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 Shut down parliament for the scamster (8) PROROGUE {PRO}{ROGUE}
5 Wear a support, dismantle both sides (6) ABRADE {A}{BRA}{Di...lE}
10 Moved faster before Germany was bombed (7) STRAFED {FASTER*}{D}
12 Fish smell, take the top off (5) TENCH sTENCH
14 A criminal cop, the sign for the drug dealers (12) APOTHECARIES {A+COP+THE}*{ARIES}
18 Panic about final score — with coach it’s for a long haul (7,5) FREIGHT TRAIN {FR{s..rE}IGHT}{TRAIN}
21 Test venue also twice shifted, involving millions (9) LOS ALAMOS {ALSO+ALSO}* over {M} Enumeration should be (3,6)
25 A question about short girl getting fat (7) ADIPOSE {A}{POSE} over {DI}
26 Old city in Egypt will be No.1 shortly (6) THEBES {THE BESt}
DOWN
1 Tongue remains inside saying there’s more on the other side (6) P?S?T? (Addendum - PASHTO {P{ASH}TO} - See comments)
2 Having a row, keeping one in a sort of seal (6) OARING {A} in {O RING}
3 Ready made, not on the leg (3,3,3) OFF THE PEG {OFF}{THE}{PEG}
4 Euphemism of sorts meant ‘entrusted’ (14) UNDERSTATEMENT*
6 Play ends, they come off (5) BAILS [GK]
7 A beautiful, nameless fragrance (8) AROMATIC {A}{ROMAnTIC}
8 Fits loosely — I sleep peacefully, totally drained (8) EPILEPSY {I+SLEEP+Pe...lY}*
9 Upper side’s pattern an incorrect version (14) ANTIDEPRESSANT*
15 Fighter in some trouble making payments (9) ALIMONIES {ALI}{IN+SOME}*
16 Rich, essentially safe and smooth (8) AFFLUENT {sAFe}{FLUENT}
17 Ruby and Meg rejected — put on weight (8) GEMSTONE {MEG<=}{STONE}
19 Without an abnormal notation, it’s 100% (2,4) IN TOTO {NOTaTIOn}*
20 Cancel permit to go through river (6) DELETE {DE{LET}E}
22 Stories about Indian river (5) LOIRE {LO{I}RE}
Reference List
Support = BRA, Germany = D, Million = M, Pressure = P, Time = T, Name = N, Fighter = ALI, Indian = I
No TalePiece
Dr RKE busy on emergency call
1D: PASHTO - tongue (or language)
ReplyDelete{p(ash)to}
remains - ash
saying there's more on the other side - PTO
Good solve. Nice clue. Once ash was in, the PTO bought a smile, remembering the topical exams!
Delete+1. PTO indeed brought a smile.
DeleteGood clue and an equally good solve.
7D. Is aromatic, Fragrant or fragrance
ReplyDeleteAromatic is both a noun and an adjective
DeleteThanks for the clarification
DeleteYou have a point.
DeleteWe miss the Tale piece. But when we think a patient gets the much needed attention and support this seems trivial.
ReplyDeleteMany good clues! With surfaces like 8Dn and no words out of place, very good feeling on solving..I remember teaching thebes along these lines to my son when he was doing social science as a kid. Nairobi, Los Alamos, Loire and off the peg remained unfilled and then the blog came to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteThe enumeration for 21A is (6,3) according to my submission copy.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised
DeleteMust have been (3,6)
DeleteYes, (3,6) not (6,3)
DeleteIt is 9 in the print version!
Delete25A- got confused whether short refers to question or girl.
ReplyDeleteThe clue reads short girl as DI.
DeleteI took "question" as pose.
With the cricket season on,test venue took my mind elsewhere- probably intended.
ReplyDelete26A . No 1 shortly= TheBes(-t)= Thebes = old Egypt city
ReplyDeleteKindly read my late last night story
ReplyDeleteThanq dear Mr. Devanathan (Arden) for enlightening me with a new word vis-a-vis 14-A (APOTHECARIES) since I only knew the conventional terms like RUNNERS and PEDDLERS.
ReplyDelete14A You forgot your High School Romeo & Juliet?
DeleteDefinition of apothecary
ReplyDelete1: one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes
2: PHARMACY
Top clues Arden! Maintaining the high standard!
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable puzzle today. Thank you, Arden.
ReplyDeleteTough but enjoyable clues to solve today by Arden. Expect nothing less in the following days.
ReplyDeleteLooked tough but here in the blog they all look easy. Excellent puzzle!
ReplyDeleteYou said it!
ReplyDeleteA Political Crisis
ReplyDeletePresident Warner was extremely tense. He felt on the verge of EPILEPTIC fits. A big scandal was about to break out & his aide, team mate & best friend Vice President Burton was about to be exposed & even an Impeachment could follow.
Burton, a colourful character & a co ESTONIAN was from an AFFLUENT family. To say he had an eye for women would be an UNDERSTATEMENT. Even after 4 divorces & paying ALIMONIES through his nose, he refused to learn his lesson. In fact at close to 50 years of age, Burton refused to take off the BAILS & claimed his innings was still on.
.
The latest scandal involved him & Salma. During their last trip to Iran & the middle east, Salma had been their PASHTO translator. Burton started buying her OFF THE PEG gifts including many AROMATIC scents & semi precious GEM STONES.
Warner now felt, he should not have turned a blind eye to what was going on right under his nose. Later Burton took an OARING trip down LOIRE & he was accompanied by Salma. In fact he seemed hell bent on taking the FREIGHT TRAIN, as far as ruining his public image was concerned.
Matters came to a head when Salma's secretary THEBES happened to eavesdrop on some of their intimate conversations conducted in Salma' s office. She repeated these IN TOTO to the media, causing their administration much embarrassment.
On top of that, THEBES insisted that Burton was addicted to a series of ANTI DEPRESSANTS. Burton held a press conference where he swore that there was not an OUNCE of truth in all this maligning gossip & the only medication he took was to control his ADIPOSE.
Who was to predict that Burton would contact Corona & the examining doctor would leak the news, that the traces of drugs found in his blood sample could confound the best of APOTHECARIES.
With the media waging a constant war, President Warner was forced to consult his legal experts - on how he could enforce a PROROGUE & do some imminent damage control.
However, even he could not have dreamt that his problem would get solved so easily. Burton, claiming he had found the love of his life in Salma, decided to marry her & move to Asia. He resigned from his post as Vice President thus DELETING the political chapter of his life in one stroke.
All is well that ends well. President Warner found an able aide in Sarita Chowhury, the first woman Vice President, that too with an Asian heritage. With this he ensured his permanent place in the annuls of American political history for promoting gender & racial equality, both in words & action.
ETONIAN *
DeleteArden - great puzzle. A bit tough & some outdated words. But got it all finally.
ReplyDeleteHats off to you Gowri. You are outdoing yourself as a tale spinner
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Gowri! Everyday, you are bettering yourself as a story teller. Let your loom weave many more!
ReplyDeleteThank u Doctor & AJ. U know i am just a novice & these words of encouragement mean a lot to me. 😊
ReplyDeleteExcellent story!
ReplyDelete