Sunday 2 December 2018

The Sunday Crossword No 3024, Sunday 02 Dec 2018


ACROSS
1   Partner in punt next to bank (8) SIDEKICK {SIDE}{KICK}
5   Loose plug split (6) ADRIFT {AD}{RIFT}
10 Section of vital links wiped out (3,2)  ALL IN [T]
11 Catches in actual practice (9) REHEARSAL {RE{HEARS}AL}
12 Odd game disrupted search (7) RUMMAGE {RUM}{GAME}*
13 One qualified to operate system initially and press ahead (7) SURGEON {Sy...m}{URGE ON}
14 Show impatience in talk about politician with silly hat, I bet (5,2,3,3) CHAMP AT THE BIT  {CHA{MP}{HAT+I+BET}*T}
17 Saint provides charter for county (13) STAFFORDSHIRE {ST}{AFFORDS}{HIRE}
20 Fierce aquatic creature? Old man, to catch one, worked hard (7) PIRANHA {P{1}{RAN}{H}A}
21 Defamation put down in sermon? Not half (7) SLANDER {S{LAND}ERmon}
23 Terribly egocentric, having no time for hotel employee (9) CONCIERGE EGOCENtRIC*
24 Smashing odd bits of sculpted alabaster finally (5) SUPER {ScUlPtEd}{a...eR}
25 Farmyard enclosure was first to be designed (6) STYLED {STY}{LED}
26 Irritation in places about unfair arrangement (6-2)  STITCH-UP {ST{ITCH}UP<=}

DOWN
1   Fiction with foundation in Irish emblem (8) SHAMROCK {SHAM}{ROCK}
2   Problem raised in middle of eating fruit? Not on (7) DILEMMA {AM{MELon}ID}<=
3   Range over unknown area in country (5) KENYA {KEN}{Y}{A}
4   Wild ranter during strike gives publicity to topical events (7,7) CURRENT AFFAIRS {CU{RANTER*}FF}{AIRS}
6   Group of people in rising uttered verbal attacks (9) DIATRIBES {DIA{TRIBE}S<=}
7   Examine bug restricting power (7) INSPECT {INS{P}ECT}
8   Story not without heart and skill (6) TALENT {TALE}{NoT}
9   Glowing broadcast cons the shopper (14) PHOSPHORESCENT*
15 Simple obligation, guarding against being mournful (9) PLAINTIVE {PLAIN}{TI{V}E}
16 Sweet daughter after attention surrounded by support (4,4) PEAR DROP {P{EAR}{D}ROP}
17 Elastic band round plant? On the contrary (7) SPRINGY {SP{RING}Y}
18 Detailed description's first suppressed by useless hotel (2-5) IN-DEPTH  {IN{De...n}EPT}{H}
19 Empty areas in resort dry up (6) SPACES {SPA}{SEC<=}
22 Advantage when prepared (5) ASSET {AS}{SET}

GRID

6 comments:

  1. IXL Round 8:Another toughie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Notice on IXL site

    Cumulative Leaderboard after Round 9 will decide Grand Finale qualifiers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 9 or 10 won't make too much difference, will it? Perhaps for those on the verge of top 10 or top 30...

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  3. I logged in here this morning and found the comments of Vasant , KKR and MB who had solved IXL2018 round 8 and --- found it alarming !! Hence, when I went to the IXL 2018 site, with trepidation, the first look gave me the shivers and seeing so many 5,6,7 and 8 letters clues that put me in sixes and sevens !! But then , when I got the first answer, the others slowly fell in place one by one, like ninepins !

    I must say, this is, by far, one of the best crossies in this series as the setter has really made it very exhilarating with many nice moments ! Looking forward to the next week.

    Meanwhile, onward I go to the next 1 ACross by Avatar. Are they , by any chance, in competition? Or else why not give a day's respite , either before or after a Sunday ?

    ReplyDelete

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