Sunday 30 June 2019

Special, Sunday 30 Jun 2019, K Koteswar Rao


Three answers per commenter as usual till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)
Please post all your answers in one comment.


ACROSS
7   Notice model hugging model (6)
8   The state of being gentle may break knee in disorder (8)
9   I yell out about to emphasize a statement (1,4,3)
10 Considered mad returning without books (6)
11 Busy Indian rising star takes drug (2,3)
12 Hospital within reach in poor area (6)
14 For the time being construct India's handy gate (2,4,3,3,3)
17 Unceremoniously unseats without acting star sinking below the horizon (6)
18 I am not machismo, silly fool! (5)
22 Reportedly snatched twice by Thai vehicle (3-3)
23 I am well-known for not taking drug at hand (8)
24 The smallest amount is nowhere near it (8)
25 Gum plant bearing it with plucking instrument (6)

DOWN
1   Am out of control in Asia say (9)
2   Pointer to pen with endless greed (6)
3   Attacks without offensive brawls (5)
4   Death in check by force in blood feud (8)
5   Stashed crore in second half - It's publicly known (2,6)
6   According to old Turkish money (2,3)
8   Appealing argument how it evolves! (5-8)
13 Come again about one who thinks too much of himself (9)
15 Be reluctant to identify atheist from East (8)
16 Language without rule breaking implements (8)
19 Ingenuous John executed (6)
20 Give a nickname to excellent port city (5)
21 Love is great symbol of resistance (5)

Across Lite version can be accessed at KKR 25

Enjoy.

The Sunday Crossword No 3054, Sunday 30 Jun 2019


ACROSS
1   Decrepit elders recite 'Cheese!' (3,9) RED LEICESTER*
10 Inaccuracy with 'vertical' crossword clue – get 'horizontal' (3,4) LIE DOWN {LIE}{DOWN}
11 Corrupt cartel gets around Europe with flattery (7) TREACLE {TR{E}ACLE*}
12 Chosen few among Pre-Raphaelites (5) ELITE [T]
13 In their oddly endless hollow time (8) INTERVAL {IN}{ThEiR}{VALe}
15 'Gone out to lunch': register describes one; that's open to question (10) NEGOTIABLE {GONE*}{T{1}ABLE} Why 'to lunch'?
16 'Cultivated' Greece? That's disgusting! (4) GREW {GR}{EW}
18 Feature of posh garden that I find amusing (2-2) HA-HA [DD]
20 Disagreeable novel, Blue Vienna (10) UNENVIABLE*
22 Fiendish rogue's done for (8) FINISHED*
24 Online annoyance rambles endlessly (5) TROLL sTROLLs
26 Revue's act reformed, covering up nude (7)  CABARET {CA{BARE}T*}
27 'Atonement' writer McEwan regularly lost, confused (7) PENANCE {PEN}{mCEwAN}*
28 Air essentially unchanged for centuries!? Environmental group reportedly splits (12) GREENSLEEVES {GREENS}{LEEVES}(~ leaves)



DOWN
2   Levelling the score late in the day (7) EVENING [DD]
3   Was dependent on throne? King Edward finally wasn't so (6,2) LOOKED TO {LOO}{K}{ED}{w..nT}{sO}
4   Scandinavians barring French in hostelries (4) INNS fINNS
5   'Capturing in sneaky net': fishing (10) ENTANGLING {NET*}{ANGLING}
6   Overheard: those people are in that place (5) THERE (~their)
7   Bible class to screen rally (7) RECOVER {RE}{COVER}
8   Furious with unethical beef production (4,2,3,4) BLUE IN THE FACE*
9   Cry 'that hurt!', with beer gut prone to wobbling (6-7) YELLOW-BELLIED {YELL}{OW}{BELLIED}
14 Pelted by storms, Aintree ban racing (4-6) RAIN-BEATEN*
17 Reserve is tackling in front with ball gaining possession (8) DISTANCE {D{IS}{Ta...g}ANCE}
19 Thatcher was associated with one worker getting sack (7) HANDBAG {HAND}{BAG}
21 Disciplined youngster with fattening food (7) BROWNIE [DD]
23 Offer up nonsense verse (5) SERVE*
25 Episcopalian's concealed precious jewel (4) OPAL [T]

GRID

Saturday 29 June 2019

No 12665, Saturday 29 Jun 2019, Gridman

Across

1. Former partner, on in years, goes over broken grate? Not true! (11) EXAGGERATED {EX}{AG{GRATE*}ED}
9. Rogan travels to limits of Zambia for thin material (7) ORGANZA {ROGAN*}{ZambiA}
10. Abstraction that may be on a highway during daylight (7) ROBBERY (CD)
11. Sanctuary granted to a sister within (5) OASIS (T)
12. Airing con's output is artificial (9) INORGANIC (AIRING+CON*}
13. Silly Nina concealed at final part of puzzle (5) INANE {NINA*}puzzlE}
15. Outcome I have is telling! (9) EFFECTIVE {EFFECT}{I'VE}
18. Sexpot or I will reveal one who spells (9) EXPOSITOR {SEXPOT+OR+I*}
21. Miserable person heard to react violently (5) RETCH {~WRETCH}
22. Time to give orders, no time to stamp out (9) ERADICATE {ERA}{DICtATE}
24. To have this thing at one's feet is most desirable (5) WORLD (CD)
26. Some brew I must have // this moment! (7) INSTANT (DD)
27. Retired professors see worthiness in eastern India (7) EMERITI {E{MERIT}I}
28. See Lorraine settling in West African country (6,5) SIERRA LEONE {SEE+LORRAINE*}

