Solution to 19D 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
9 A nun makes appeal before final authority for social assistance (7) ANNUITY {A}{NUN*}{IT}{a...tY}
10 One sound and solvent (7) ACETONE {ACE}{TONE}
11 Cycling instrument for bones (5) TARSI (-si)TAR(+si)SI
12 Can't men get arrested by alien law? (9) ENACTMENT {CANT+MEN}* in {ET} What's the Anind?
13 Blue-eyed boy ordered to respect the academy (8,3) TEACHERS PET {RESPECT+THE+A}*
16 It has an element of warmth in arranging matrimonies here (9,6) IMMERSION HEATER*
24 Dwarf sending provocative message on web (5) TROLL [DD]
25 It's worth $5 to get bag in the European Republic (7) FINLAND {FIN}{LAND} Clue leads to TINLAND but Definition is for FINLAND? See comments
DOWN
1 Do I boycott agreement? (5) PARTY PARiTY
2 Inhale audibly through nose having initial respiratory problem (5) SNORE {NOSE+Re...y}*
3 Wine in short is rejected as ominous (8) SINISTER {RETSINa}{IS}<=
4 Extremely horny picture gets too much publicity (4) HYPE {HornY+Pi...rE}
5 He may be another Ram in the long run (10) MARATHONER* Semi&lit
6 Goodman involved in mockery? He is a court-fool (6) JESTER {JE{ST}ER}
7 Doctor in practice initially breaking pledge (9) HOMEOPATH {HOME}{{O{Pr...e}ATH}
8 He has got the will to gyrate mostly with band on retirement (8) TESTATOR {ROTATe}{SET}<=
14 Female Lieutenant leaves in distress over fuss with lover (10) AFICIONADO {AFflICtION}{ADO}
15 Character heads off to campers' land (9) AMPERSAND {cAMPERS}{lAND}
16 I refuse to entertain petty quarrel with associate (8) IDENTIFY {I}{DEN{TIFf}Y}
17 African English, extremely gristly and inapt perhaps (8) EGYPTIAN {E}{Gr..lY}{INAPT*}
19 Dental problem of dirty dogs is rising (6) T?R?A? (Addendum - TARTAR {{RAT<=}{RAT<=} - See comments)
20 When you bunk school, what game you play? (5) HOOKY [C&DD]
21 Bin Laden leaves hotel with weapon (5) BLADE {Bin+LADEn}
23 Goddess moves bottom to top for birds that cannot fly (4) EMUS (+e)EMUS(-e)
Reference List
Appeal = IT, Alien = ET, Academy = A, Note = TE, In = HOME, Female = F, Lieutenant = LT, English = E
25a it's typo in online. Ans is finland. $5 is fin.
ReplyDelete16d identify. Quarrel:tiff petty to indicate short!
DeleteKKR has emailed the typo. He has asked interactive to be corrected.
Delete16DN has an incorrect solution in the online version which has affected 25 AC. Wrote to TH to correct it.
ReplyDeleteThe IA version is corrected at 8.40
Delete12a I took get:prepare! (as in prepare a meal)
ReplyDelete9a and 18a
ReplyDeleteImho the verb needs to be past tense coming after fodder!
Surface doesn't suffer with made and lacked!
Acetone was good. I did not get it breaking my head over finanncial sovency.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Aficionado.
5D- I thought 'In the long run' is the def. for marathoner.
ReplyDeleteI used Ram [for the marathoner Ram Singh Yadav], who represented India in Olympic games.
Delete9A. I had to struggle for the anno, as i was choked by the Financial Management definition only-)
ReplyDelete19d, dental problem = TARTAR
ReplyDeletedirty dog(s) rising = RAT< RAT<
I finished fast. But did not know - $5 is fin.
ReplyDeleteThanx KKR.
Acetone, Teachers pet - my cod.
Good one from KKR Ji. Enjoyed solving.
ReplyDeleteJames knew this was his last run. A MARATHONER for the last 20 years, he knew it was time to hang his boots. An also-ran in most of his races & a regular TROLL, he was an athletics AFICIONADO, who enjoyed the running more than the winning.
ReplyDeleteAn EGYPTIAN by birth, his parents had migrated to FINLAND, when he was 5. This country, with not too many runners, had given him the opportunity to be part of 3 Olympic squads.
James knew there would be no PARTY or ANNUITY nor any HYPE following his retirement announcement. He was not a star athlete. Infact his aching TARSI, TARTAR filled teeth & loud SNORE made him an alien in his own team.
Perhaps a long lost fan or two, is all he hoped for.
So imagine his surprise, when a large bouquet arrived in his room wishing him luck for his last race. From an Ingrid Ullman. He found out she was a shooter from US. Switching off his IMMERSION HEATER, he had a quick bath, got dressed & visited the TEST RANGE.
Oh! How could he not IDENTIFY her? The same blonde hair, blue eyes & rosy lips. Stunning smile! His childhood friend! She had always been the TEACHERS PET! He was the JESTER, constantly playing HOOKY. He remembered the ENACTMENT of special rules in their school, after he was caught dipping steel BLADEs in ACETONE - his idea of studying ELECTRIC RAYs! Not to mention bringing EMUS eggs for dissection in the Zoology lab!
She alone had stood by him giving him UNASKED for support & encouragement to be himself. He still remembered her last day in school before her parents migrated to USA.
Ingrid was a widow, a practising HOMEOPATH, whose late husband & TESTATOR had made it possible for her to take up shooting in her mid thirties & here she was in the Olympics.
To cut a long story short, the Olympics saw Ingrid outshine all her SINISTER opponents to win a Bronze & James finishing 6th - his career best! Their belated romance blossomed & in all her subsequent competitions, he was her best fan & cheer leader.
well done Gowri. esp. the fifth para the sequence of events was too good. KKR's grid converted into tale form.
DeleteKKR! My story after a lo.....ng time!!
ReplyDeleteOh, good to see your stories again, Gowri! Keep them coming.
DeleteSo sad that the newspaper man did not deliver the copy of The Hindu this morning and truly, I would have enjoyed testing my calibre in solving today's grid with interesting clues..
ReplyDeleteThis newspaper distributor serving Sector 23 of Dwarka in Delhi has been erratic. I will check & see if there is any other reliable vendor.
Not that you have not explored sir. The online combo of The Hindu and the BL is comfortable to read and no Raddi...-)
DeleteLiked the reversal clues (SINISTER, TESTATOR), UNASKED and the long anagram to name a few.
ReplyDeleteWas also wondering about the missing anagrind in ENACTMENT.
Great to see Gowri's stories again!
Thanks Karaoke and Col.
Thanks Ramki. I took 'get' to mean 'irritate' [per Chambers Dictionary]
DeleteThank you all for your comments
ReplyDeleteThanks to google TARTAR from Colgate dental paste advertisement. it's a challenging one.
DeleteKKR garu, Thoroughly enjoyed your gird. esp. SITAR,BLADE,SINISTER&FINLAND took long time to find deletion indicators. Excellent word play.
ReplyDeleteThanks Prasanna Rao
Delete6d I thought the Definition is:
ReplyDeletehe is a court-fool