No 12923, Thursday 30 Apr 2020, Neyartha

Day No 37 of 40 Stay safe at home

Solution to 2D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS
1   Grave procession — an entertainment of sorts? (5,7) DANSE MACABRE [C&DD]

8   Short-sighted to be diplomatic in obviating the fraud (7) INSULAR (-con+in}INSULAR
9   Part of the Algonquin’s tepee used to make a part of a shoe (6) INSTEP [T]
11 Cooked beets for a meat dish (5,4) ROAST BEEF*
12 A shot in golf fetching an American gold coin (5) EAGLE [DD]
14 Cricket team welcomed by the first woman includes a fashionably cute corporate bigwig... (9) EXECUTIVE {E{X{CUTE*}I}VE}
16 ...leading youngsters eager to identify an undocumented Himalayan native (4) YETI Acrostic
18 Cold Democrat at the wrong place in a game of chance (4) ICED (-d)ICE(=d)D
19 Strangles the king participating in the placement of barriers around the rocky hill from the east (9) GARROTTES {GA{TO{R}R<=}TES}
21 Concentrate on leaving Connecticut with the bit player (5) EXTRA EXTRAct
22 Monetary aspects of the new spy organisation getting suppressed in a major test (9) FINANCIAL {FINA{N}{CIA}L}
23 Bear-like figurines damaged after the Mediterranean fruit’s removal (6) URSINE figURINES*
25 Agent in-charge enters a proposal (7) OFFICER {OFF{IC}ER}
26 Friendly Will’s seed pod breaks up (4-8) WELL-DISPOSED*

DOWN
2   Relief at getting approval to confiscate the Ukrainian treasure (11) ASSUAGEMENT {ASS{US}{GEM}ENT} - See comments
3   Break the journey to determine what The Hindu does to produce different city editions (5,3) SPLIT RUN {SPLIT}{RUN}
4   Promotion for the alien welcomed by the monarch after Ram goes north (9) MARKETING {K{ET}ING}<=>{RAM<=}
5   Half of Kerala’s out with a square scarf for the leader (5) CHIEF kerCHIEF
6   Suit to ask Bond’s boss to leave out the church (6) BESEEM BESEE(-ch+m)M
7   Scottish supplement to the auditor’s informal expression of surprise (3) EKE (~eek) Why Scottish?
8   Jacob’s descendants find the non-performing personalities starting off by mistake (10) ISRAELITES pERSonALITIES*
10 Doctor ruins panel depicting the nature of the southern part of India, perhaps (10) PENINSULAR*
13 Preferred route for an air journey’s on this note inside a round label with the company (5,6) GREAT CIRCLE {G{RE}AT<=}{CIRCLE}

15 Misguided one’s involvement in a run-out interrupts guaranteed upset (9) ERRONEOUS {R{ONE}O} in {SURE}<=
17 Shuttle’s movement? (2,3,3) TO AND FRO [CD]
20 Spreading out like some features of the Agra dialect (6) RADIAL [T]
22 Pitch from the candidates (5) FIELD [DD]
24 Piercing scream on the radio (3) RAW (~roar)

Reference List
Cricket team = XI, Democrat = D, King = R, New = N, Alien = ET, Bond's boss = M, Church = CH, Note = RE, Run-out = RO

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Aaron Abrams (AA) was the CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of RADIAL pharma, a big pharmaceutical firm at Tel Aviv. His FINANCIAL degrees and his long experience in the FIELD of MARKETING drugs had made the Board of Directors pick him for the job. AA had an EAGLE eye in looking for  opportunities to develop new drugs and so he put in an EXTRA effort to strengthen the research department of the company. His job took him TO AND FRO on the GREAT CIRCLE flights to far-flung corners of the world for sourcing RAW materials. (YET I am told that, true to his ISRAELITE ancestry, AA ate only kosher food,  be it ROAST BEEF or whatever, everywhere he went.)

AA was WELL DISPOSED towards his chief of research, a brilliant innovator but an INSULAR personality. The scientist had SPLIT many a molecule to design new drugs that boosted the bottom-line of the company. The Board had told AA that he was ERRONEOUS in backing one man over a team, but AA felt it did not BESEEM fit to withdraw his support for the aging researcher. Who is spared by the DANSE MACABRE? The researcher was found GARROTTED in his bed one day presumably by a hired killer sent by a rival company. AA was crushed by the loss and no words of ASSUAGEMENT came forth from the Board. He resigned his job and retired to a yogi's ashram in the Deccan PENINSULA. 

No 12922, Wednesday 29 Apr 2020, Gridman

Day No 36 of 40 Stay safe at home

Solution to 14D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS
1   We need to do nothing to be so (8) INACTIVE [CD]
5   Almost declare about section of ancient city (6) SPARTA {S{PART}Ay}
10 Vanishing point? (4,3) THIN AIR [CD]
11 Goalie running around United leader gets accolades (7) EULOGIA {E{Un...d}LOGIA*}
12 A kind of condom may be made fun of (6) RIBBED [DD]
13 No uniform for this person (8) CIVILIAN [CD]
15 That man’s a journalist. Take care! (4) HEED {HE}{ED}
16 Sarah’s turned to men in street in constant intimidation (10) HARASSMENT {SARAH*}{S{MEN}T}
18 Press media employee worsened it by poor handling (4,6) NEWS EDITOR*
20 Chop up hardwood? (4) HASH {H}{ASH}
23 Adoption by Poles settled around the States (8) ESPOUSAL {ESPO{USA}L}
24 Go with complaint relating to digestion (6) PEPTIC {PEP}{TIC}
26 Brother to have central lien on old camera (7) BROWNIE {BR}{OWN}{lIEn}

