}{A}{H}
15 Mixture of team? (9) MINCEMEAT {MINCE}{TEAM*} Reverse Anagram
17 The French interrupting plot by a new imposter (9) CHARLATAN {CHAR{LA}T}{A}{N}
18 Agitated eye with object (8) SEETHING {SEE}{THING}
20 Bulb list (4) LEEK {LEEK<=} List = Keel over
21 That man’s conservative record (7) HISTORY {HIS}{TORY}
22 Collect bill with auditor’s team (6) ACCRUE {AC}{~CREW}
24 One scribbling notes (5) STENO {NOTES*} &lit
25 Extremely lazy method originally used to measure alkaline level of fluid (5) LYMPH {L
Reference List
Teletypewriter=TTY,Hard=H,Ship=SS,Power=P
Day=D,Appeal=IT,New=N
4D all the way. Neat one
ReplyDelete7d.
Delete12a would have probably looked better w/o "for starters"?
ReplyDeleteYes. But Lightning's aim was perhaps to use as few abbreviations as possible.Very small reference list today
DeleteCould finish at Lightning speed but for a short hick-up in 5ac where I put citric to start with. Corrected it later and got a full plate of 4d.
ReplyDeleteGot samosas only in 4D. It was a 10d NE corner for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ramesh for the nice clear presentation. Enjoyed it as much as the CW.
Awesome puzzle
ReplyDelete+2
Delete+3
Delete9A Is 'over' a valid anagram indicator? I thought it ws used only for reversal.
ReplyDeleteAnnotated 10 A as KNO(-B) (TTY)
ReplyDeleteThought 14A had typo plant instead of planet
Reg 10Ac Anno : {KNOt}{TTY} : It seems this anno in addition to the one given by you, is ok.
DeleteKNOT (N) : 4. A part that protrudes or extends outward:
bulge, jut, knob, overhang, projection, protrusion, protuberance.
Copy paste from Free Dic.
I feel 'knob' is more appropriate. So I have modified the annotation
DeleteYes, Knob is for unfinished button.
ReplyDeleteLooks like skull digger skipped his turn...
ReplyDeleteDugger *
Delete