Down

1. English chief’s first order: Illegal monies? Use less! (9) ECONOMISE {E}{Chief}{O}{MONIES*}
2. Support gets area gains regularly (5) AEGIS {ArEa GaInS}
3. Force town in France to harbour street robbers (9) GANGSTERS {G}{ANG{ST}ERS}
4. Become aware serial's squelched by top executive (7) REALISE {SERIAL*}{Executive}
5. Divert vessel caught in swell (4,3) TURN OFF {T{URN} OFF}
6. Find fault with plot held up by undergraduate (5) DEBUG {BED<=}{UG}
7. Listener out to do another stretch (2-6) RE-ENLIST {LISTENER*}
8. Be in it, and you're in agreement (4) SYNC (CD)
14. Rate a pawn's compliment (8) APPRAISE {A}{P}{PRAISE}
16. What reel ran after Chile's first revolution? (9) CARTWHEEL {Chile}{WHAT+REEL*}
17. Drug playing havoc deep in her (9) EPHEDRINE {DEEP+IN+HER*}
19. Snack that is offered to a good man first (7) TOASTIE {TO}{A}{ST}{IE}
20. Said "Fight, honey, for graceful animal" (3,4) ROE DEER {~ROW DEAR}
22. Be up to a climbing that is not good (4) EVIL {LIVE<=}
23. Preachers start interpreting many arcane manuscripts secretly (5) IMAMS (Acrostic)
25. Animal horn one ordered (5) RHINO {HORN+I*}


Reference List


Former=Ex, Time=T, Eastern=E, India=I, Force=G
English=E, Order=O, Street=St, Undergraduate=UG, Pawn=P, That is=I.E., One=I

Colour/Font Scheme

DefinitionSolutionComponent lettersEmbedded linksTheme word Anagram IndicatorC/C indicatorReversal IndicatorHidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicatorDeletion IndicatorHomophone IndicatorMovement IndicatorPositional IndicatorSubstitution, IndicatorLink/Connector, Extraneous

GRID

Friday 28 June 2019

No 12664, Friday 28 Jun 2019, Gridman


RULES FOR POSTING ON FRIDAY ONLY
All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only

The regular blog will replace the clues at 5 PM.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS
1   With three foreign articles, note is said to be where the sub is hidden (5,3,3) UNDER THE SEA {UN}{DER}{THE}{SEA}(~ c)
9   Grand, without ace put in danger (7) IMPERIL IMPERIaL
10 If you get money for this, it is profit obtained by little effort (3,4) OLD ROPE [CD]
11 Heart of cricket team is in art film (5) INDIE {wINDIEs}
12 A loose pig tortured? Say 'Sorry!' (9) APOLOGISE*
13 Secret heart of victors... (5) INNER wINNERs
15 ...not the same and, without hesitation, I'd add, reserved (9) DIFFIDENT DIFF(-er+i'd)IDENT
18 Something wrong reported by the half-sister in the making of compounds (9) SYNTHESIS (~sin){SYN}{THE}{SISter}
21 The sort of care that is only skin-deep? (5) DERMA [CD]
22 Alassaint turns attacker (9) ASSAILANT*
24 Note householder finally stripping messwater plant (5) CRESS {C}{h...eR}{mESSy}
26 A writer's credit (7) ASCRIBE {A}{SCRIBE}
27 Listener, as a consequence, is worldly (7) EARTHEN {EAR}{THEN}
28 Good couple's half-simply belting out religious songs (6,5) GOSPEL MUSIC {G}{COUPLES+SIMply}*

DOWN
1   You finally find one drunk in bondage getting services (9) UTILITIES {yoU}{T{1}{LIT}IES}
2   Drugged daughter dead after over-exercise (5) DOPED {D}{O}{PE}{D}
3   Heart brought about by element? (4,5) RARE EARTH {HEART}* [RA]
4   Tackle man with wagon drawn up (7) HALYARD {HAL}{DRAY<=}
5   Tarry for a bit with saint, having operation cancelled (4-3) STOP-OFF {ST}{OP}{OFF}
6   Australian girl out of hearing (5) AUDIO {AU}{DI}{O}
7   Tower over active individual carrying explosive device (8) DOMINEER {DO{MINE}ER}
8   Telugu leader put in charge of grand party (4) FETE {FE{Te...u}E}
14 Convent woman heard of that kind that is matchless (8) NONESUCH (~nun){NONE}{SUCH}
16 In one short month, old eccentric displays lack of propriety (9) INDECORUM {IN}{DEC}{O}{RUM}
17 Constrain outings of aeronautical speeds (9) TRANSONIC*
19 With these, we have ability to keep balance on moving ship (3,4) SEA LEGS [CD]
20 Do you see? Part of his other establishment? (2,5) SO THERE [T]
22 A girl leaves society — so sorry! (4) ALAS {A}{LASs}
23 Speaking out: village officer's out to get fringe benefit (5) ICING voICING
25 Body of beliefs of those taking drug to the head (5) ETHOS (+e)ETHOS(-e)

