Solution to 14A 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.
LOVE?
ACROSS
1 Grant from a Dutch university (5) ADMIT {A}{D}{MIT}
4 Pompous, abrupt old city staff (9) BOMBASTIC {BOMBAy}{STICk}
9 Common cold heralded by nasty green drips essentially (7) GENERIC {C}<=>{GREEN*}{drIps}
10 Launch platform, say, packaging trendy wife (7) SHIPWAY {S{HIP}{W}AY}
11 The Spanish swimmer is playful (6) ELFISH {EL}{FISH}
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15 Justice, etc., maybe from savage carrot-and-stick gal not lacking in drama? (5,5) TAROT CARDS {CARROT+AnD+STick}*
19 "Release me!" snapped the thing (4) EMIT {ME<=}{IT}
22 Wreck lingerie, snagging one too small in size (8) RECKLING [T]
24 Younger journalist overexerting, last to leave after work (6) JUNIOR JOURNalIst*
27 Potential double blows after wicket (5-2) WOULD-BE {DOUBLE}*<=>{W}
28 Extremely spiteful punk in destruction-mode inherently (9) UNKINDEST [T]
29 Feel sorry for beheaded bird (5) EGRET rEGRET
DOWN
1 Swell golden dress a royal discarded (7) AUGMENT {AU}{GarMENT}
2 Declaration from fellow: "I party, love" (9) MANIFESTO {MAN}{I}{FEST}{O}
3 So, after drinking a bit of rum with a joint, drive? (6) THRUST {TH{Rum}US}{T}
4 Left out of dark side? (4) BACK BlACK
5 Grew quiet and dwelled after a letter from Greece (10) MUSHROOMED {SH}{ROOMED}<=>{MU}
6 Unreasonable G.M. fired from board opening vacancy in Munich (1,3,4) A BIT MUCH {gAmBIT}{MUniCH}
7 Building a railway engine, perhaps (5) TOWER [DD]
8 Oddly, curry helpings without guidance create "outbursts" (7) CRYINGS {CuRrY}{helpINGS}
13 Hang on, want ideas treated on virtue, ultimately (4,3,3) WAIT AND SEE {WANT+IDEAS}*{v...rE}
16 Sleep well beyond one, tucked in and getting rest (9) REMAINDER {REM}{A{1}ND}{ER}
17 Surpass in training? Not until we can run regularly (8) OUTLEARN {nOt+UnTiL+wE+cAn+RuN}
21 Tense medical procedure strongly putting out chief of surgery (6) FUTURE {F}{sUTURE} (Correction - (-s+f)FUTURE - See comments)
23 Grandfather possibly shut up after a sip of codeine (5) CLOCK {LOCK}<=>{Co...e}
25 Secretly start without bothersome person (4) TWIT [T]
Reference List
Dutch = D, Cold = C, Trendy = HIP, The in Spanish = EL, Wife = W, Caught = C, Wicket = W, Royal = R, Joint = T, Left = L, Quiet = SH, Sleep = REM, Well = ER, Strongly = F
4a bombay old city??? Its used in some official usage still!
ReplyDeleteBombay is the old name of Mumbai (Present official name) - Just like Madras/ Chennai
DeleteDoes old name mean old city?
DeleteIts still bombay high court!
Delete15a (carrot and stick gal)-(lacking*)
ReplyDelete2d party is a weak indicator for fest, imho.
ReplyDeleteAbbreviation? If so, needs an indicator.
DeleteNot sure what the concern is. The def for fest in Chambers leads with "a party": https://chambers.co.uk/search/?query=fest&title=21st
DeleteThis FT puzzle has another example of the same usage: https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/01/14/financial-times-17948-by-flimsy/
In compounds! Not a stand alone word!
Delete21d technically +f(-s)!
ReplyDeleteThere's a movie theme with related ninas. The title (seen online too) is actually Love^? (The "?" is a superscript), and is a connection too.
ReplyDeletePower of love, back to the future!
DeleteThat's it, well spotted, Sree Sree!
DeleteThere's another pair of related entries, and another nina.
I saw
DeleteDelorean (dmc)
Clock tower
Yep!
Delete14A:toss-good man(saint-st) rejected (ts) embracing wife(os). wife is operating system (os) in a software joke.toss=fling.
ReplyDeleteNearly there: the solution is correct, ST is correct. The reversal applies to the whole wordplay...
Deleteso=significant other=wife. reversed(os) embraced by (ts)
DeleteYes, Devi! Here's how I wrote the annotation in my notes:
DeleteDef: fling. (ST {Good man} around {embracing} SO {wife}) << {... rejected}.
Thanks for blogging, Col., and many thanks to all the solvers. As we say in Hindi, "Bhool Chook Maaf," please :-)
ReplyDeleteHere are my notes for this crossword:
Notes
The 1985 hit sci-fi movie, Back to the Future, is the theme of this crossword. The name of the movie can be seen as a nina formed by 4d (BACK) and 21d (FUTURE), connected by cells going diagonally downwards and reading TO THE, starting at the head of 12a.
The title of the crossword can be read cryptically as The Power of Love, which is the movie's theme song, by the band, Huey Lewis and the News.
"DeLorean" (the car used as a time machine in the movie) can be seen as a nina, running down the second column. A key location in the movie is the Clock Tower, which can be seen in symmetrically placed entries 23d and 7d. The entry in 19a can be seen as TIME running backwards.
This is my first THC crossword drafted in 2025. This one is not a "salgram" (it uses 23 distinct letters, not 25). While I might do a few salgrams later this year, I'm moving away from the gag of making every single one a salgram, unlike last year.
Personal notes
I finished setting this one in the middle of happy vacationing times with family. Am heading to India soon, but will be back by the time this is published.
I had tickets to see Zakir Hussain in concert in March 2025. What a terrible loss for all of us! I've been listening to his incredible music over and over. Here's a link to a lovely concert featuring Zakir, Dave Holland, Shankar Mahadevan, Louis Banks, and others: https://youtu.be/cPNU9jxkiY4
I saw this somewhere in 90-91 on campus.
DeleteComing fresh off Asimov triology, the sci-fi wasnt of much interest but it was an introduction to American teenage dramas.