27 Trooped off to get a missile (7) TORPEDO*
28 There’s the struggling woman (6) ESTHER*
29 Kind of permit for an architectural technique (4-4) OPEN-WORK [DD]

DOWN
1   Easy to swap out. Nitre may be got (15) INTERCHANGEABLE {NITRE}* [RA]
2   French friend clever and good-humoured (7) AMIABLE {AMI}{ABLE}
3   Laughed at model and toned down (6) TEASED {T}{EASED}
4   Change central savant’s line (4) VARY {saVAnt}{RY}
6   It’s ample, extravagant and most prosperous (8) PALMIEST*
7   Music — Indian music form not completely given by US magazine (7) RAGTIME {RAGa}{TIME}

8   Under time pressure, somehow tack a close thing (7,3,5) AGAINST THE CLOCK*
9   I think tyrant leaves Chhattisgarh’s capital after me (9) MEDITATOR {ME}{DIcTATOR}
14 Sanctioned half of suitcase I saw (9) VALIDATED {VALise}{I}{DATED}
17 In France, what is in exotic scene? Particular order (8) SEQUENCE {SE{QUE}NCE}
19 Nuke without the paper dropping exercise (4,3) WIPE OUT WI(-th+pe}PEOUT
21 A right code set out for a building design style (3,4) ART DECO {A}{RT}{CODE*}
22 Proceed as new oar is handed out (4,2) WEAR ON*
25 Don’t move broken pots (4) STOP*

Reference List
Journalist = ED, Street = ST, Hard = H, Brother = BR, Friend in French = AMI, Model = T, Line = RY(Railway), What in French = QUE, Paper = TH(The Hindu), Exercise = PE, Right = RT,

Dr RKEs TalePiece

ESTHER Kunjumol, was the star performer in the 4 x 400 metre relay during the PALMIEST age of Indian women runners. Her father, a toddy tapper, had died when she was young, after a botched PEPTIC ulcer surgery. Notwithstanding their SPARTAn circumstances, her mother had encouraged her to follow her dream of being an athlete. Her uncles and aunts often RIBBED about it saying "do you think she is a P T Usha?". Esther paid no HEED to being TEASED thus. She had an AMIABLE P.T. master in school, who, sensing the talent and ambition in the young Esther arranged for her training by a reputed coach at a posh sports academy at Kochi. A NEWS EDITOR of a Malayalam daily, a classmate of the PT master, had arranged to raise funds for the coaching through an appeal in the paper. Being an uncouth village girl, Esther had to face HARASSMENT from the rich girls in the sports academy. But nothing could STOP her burning ambition to improve her rhythm of running and her timing. It was literally a race AGAINST THE CLOCK. As the training sessions tended to WEAR ON, it was clear to the coach that Esther's was a rare talent. His firm ESPOUSAL of her candidature in the National Relay Team overcame objections from the CIVILIAN babus in the Sports Ministry. Her sterling performances in several athletic meets only VALIDATED his choice.

Her role in winning the gold at the Asian games in Beijing was the stuff of legends. She was the last in the SEQUENCE of the four runners. A misstep in handing over the baton between the first two runners meant that Esther was the fourth to leave the starting line of the last lap. She still trailed woefully behind the Chinese and Korean athletes after the first 200 metres. Esther's teammates had their hopes WIPEd out and dejectedly watched their visions of winning the gold go up in THIN AIR. By sheer willpower, Esther outran the Korean girl but at 20 metres to the finish line she was yet behind the tall Chinese girl. At this point, she heard an inner voice of her mother telling her "odu moley, odu". She charged ahead like a TORPEDO and breasted the tape ahead of her rival by 0.4 seconds in a photo finish. There was no end to the EULOGIA in the front page coverage by newspapers. Nowadays, she would have become a trending HASHtag on Twitter for such a feat, but those were the good old days.

No 12921, Tuesday 28 Apr 2020, Gridman

Day No 35 of 40 Stay safe at home

Solution to 12A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered yesterday give others a chance.

ACROSS
1   Beginning to cut vastra to make ties (7) CRAVATS {Cut}{VASTRA*}

5   Notice man with lady unnoticed — that’s proper! (6) SEEMLY {SEE}{M}{LadY}
9   Mule disturbed by ultimately clever mammal (5) LEMUR {MULE*}{c...eR}

10 Winner — one who attracts endlessly in French region (9) CHAMPAGNE {CHAMP}{mAGNEt}
11 True, one goes astray on the way (2,5) EN ROUTE*
12 With expert losing his head, you in France become twitchy (7) N?R?O?S (Addendum - NERVOUS {oNER}{VOUS} - See comments)
13 It’s about Communist being worn out (5) TIRED {IT<=}{RED}
14 Somehow gains learner-fellows as railway employees to help train movement (9) SIGNALMEN {GAINS*}{L}{MEN}
16 Record-keeper stern over substance given to rebel leader (9) REGISTRAR {RE{GIST}{Re..l}AR}
19 Principally some Narikuravars are registering low growl (5) SNARL Acrostic
21 Runaway famille in disgrace (3,4) ILL FAME*
23 Newly-weds get some controls, reportedly (7) BRIDALS (~bridles)
24 Tied up with a kind of test over one newspaper article (9) EDITORIAL {TIED*}{OR{1}AL}
25 Show each in the middle of road (5) OPERA {rO{PER}Ad}
26 A smuggler’s beginning to transport charm (6) AMULET {A}{MULE}{Tr...t}
27 Light in fine sort of fabric (7) INFLAME {IN}{F}{LAME}