Reference List
Ace = A, Note = C, Drunk = LIT, Daughter = D, Dead = D, Over = O, Girl = DI, Out = O, Old = O, Society = S, Village Officer = VO

GRID

Thursday 27 June 2019

No 12663, Thursday 27 Jun 2019, Gridman


ACROSS
1   In Mumbai suburb carefully select a servant (8) SCULLION {S{CULL}ION}
5   Waited for first-class offer by newspaper editor (6) ABIDED {A}{BID}{ED}
9   One news editor found among friends in early performances (8) MATINEES {MAT{1}{N}{E}ES}
10 Angry outburst on seeing an enlarged photo (6) BLOWUP [DD]
12 Already cut, 27 rearranged (4) SAWN {SWAN}*
13 Troop group in separation (10) DETACHMENT [DD]
15 Saw half-a-dozen covered with morning moisture heading off (6) VIEWED {VI}{dEWED}
17 20 push son to right extreme causing worries (5) CARES (-s)CARE(+s)S
20 17 pull son back, causing alarm (5) SCARE (+s)SCARE(-s)
21 Indian bread placed back in French city (6) NANTES {NAN}{SET<=}
24 Dumps — you're advised to eliminate them (5,5) SCRAP HEAPS [CD]
27 Bird sees a change of heart in 12 (4) SWAN {S{A<=>W)N}
29 Work I rated off-road is calmer (6) OPIATE {OP}{I}{rATEd}
30 Place of seclusion costlier to reconstruct (8) CLOISTER*
31 Being non-committal, leader leaves frame (6) EDGING hEDGING
32 Father takes three directions to reach where uncle does business (8) PAWNSHOP {PA}{W}{N}{S}{HOP}

DOWN
1   Section in the cradle of Polynesia for a snack from India (6) SAMOSA {SAMO{S}A}
2   Involved in getting directions for rich part of a city (6) UPTOWN {UPTO}{W}{N}
3   Bond 28 smashed (4) LINK KILN*
4   Old bees turning quite fat (5) OBESE {O}{BEES*}
6   Sir Toby perhaps starts bringing every little cask happily (5) BELCH Acrostic
7   Fruit brewery crushed are under head of 'Dates' (8) DEWBERRY {Da..s}{BREWERY*}
 Be a substitute and put up an exercise in the river (8) DEPUTISE {DE{SITUP<=}E}
11 16 around to see gamekeeper (6) WARDEN WANDER*
14 17 wiped off insects (4) LICE CIEL*
16 11 out to roam about (6) WANDER WARDEN*
17 14 turned light blue (4) CIEL LICE*
18 When you do something thus, you don't break from custom (2,2,4) AS IS DONE [CD]
19 Waiting, attempting to catch a rebel head (8) TARRYING {T{A}{Re..l}RYING}
22 Change whip (6) SWITCH [DD]
23 Capture leaderless fellows with section rearing up (6) ENTRAP {mEN}{PART<=}
25 Hint's up on mountain climber's aid (5) PITON {TIP<=}{ON}
26 Father's guarantee about Latin dance (5) POLKA {P{O{L}K}A}
28 3 dismantled brick oven (4) KILN LINK*

Reference List
First-Class = A, News = N, Editor = E, ED, Son = S, Directions = W,N,S, Section = S, Old = O, Latin = L 

GRID

Wednesday 26 June 2019

No 12662, Wednesday 26 Jun 2019, Avtaar


ACROSS
1   Old city gang is backed by Gulf (6) BOMBAY {MOB<=}{BAY}
4   Found mean old dogs, say (8) AVERAGED {AGED} after {AVER}
9   Hot model, starting to undress, is unmoved (2,4) IN SITU {IN}{SIT}{Un...s}
10 Footwear imbued with slightly coarse stains (8) SCANDALS {S{Co...e}ANDALS}
11 Protest against unreasonable tax organised at last, say, by Hagar the Horrible (4,10) SALT SATYAGRAHA {AT+LAST+SAY}*{HAGAR}*
13 One who narrates stories about visiting exotic destinations, excepting South India (10)  ANECDOTIST {C} in {DEsTinATIONS}*
14 President Eisenhower's staff (4) PIKE {P}{IKE}
16 Foreigner waives a claim (4) LIEN aLIEN
18 Personal digital assistant? (10) MANICURIST [CD]
21 Supermom prepared healthy food with added milk (4,2,3,5) LADY OF THE HOUSE {HEALTHY+FOOD}*{USE}
23 Mention of deficit at Iona (8) CITATION [T]
24 Clammy pound is filled with waste at the boundaries and on the left (6) SWEATY {S{Wa.tE}{And}TY}
25 "It shows who's not fit to overcome tumour", Spooner said (4,4) SICK LIST (~lick cyst)
26 Sally's ashes (6) BREEZE [DD]

