No 13437 Saturday 25 Dec 2021, WrdPlougher

 Merry Christmas

Artwork by Prasanna

Rangoli by Gowri

ACROSS

8 You’ll broadcast Pagan holiday(4) YULE {~ YOU'LL}

9 Having many variables, terribly low probability — extremely — not with nameless token(10) POLYNOMIAL {LOw+ProbabilitY*}{NOMInAL}

10 First, batter softly scooped out for every pie without stuffing, put inside empty oven in advance(6) OPENER {Ove{PiE}N}{pER}

11 Santa’s vehicle returning, going around open houses — gifts clean tops?(8) DELOUSES {SLED<=} around {hOUSEs}

12 One in every other dog in Paris is provided a drink after a meal(8) DIGESTIF {Do{I}G}{EST}{IF}

14 Santa is tired of tourin’, exhausted(2,4) ST NICK {S{TouriN}ICK} Tourin on double duty?

16 Egg recipes — whip gateau batter leftovers(4) SPUR (Acrostic)

17 Slogs desperately to reach finish(5) GLOSS {SLOGS*}

18 Opportunity to dispose of right bill(4) BEAK {BrEAK}

19 Child-bearing not entirely simple in winter, say(6) SEASON {S{EASy}ON}

21 Friendly reminder: protect reason(8) KEEPSAKE {KEEP}{SAKE}

23 Say good things insincerely, inserting two brief lines following the introduction of restaurant’s appetisers(3,5) EGG ROLLS {EG}{G}{Restaurant}{O{L}{L}S} Not sure how to get OS

26 Fruitless gardens overrunning an Italian Villa, finally sowed fertilizers(6) GUANOS {G{U{A}NO}ardenS}

27 Excited fan over the moon after iconic band partially adopts groupie(10) AFICIONADO Anno not clear 

28 The cardiac arrests of a heart(4) CARD (T)

DOWN

1 Seek gossip from family circle and dish during thanksgiving(7,3) PUMPKIN PIE {PUMP}{KIN}{PIE}

2 Driver gutted (drinking beer brazenly) after ejecting, eventually losing control of goods carrier!(8) REINDEER {REIN}{Drive{bEEr}R} Anno correct?

3 Secretly transport // alcohol(6) SPIRIT (DD)

4 Snowmobile driven with speed up front(4) SLED {S}{LED}

5 Absurdly silly to dismiss puppy love as “crushes”, irrelevant in retrospect before breakdown(8) ANALYSIS {NA<=}{A{SIlLY*}S}

6 Damn gun-running rascal at the top(6) IMPUGN {IMP}{GUN*}

7 Ventriloquist’s beginning first act with ultimate (else penultimate) figurine object that spins with wind-up?(4) VANE {Ventriloquist}{Act}{figuriNE}

13 Church-goers // gather around?(5) FLOCK (DD)

15 Sounding sweet, dull class teacher’s slated area for writing notes(10) CHALKBOARD {~ CHOC BORED}

17 The nerve, ending Dev Patel movie after article skewers filmmaking and casting conclusively(8) GANGLION{filmnakinG}{AN}{castinG}{LION}

18 Former German diplomat’s small business brand of note(8) BISMARCK {BIS}{~MARK}

20 Trim // a tree(6) SPRUCE (DD)

22 Briefly sounding hoarse inside? Gone to raise drink!(6) EGGNOG {GONE<=} around {GG} Hoarse={~Horse}={GG}

24 Idiot has fun at first, displaying talent(4) GIFT {GI{Fun}T}

25 TARS excited about Interstellar actor?(4) STAR {TARS*}

Reference List

With=W, Name=N, Softly=P, For every=Per, One=I, In Paris is=Est, Provided=If, Right=R, Say=Eg, Good=G, An Italian=Uno

Speed=S, Article=An

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Reference list 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 

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

Mary Fernandes is a math teacher in St.Jude’s Girls High School, Mangalore. She has just finished writing a graph on the CHALKBOARD, about the ANALYSIS of POLYNOMIAL functions for her class of 12th standard girls. As she puts down the chalk piece, the pain in her wrist becomes intense. Years of writing has caused a painful GANGLION to appear there. She is wondering if she could get it operated upon when the school is closed for the YULE SEASON. No, that wouldn’t be easy with her 7 year old boy, Georgie, eagerly awaiting for GIFTS from ST.NICK. She has to SPRUCE up the house, hang the STAR outside the house, make the EGG ROLLS, EGGNOG (of course, without the SPIRITs) and bake the plum cake. He had asked for PUMPKIN PIE for Thanksgiving, but she was busy at school and had not made it then. “I must make up for it at least now”, she thinks, “how I wish my Martin was around to take care of Georgie”. Even Mary’s father IMPUGNs her capacity as a good mother, because she is always busy with her work at school and the private tuitions she gives. She remembers what the priest had said to his FLOCK at Sunday Mass “And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart” (Luke2:51).  I can only do that….

Her husband Martin is at an off-shore oil rig in UAE and he can make it to India only in May next year. She goes home, envying her colleagues who have their husbands with them. As she enters her house, Georgie comes running to her excitedly and says “Mommy, see what Santa brought for me. I swear he came on a SLED drawn by REINDEERs”.  “Oh, my poor Georgie, he must be imagining things”

But there is an unopened gift box wrapped in GLOSSY paper on the table. The card on it simply says “With Love from St.Nick. To be opened only past midnight on Christmas Eve”. “This must be from my Dad. It can’t be from Martin- he has never acted on the SPUR of the moment like this in the last 8 years” Mary thinks.

Afte putting Georgie to bed that night, Mary unwraps the box carefully, so she could repack it and leave it for Georgie to be surprised the next morning. It is her turn to be surprised as she uses an OPENER to open a box of what looks like cookies. She finds a KEEPSAKE item, a gold bracelet with BIS MARK in it, neatly packed in a jewel box! “How on earth did Dad find money for this?”

She is startled by a voice from behind her “Like it, honey?” Let us leave Martin and Mary as they hug wildly, enjoying being together after so long.  After all doesn’t the Bible say ‘Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away’ (Song of Solomon 8:7) MERRY CHRISTMAS