A bit on the tougher side today, but enjoyable. 4D was the last one in.
ACROSS
1 Really hot flan out of order (3,4) NOT HALF*
5 Fail to remember tons, following fashion (6) FORGET {FORGE}{T}
10 Struggle to keep hotel by loud quayside area (5) WHARF {W{H}AR}{F}
11 Version of tune covered by experts with singular intensity (9) ACUTENESS {AC{TUNE*}ES}{S}
12 Animal story, fluid and sad, full of craft (9,4) WATERSHIP DOWN {WATER}{SHIP} {DOWN}
15 Reveller in middle of throng, one with conduct about right (9) ROISTERER {
16 Smart son with ambition (5) SWISH {S}{WISH}
17 Hour with old friend, not cold and boring (2-3) HO-HUM {H}{O}-{
19 Colour you'll bear after renovation (5,4) ROYAL BLUE*
21 Left, in lurid outcome, ruined like Joseph's coat? (13) MULTICOLOURED {L} in {LURID+OUTCOME}*
23 Remarkable things flower power brought about, capturing hearts (9) PHENOMENA {P}{ENOMENA}<= around {H}
24 Dance in rehearsal, say (5) SALSA [T]
26 Vegetables I had to return, upset (6) DISMAY {D'I}{SMAY}<=
27 Tango with passion about to create drama (7) THEATRE {T}{HEAT}{RE}
DOWN
1 Topical story, when broadcast, carrying weight (10) NEWSWORTHY {STORY+WHEN}* around {W}
2 Meal ends in restaurant before siesta (3) TEA Acrostic
3 Area dry around trees initially (2,5) AT FIRST {A}{T {FIRS}T}
4 Basil for instance fell after stunt, being giddy (7-7) FEATHER-BRAINED {FEAT}{HER-B}{RAINED}
6 Single move, short of energy, troublesome (7) ONEROUS {ONE}{ROUS
7 Leader of band in valley, badly trapped by wild men above river (5,6)
8 Time fixed up for experiment (4) TEST {TES}{T}<=
9 Film star transformed through PR, maybe (8,6) HUMPHREY BOGART*
13 Maths primer not normally beating machines (4,7) TRIP HAMMERS*
18 Country farm's last stale eggs (7) MOLDOVA {
22 Torn items pedlar carries (4) SPED [T]
25 Group making fortune (3) LOT [DD]
GRID
Tough and made all the more difficult by wrong enu in 7d
ReplyDeleteOr is it GLENN MILLER?
DeleteGlenn Miller is right - {GLEN}{N M{ILL}E*}{R}
DeleteDid the IXL crossword go up earlier than expected today? I thought the time was 11am but it was already up when I logged in at 10:54!
ReplyDeleteYou're right Abhay. I too found it unusual. Logged in and found it on already at 10:55am .
DeleteJust finished and sent in successfully. Many three and four letter words ! .One particular clue drove me nuts !! However, it was a very clever one !! Otherwise, it was a cake-walk !
hey.. on ixl previous round was Begam or Begum the right answer for 1 down ?
ReplyDeleteStrictly speaking, "took first steps" would be BEGAN, which would give BEGAM as the answer after applying the rest of the wordplay. For BEGUN, it would need to be "[has/had] taken first steps". I chose to put in BEGUM simply because that is the commonly used spelling, and it does seem to be the "right" answer as per the solution that has gone up, but BEGAM should also be accepted.
DeleteTotally agree with you, Abhay. I too put in BEGUM but was worrying at the same time! Could attempt only late in the evening and submitted successfully at 6:30 p.m. (Sunday).
DeleteBEGUM is the usual spelling and pronunciation. By Gum !! Begaana begum !!
ReplyDeleteI put in BEGAM and came down to no. 49.
ReplyDeletei had Begam too.. shows up red .. that and the bogyman thing.. dont know how this impacted the results
Delete