DOWN
1   His tribe left Europe in a hurry (4) BRIT TRIBe* &lit
2   Note from Avtaar's guru (7) MESSAGE {ME'S}{SAGE}
3   Faculty position attracting Psychology's top talent eventually gets cancelled (8) APTITUDE {A(-t+p)PTITUDE
5   French soup is garnished with chives and soy (11) VICHYSSOISE {IS+CHIVES+SOY}*
6   Welsh sappers have recovered something that explains heredity (6) RENEGE {R{GENE<=}E}
7   This language — extremely beautiful — variant of Bulgarian (7) GUARANI bUlGARIAN*
8   Darkest, medium-brewed drinks stocked in the local area briefly (9) DISMALEST {DIS{M}{ALES}Trict}
12 Paintings by Rembrandt finally recovered during legal proceedings may be fantastic sights (11) ATTRACTIONS  {ART}{r...nT}<= in {ACTIONS}
13 National team wants new ball in the beginning (3,6) ALL BLACKS {BALL*}{LACKS}
15 Eventually, you grow fat playing this game (3-2-3) TUG-OF-WAR {yoU+GROW+FAT}*
17 Very clear and detailed order about festival in the North (7) EIDETIC {CITE<=}<=>{EID}
19 Naval vessel has top part flooded (2,5) IN SPATE {INS}{Part}{ATE} (Addendum - {INS}{PATE} -  See comments)
20 Deadly squall at Romania has moved upwards (6) MORTAL [T<=]
22 Set retracting ends of the polyp and cyst evenly (4) TYPE {thE}{p..yP}{cYsT}<=

Reference List
Hot = IN, About = C, President = P, Europe = E, Sappers = RE(Royal Engineers), Medium = M

GRID

Tuesday 25 June 2019

No 12661, Tuesday 25 Jun 2019, Bruno


ACROSS
5   Takes responsibility for a party... gets points (6) ADOPTS {ADO}{PTS}
7   Oaf of a man and boy consume everything around (8) MEATBALL {M}{EAT}{B}{ALL}
9   Monkey has date fruit (8) TAMARIND {TAMARIN}{D}
10 Don’t start to criticise guard (6) ENSURE cENSURE
11 Marketing rep distributed timer (7,5) PARKING METER*
13 Hey! That should be X not L! (6) LISTEN {L}{IS}{TEN}
15 Divorced President in Italian city went ahead and partied (6) ROMPED {D}<=>{ROM{P}E}
18 Blazer left on board — sailor gets sleeve trimmed (6,6) SPORTS JACKET {S{PORT}S} {JACK}{gETs}
21 Participants in ultrafast rally are like stars (6) ASTRAL [T]
22 John involved in mathematical operation to unravel time constant's structure (3,5) TAJ MAHAL {J} in {MATHemAticAL}*
23 Save up credit first... then get a little smack, ecstasy, or crack (8) CREVASSE {CR}{SAVE<=}{Sm..k}{E}
24 Wedding dance shortly allowing free entry (6) BRIDAL {B{RID}ALl}

DOWN
1   Posh posh companion's impression? Boring... (8) UPMARKET {U}{P{MARK}ET}
2   Give passes often to hot girl to enter (6) ASSIGN {pAsSeS}{I{G}N}
3   Finally, malfunctioning steamer's working better (8) GAMESTER {m...nG}{STEAMER*}
4   One that mistreated a table-cleaner's son — thrown out (6) ABUSER {A}{BUSsER}
6   Difficult Master's obtained — leaving school's emotional (8) DRAMATIC {DRAs{MA}TIC}
7   Crazy Bruno's following a woman (6) MADAME {MAD}{A}{ME}
8   Charisma of Lou Reed even can wane (4) LURE {LoU+ReEd}
12 Sugar in sambar? Aré! Me definitely throw up! (8) DEMERARA [T<=]
14 New growth — shoots — on maples (8) NEOPLASM*
16 Footwear worn at the start of main event not secondary contest (8) MOCCASIN {Main}{OCCASIoN}
17 Figure right now, true leader (and deputy) are missing (6) STATUE {STAT}{trUE}
18 Work hard to hammer rivets (6) STRIVE*
19 Candy's partly just junk and beer (6) JUJUBE {JUst}{JUnk}{BEer}
20 Russian leader long ago — was beheaded and overthrown? (4) TSAR Anno pending (Addendum - {Ru...n}{pSAT}<= &lit - See comments)

Reference List
Man = M, Boy = B, Date = D, Divorced = D, President = P, Sailor = JACK, John = J, Constant = C, Ecstasy = E, Posh = U, Girl = G, Hot = IN, Son = S, School = S


Monday 24 June 2019

No 12660, Monday 24 Jun 2019, Hypatia


ACROSS
8   Woods, a good man, placing warning about golf ball upfront (6) FOREST {ST}<=>{FORE}
9   Harry Potter initially cast "Hocus Pocus", conjuring food (8) COUSCOUS {hOCUS+pOCUS}*
10 She gets high, breaks down near auto? (8) AERONAUT*
11 Team probing bug held back solution (6) ELIXIR {RI{XI}LE<=}
12 The French sailor recalled legend about bear (8) TOLERATE {TO{LE}{TAR<=}E}
13 Sick inside, got almost thirsty when it was very cold (3,3) ICE AGE {sICk}{EAGEr}
14 Spooner heard author, curse to intimidate husband (3-4) HEN-PECK {(-p+h)HEN}{(-h+p)PECK}
17 Dry, boring exercise is hard, gets irritable (7) PETTISH {PE}{TT}{IS}{H}
20 Business graduate in leadership role dispatched husband to store (6) EMBALM {hE{MBA}LM}
22 Poor Desi guy loses article (8) INDIGENT {INDIan}{GENT}
25 Resume to retweet, constantly drunk (6) REVERT {EVER} in {RT}
26 Is this why some people don't dream? (8) INSOMNIA [CD]
27 Small key with engineer entering the evacuated plant (4,4) SALT TREE {S}{ALT}{T{RE}hE}
28 Reserve an outstanding piece (6) RELIEF [DD]

