Solution to 26A 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
8 Freelancer’s flair (4) ELAN [T]
9 Excited emir chased legendary streaker (10) ARCHIMEDES*
10 Meteor Resort is far away (6) REMOTE*
11 Hid heads of some extinct dinosaurs around island (8) SECRETED {Some}{Ex...t}{CRETE}{Di...s}
12 Agitate returning spur and some pieces of riding equipment (8) STIRRUPS {STIR}{SPUR<=}
14 Eccentric landowner evicting lad gets fame (6) RENOWN {laNdOWNER}*
16 Poet’s banned on radio (4) BARD (~barred)
17 Whiskey and drinks in Cymru (5) WALES {W}{ALES}
18 Heal stray dog by middle of September (4) CURE {CUR}{s..tEm..r}
23 Tavern hostesses served idli-sambar after removing bits of imported leaves (8) BARMAIDS {iDlI+SAMBAR}*
26 Sum of first four squares and product of first three primes (6) T?I?T? (Addendum - THIRTY {12+22+32+42 =2x3x5=30} Definition by examples - See comments)
27 Mesmerises worried parent with devious ruse (10) ENRAPTURES {PARENT*}{RUSE*}
28 At times, without using ATM, one gets neckwear (4) TIES {aT+tImES
DOWN
1 Send the lad wrongly to get the first person to receive cards (6,4) ELDEST HAND*
2 Adrift, nude moor released painter (8) UNMOORED*
3 Entrance with gold and baked sweet (6) GATEAU {GATE}{AU}
5 Drops princess’s vehicle in front of driving school at first (8) DISCARDS {DI'S}{CAR}{Dr...g}{Sc...l}
6 Lower reputation of university official hugging setter (6) DEMEAN {DE{ME}AN}
7 Nothing more than a water body (4) MERE [DD]
13 In exchange for cash, disposes some electrical devices, I hear (5) SELLS (~cells)
15 Fight, followed by diatribe, with leaders of injured enemy soldiers, for getting assurances (10) WARRANTIES {WAR}{RANT}{In...d}{En..y}{So...s}
17 Entered with bad intent before end of rodeo (4,4) WENT INTO {W}{INTENT*}{r..eO}
18 Tea followed by street fights for vehicles (8) CHARIOTS {CHA}{RIOTS}
24 Perhaps spots bent cane (4) ACNE*
Reference List
Whiskey = W, Dead = D, Princess = DI, With = W, Military Police = MP, Motor car model = T
26a. THIRTY=1+4+9+16=2*3*5
ReplyDeleteGood one- both the clue and the solution.
ReplyDeleteBut I had a doubt- I took 1 as the first Prime Number- as it used to be and I got stuck though Thirty had to be the solution. When I checked up,it says modern concept is not to take 1 as a prime. News to me.
Paddy, 1 is not a prime number, modern or ancient
ReplyDeleteMost early Greeks did not even consider 1 to be a number,[36][37] so they could not consider its primality. A few scholars in the Greek and later Roman tradition, including Nicomachus, Iamblichus, Boethius, and Cassiodorus also considered the prime numbers to be a subdivision of the odd numbers, so they did not consider 2 to be prime either. However, Euclid and a majority of the other Greek mathematicians considered 2 as prime. The medieval Islamic mathematicians largely followed the Greeks in viewing 1 as not being a number.[36] By the Middle Ages and Renaissance, mathematicians began treating 1 as a number, and some of them included it as the first prime number.[38] In the mid-18th century Christian Goldbach listed 1 as prime in his correspondence with Leonhard Euler; however, Euler himself did not consider 1 to be prime.[39] In the 19th century many mathematicians still considered 1 to be prime,[40] and lists of primes that included 1 continued to be published as recently as 1956.[41][42]
ReplyDeleteThe def. I remembered was any number ('greater than one'was added later?) that is divisible by itself & 1 is a Primary number.
ReplyDeletePaddy, that def is a layman's def.
DeleteEven during Euclid the def was "any number that is not a product of two smaller numbers). Obv 1 doesn't have a smaller number.
The problem basically arose because of the decimal system equating number 1 with unit 1.
DeleteHistory of Mathematics cannot help us, since the term Mathematician does not always mean a number theorist. The definition of a prime number arrived at after a number of trips and falls is
ReplyDelete“ A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 which is not divisible by any number other than 1 and itself”
Typo in 5d anno.
ReplyDeleteThanks corrected
DeleteVery easy solve even for amatures like me.Got all except 4d
ReplyDeleteIncognito - Thanks for a nice , enjoyable and easy grid . I broke my dry run 😊
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoy your crosswords Incognito! Thanks for a breezy morning!
ReplyDeleteLiked the proper noun clues - 9A and 19A
ReplyDeleteThank you Incognito for an enjoyable breakfast of idli-sambar served by barmaids!
ReplyDeleteNice clues all round!
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone for solving and liking. On the idli-sambhar note, please look out for other cuisines from around the world which will be served up in the forthcoming months (interupted only by a moon-walking individual). Keep your digestive pills ready if you have dyspepsia... ;-)
ReplyDeletei took insulin on the word SECRETED!
DeleteBeing indisposed due to a sort of heat stroke and dehydration, I was confined to my bed for five days at a stretch. Nonetheless, I kept myself busy on the cot reading The Hindu & The Tribune including attempts to solve the crossword grids and scribbling seed thoughts for intended pieces.
ReplyDeleteWell, Mr. Kishore Rao's mention Idli reminded me of the witty definition of an additive to the south Indian snacks. And thus (please corect me if I have erred) that adage read:
MOLGA PUDI ON THE BANKS OF RIVER NELLANE IS THE CAPITAL OF IDALY.
Throughly Enjoyed. Esp. liked IDLI & SAMBAR given by you as a break fast. finished my puzzles at 7 PM. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteNice grid. Loved ARCHIMEDES.
ReplyDelete2dn - what is released painter?
I thought adrift is UNMOORED & released is anagrind.
Kindly explain.
Painter is well known for old timers here.
DeleteLook up dictionaary and you will find it has some favorite meanings for crossword setters.
One of them is "a rope attached to the bow of a boat for tying it to a quay."
Thank u. I did google it. But did not get this meaning.
DeleteThanx.
On Google we need to hit translations and more definitions
Delete