Tuesday 23 January 2024

No 14078, Tuesday 23 Jan 2024, Hypatia

Solution to 24A 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.

ACROSS
1   Beast using mink extracted from wild pack animal (6) ALPACA {PACk+AnimAL}*
4   Mocking small crook mostly occupied stealing rupees (8) SCORNFUL {S}{CO{R}N}{FULl}
9   Heart of military officer, say (6) KERNEL (~colonel)
10 Letters from publicist urge Nevil (author) (8) TURGENEV [T]
11 How long had Loki prepared to search everywhere? (4,4,3,3) LOOK HIGH AND LOW*
13 Orders on a desi app? They are identical (4,2,1,3) PEAS IN A POD*
14 Capital lost by Hindu God of wealth in transportation service (4) UBER kUBER
16 Station's name on the radio (4) SITE (~cite)
18 Oil supplier set up clay building to store bitumen, essentially? (10) EUCALYPTUS {SET+UP+CLAY}* over {bitUmen}
21 Casually browsing, old women entertained by snakes dancing (6,8) WINDOW SHOPPING {WIND{O}{W}S}{HOPPING}
23 I reread novel depicting sex in private (8) RAREFIED {I+REREAD}* over {F}
24 Study of frog, say? (6) ?O?D?R (Addendum - PONDER [DD] - See comments)
25 Spencer left play regularly behind closed doors (8) SECRETLY {SpEnCeR+lEfT+pLaY}
26 Eye problem in author's work on Central Asians? (6) MYOPIA {MY}{OP}{asIAns}

DOWN
1   Basically ancient Nile's key hieroglyph! (4) ANKH Acrostic &lit
2   Exercise and run lifting block near a structure outdoors (7) PERGOLA {PE}{R}{LOG<=}{A}
3   Registers in airport to scan crime (6,2) CHECKS IN {CHECK}{SIN}
5   Chairperson who's glued to a monitor? (5,6) COUCH POTATO [CD]
6   Man below Queen put up as interim ruler (6) REGENT {GENT}<=>{ER<=}
7   Flu can spread between boy and group of adherents (3,4) FAN CLUB {FLU+CAN}*{B}
8   Entertaining folks under 51 performing reviews (4,5) LIVE WIRES {LI}{REVIEWS}*
12 Precisely how pistachio is found? (2,1,8) IN A NUTSHELL [C&DD]
13 Father's weapons - they should be updated and secure (9) PASSWORDS {PA'S}{SWORDS}
15 Writer's rejected after second fake composition (8) SYMPHONY {MY<=}<=>{S}{PHONY}
17 It can't possibly include rules of Buddhist philosophy (7) TANTRIC {IT+CANT}* over {R}
19 Became stronger by end of autumn, due to running around park (5,2) TONED UP {a...mN+DUE+TO}*{P} 
20 Candy bar replaced by cold beverage (6) COFFEE (-t+c)COFFEE
22 Chiefly ocean resident carnivorous animal! (4) ORCA Acrostic &lit

Reference List
Small = S, Rupees = R, Old = O, Women = W, Sex = F, Exercise = PE, Run = R, Queen = ER, Boy = B, Second = S, Rules = R, Park = P, Bar = T, Cold = C

12 comments:

  1. Study clue frog can be said as pond dweller...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Make it clearer. Why 'clue' in the middle?
    How do you classify the clue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think @PR means to say study is the definition(clue).
      Study = ponder = Frog, say

      Delete
    2. It is a DD- Study/ Frog (One who lives in a pond- ponder)

      Delete
  3. 23A- Sex= F(emale) was clever and misleading. Struggled long though I was able to get the solution with the help of crossings.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 2D block can also mean dog as in obstruct/hinder, making PERGODA also a viable answer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In which dictionary did you find Pergoda?

      Delete
    2. Sorry. It doesn't look like a standard word. I found both words together in Google search as synonymous in some sites.
      https://www.patioandgardenshading.co.uk/blog/post/What-s-the-difference-between-a-pergola-and-a-pergoda#:~:text=The%20pergola%20and%20pergoda%20are,louvred%20roof%20for%20greater%20versatility.

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am not sure 'potato = couch' is intended.
    Chairperson = a person glued to a chair = someone, who is always, watching TV from a couch = couch potato.
    Correct me if I am wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Col. has clearly marked it as CD. Couch potato (not to be split) is a common term for one sitting on a couch and watching TV continuously.

    ReplyDelete

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