No 13410, Wednesday 24 Nov 2021, Hypatia

Solution to 1D 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   Spreads anguish on air (6) THROWS (~throes)

4   Spoil sweetheart with butter and spice (8) MARJORAM {MAR}{JO}{RAM}

9   Seduce every soldier clinging to uniform (6) ALLURE {ALL}{U}{RE}

10 Types pressing 4th letter from either end for frequently searched terms (8) KEYWORDS Anno pending (Addendum -{KEY{W or D}S} - See comments)

12 Rushed around picking up a veil and greeting (8) NAMASKAR {N{A}{MASK}AR<=}

13 Hoist on second wheel (6) SHEAVE {HEAVE}<=>{S}

15 Arena in the area set to accommodate state strike (12) AMPHITHEATRE {THE+AREA}* over {MP}{HIT}

18 A deeply ingrained habit? (6,6) SECOND NATURE [CD] (Addendum - nAture - See comments)

21 Shoot in British farm (6) BRANCH {B}{RANCH}

22 Gelato and frozen cakes from place to place (2,3,3) TO AND FRO [T]

24 After opening of semester, all busy circulating curriculum (8) SYLLABUS {Se...r}{ALL+BUSY}*

25 Fleeces husband wearing brands (6) SHEARS {S{H}EARS}

26 According to Spooner, process blames navigation aids (4,4) ROAD MAPS (~mode raps)

27 Adolescent sampling old city dish (6) TUREEN {T{UR}EEN}

DOWN

1   One who has a good track record? (8) T?A?N?A? 

2   Breads stuffed with clean pickled fish (8) ROLLMOPS {ROLL{MOP}S}

3   How mail hacker functions without a glitch? (5,4,1,5) WORKS LIKE A CHARM {MAIL+HACKER}* [RA]

5   Say nothing’s absent in surplus (4) AVER (-o+a)AVER

6   Ha! Hear all run to work after agreement in Germany with former PM (10,5) JAWAHARLAL NEHRU {JA}{W}{HA+HEAR+ALL+RUN}*

7   Doctor erred taking a scan again (6) REREAD {RERE{A}D*}

8   Satisfied about King supporting America’s weapon (6) MUSKET {M{US}{K}ET}

11 Remains in Formula one with working model (7) FASHION {F{ASH}1}{ON}

14 Small group cycling with animal in play area (7) SANDBOX {S}{(-b)AND(+b)B}{OX}

16 Argues irrationally about fine fellow’s franchise (8) SUFFRAGE {SU{F}{F}RAGE*}

17 Focuses on batting after ducks (6,2) ZEROES IN {IN}<=>{ZEROES}

19 A rebus puzzle for addict (6) ABUSER*

20 Hiking trail hadn’t covered flower (6) DAHLIA [T<=]

23 Drop ecstasy in supply for crack (4) QUIP eQUIP

Reference List

Sweetheart = JO, Soldier = RE(Royal Engineers), Uniform = U, Second = S, British = B, Husband = H, Absent = A, Agreement in German = JA, With = W, King = K, Formula One = F1, Fine = F, Fellow = F, Batting = IN, Ecstasy = E

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

“NAMASKAR, welcome aboard the Palace on Wheels” said the coach attendant. He had a colourful turban in the FASHION typical of Rajasthan and a cultivated British accent. For DAHLIA Robinson, visiting India for the first time, the greatest ALLURE was the visit to Bharatpur, where her great grandfather had been the British Regent. She had been fascinated by the portrait that hangs in the British Museum, showing him in full regalia, complete with the MUSKET in his arms. She had read and RE-READ JAWAHARLAL NEHRU’s Discovery of India (which was on the SYLLABUS for her course on Indian History at St. Anne’s College, Oxford), which made her take this solo trip to discover the India of her dreams.    

She had ZEROED IN on the Palace on Wheels as the way to see Rajasthan in style although her friends had QUIPped that she could do the trip by air and road at half the cost.  She hated having to read ROAD MAPS and so this conducted tour by train suited her best.  Only one friend, who had taken the train tour earlier, AVERred that this trip is going to WORK LIKE A CHARM.  As the train chugged out of the Delhi station, she settled down comfortably in her suite. The butler had left a TUREEN on the side table, with warm soup flavoured mildly with MARJORAM. The [THIS WORD WILL BE ADDED LATER] walked TO AND FRO, supervising his coach attendants, making sure that his guests were looked after royally. There was a rope that hung by the bedside, passing over a SHEAVE, used for ringing the bell to summon the attendant and a fake ‘pankha’ adorning the well air-conditioned coach.

She opened her laptop, typed in the search KEYWORDS and she was feasting her eyes on the images of the Bharatpur fort. With the gentle roll of the train, she was soon asleep dreaming of that huge AMPHITHEATRE in the Bharatpur fort, where her great grandfather, had stood with the tiger he had shot on a shikar and the BRANCHed antlers of the deer he had shot. It had become her SECOND NATURE to eulogize the colonial past of India. She could not bring herself see the point of later day Indian historians, who portrayed the British as ABUSERs of the natural wealth of India.

After all, history is a SANDBOX, to be shaped by your imagination. Dahlia can have her version and you, yours and me, mine.