DOWN
1   Rejected auditor's advance amount (8) LONESOME (~ loan sum)
2   It may be near couch potatoes or far? (6) REMOTE [DD]
3   Off-beat art school, from the South, providing classes (6) STRATA [T<=]
4   Wreck had cash spread around? (7) SCATTER [DD] (Addendum - S(-h+c)CATTER - See comments)
5   You love vacation joined with, say the festive season (8) YULETIDE {YoU}{LovE}{TIDE}(~tied)
6   Stress to carry perhaps, passport in emergency (8) ACCIDENT {ACC{ID}ENT}
7   Throughout the day, a cow produces this, eating grain, regularly (6) DURING {DU{gRaIn}NG}
15 Locate book with a link to feed a child (8) PLACENTA {PLACE}{NT}{A}
16 Grave consequence of arriving late? (8) CEMETERY [CD]
18 Watchman absent in electronics store (8) SENTINEL [T]
19 Subject starts from chapter in textbook on Indian philosophy (7) CITIZEN {Ch..r}{In}{Te...k}{I}{ZEN}
21 Frenzied woman lost it when unusually animated (6) MAENAD ANiMAtED*
23 Want to reside abroad (6) DESIRE*
24 Bet girl leading hike runs outside (6) GAMBLE {G}{rAMBLE}

Reference List
Good Man = ST, Exercise = PE, Dry = TT, Hard = H, Husband = H, Article = AN, Retweet = RT, Small = S, Key = ALT, Engineer = RE(Royal Engineer), Book = NT(New Testament), Indian = I, Girl = G, Runs = R

GRID

Sunday 23 June 2019

Special, Sunday 23 Jun 2019, The Zodiac


Three answers per commenter till 6 PM (Annotations compulsory)
Please provide all your answers in one comment.


ACROSS
8   Breakdown of maltose releases energy, more or less (6)
9   People go live here (2,3,3)
10 I, for one, make a molten necklace initially (3-5)
11 Some part of test at Eden Gardens (6)
12 One grows these flowering plants (6)
14 Reverend's absolutely offensive expression! (5,3)
16 Kill chief for territory (6)
18 Boy died in explosion; journalist survived (6)
21 Say, Xi Jinping's style of delivery (8)
23 Surprisingly, Uber's first patent is excellent (6)
24 Check-box? (6)
26 Church built by scholar with glass (8)
28 Bill about to enter election; gets support (8)
29 Scientist's work is done (6)

DOWN
1   Can doctor be seen in bed with Scarlet? (5-3)
2   Type of document (4)
3   Perhaps Andhra Pradesh's and Telengana's tastes may be different (6)
4   Hitting double-century is possible (5-2)
5   Essential protein recreated without R&D and suchlike (2,6)
6   First time an English batsman retires, exhausted (4)
7   Brother's first restaurant (6)
13 Spooner says, "M'boy is a saint!" (5)
15 Trap pets running around university (3-2)
17 Setter's message, containing some truth, is memorable (8)
19 Chairman's bad credit backed by gold (8)
20 Doctors seen around new lab, getting licenses (7)
22 Saves groups of people, reportedly (6)
23 Relative's internal sickness is terminal (6)
25 Story location (4)
27 Around one, boy rested (4)

Across Lite version can be accessed at THE ZODIAC 3

Enjoy.

The Sunday Crossword No 3053, Sunday 23 Jun 2019

3784
ACROSS
1   Nation excited with charmer like Justin Trudeau (5,8) NORTH AMERICAN {NATION+CHARMER}* How is Justin Trudeay North American?Definition not understood
10 Umpteenth US evangelical stifles praise (7) ENTHUSE [T]
11 Local's stripped down to nothing in Spain, giving patriotic song (1,6) O CANADA {lOCAl}{NADA}

12 Illicitly loots workman's implements (5) TOOLS*
13 Time lag I suffered to overcome this? (3,5) AGE LIMIT* Semi&lit
15 Nervously hint at lawsuit, then (2,4,4) IN THAT CASE {HINT+AT}*{CASE}
16 Former prime minister – no leader – in retreat (4) LAIR bLAIR
18 Teas consumed? (4) EATS* [RA]
20 Deign to advance one letter, with organ enclosed in posting (10) DELIVERING {LIVER} in {DEI(-g)N(+g)G}
22 Mountain folk live among giants (8) TIBETANS {TI{BE}TANS}
24 American poet finds path around lake (5) PLATH {P{L}ATH}
26 Composer with some dross in Italian (7) ROSSINI [T]
27 To make up story about king, head of Númenor: this author did! (7) TOLKIEN {TO}{L{K}IE}{Nu...r} &lit
28 Rising sun soon heated coastal resort (8-2-3) SOUTHEND-ON-SEA*