DOWN
1   Molest cleric to repair rare object (10,4) COLLECTORS ITEM*
2   Married exotic lover (7) ADMIRER*
3   Stuck on the bottom of the sea? There’s a reason! (7) AGROUND {A}{GROUND}
4   Fame to other hungry one who follows (9) SUCCESSOR {SUCCESS}{OtheR}
5   Well at one new country (5) SPAIN {SPA}{1}{N}

6   Marie runs around odd poor shops (7) EMPORIA {EM{PoOr}RIA*}
7   The French bride man’s enough space to stretch (7) LEGROOM {LE}{GROOM}
8   Each child, least bothered, consumed what’s left (8,6)  PERSONAL ESTATE {PER}{SON}{LEAST*}{ATE}
15 US soldier passes over a coarse Italian leader (9) GARIBALDI {G{A}{RIBALD}I}

17 Girl has a short think-up over one element (7) GALLIUM {GAL}{MU{1}Ll<=}
18 Fuel gets a company all-round mark of approval (3,4) SEA COAL {SE{A}{CO}AL}
19 Pins incidental benefit? (4-3) SPIN-OFF {PINS}* [RA]
20 Promenade sees a boy and a dame exercising (7) ALAMEDA {AL}{A}{DAME*}
22 Be a type of discriminator without a trace of shame (5) EXIST sEXIST

Reference List
Man = M, You in French = VOUS, Learner = L, Fine = F, Well = SPA, New = N, The in French = LE, US Soldier = GI, Company = CO, Boy = AL

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Bianca Raimondi, an OPERA singer, had chosen a red GARIBALDI for her BRIDAL attire, instead of the traditional white dress. This tradition had EXISTEd in her family as some generations ago, a woman from her family had been a Red shirt in the First Italian Independance War. Her ADMIRER, Jose ALAMEDA, owned a chain of EMPORIA, selling COLLECTOR'S ITEMs from SPAIN. He was wearing  a SEEMLY red CRAVAT to match with his bride's dress. Being understandably NERVOUS before the big event, he had to bolster his confidence with some CHAMPAGNE before leaving home to the office of the REGISTRAR of marriages. The drive would have normally taken only 20 minutes, but today, of all days, there was a traffic SNARL EN ROUTE. There was no way his PERSONAL vehicle, a huge ESTATE car could find ROOM to wiggle out of the choc-a-bloc traffic. SIGNALMEN to whom he explained his plight were helpless as a huge truck had run AGROUND and it would be 2 hours before it was cleared. Growing TIRED of waiting, he decided to LEG it to the venue. He arrived panting and in an INFLAMEd state of mind but the moment he saw the angelic face of his bride, his nerves were soothed. Those who have never fallen in love, will never understand the chemistry of such a magical transformation. Its power is far greater than any magical AMULET!

No 12920, Monday 27 Apr 2020, Gridman

Day No 34 of 40 Stay safe at home

Solution to 27A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation.

ACROSS
1   A fine female in big town about to leave relationship (8) AFFINITY {A}{F}{F}{IN}{cITY}
5   Quickly leave urn? (3,3) RUN OFF {URN}* [RA]
10 Hard task to confine rum trouble in confused state (7) TURMOIL {T{RUM*}OIL}
11 Always in favour of woman, right? (7) FOREVER {FOR}{EVE}{R}
12 Entirely missing TN in circulation in a strange manner (6) EERILY EntIRELY*
13 Robin in attempt at UK town to find water container (8) BIRDBATH {BI{R}D}{BATH}
15 Protester in demo conceals rough exterior (4) RIND [T]
16 Train disaster evokes the German complaint (10) DERAILMENT {DER}{AILMENT}
18 Documentation gets personal assistant to protest loudly after each time (5,5) PAPER TRAIL {PA}{PER}{T}{RAIL}
20 Western section is heated (4) WARM {W}{ARM}
23 Further on behalf of hospital sections (8) FORWARDS {FOR}{WARDS}
24 Space allotted to doctor in vault (6) ENTOMB {EN}{TO}{MB}
26 One taken captive by the army rages endlessly (7) HOSTAGE {HOST}{rAGEs}
27 Old academics with no limits to audacity and to wit (7) E?E?I?I (Addendum - EMERITI {tEMERITy}{wIt} - See comments)
28 More inactive son leaves gardening equipment (6) TILLER sTILLER
29 Pit is said to house girl without reservation (5,3) WHOLE HOG (~hole){WHOLE}{HO}{G}

