No 13306, Thursday 22 Jul 2021, Spinner

Solution to 1A 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   Filling in when head’s away — something one might do at a summer internship? (6) A?D?N? (Addendum - ADDING pADDING - See comments)

4   Caught after chief of police recalled good man’s theories (8) CONCEPTS {C}{ONCE}{Po...e}{ST<=}

10 Newspaper exclusive, one that causes a drop in concentration levels! (7) THINNER {TH}{INNER}

11 Criminal deed, hiding origin of transmission — it’s to be avoided in a pandemic! (7) CONTACT {CON}{Tr...n}{ACT}

12 IT update breaks facility (8) APTITUDE*

13 Shooter is trapped by well-designed plot (6) PISTOL {P{IS}TOL*}

15 Girl’s date hijacked by amateur (4) LADY {LA{D}Y}

16 Ruined by coronavirus, finally healed on getting protective equipment (9) SCUPPERED {c...uS}{CU{PPE}RED}

19 Italy rose spectacularly for rightfully due winnings! (9)  ROYALTIES*

21 Artificial intelligence takes over small bit of antiquated continent (4) ASIA {A{S}I}{An...d}

25 Holy pouch with vermilion (6) SACRED {SAC}{RED}

26 Fond of condemned king thrown out by husband (8) ATTACHED ATTAC(-k+h)HED

28 Spinner’s following former flame with answer for question (7) EXAMINE {MINE}<=>{EX}{A}

29 Train carries haul when returning daily (7) REGULAR {RE{LUG<=}AR}

30 Pressure’s disorienting when wading through water (8) PADDLING {P}{ADDLING}

31 Observed selection of co-star edgily (6) STARED [T]

DOWN

1   If truth be told, account total hides a bit of unscrupulousness (8) ACTUALLY {AC}{T{Un...s}ALLY}

2   Medical professional provided some treatment before editor feel asleep (7) DRIFTED {DR}{IF}{Tr...t}{ED} Feel or Fell?

3   Perhaps, point when batters get nervous batting in net, yes? (6) NINETY {IN+NET}*{Y} (Correction - {N{IN}ET}{Y} - See comments,)

5   Cry of pain when finger’s cut at the top (4) OUCH tOUCH

6   Scrutinise son running amok, consumed by alcohol (8) CONSIDER {C{SON*}IDER}

7   Talk softly before clang (7) PRATTLE {P}{RATTLE}

8   Solve intrinsically felt testing, in retrospect (6) SETTLE [T<=]

9   Remove aerated liquid, grabbing nearly frozen water! (9) ERADICATE {ERAD{ICe}ATE*}

14 Those who triumph unexpectedly over makers of crossword! (9) UPSETTERS {UP}{SETTERS}

17 Friend returning home is important (8) MATERIAL {MATE}{LAIR<=}

18 Travelled here and there? Dread new variant! (8) WANDERED*

20 Apple’s origin story starts here: Design hardcore, with no compromise ultimately! (7) ORCHARD HARDCORe*

22 Southern dynasty’s ruler firstly an intellectual (7) SCHOLAR {S}{CHOLA}{Ru..r}

23 Unexpectedly elapse, becoming dead to the world (6) ASLEEP*

24 Great playing by team’s leader for goal! (6) TARGET {GREAT*}{Team}

27 Eager for knowledge, absorbs everything at first (4) KEEN {KE{Ev...g}N}

Reference List

Caught = C, Good man = ST, Newspaper = TH(The Hindu), Date = D, Protectice equipment = PPE, Small = S, King = K, Husband = H, Former flame = EX, Answer = A, Pressure = P, Account = AC, Editor = ED, Yes = Y, Softly = P, Southern = S