DOWN
2   Declines surgery: pets only half sedated (4,3) OPTS OUT {OP}{peTS}{OUT}
3   72 hours or so ago, child born then has far to go (8) THURSDAY [DD] Everyman appears on Sunday 72 hours after Thursday


Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
4   Does away with lines on a graph (4) AXES [DD]
5   Old, anguished, wretched: there's nothing to add (6,4) ENOUGH SAID {O+ANGUISHED}*
6   Criminal lawyer hides after considering everything (2,3) IN ALL [T]
7   In AA, I mean to raise condition (7) ANAEMIA {I+MEAN}<= in {AA}
8   Direction borders on conservative in Romeo and Juliet adaptation (4,4,5) WEST SIDE STORY {WEST}{SIDES}{TORY}
9   Pursuit in which diet is foiled? (6-3,4)  EASTER-EGG HUNT [CD]
14 Measure that monitors monitors? (6,4) SCREEN TIME [CD]
17 Zane's gutted, with chafed nipple in airship (8) ZEPPELIN {ZanE}{NIPPLE}*
19 A billion tacos cooked with this condiment? (7) TABASCO {A+B+TACOS}*
21 Suppose I'm a gin enthusiast primarily (7) IMAGINE {IM+A+GIN+En...t}
23 Playing whist, void of hearts, trump's opening: another card, please (5) TWIST {WhIST}*{Tr..p}
25 Suitor that's utterly desirable at first? (4) STUD Acrostic &lit

GRID

Saturday 22 June 2019

No 12659, Saturday 22 Jun 2019, Hypatia

Across

1. Looks thoroughly exhausted chasing boyfriend (6) BEAUTY {BEAU}{ThoroughlY}
4. Take no notice of Italian, scratching head (6) IGNORE {sIGNORE}
9. Small lapse in performance, primarily (4) SLIP Acrostic &lit
10. Spooner's bookie, say improves (4,6) GETS BETTER {(-b+G)ETS (-g+B)ETTER}
11. Peacekeeper, nearing main Libyan capital was not close (6) UNSEAL {UN}{SEA}}Libyan}
12. Clues like this featured in the French game (8) LACROSSE {L{ACROSS}E}
13. Players, in front of Chappell, perhaps had to separate (9) SEGREGATE {SE}{GREG}{ATE}
15. Leave shed (4) DROP (DD)
16. Hypatia is following tips from paper, to be precise (4) PRIM {PapeR}{I'M}
17. They divide some group or tier especially (9) PORTIERES (T)
21. Chat counter (8) CONVERSE (DD)
22. Hear fifty's where it gets better? (6) LISTEN {L}{IS}{TEN}?
24. Criminal led all in by path with no way out (5,5) BLIND ALLEY {LED+ALL+IN+BY*}
25. Say, Yogi's // stand (4) BEAR (DD)
26. Sound of Arabian city's old weapon (6) MUSKET {~MUSCAT}
27. Hold that man in heart (6) COHERE {CO{HE}RE}

Down

1. Assess Cain and Abel's struggle with self-sacrifice (7) BALANCE {CAiN+ABEL*}
2. Unrestricted pilot lost direction (5) AMPLE {sAMPLE}
3. Girl spreading butter from below tongue? (7) TAGALOG {TA{GAL}OG<=}
5. Government advocate took nothing in return (2,4) GO BACK {G{O} BACK}
6. Get work done from someone else? Of Course! (9) OUTSOURCE  Reverse Anagram of {COURSE}
7. First lady ordering spun ties (5,2) EVENS UP  {EVE}{SPUN*}
8. They raise many girls? (8,5) STILETTO HEELS (CD)
14. Again pioneers brake in front of expresses (9) REINVENTS {REIN}{VENTS}
16. Challenge for boy loathing elementary math for beginners (7) PROBLEM {PRO}{Boy}{Loathing}{Elementary}{Math}
18. Most of the moose essentially picked up friend's hunting call (5-2) TALLY-HO {T{ALLY}He moOse}
19. Team nearly choking at lift (7) ELEVATE {ELEV{AT}En}
20. Make secretary try this line (6) CREASE {SECRETARY-TRY*}
23. Lifted copper based fencing sword (5) SABRE (T<=)


Reference List

Peacekeeper=UN, The French=Le, Players=SE, Fifty=L, That man=He
Self=I, Direction=S, Government=G, Nothing=O, First lady=Eve

Colour/Font Scheme

DefinitionSolutionComponent lettersEmbedded linksTheme word Anagram IndicatorC/C indicatorReversal IndicatorHidden word IndicatorLetter Pick indicatorDeletion IndicatorHomophone IndicatorMovement IndicatorPositional IndicatorSubstitution, IndicatorLink/Connector, Extraneous

GRID

Friday 21 June 2019

No 12658, Friday 21 Jun 2019, KrisKross


RULES FOR POSTING ON FRIDAY ONLY
All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only

