ACROSS
1 Deliver supplies in a down-to-earth manner (7) AIRDROP [CD]
5 Black stuff over luxury car in enclosure (6) CORRAL {CO{RR}AL}
9 Incomplete mark following operation of the eye (5) OPTIC {OP}{TIC
10 Support primarily silky feathers for chickens out? (5,4) BACKS DOWN {BACKS} {DOWN}
11 Stumble on oil spills in a Mediterranean port (7) TRIPOLI {TRIP}{OIL*}
12 As a point of fact, pounds were exchanged for rupee by insurance statistician (7) ACTUARY ACTUA(-ll+r)RY
13 Fabric gathered from two world cities, in short (5) NYLON {N
14 Chief newspaperman on holiday is intercepted (6,3) HEADED OFF {HEAD}{ED} {OFF}
16 Was the meat delivered in a sort of clumsy way? (3-6) HAM-HANDED {HAM}-{HANDED}
19 Extremely cold: river bird stopped short (5) POLAR {PO}{LAR
21 Reportedly forsake dry land (7) DESSERT Wordplay only, no sweet?
23 Put a name to warrant (7) ENTITLE [DD]
24 Thus a human standing up finds balance (2,3,4) ON TWO LEGS [CD]
25 A face in the filmi crowd (5) EXTRA [CD]
26 One bit for each one (6) APIECE {A}{PIECE}
27 Involve brother in lime-squashing (7) EMBROIL {BRO} in {LIME}*
DOWN
1 This should provide more than a toehold for you to make an entry (1,4,2,3,4) A FOOT IN THE DOOR [CD]
2 New hearing of revised trailer (7) RETRIAL*
3 Artist’s small measure on overworking animal (7) RACCOON {RA}{CC}{O}{ON}
4 Out at the bar, the woman in cover (9) PUBLISHED {PUB}{LI{SHE}D}
5 Two companies produce a shade of brown (5) COCOA {CO}{CO}{A}
7 Fruit brought by a village officer to California party (7) AVOCADO {A}{VO}{CA}{DO}
8 Asset of a punctilious pupil in the proofreading department (2,3,3,6) AN EYE FOR DETAIL [CD]
15 One receiving a garment in the river (9) ADDRESSEE {A}{D{DRESS}EE}
17 Bypass rising favourite — it’s bad move (7) MISSTEP {MISS}{TEP<=}
18 Shock a bit terrifying (7) AWESOME {AWE}{SOME}
19 Lead, taking different cookery ingredient (7) POTHERB {P{OTHER}B}
20 Free attempt after title dispensation (3,2,2) LET IT GO {LET IT}* {GO}
22 “What I am really like” — that's dominant idea (5) THEME {THE}{ME}
GRID
Apologies to solvers for the defective 21ac.
ReplyDeleteHas happened after repeated checks because the setter's mind, knowing the answer, sometimes jumps by leaps and bounds and errs in the process.
It was this morning that by a mere look at the printed clue I realised the mistake.
Such a mistake is unlikely to happen when we setters write the first draft. Subsequently when we try to improve, revise a clue to change the clue-type or something like that this sort of mistake happens.
This is not to absolve myself but by way of offering an explanation as to the background.
A solver of the day such as Col Gopinath today notices the mistake straightaway.
A test solver prior to publication can catch these errors.
But 'test solving' is a separate subject on which we need to have a discussion.
I wonder whether it was Cocoa who by his closer look found the error and the Col merely took credit for it.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ! I can see Cocoa right in front....
DeleteCocoa sure seems super alert Col sir... is he a sniffer dog? Sniffing for errors :)
DeleteThe moment i had the longer ones I had a foot in the door...typical gridman fare with 8D...lovely puzzle
ReplyDeleteA delightful CW...enjoyed thoroughly... Thank you Gridman! :-)))
ReplyDeleteCould score only 85% :((.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Because that is what I missed.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Cocoa doing the CW- one more fan for a Gridman CW?
Liked the wordplay 'Down to earth' for airdrop.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gridman sir for a crisp xword . Had corral as caviar first so rosette took a little time. Enjoyed 12a and 16a clues. Potherb took a while to parse but thanks for the samosas.
DeleteThanks Sri.
DeleteBTW, if you are using smartphone for writing these Comments -
Most of us would not mind your using some txting conventions to save some keystrokes. Feel free to do so.
Strangely, I filled in the word 'Potherb' in scrabble yesterday and checked its meaning and correctness. So it was easy for me today.
DeleteThoroughly enjoyed this one!
ReplyDelete@Gridman Thanks for an enjoyable CW :)
ReplyDeleteToday I'm on cloud nine.Could solve wonderful puzzle.I felt like GM just walked me through the length & breadth of the grid thanks to handy clues.For eg.5a Honestly it was not even in my passive vocabulary. Yet I could crack it. Even lengthy phrases like 1&8d fell into place.12a actually easily beckoned actuary .Nowhere I felt 'hamhanded.' Such was the tool provided by GM. Really great.Thank youGM.
ReplyDelete