DOWN
1   How people should go to rescue when a bowler falls (2,3,4,2,1,3) AT THE DROP OF A HAT [C&DD]
2   A number told to manage herald (7) FORERUN (~four){FORE}{RUN}
3   Indian valley’s up to the French simpleton (6) NOODLE {DOON<=}{LE}
4   At Indian lake, king gets Tamil leader to chat (4) TALK {TAL}{K} Tamil leader is superfluous, looks like a mix-up here See comments
6   Solve and close up the holes? (8) UNRIDDLE [DD]
7  Prevent old boy endlessly avid to have tea spilt (7) OBVIATE {OB}{aVId}{TEA*}
8   Befitting hero artfully protects me temporarily (3,3,4,5) FOR THE TIME BEING {BEFITTING+HERO}* over {ME}
9   A fine fellow and kinky diva with sex appeal produce legal document (9) AFFIDAVIT {A}{F}{F}{DIVA*}{IT}
14 Laid up, eastern doctor gets ordered about (9) BEDRIDDEN {B{E}{DR}IDDEN}
17 Fracture? Rest for a long time! (8) BREAKAGE {BREAK}{AGE}
19 Chunks of text on old broken sunshade (7) PARASOL {PARAS}{OLd}
21 Get rid of sailor removing cover of man from Warsaw (7) ABOLISH {AB}{pOLISH}
22 To such a person French spa might be the answer (6) UNWELL {UN}{WELL} Semi&lit
25 The old expression of delight? For sure! (4) YEAH {YE}{AH}

Reference List
Fine = F, Female = F, About = C, Right = R, Robin = R, The in German = DER, Time = T, Western = W, Space = EN, Doctor = MB, DR, Son = S, House = HO, Girl = G, The in French = LE, Indian lake = TAL, King = K, Old Boy = OB, Fellow = F, Sex Appeal = IT, Eastern = E, Sailor = AB, The old = YE

Dr RKEs TalePiece

On a WARM July afternoon, I sat under a PARASOL, idly watching the RUN OFF from the BIRDBATH fountain in the garden in my uncle's palatial bungalow. It was a long wait. The aging uncle had been UNWELL for some time. I had come to spend time with him and then wothin 2 weeks, he had become BEDRIDDEN. Having no one except a domestic help in the huge house, he needed someone to TALK to. He, a TILLER's son, had climbed up in the society, taught in the university and was even now one of the professors EMERITI. Of course, he had become rich not because of his academic success but because he married a very wealthy woman and sadly she had died years ago, leaving no issues.

Earlier, that morning, as I was sitting by his bed and peeling the RIND of an orange for him, he had placed his frail hand on my shoulder with an avuncular AFFINITY. He was FOREVER talking EERILY of his imminent end but today he went to the extent of giving me instruction on where and how I had to ENTOMB him. I said "ABOLISH such morbid ideas, uncle. Don't get into a TURMOIL, Your doctor tells me that your disablement is only FOR THE TIME BEING". And he said "Oh, YEAH, right now I need an honest lawyer rather than that NOODLE of a doctor. I need to UNRIDDLE the PAPER TRAIL of all my investments to complete my will, so as to OBVIATE any confusion after I am gone. Go, get me one AT THE DROP OF A HAT." I managed to get an estate lawyer and the AFFIDAVIT was prepared in no time.

When the inevitable happened, I was not surprised that he had left the WHOLE HOG to me for my acts of kindness in his last days. I mentally thanked my uncle and also the person who had given me the idea and supplied the arsenic.

Special, Sunday 26 Apr 2020, Veeyares

Day 33 of 40 Stay safe at home

Welcome to our new setter Veeyares. Bouquets and Brickbats welcome.

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

ACROSS
1   Cavort about a street for a mile, say (8)
5   Fling girl around catholic (6)
10 Reportedly drilled a plank (5)
11 Detailed business running around institute a ritual (9)
12 Pulls female out for top tasty portions (9)
13 Perfect an arrangement (5)
14 Assign ballot of French earlier (6)
15 Let go each device to dispense liquid (7)
18 A class you heard about informal wear (7)
20 Ruler is back in rampart assembly (6)
22 Expels as fights start off without direction (5)
24 Waste in brittle container of junk (6, 3)
25 Recognition comes as new areas strike a change (9)
26 Got in to melt gold bar, say? (5)
27 Leave during extremes of emergency to show fairness (6)
28 Possibly seen prey at a mountain range (8)

DOWN
1   Dispute about bat falling into river (6)
2   Main cuisines with right ingredients for sailors (9)
3   Extra blanket? (10, 5)
4   Starting Current at the high on doing experiment with electrode (7)
6   Spoke honestly, 'Tell nation I hide corrupt' (4, 2, 2, 3, 4)
7   Engineer about to free wife (5)
8   Letter put down by nobleman (8)
9   Resolved and moved right out to get first shot (6)
16 Last post. Bump? (4, 5)
17 Kudos to current officer present with energy (8)
19 Quiet student observed around organ (6)
20 Safety is compromised with missing note, please (7)
21 Joins release, I go up and take a point (6)
23 Confusion when socially acceptable buffs go up (5)

Across Lite version can be accessed at VEEYARES 1

Enjoy.

