Where's Exa?
ACROSS
6 She's covered in glitter (5) SHINE {SH{IN}E}
8 Partner played cello, a stringed instrument (9) COLLEAGUE {CELLO}*{A}{GUE}
10 Rodent let loose to frighten (6) RATTLE {RAT}{LET*}
11 Islamic ruler caught blaspheming in the extreme had to leave the country for good (8) EMIGRATE {EMI{
12 GRE: an exam to unearth the most exceptional (8) GREATEST {GRE}{A}{TEST}
13 Alone and very depressed, reportedly (4) SOLO (~so low)
15 Discipline shown by criminal lacking sense of right or wrong? On the contrary! (7) SCIENCE
17 A Frenchman residing in a shack is embarrassed (7) ASHAMED {A}{SH{A}{M}ED}
20 Poster boy's sick (4) BILL {B}{ILL}
22 Popular setter (yours truly) overwhelmed by words of appreciation and warmth (8) INTIMACY {IN}{T{I}{MAC}Y}
25 Rodent often heard to live in murky waters (5,3) SEWER RAT {
26 Danger posed by mad hatter (6) THREAT*
27 Immature bachelor left work, ran away with girl instead (9) UNFLEDGED {UN(-w+fled+g){FLED}{G}ED}
28 Support black people (5) BRACE {B}{RACE}
DOWN
1 The racist resorted to histrionics (9) THEATRICS*
2 Pious man taken in by attractive girl's openness (7) HONESTY {HONE{ST}Y}
3 Large, trimmed hips borne by otherwise small figures (8) ELLIPSES {EL{L}{
4 Mysterious allure of acclaim (6) LAUREL*
5 Relatives haunt sis's house (5) AUNTS [T]
7 Measure the concentration of a solution as solvent at the bottom is replaced with new inorganic compound (7) NITRATE (-t+n)NITRATE
9 Function held in cafeteria (4) FETE [T]
14 Impedance can create complication (9) REACTANCE*
16 State of agitation following coal-gate; UPA ultimately not involved (8) COLORADO {CO
18 In rebellion, married sweetheart (7) ADMIRER*
19 Unusually tense about turning 11 — an important age for an adolescent (7) SIXTEEN {TENSE}* about {IX<=}
21 Adulterous Irish princess misused sensuality without any hint of shame (6) ISEULT SE
23 Songbird, one South American little creature (4) TITI {TIT}{1}
GRID
For many friends here, today's article in TH may be of interest:
ReplyDeleteOde to Chennai, a metropolis with a mind of its own
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ode-to-chennai-a-metropolis-with-a-mind-of-its-own/article7699995.ece?homepage=true?w=alstates
The last one : Mac's swan song was as beautiful was as his previous one..the nina was not too difficult to spot as it was indicated in his interview in CU...shall miss u Mac
DeleteHope this is Au Revoir, but not Good Bye Mac!
DeleteNot possible .... the letters r scatterred not in order and no anagrind... not stylish enuf
DeleteSVDY: dis texlang ees nt stlsh enuf !! Please, preserve the blog's strife for punctiliousness in punctuations and unabreviated brevity !!
DeleteWhat next? Shall I trats gnitirw ni esrever ? Hahaha !!
I could not get UNFLEDGED and lost samosas:((. Narrowly missed. Had problem in SW corner.
ReplyDeleteHope the surface of 22a makes Mac reconsider
ReplyDeleteWhere's Exa? Why did they axe Exa today?
ReplyDeleteCana reverse axe be axed?
DeleteSad to hear Mac will not be setting- hopefully a short break.
ReplyDeleteIt has taken away the pleasure of today's solving and missing only a few.
Will miss you Mac :(
ReplyDeleteMac signs off with his typical understated brilliance. Today is the day I change my answer to 'Who's your favorite setter?'
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Exa? Was the change in order planned?
Lovely puzzle. My COD is 25ac SEWER RAT for its smooth surface reading.
ReplyDeleteWill miss you Mac. Hope it's some kind of sabbatical leave. Wish to see you back soon with your classy CWs.
Where did ye-all get the message that this was his last ?
DeleteThought 25 A was an & Lit..the whole clue reads as definition..
DeleteRaju @ 2:40, see the solution grid in the main post
DeleteVery nice smooth xword... missed samosa tho coz i put solo as sole. Google helped me iseult... no i had not heard of this name before...the letters were there.. tried itelus first.. then wrote irish princess ise and google did the rest for me :) not sure wd hv thot of iseult as aname :) confirmed titi existence too. I didnt notice any departure message till i saw this blog and i maintain its too forced...
ReplyDeleteCheck the finished grid, Srividya:)
DeleteWhich prompts me to ask: Is the Colonel's reading of the Nina (as indicated above in the blog) a secondary one that the setter did not intend?
DeleteI apologize for not noticing the nina in its true form... and i dont want to see it either. Perhaps Mohsin u wish to take a break till IXL is over?
DeleteCV @ 12:44 I have changed that and uploaded the solved grid
DeleteI apologize for not noticing the nina in its true form... and i dont want to see it either. Perhaps Mohsin u wish to take a break till IXL is over?
DeleteI apologize for not noticing the nina in its true form... and i dont want to see it either. Perhaps Mohsin u wish to take a break till IXL is over?
DeleteAmazing puzzle.. Delightful surfaces..
ReplyDeleteCan I ask Mac a question?
ReplyDeleteHow many clues were written first for select words (INTIMACY, e.g.) which were then inserted in the grid before going on to complete the fills?l
About 5-6 (Rattle, reactance, greatest, solo, sixteen...). Intimacy wasn't one of them. In fact, it was one of the last few to go in. Had a tough time cluing it. Had to choose between that or INSOMUCH.
DeleteFirstly sorry about what I highlighted in the answers. I didn't have time to upload the solution grid to see the Nina (I have done so now) that's why I only highlighted the letters used in the Nina
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a great job, Deepak. No need to apologise
Delete16 State of agitation following coal-gate; UPA ultimately not involved (8) COLORADO {COaL}{OR}{ADO}
ReplyDeleteI just have a small doubt about "OR" and cant annotate it
Sudha, click on the link over the word 'gate' in the main post and you will get the explanation
DeleteThank you Col Gopinath I missed seeing the highlighted "gate"
DeleteLovely crossword with super-smooth surfaces, Mohsin! Hope you're only taking a temporary break and we'll get to see your grids soon.
ReplyDelete