Solution to 3D 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.
Open for anyone to answer, if not solved by 1 PM.
Leaving the Theme and Nina to be identified by any solver.
ACROSS
1 Bruce's rejuvenated after the last of elixir wears off, gets third power (5) CUBES BrUCES*
4 Running after husband to split jackpot? Fine (5-4) WAFER-THIN {AFTER*}{H} in {WIN}
9 Not even Pune qualified after losses (7) UNEQUAL [T]
10 No one in music conducted like Arnold Schwarzenegger (7) MUSCLED {MUSiC}{LED}
11 Motorcyclists bash those walking (6) HIKERS (B as H)HIKERS
12 Orca able to move around large fish (8) ALBACORE*
15 Fried rice in soup? Unhealthy (10) PERNICIOUS*
18 OK, use my AI after adding a little filtering and finetuning, I say (2,3,3,2) IF YOU ASK ME {OK+USE+MY+AI}* over {Fi...g}
19 Animals occasionally consumed cigarettes (4) CATS {CigAreTteS}
22 Twisted tool tunnelled and dug into (8) EXAMINED {AXE<=}{MINED}
24 So, zone out for short rest? (6) SNOOZE*
26 Taking only seconds, naturopath endorsed rose oil and other essential oils (7) ANOINTS {nAt...h+eNd...d+rOse+oIl+aNd+oTher+eSs...l}
28 Doctor Seuss pens dramas (9) SUSPENSES*
29 "What you do is very evil," I shot back (5) SOLVE {SO}{EViL<=}
DOWN
2 Characters from Baker Street, including a rebel (9) BREAKAWAY {BAKER}*{WAY} over {A}
3 Suspension of your various plans after a setback and regular losses (6) S?U?R? (Addendum - SLURRY {YouR+vaRioUs+pLanS<= - See comments)
5 Many half-lies going around reinforcing celebrity's identity (6,4) FAMILY NAME {MANY+LIes}* in {NAME}
6 Explore hard-to-pursue alternative careers (8) RESEARCH {H}<=>{CAREERS*}
7 Awful place — has nothing, I say! (5) HELLO {HELL}{O}
8 Partners have drunk more rum and they're asleep (7) NODDERS {N}{ODDER}{S}
13 Takes another look at idiots taken in by shifty seers (10) REASSESSES {RE{ASSES}SES*}
16 About speech ban protective mum dropped on gangster (9) ORATORIAL {mORATORIum}{AL}
17 Shred legal claim within a month (8) JULIENNE {JU{LIEN}NE}
20 Small (tiny) connection with pet (7) SWEETIE {S}{WEE}{TIE}
21 Man, I must suppress this bad feeling (6) ANIMUS [T]
23 "Hey, yo!"s at sea? (5) AHOYS {AH}{YOS} &lit
25 The man's covering up southern sound of gas escaping (4) HISS {HI{S}S}
Reference List
Husband = H, Very = SO, Cent = C, Right = R, Girl = G, Weak = W, Hard = H, Partners = N,S(North and South in Bridge), Gangster = AL(Capone), Small = S, Southern = S
23d typo!
ReplyDelete3D: Suspension of your various plans after a setback and regular losses (6)
ReplyDeleteDef: Suspension
{YOURVARIOUSPLANS<=} Reversed, taking every third letter starting with S makes SLURRY, a suspension.
Wow!
DeleteI should mention the selection mechanic is cued by the word "Regular" and I suppose the clue technically refers to "losses" of two letters regularly after each letter
DeleteWelcom to the new participant Bert.
DeleteThank you! I'm loving THC and excited to be here
Delete26A- an extra T has been marked pink in 'naturopath'.
ReplyDelete4D- I was wondering how 'Girl becomes woman' would have looked.
ReplyDeleteW is an abbreviation for "weak" from physics. It's listed in Chambers (but not in their online version). It is indeed not a common abbreviation, but I went with it for the surface.
DeleteM/W are technically not abbreviations of Man/Woman (they are of Men/Women). Moreover, while I am completely fine with risque surfaces, I am not a big fan of *creepy* surfaces :-)
I see 'Grfield' in the 4th row. Not sure if it has any significance.
ReplyDeleteRead as Garfield.
DeleteCheer his spoiled cheese!
Delete"Spoiled" is an anagrind
Delete"Catty" clue!
DeleteAs enjoyable as ever- if not more!
ReplyDelete11A- B as H- bash- was a class in itself.
ReplyDelete100%, this one was crazy 🤯
Delete23D- Typo- It should be 'Ahoys'.
ReplyDeleteOh! I did not know that. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Cheshire is in the 4th row from bottom.
I now understand what Prasad had said.
Now,we can look forward to Gussalufz;s notes.
ReplyDeleteHere they are (my notes for this crossword) :-). Many thanks to all solvers and to the Col. for the blog.
ReplyDeleteNotes
This crossword is cat-themed. CATS (19A), PAWS (14A), and HELLO (7D, for Hello Kitty) are thematic entries.
At a stretch, SWEETIE (20D), ALBACORE (12A), SNOOZE (24A), and NODDERS (8D) can also be construed as cat-related. The surface of 28A alludes to Dr. Seuss, who is the author of the famous book, The Cat in the Hat.
GARFIELD and CHESHIRE can be seen as ninas, running across the fourth row from the top and the fourth row from the bottom, respectively.
Both 7D and 18A use the phrase, "I say," as the definition. This was a coincidence, but once I saw the repetition, I still decided to keep it, as the two senses of the phrase are quite different: an exclamatory "I say!" for HELLO! and an opinionated "I say" for IF YOU ASK ME.
Personal notes
I set several clues in this crossword during a work conference (shh!), and the surface of 18A is related to the conference. The grid itself was filled earlier, during a time when I was corresponding with someone who is an author of a series of cat-themed novels.
Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTypo in 5d
ReplyDeleteShould be {FAME}
9a [T]
ReplyDeleteWhat does 'after losses' indicate?
"After Losses" indicates a clue type that I would call a "hidden" but I guess can be called "Telescopic", which is new to me.
DeleteIn "Pune qualified, after losing some letters" the losses are the letters P,i,f,i,e,d
Thanks Bert
Delete9ac - A straightforward Telescopic clue - but what is the indicator & why after losses?
ReplyDeleteNice Grid. Didn't get Slurry.
My fav - HIKERS, WOLF, COUGH UP.
Thnx Viresh.
Thanks, Gowri. Re: 9A: "after losses" is a slightly imprecise indicator for "hidden answer" as it does not tell you exactly what parts to remove. But it works for the surface and overall the clue is quite easy, so I decided to go with it.
DeleteHere's a link to another setter's use of "after loss" for a "hidden answer" indicator:
http://bigdave44.com/2016/11/07/rookie-corner-135/
The blogger there too has raised eyebrows about the use of "about loss" :-)