The Sunday Crossword No 3097, Sunday 26 Apr 2020

Day 33 of 40 Stay safe at home

ACROSS
1   With respect to area around Norfolk, Everyman has to be obnoxious (9) OFFENSIVE {OF}{FENS}{I'VE}
10 Laugh abruptly with derisive interjections following excitement (3-4) HOO-HAHS {HOOt}{HAHS}
11 A Rover’s waxed, for starters, when money’s seen around here! (3,4) CAR WASH {A}{Ro...s}{Wa..d} in {CASH} Semi&lit
12 Where you find some heresy? No; dogma! (5) SYNOD [T]
13 Nine getting into pastry, sliced for a do (5,3) PIXIE CUT {P{IX}IE}{CUT}

15 Concert venue, a large place in which to fall asleep entirely (6,4) ALBERT HALL {A}{L}{BERTH}{ALL}

16 A young woman almost flipped somewhere in Latvia (4) RIGA {A}{GIRl}<=
18 They made ‘SOS’ a palindrome (4) ABBA [C&DD]

20 Gaffer isn’t swayed by facetious excuse for typo in text (3,7) FAT FINGERS*
22 Release redacted; it’s inevitable (4,4) DEAD CERT*
24 Hush-hush, not about to become public (5) OVERT cOVERT
26 Carelessly malinger without a reason for machine's downtime (7) GREMLIN MaLINGER*
27 Anglesey spending year struggling to become member of African Union (7) SENEGAL ANGLESEy*

28 Where Douglas is breaking flamingoes – not good (4,2,3) ISLE OF MAN FLAMINgOES*

DOWN
2   Serf working across terrain in mediaeval principality (8) FLANDERS {F{LAND}ERS*}
3   Losing head, stop being calm (4) EASE cEASE
4   ‘Clue is “Fish”.’ ‘Flounders.’ ‘That’s how it goes’ (4,2,4) SUCH IS LIFE*
5   Italian scorer, clever dick to some extent (5) VERDI [T]
6   Now – regrettably – Dad’s eating hay (4,3,3,3) THIS DAY AND AGE*
7   Biscuit mix (6) HOBNOB [DD] HOBNOB is a brand name for a biscuit
8   Exercise and hot drink proposed by Spooner (3,3) TAI CHI (~ chai tea)
9 Revising hastily at last? There’s nothing more to add (4,4,2,3) THAT SAYS IT ALL*
14 One who told tales when cradle rocked (1,1,8) D H LAWRENCE*
17 A minion’s faltering complaint (8) INSOMNIA*
19 Supports British experts (6) BRACES {BR}{ACES}
21 What’s displayed by keener gymnasts, in part? (6) ENERGY [T] Semi&lit
23 What cowboys may carry; what may carry cowboys (5) COLTS [DD]
25 Primarily, announcement showing incredulity flatly! (2,2) AS IF Acrostic &lit

Reference List
Large = L. About = C, Year = Y, Good = G, British = BR

No 12919, Saturday 25 Apr 2020, Gridman

Day 32 of 40 Stay safe at home

ACROSS
1   Play golf with a retired prime minister — it’s illuminating (7) FOGLAMP {GOLF*}{A}{PM<=}
5   Sidestepped car at end of road (6) DODGED {DODGE}{roaD}
9   Expel second? Not right! (5) EJECT {rEJECT}
10 Grown-ups upset about eastern Internet forum (9) NEWSGROUP {GROWNUPS*} about {E}
11 Actors adopt a name for a game (7) CANASTA {C{A}{N}AST}{A} I do not think 'for' is an appropriate connector between pieces of a charade. What do others think?
12 Stitch repeatedly as announced by what’s-his-name (2-3-2) SO-AND-SO {~SEW AND SEW}
13 Individual without a shade of superiority yet a dictator (5) PERON {PERsON}
14 One coming in again on medical department’s complaint (9) REENTRANT {RE}{ENT}{RANT}
16 Email circulated about Europe’s every other crab disease (9) LEUCAEMIA {EMAIL*} around {EU}{CrAb}
19 Keen about radical leader’s foreword (5) INTRO {INT{Radical}O|
21 One making an arrest is a small-time policeman with no chief present (7) STOPPER {S}{T}{cOPPER}
23 I am covering wise men’s movement in poetry (7) IMAGISM {I{MAGIS}M}
24 Soothing one ill-met unfortunately (9) EMOLLIENT {ONE+ILL+MET*}
25 Stop at giving directions to professor (3,2) END ON {E}{N}{D ON}
26 Great to move around youth and dance wildly (6) GYRATE {GREAT*} around {Y}
27 Small, extremely handy cape, in reserve (7) SHYNESS {S}{HandY}{NESS}

DOWN
1   Bilingual editor put a gloss (6-8) FRENCH-POLISHED {FRENCH}{POLISH}{ED}
2   One gathers force less bulky (7) GLEANER {G}{LEANER}
3   Skilled worker escapes from a strain (7) ARTISAN {A+STRAIN*}
4   Writer to identify Hindu god with star shape (9) PENTAGRAM {PEN}{TAG}{RAM}
5   Duke holds title to hills (5) DOWNS {D}{OWNS}
6   Vehicle to follow another vehicle on time (7) DOGCART {DOG}{CAR}{T}
7   Next Nordic lad stripped introductions (7) EXORDIA {nEXt}{nORDIc}{lAd}
8   Divisions force revamping of a prominent post (14) APPORTIONMENTS {A+PROMINENT+POST*}
15 Wastes time — a case is handled inappropriately (9) EMACIATES {TIME+A+CASE*}
17 You are to get old record on unknown medical study (7) UROLOGY {U}{R}{O}{LOG}{Y}
18 In the morning draw a sacred vessel (7) AMPULLA {AM}{PULL}{A}

19 Altering any line without reason (7) INANELY {ANY+LINE*}
20 Time for wee twist (7) TWIDDLE {T}{WIDDLE} Anno is correct? See comments
22 One of Chaucer’s pilgrims heartily agreed with woman (5) REEVE {agREed}{EVE}

Reference List

Right=R, Eastern=E, Name=N, Medical department=ENT, Europe=EU, Small=S, Youth=Y, Force=G, Duke=D, Time=T, Unknown=Y

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Opposite indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Prof. Andre PERON Leblanc, was the moderator for a seminar in the EXORDIUM of the European Congress of UROLOGY at Basle, Switzerland. He spoke in POLISHED English but one could detect a faint FRENCH accent. He called each of the panelists to stage, giving a brief INTRO, saying something like "Prof. SO-AND-SO, is a leading authority on the anatomy of the AMPULLA  of the vas deferens" etc. He gently reminded the speakers to stick to their APPORTIONMENTS of time, 10 minutes each. 

