ACROSS
1 Lively rower at sea in the Chinese waterway (6,5) YELLOW RIVER*
9 Tunic, ornate, hides a mythical creature (7) UNICORN [T]
11 A dark one might be an unexpected winner (5) HORSE [CD]
12 Leave with the American tout's apprentice to the castle (7) SCARPER SCA(-l+r)RPER
15 Start off with a mistake in a place for prayer (4) APSE
16 Broken rattle in the middle of a food shop counter was neglected (3-7) ILL-TREATED {RATTLE}* in {ILED} <=
18 Watch the baseball wicket-keeper's stunner (3-7) EYE-CATCHER {EYE}-{CATCHER}
20 Leaders of the native inhabitants look enthusiastically at the waterway (4) NILE Acrostic
23 Green foliage in the road that is a part of the staged revue (7) VERDURE {RD} in {REVUE}*
24 Members of a certain religion need no introduction to this waterway (5) INDUS
26 Preserved in a can with a hollow brought about by boxing at home (6) TINNED {IN} in {DENT<=}
27 A musical composition on the mercy of the queen making way for a model (7) QUARTET QUARTE(-r+t)T R for Queen is there in Chambers
28 Land between two major waterways, site of many an ancient civilization (11) MESOPOTAMIA [CD] Also found between 7 and 8 :-)
DOWN
2 French missile collection reportedly spotted behind the exhibition without power (6) EXOCET {EX
3 Floor covering with the animal's name moved up slightly (4) LINO LI(+n)NO(-n)
4 Court Washington with the voice of an axe wielder in a forest (10) WOODCUTTER {WOO}{DC}{UTTER}
5 Strangely reconfirm Charlie's absence for the spy (8) INFORMER {RE
6 A factor in the natural environment (7) ELEMENT [DD]
7 Parsee hut damaged by a waterway (9) EUPHRATES*
8 Waterway in Haiti? Grist production in Iraq depended on it (6) TIGRIS [T]
13 Timepiece used in communication with a type of bedside alarm (5,5) CLOCK RADIO {CLOCK} {RADIO}
14 Bad luck to clean dirty vase (9) ADVERSITY*
17 Admirer of the lawyer's no good at the ball with a provocative courtship dance (8) FANDANGO {FAN}{DA}{N}{G}{O}
19 Couple of Orientals confiscating timer sent up by a Christian recluse (7) EREMITE {E}{REMIT<=}{E}
21 Write and accuse in speech (6) INDITE (~ indict)
22 I'd go up before raising a directive on the island festival (6) DIWALI {DI<=}{WAL<=}{I}
25 Lung aiding divers? (4) AQUA [CD]
GRID
I think the theme is ancient civilizations not just rivers. If so Mesopotamia & unicorn are also theme words.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I have updated the post
Delete12 Leave with the American tout's apprentice to the castle (7) SCARPER SCA(-l+r)RPER
ReplyDeleteDoes "apprentice to the castle" indicate a substitution? If there was no 'to' it is fine as is the case in the usual Neyartha substitution clues.
does it mean 'going'/ 'falling' to the castle?
DeleteI took it as ' has apprentice to the castle' to in the sense of 'as compared with"
DeleteEasier offering from this setter, I felt.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theme. I also took it to be waterways until I saw the blog. Did well for a Neyartha offering. I am sure he is lowering the bar rather than my doing better. Felt bad for missing our own Diwali- was looking for some remote island fstival.
ReplyDelete12A- R for castle (rook?)
ReplyDeleteChess notation Paddy
DeleteYes Suresh. That is why I mentioned rook. Just wanted confirmation. Thank you.
DeleteVerdant, Indict were some of the near ones. Of course these mistakes led to trouble with crossings.
ReplyDeleteMissed out on exocet & scarper...nice geographical /civilization tour by Neyartha
ReplyDeleteNice one from neyarta. Took some help from google for exocet .. i was expecting something exos...typed french missile exo and voila exocet which is a term i am unfamiliar with. Still cannot understand why set is spotted... i thought it would have eyed or i for spotted. Scarper i couldnt parse till google reminded me tout is scalper :) theme took me back to mid school :) quartet ttook me a while since i had aqua initially as gillb
ReplyDeleteCollection gives set. Spotted is a positional indicator
DeleteVery nice puzzle. Took me to school days. 12a - could not parse but letters crossing came to my rescue.10a -a good wordplay. Enjoyed. All stated thoroughly enjoyable puzzle. Thank you Neyartha.
ReplyDelete