HAPPY VISHU TO ALL VISITORS OF THE BLOG
Solution to 30A 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 They throw up their arms when a certain line is crossed by hookers (7) UMPIRES [CD]
5 Makes good wine seem off (7) REDEEMS {RED}{SEEM*}
9 One hundred pots mixed grain — that’s what the retailer paid (4,5) COST PRICE {C}{POTS*}{RICE}
10 Animal loses tail with second-rate firecracker (5) SQUIB {SQUId}{B}
11 Weakened alien leaves without resolution (10) UNDERMINED UNDetERMINED
12 Swelling troubling your eyelid, basically (4) STYE Acrostic &lit
14 Soup rejuvenated her at two (3,5) HOT WATER*
16 Risk of heart malfunctioning after fifties, essentially (6) THREAT {fifTies}{HEART*}
19 Conclusion’s clear after both openers are gone: draw (6) ENDEAR {END}{clEAR}
20 True to form, Gussalufz and Gussalufz’s rear end photobomb selfie freely (4-4) LIFE-SIZE {I}{g...fZ} in {SELFIE}*
25 The orator’s undoing? (4,6) SORE THROAT* &lit
28 Mammal, a quiet one, chasing the lowest possible temperature (5) OKAPI {A}{P}{1}<=>{0K}
30 Instructor leaves chapter? Not appropriate! (7) T?A?H?R (Addendum - TEACHER {TEA}{CHaptER} - See comments)
31 Husband caught in a little deception offers stunt (7) WHEELIE {W{H}EE}{LIE}
DOWN
1 Not censored, full of love, hot, and vulgar (7) UNCOUTH {UNC{O}UT}{H}
2 Saw supporting letter marked April 1, 2022, perhaps! (9) POSTDATED {DATED}<=>{POST} Semi&lit
3 More mature traveller grabs parking for day (5) RIPER RI(-d+p)PER
4 Lively sex embraced by excited spider (8) SPIRITED {SPIR{IT}ED*}
5 After eating the last piece of cheese, Derek unfortunately gave off a bad odour (6) REEKED {RE{c...sE}KED*}
6 Shot driven over short extra covers (4) DOSE Acrostic
7 Roll up unadulterated joint and ignite (5) ERUPT {PURE<=}{T}
8 About to get into swinging? Just be open! (7) SUBJECT {C} in {JUST+BE}*
13 “Rajbhog,” he explained, “is full of fat.” (4) GHEE [T]
15 Out all the time without finishing, left out (4) AWAY AlWAYs
17 Real idiot, broadcasting an opinion (9) EDITORIAL*
18 Profile of mysterious, wise, protecting goddess (4-4) SIDE-VIEW {SI{DEVI}EW*}
19 Act artificially polite when cross within (7) EXPLOIT {E{X}PLOIT*}
21 Great in sex, tremendous! (7) EXTREME [T]
22 Fraud can force revolution, every now and then. Agree? (6) CONCUR {fRaUd+CaN+fOrCe}<=
24 Leading director and exceptional animator, not into acting (5) {Di...r}{AniMAtoR}*
26 Wife to husband: pack skirt (5) HEDGE (-w+h)HEDGE
27 Complain, asking why regularly (4) SIGH {aSkInG+wHy}
Reference List
Hundred = C, Quiet = P, Husband = H, Hot = H, Parking = P, Day = D, Sex = IT, Joint = T, About = C, Left = L, Wife = W
Ortho Paul
ReplyDelete30ac. TEACHER..-P+E in (chapter)*
30 A TEA (leaves) + CH(APT)ER - appropriate(APT) leaving chapter - TEACHER
ReplyDeleteOrtho Paul
Delete👍
Unusually good score for me in a Gussalufz puzzle. Filled in fully though a couple of mistakes. enjoyed it thoroughly. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYes,Vu is right. I was struggling to get the anno.
ReplyDeleteHappy Vishu to Col. and others.
ReplyDeleteHappy Tamil New Year to all in TN.
Belated Ugadi Wishes to others.
There is a thematic Nina lurking in the grid
ReplyDelete+1 As always, Gussalufz leaves some artistic trails.
DeleteHappy Vishu, Tamil New Year, Ugadi, Bengali New Year, Gudi Padwa to all.
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+2
Delete1A is that occasional brilliant clue. Doesn't matter that I couldn't get the answer
ReplyDeleteIndeed, you said it and fortunately, I could solve this one...
DeleteHeartiest Greetings to all the esteemed members of this group with Wishes for your Health and Happiness... Cheers!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog, Colonel! Here are my notes for this crossword, confirming the ninas that some have spotted.
ReplyDeleteThere are two ninas in the grid. MIYAZAKI can be seen running down the 14th column, and MONONOKE can be seen running down the 2nd column. Hayao Miyazaki is a legendary creator of beautiful animated movies including Princess Mononoke.
In addition, the following elements of the puzzle are thematic too:
- 4d and 15d. The solutions taken together (SPIRITED AWAY) form the name of another famous Miyazaki movie.
2- 4d. "Leading director and exceptional animator" in the surface describes Miyazaki. I generally try to avoid "leading x*" as an indicator for picking the first letter, but made an exception for this thematic surface.
This puzzle is a pangram.
Great crossword! Really enjoyed it,with multiple clues giving me that Aha! moment.
DeleteVishu greetings to all friends!
ReplyDelete24D still can't follow pl?
"Leading director" = D (though purists may frown on this construction, but I went with it for the thematic surface).
ReplyDeleteand = +
"exceptional animator" = ANIMATOR* = RAMAinto
"not into" = -into
Def: drama
I meant, "def: acting," of course :-)
Deletethanks,Ratnakar for the Anno. I missed out the indicator "into"
DeleteEntertaining puzzle Gussalufz! Loved ENDEAR, SORE THROAT (COD), CHILDLIKE, TEACHER, REEKED to name a few. Spotted the pangram but did not get the nina and themed words.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ramki!
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading comments I was able to spot Miyazaki and then looking for another vertical and found Mononoke. I did not know this and wanted to look up. Thanks for all the details.
One's thoughts inevitably goes to Walt Disney the moment animation is mentioned! I wasted some time over it.
Happy Vishu !
ReplyDelete