Juan CANASTA, from Rio de Janeiro was the show STOPPER of the day. He had only a tourist visa and not a proper conference visa, but he had DODGED the immigration officials and made it to the conference on time. Off stage, Juan appeared to be a man of SHYNESS, TWIDDLing the laser pointer nervously. The audience leaned back expecting him to speak INANELY. But, once he took to the podium, he became transformed, orating with such clarity and authority, holding the listeners spell-bound. Juan knew that a good lecture must END ON time and that a great lecture must finish just before time. His last slide was at 9m55s after start and he came DOWN from the stage to a thunderous applause. 

May be it was the strain of travel or the stress of having to perform well  or the excitement of the adulation, Juan had a sudden attack of palpitations for a few minutes. How was he, a urologist, to know then that he had just had a spell of REENTRANT tachycardia? When he learnt later of this diagnosis from a cardiology colleague, he was rather relieved because he had braced himself for a far worse diagnosis like LEUCAEMIA. After all doctors make the worst patients, as they say. The recurrent palpitations got controlled with medication and he is back as the administrator of the Urology International, a NEWSGROUP.

No 12918, Friday 24 Apr 2020, Karaoke

Day 31 of 40 Stay safe at home

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ACROSS
5   Promotes pads around Ohio (6) FLOATS {FL{O}ATS}
6   Old and new duck perhaps (6) DONALD*

9   An involuntary agitation, more unusual in Turkey (6) TREMOR {T{MORE*}R}
10 Invite trouble with no credit in risk factor perhaps (3,3,2) ASK FOR IT {RISK+FAcTOr}*
11 German woman is a charlatan mostly (4) FRAU FRAUd
12 Outline of house title redrawn (10) SILHOUETTE*
13 Sex prevented by setter’s big siren (5,6) FEMME FATALE {FEM{ME}{FAT}ALE}
18 He drives an old vehicle with joy controlling a disorder (10) CHARIOTEER {CH{A}{RIOT}EER}
21 Curls created by balanced dyes to some extent (4) EDDY [T]
22 Chopped tree in the trunk for vegetable (8) BEETROOT {B{TREE*}OOT}
23 Plant family growing endlessly in Siberia (6) IBERIS SIBERIa*

24 Impassive airmen returned yielding power to department (6) STOLID (-p+d)DOLITS<=
25 Cricket batting order (6) INSECT {IN}{SECT}

DOWN
1   Small accommodation by river-rat (8) DORMOUSE {DORM}{OUSE}

2   Human development centre? (6) UTERUS [CD]
3   What one does with the crossword here? (5,3) WORKS OUT [CD]
4   Terribly annoyed without nitrogen in the very beginning (3,3) DAY ONE ANnOYED*
5   Short comedy line — It’s a disappointing disparity! (3,3) FAR CRY {FARCe}{RY}
7   Delightful time spent around home town (6) DAINTY {DA{IN}{T}Y}
8   Flathead owl? Perhaps a fairground attraction (4,2,5) WALL OF DEATH*

14 Motion sickness controls Y-chromosome in adult during muscular contraction (8) MYOTONIA {M{Y}OTONI*}{A}
15 Retainers have right to acquire treasure trove at last (8) LIEGEMEN {LIE{GEM}{t..vE}N}
16 Animals moved quickly with no time in the vessel (6) SHREWS {S{tHREW}S}

17 Commercial break at sea (6) ADRIFT {AD}{RIFT}
19 Traitor gets decapitated lion’s share (6) RATION {RAT}{lION}
20 Serving clandestinely but not against rules (6) REIGNS SERvING*

Reference List
Credit = CR, Power = P, Department = D, Batting = IN, Nitrogen = N, Line = RY(Railway), Home = IN, Town = T, Adult = A, Vessel = SS, Commercial = AD, Against = V

Dr RKE's TalePiece

FRAU Emelia Müller, is a German agent sent by the Nazis to spy on EDDY DONALD, the American ambassador at Paris. She is a  FEMME FATALE, and she WORKS OUT every step of her plan to enamour him. She first comes as a DAINTily dressed press reporter to interview him, but her seductive BEETROOT red lipstick is irresistible for Eddy.  What a FAR CRY from his own wife, quite a SHREW, who after her UTERUS operation, has also begun to look juiceless. Eddy falls for Emelia right from DAY ONE, just as a DORMOUSE would for the cheese in the mousetrap.

Thought of the seductress REIGNS supreme in Eddy even while at work. He has a stirring of passion on merely seeing her SILHOUETTE outside the ground glass door of his office. Thus the STOLID diplomat turns a crazed lover. He even FLOATS stories of his going away on official duty, when in fact he is at a fair ground with her, watching a WALL OF DEATH show. The CHARIOTEER of the mobike spirals down the wall in a death-defying act. All on a sudden the thought occurs to him if his diplomatic career is also going down a spiral.  Unsettled by this thought, he develops a TREMOR in his hands. Does he have the good sense to cut ADRIFT from her? Or does he get ensnared like an INSECT in a spider's net?

