ACROSS
1 Drinking aids found on street by intelligence agency sleuths at last (6) STRAWS {ST}{RAW}{
4 Drops off fish returned on second thought (6) SLEEPS {EELS<=}{PS}
9 A man in pound? No an animal (4) LAMB
10 Swish, dance in a frenzy to get food, maybe (10) SANDWICHES*
11 Clean cutlery, has a hole holding bagels essentially (6) SPONGE {SP
12 I've left management — editor enforced (8) EXECUTED {EXECUT
13 Nation of men and officer leading with integrity (9) COMMUNITY {CO}{MM}{UNITY}
15 Lives steady, oddly in ship (5) STAYS {S{
16 Leader seeking company at Pondy, say with escort (5) SCOUT {S
18 Unit killing heartlessly (9)
22 Programme to develop farm plot (8) PLATFORM*
23 Class seen in lady, one in fancy house (6) POLISH {PO{L}{1}SH}
25 Settlers having onset of malignant melanoma in eyes reportedly get concessions (10) IMMIGRANTS {I{M
26 Part of egg yellow, organic lecithin kills primarily (4) YOLK Acrostic
27 Arrangement is to stay hungry before shoot (6) SYSTEM {S
28 Grown-ups, these days have uncontrollable lust (6) ADULTS {AD}{LUST*}
DOWN
1 Police officer consumes meat and eggs before cleaning (7) SHAMPOO {S{HAM}P}{OO}
2 Bird gives out — opening batsman gets a nick (edge) (5) ROBIN {RO}{B
3 Occidental woman enters with a bang (7) WESTERN {W}{ENTERS*}
5 Attorney at Los Angeles gutted with worry and hesitation (6) LAWYER {LA}{W
6 Having fenni regularly and taking a stand leads to fight (9) ENCOUNTER {
7 Crack in screen leads to funny result in view (7) SCENERY {SCREEN*}{
8 Arrive with stigma of hooking men for fun (13) ENTERTAINMENT {ENTER}{TAIN{MEN}T}
14 Fantastic, no tsunami can reach here (9) MOUNTAINS &lit
17 Articles with 100/0 units of flux discharge energy (7) COLUMNS {C/0}{LUM
19 Proposed action to drop resistance is antithetical (7) OPPOSED P
20 Strength of donkeys is in their consumption of school certificate (7) MUSCLES {MU{S}{C}LES}
21 Stock Exchange implements B2C policy (6) COURSE (-b+c)COURSE
24 Firm alloy fused (5) LOYAL*
GRID
18a Killing->kg->kilogram
ReplyDeleteThe enu is 9
DeleteKilling heartlessly -> KG -> Kilograms
DeleteShould have been "units" in the clue as the def?
My view is we write 1 kg. or 5 kg. (etc. when it is more than one. We don't write kgs. So I think 'unit' could lead 'kilograms' in plural from kg.
DeleteOne might argue 'unit' is singular so it can't indicate a plural.
18kg is 18 kilograms.
DeletePrasad's parsing is apt.
DeleteI feel correct way to express weight is 1 Kg, 2 Kgs. etc.
DeleteTechnically 2kg is 2 X 1kg. Translated, grammatically it becomes 2 kilograms but 2 kilogram is also correct.
Delete9a L(Aman)b: no an L(am-(an)b
ReplyDelete7D: Crack in screen leads to funny result in view (7) SCENERY
ReplyDeleteHow does "leads to" get Y from FUNNY? Should give initial characters right?
I took result as the indicator to take the last letter
DeleteLiked COURSE, MOUNTAINS and LOYAL a lot - thanks AD :)
ReplyDelete21D was my favorite for its surface story gelling beautifully with wp. Thanks AD.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is very good!
DeleteIn cricket score cards r.o. means run out.
ReplyDeleteWithout reference got many. Thanks AD.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, AfterDark!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, AD!
DeleteNormally, one gets presents on birthday. Today, we got a good satisfying present from you. Thanks.
Happy Birthday to you too Kishore :)
DeleteHappy Birthday to you Kishore!!!
DeleteHappy Birthday Shrikanth
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Shrikanth
ReplyDeleteMany more happy returns AD!
ReplyDeleteOn a birthday,
ReplyDelete* Some may wish to feed the poor in the COMMUNITY.
* A few others after a SHAMPOO, POLISH their shoes before getting dressed and go to a WESTERN or other movie with family/friends for ENTERTAINMENT.
* Some are into buying KILOGRAMS of sweets for distribution.
* One might SCOUT for that odd dress among COLUMNS.
* How about going to the MOUNTAINS to enjoy the SCENERY?
Of COURSE children and ADULTS too would do something or the other that STAYS in their memory for sometime.
Happy birthday AD!
ReplyDeleteMany happy returns of the day Shrikanth! Have a great year :)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Kishore & Shrikanth !
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Kishore and Shrikant
ReplyDeleteI had a good laugh over the "observation" on grown ups in 28A. And 1A was enjoyable bringing to mind a crime scene being combed for clues.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Srikanth! 🎂 💐
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Kishore!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Kishore! 🎂 💐
ReplyDeleteLovely x'ie. Nicely clued.1A& 27A fodder to one's lateral thinking ability.1D- police officer is SPeats meat 'ham'ok. but leaves out eggs.Isn't it sir?put simply a good entertaining puzzle from AD. Thank you,sir.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sir
ReplyDeleteEntertaining puzzle.. Thank you Afterdark sir..
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday and best wishes, Shrikanth!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to you Kishore!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to you , KISHORE & SHRIKANT. Many happy snruter of the day. God bless you both with good health, long life and peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteJoining late after an outing of a few days.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday and Many Happy returns of the Day to Shrikanth & Kishore. Live long and keep us entertained with your CW's for many more years.
Happy birthday Kishore and Shrikant, wish you both many happy returns of the day.
ReplyDeleteMany happy returns of the day Kishore!
ReplyDeleteThanks, folks
ReplyDelete