The regular blog will replace the clues at 5 PM.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS
1   This original font could be indispensable — you need it to type E-books! (5,3) SHIFT KEY {THIS+Font}*{KEY}
5   Allow player to enter estate (6) ASSENT {ASSE{N}T}
9   Horribly evil tyrant eventually had to hang (8) LEVITATE {EVIL*}{t...nT}{ATE}
10 Last and final wish? To quit smoking, finally (6) ENDURE {END}{URgE}
12 Vice-president perhaps? No sirvery repulsive creature (9) CENTIPEDE {vICE+PrEsiDENT}*
13 Artist endlessly tweaking instrument (5) SITAR ARTISt*
14 KrisKross hathe French loaf (4) IDLE {I'D}{LE}
16 Made a story — relax now and rest (3,4) LIE DOWN {LIED}{NOW*}
19 Greeting given by a Pole in New England (7) NAMASTE {N}{A}{MAST}{E}
21 Contrarian vote? (4) VETO* &lit
24 Extremist from Kabul trapped (5) ULTRA [T]
25 Fight to save short sorcerer (9) SCRIMMAGE {SCRIMp}{MAGE}
27 Spin bowler's last over to former English pacer (6) ROTATE {b...eR}{O}{TATE}
28 Horsmen about to saunter around (8) CENTAURS {C}{SAUNTER*}
29 Small eggs on rolls (6) SURGES {S}{URGES}
30 Losers back off, refuse to work, inviting trouble (8) FAILURES {REFUSe}* over {AIL}

DOWN
1   Relief from the sun? Run away to Coimbatore on vacation (6) SOLACE {SOLAr}{Co...rE}
2   Father's at home with pipe (6) INVENT {IN}{VENT}
3   All the Egyptian king's money lost in the end (5) TUTTI {TUT}{TIn}
4   Severe old man covered in ash, perhaps (7) EXTREME {EX}{TRE{M}E}
6   Growing oldseen wearing perfume (9) SENESCENT {SEEN*}{SCENT}
7   One's beginning to go through quite an intricate statement like x^n + y^n = z^n (8) EQUATION {One} in {QUITE+AN}*
8   Starting to travel to holy city, crossing part of New York (3,5) THE BRONX {Tr...l}{HEBRON}{X}
11 Gazelle runs, losing leg in fire (4) ZEAL  gAZelLE*
15 Take down note to treat ailments (9) DISMANTLE {D}{AILMENTS*}
17 Researches how paper could be sold (8) INQUIRES {IN QUIRES}
18 Heading off to control a mountain ape (8) IMITATOR {lIMIT}{A}{TOR}
20 Yesamateur baked a piece of cake (4) EASY {YES+A}*
21 Wild beaver eating root of green plant (7) VERBENA {BEAVER}* over {g..eN}
22 Animal in pain, mostly in shock (6) JAGUAR {J{AGUe}AR}
23 Kids like to wear casual shirts (6) TEASES {TE{AS}ES}
26 Where you may crash when driving (5) MOTEL [CD]

Reference List
Player = N, About = C, Small = S, Run = R, Old = EX, Man = M, Note = D,

GRID

Thursday 20 June 2019

No 12657, Thursday 20 Jun 2019, Afterdark


ACROSS
1   A college principal should be aware of student's keenness, take time to ring people to give admission (15) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT {A}{Co...e}{KNOW}{L}{EDGE}{MEN}{T{
9   Social Media firm goes to the top position in collection, leads worldwide (6) COSMIC {CO}{SM}{In}{Co...n} SM/Social Media?
10 Terrible female, attention seeking, so primeval at heart (8) FEARSOME {F}{EAR}{SO}{priMEval}
11 To check hotels in natural environment to reserve (8) WITHHOLD {WI{T{H}{H}O}LD}
14 Try out intercity transport in an urge (6) INCITE INtErCITy*
17 Innovation needed to find egg cells (3) OVA [T]
18 Hero drinks tea without hesitation (9) SUPERSTAR {SUP{ER}S}TAR Tea/Tar? See comments
21 In retrospect, sacking the leader and reorganising should have been confidential (3-6) TOP-SECRET rETROSPECT*
23 Indeed having middlemen helps in getting visitors (1-1-1) S-E-O {S{mEn}O}
25 Fancy talk about new beginning (6) ORNATE {OR{N}ATE}
27 Woman's upset with priest joining leading evangelist to deliver frivolous fib (5,3) WHITE LIE {W}{HIT}{ELI}{Ev...t}
30 Arbitrarily managed work being blocked by teller (2,6) AT RANDOM {AT{RAN}{DO}M}
31 Chose to mix some red inside to create pigments (6) OCHRES {OCH{Red}ES*}
32 Harry searched milkman for possible weapons (6,3,6) HAMMER AND SICKLE*