MYOTONIA  cripples me from writing any further. Hopefully the ending will be revealed in another RATION of my tale, but only if you ASK FOR IT!

No 12917, Thursday 23 Apr 2020, Gussalufz

Day 30 of 40 Stay safe at home

ACROSS

1    Commercial retreat swept back dirt to end matter (8) ADDENDUM {AD}{DEN}{MUD<=}
5    In abundance in Senegal or Egypt? (6) GALORE [T]
9    Mildew nearly spoiled mother’s jam (7) DILEMMA {MILDEw}*{MA}
10 Fruits and leaves may be placed underneath this entree to promote selection (7) TREETOP [T]
11 Spirit of the ones cycling? (5) ETHOS {THE+OneS}* Anno not understood (Addendum - (=e)ETHOS(-e) - See comments)
12 Dispute totals involving online seconds (8) DEPUTIES {DISPUTE}* over {E}
13 Vicious, horrible flu is going around, partner! (6) SINFUL{FLU+IS}* over {N}
14 Creatures love going to a small stream to break wind (8) GORILLAS {G{0}{RILL}AS}
18 A key partner refusing to yield to pressure? Progress seems difficult in this situation (8) DEADLOCK  Anno pending (Addendum - {DEAD}{LOCK} - See comments)
20 Loot locomotive, dropping rupees in bag (6) OBTAIN {rOB}{TrAIN}
23 “Srinagar Ban”: Zoya’s filmed pulse! (8) GARBANZO [T]

25 “Revert properly but briefly, please!” (5) LAPSE PLEASe*
27 Shrink starts to appreciate the repercussions of psychosis haunting you (7) ATROPHY Acrostic
28 Chap with a shirt showing a creature (7) MANATEE {MAN}{A}{TEE}

29 Bad mood contributes to retreat by fine creature (6) KOMODO {OK<=}{MOOD*}

30 I’d somehow lessen unemployment (8) IDLENESS {ID}{LESSEN*}

DOWN
1    Turned to invest in dead organization (9) ADDRESSED {AD{DRESS}ED*}
2    Reverend’s request to honour a Star Wars star creature (7) DOLPHIN (~ dole finn) Can this be considered as a Spoonerism?
3    Dummy’s useless without my blank spades king unblocking, for starters (9) NUMBSKULL {NU{My}{Bl..k}{Sp...s}{King}{Un...g}LL}
4    Last piece of pashka confiscated by waving gun? Yes, in Russia — some country! (6) UGANDA {UG{p...kA}N*}{DA}

6    Chance, in the end, leads to rare triumph, after gangster gets warning (5) ALERT {c...cE}{Rare}{Tr...h} after {AL}
7    To a male cooking breakfast: ... (7) OATMEAL*
8    See, Carwardine, pancakes + syrup = yummy, ultimately! (4) ESPY Tail Acrostic
10 Choose to cycle while wearing a formal accessory? Go quietly! (6) TIPTOE {TI{(-o)PT(+o)O}E}
15 Mail can be sorted for uneven distribution (9) IMBALANCE*
16 Under anaesthesia — injured lens in eye over the weekend (9) SENSELESS {SE{LENS*}E}{SS} SS/Saturday Sunday?
17 Drop outlined using pen that is thin (6) SCANTY {S{CAN}TY}
19 She's fainted as well? Bet — is one of these wild Beatles fans! (7) A?A?R?M (Addendum - ANAGRAM - Defintion by example - See comments)
21 Turning feet up, man shows he has lost a toe, unfortunately (7) AMPUTEE [T<=]
22 Hopeless revolutionary protest after act (6) DOOMED {DO}{DEMO<=}
24 Woman, perhaps getting imp. limits included in dream platform (5) BIPED {B{ImP}ED}
26 Score that my bad cricket regularly produces? (4) MARK  {My+bAd+cRicKet}

Reference List
Online = E, Partner = N(North in Bridge), Rupee = R, Shirt = TEE, Yes in Russian = DA, Gangster = AL(Capone)

Dr RKE's TalePiece

MARK Shutterbug, had OBTAINed fame as a wildlife photographer, after his programmes on species DOOMED to become extinct, such as the Amazonian MANATEE, were aired on Animal Planet channel. Today, his mission is to film the mountain GORILLAS of UGANDA. The SENSELESS, SINFUL destruction of their habitat has reduced the number of these BIPEDs to a handful. He fortifies himself with a hearty breakfast of OATMEAL and GARBANZO falafel, before settling off on the field trip. His DEPUTIES have put up a TREETOP cabin but he has to remain ALERT, without any LAPSE in concentration, as the land dwelling gorilla can climb trees. The SCANTY number of the apes means that a long time is spent in IDLENESS of the wait. His patience is rewarded, when he ESPies an aging silverback, an alpha male. He climbs down the tree noiselessly and TIPTOEs his way to a vantage point from which he can get an amazing shot of the gorilla. Soon a younger male challenges the senior ape and there is a lot of chest thumping. He expects a battle GALORE, but only a DEADLOCK ensues as the younger male has not the grit to go the whole hog. Mark is able to capture the expression of dismay on the losing animal's face beautifully on camera - a shot that is sure to win A TROPHY.

ADDENDUM: Mark Shutterbug is an AMPUTEE, having lost a leg to gangrene after the lick of  the KOMODO dragon while filming on an Indonesian island. He continues undeterred by the IMBALANCE in his gait to raise awareness about wildlife conservation.

No 12916, Wednesday 22 Apr 2020, Avtaar

Day 29 of 40 Stay safe at home

Many annos missing today. Some obscure words did not help the cause.

ACROSS
1   Central Asian king, attacking zealously, accidentally killed his leaders (6) KAZAKH Acrostic
5   Plan to achieve set targets before the end of February (8) STRATEGY {TARGETS}*{f...rY}
9   Hue and cry in dance party by software company after final leg of samba is cancelled (8) BALLYHOO {BALL}{YaHOO}
10 Auditory obstruction from blocking a red and white abscess on the left (6) EARWAX {EX} over {A+R+W+Ab...s}
11 “Holmes vs Moriarty”, say, is distributed mostly with tablets on Firefox’s portals (6,2,4) BATTLE OF WITS {WITh+TABLETS+On+Fi...x}
13 Bottom turned over by fellow (4) FOOT {TOO}{F}<=
14 Lead indicator of a second referendum in UK, perhaps? (4,4) EXIT POLL Anno pending [DD] See comments
17 Tale about this Asian capital is interminable (8) RENMINBI INtERMINaBle* [CA]Had to Google this. Didn't know that YUAN was the basic unit of this!  Definition in the middle? See comments 
18 Even you speak almost completely in Urdu (2,2) ET TU (~ eh thu ?) (Addendum - UTTEr<= - See comments)
20 Thrashing black and blue after record goes missing? (8,4) DRESSING DOWN {DOWN} after DRESSING Anno pending (Addendum - {DepRESSING}{DOWN} - See comments)
23 Lean, urbane dude stripped when dancing for a song in the morning (6) AUBADE {lEAn}{urBAne}{dUDe} New word for me. Don't think I will remember it though
24 During fall, man on board is minting money (6,2) RAKING IN {RA{KING}IN}
25 Switching of sides by leader of anti-national movement leads to a number of issues (8) EDITIONS (-s)EDITION(+s)S
26 Contradict note about tips in yoga, for instance (6) NAYSAY {N}{YogA<=}{SAY}

DOWN
2   Congress follower is arrested by Delhi’s political heads promptly (1,1,1,1)  A S A P {c...eS} in {AAP}
3   Engineer built dam across island without any preparation (2,7) AD LIBITUM {BUILT+DAM}* over {I}
4   One part of an orchestra played this amazing hit originally (2-4) HI-HATS {THIS+Am...g+Hit}*

5   Must call about Ethiopia’s leader having issues and not playing ball (11,4) SHOULDERING ARMS {SHOULD}{Et...a}{RING} {ARMS} Arms/Issues? See comments
6   The art of prose revealed in Herriot novel about dogs (8) RHETORIC {HERRIOT}*{C}
7   Concede fight after the point is docked (5) THROW {ROW} after {THe}
8   Soldiers unwilling to accept worker — one overweight, extremely slow and not seen for ages (5,5) GIANT SLOTH {GI{ANT}S}{LOTH}
12 Centre of English Royals, originally (10) FOREGROUND {OF+E+R}* [RA]
15 Expectation from two articles put out by President Reagan and the First Lady in 1987 (9) PREGNANCY {P}{REaGan}{NANCY}
16 Hamlet, for one, is another complex, absorbing character before Juliet (8) ANTIHERO {ANOTHER}* over {I} I comes before J
19 Needle from Spooner’s fish basket (6) BODKIN ( ~ cod bin)
21 “Hasn’t” is wrongly used for “Won't” (5) SHAN'T*
22 A national park raised capital (4) RIGA {A}{GIR}<=

Reference List
From = EX, Red = R, White = W, Fellow = F, Note = N, Island = I, About = C, Soldiers = GI'S, English = E, Royals = R, President = P

(Except on Fridays, will not be giving the blank grid from tomorrow onwards)

Dr RKE's TalePiece

The evening EDITIONS of the RIGA Times carried the results of the EXIT POLL of the Latvian Presidential Elections. A.Kirilinko who had swayed the masses with his AD LIBITUM RHETORIC was predicted to get a landslide victory. There was a BALLYHOO on the streets with Kirilinko's supporters dancing, singing and drumming on HI HATS.

The campaign had been a BATTLE OF WITS between A.Kirilinko and K.Levito.  Levito was RAKING IN a lot of money in gun running for KAZHAK terrorist organisations.  Levito could not digest the idea of the principled Kirilinko taking over, as it would mean the death of his business. Levito had to act ASAP. He had a STRATEGY meet with his close associates. There was no NAYSAYer in the group when Levito proposed eliminating Kirilinko before the swearing in. They hired an assassin Lubjo Alessandro from their terror contacts. Alessandro was known for his skill of using a BODKIN which when thrust between the skull and the spine, precisely hit the respiratory centre in the medulla oblingata and caused instant death. 

I SHAN'T bore you with the details, but when Alessandro had been close enough to THROW his deadly weapon, the President Elect turned abruptly, alerted by Alessandro's unique perfume. He cried out ET TU Lubjo!  After all Kirilinko and Alessandro had been SHOULDERING ARMS together in Afghanisthan while serving in the erstwhile USSR army. Having spent time at bunkers and trenches with him,  Kirilinko could recognize Alessandro's perfume from a mile. The twist in the tale is that the brand name of the perfume was ASSASSIN!