DOWN
2   Bit of chocolate and egg's fine diet essentially with biscuit (6) COOKIE {Ch...e}{O}{OK}{dIEt}
3   Sprite is taken with gin, whiskey, rum at the end at Philippines (5) NYMPH {giN}{w...kY}{ruM}{PH}
4   Eccentric wife can retort endlessly and knock out (5) WACKO {W}{CAn<=}{KO}
5   As per slang, doomed, affected badly; no act (5) EFFED aFFEctED*
6   Rock is great; rock uses new instrumentation primarily... (7) GRANITE {GRA{N}{In...n}TE*}
7   ...an art like cubism, revolutionary with bass standing out (5) MUSIC CUbISM*
8   Article on father has no substance, nothing meaningful primarily as a consequence (9) THEREFROM {THE}{RE}{Fa..eR}{O}{Me...l}
12 Pitch's almost a paradise (5) HEAVE HEAVEn
13 An adjective for sharp sale conducted — Royal? (5) LASER {SALE*}{R}
15 A passage perhaps, in print, romantic selection (5) INTRO [T]
16 Therapist Mark, in Berlin facing terrible heat, skips work (9) OSTEOPATH {OST}{E{OP}ATH*}
17 Plant put behind gate (5) ORPIN {OR}{PIN}
19 Mark's at church ground (5) PITCH {PIT}{CH}
20 Fix on place (5) RESET {RE}{SET}
22 Type of cheese in Switzerland Edward finds costly, pointless (7) CHEDDAR {CH}{ED}{DeAR}
24 Direct approach's often manly (6) LINEAL {LINE}{mAnLy}
26 Alert in Nepal arms hidden inside (5) ALARM [T]
27 Without marriage one can become a lady? (5) WOMAN {WO}{M}{AN}
28 Aspirant in the middle, on first stretch, presses (5) IRONS {aspIRant}{ON}{St...h}
29 Principle of economics to begin with is broad, limitless (5) ETHIC {Ec...s}{THICk}

Reference List
Student = L, Time = T, Female = F, Hotel = H, New = N, Woman = W, Egg = O, Wife = W, Bass = B, On = RE, Royal = R, Gate = OR, Church = CH, Without = WO, Marriage = M, A = AN,

GRID

Wednesday 19 June 2019

No 12656, Wednesday 19 Jun 2019, Afterdark


ACROSS
1   Exploration in Bay of Bengal, say to collect reading on source of crustacean hatchlings (6) SEARCH {SEA}{R}{Cr...n}{Ha...s}
4   Eardrops (to save money) used in part of the eye (6) RETINA {EAR}* over {TIN}
9   Starch is created by gas reflux only (4) SAGO {GAS<=}{O}
10 Houses are ready, drawing people in leading to loans eventually (10) APARTMENTS {A}PART{MEN}{To}{l..nS} Anno not clear (Addendum - {AP{ART}{MEN}T}{l..nS} - See comments)
11 Show signs of changing sides on request (6) APPEAL APPEA(-r+l)L
12 Notice doctor's work with society providing medicine... (8) EARDROPS {EAR}{DR}{OP}{S}
13 ... making news outside of India (9) FORMATION FORMAT{I}ON Anno pending (Addendum - inFORMATION - See comments)
15 Country's cognizance by law should be even (5) KENYA {KEN}{bY+lAw}
16 Take over America; USSR heartless on gaining power (5) USURP {US}{UssR}{P}
18 Static, yet mobile in Singapore, say (4,5) CITY STATE*
22 Place in Chennai's best to retire in country (8) MALAYSIA {MA{LAY}S}{A1<=}
23 Even though criminal, risk capturing India (6) ALBEIT {AL}{BE{I}T}
25 Perhaps, Indian cricket team is second class, only busy in some way to earn money at England (4,2,4) BOYS IN BLUE {B}{O}{BUSY+IN}* over {L} and {E}
26 Works on alliances after losing power (4) ACTS pACTS
27 Suggest book to study first before entrance exam (6) DENOTE {DEN}{OT}{Exam}
28 A despot has elections rigged eventually at the source to gain support (6) ADHERE Acrostic

DOWN
1   Used a politician to earn orders for cleaner (7) SHAMPOO {SH}{A}{MP}{O}{O}
2   Rose is one with good energy (5) AWOKE {A}{W}{OK}{E}
3   Church and State agree to crown, say (7) CHAPLET {CH}{AP}{LET}
5   Woman goes weak after last course in restaurant (6) EATERY {c...sE}{wATERY}
6   Determined to school trainees to pass final examination (2,7) IN EARNEST {TRAINEES}* over {e...oN}
7   Perhaps a stiff test for Australia to overwhelm the best, with Yuvraj at one end (7) AUTOPSY {AU}{TOPS}{Yu...j} (Addendum - {AU{TOP}S}{Yu...j} - See comments)
8   Without doubt, Tom's self-esteem's strong, almost everyone finds at the very end (13) CATEGORICALLY {CAT}{EGO}{RICh}{ALL}{verY}
14 Murder, perhaps isn't moral (6,3) MORTAL SIN*
17 Does a foe stop short cooking fish? (7) SEAFOOD {DOES+A+FOe}*
19 Yes, closed early and took break on 31st December (4-3) YEAR-END {YEs}{A}{REND} (Addendum - {YEAh}{REND} - See comments)
20 A plant whittles badly when water source is absent (7) THISTLE wHITTLES*
21 You hear teens are upset with precursor of world wide web (6) USENET (~you){U}{TEENS}*
24 Criticism of boy’s flimsy (5) BLAME {B}{LAME}

Reference List
Reading = R, Only = O, Are = A, Society = S, India = I, Chennai = MAS, Power = P, Criminal = AL,  Only = O, Money = L, England = E,  Used = Second Hand = SH, Order = O, With = W, Energy = E, Church = CH, Women = W, Boy = B