Special, Sunday 31 Aug 2025, Ghaza

Three answers per commenter till 1 PM (Annotations compulsory) 

Please submit all your answers in one comment.  

(COMMENTS ENTERED WITH LESS THAN THREE ANSWERS/ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE, UNLESS THE COMMENTER SPECIFIES THAT IT IS A COMPENSATION FOR A REPEAT)

Enjoy.

The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday No 19, Sunday 31 Aug 2025, Gussalufz

BOTH SIDES ARE SAME

ACROSS

1   Slippery slope for some Europeans (5) POLES*

4   Source of dehydration in Indian college slang (9) DESICCANT {DESI}{C}{CANT} 

9   Vehicle turns silent after dropping Gussalufz for a court thing (7) RACQUET {CAR<=}{QUiET}

10 Hide from the boring king (7) LEATHER {LEA{THE}R}

11 No drug for setter in opening ceremony? (14) GROUNDBREAKING {NO DRUG}* [RA]

12 Resort to A.I. for hint (4) IOTA*

13 "Husbanding" includes our sniffing, licking, eating? (9) SAVOURING {SAV{OUR}ING}

17 See Vera going around incorporating French and being one irritating woman (3,6) EVE TEASER {SEE+VERA}* over {ET}

19 Tipping crown to one side, emperor makes love (4) ZERO {NERO with N turned to get Z}

22 "Page Six" airs all debauched arrangements stars are often found in (6,8) SPIRAL GALAXIES*

25 Colourful singers of traditional pieces played regularly (7) ORIOLES {Of+tRadItiOnaL+piEceS}

26 Couple's biannual displays of a special love (7) LESBIAN [T]

27 Reject birds from Spooner's rotating skewers (9) TURNSPITS (spurn tits to turnspits)

28 Arc of smoke over Vatican City (5) CURVE {CUR{V}E}

DOWN

1   Manoeuvre through atmosphere of anger involving top under secretary (9) PARAGLIDE {RAG{LID}E}<=>{PA}

2   Luck too, engineered an escalation in labour dispute (7) LOCKOUT*

3   React to glare from queen when wearing, say, pride shirt (6) SQUINT {S{QU}IN}{T}

4   Rising youngster humbles record holders (9) DATABASES {A TAD}<=}{BASES}

5   Crack that's very large and very close to fuselage (5) SOLVE {SO}{L}{V}{f...gE}

6   Delineating a landmark's edges, touch up sketch (5,3) CHALK OUT {A}{La...rK} in {TOUCH<=}

7   African crash anticipated, to an extent (7) ASHANTI [T]

8   Stretch limits in torture room (4) TERM {To...rE}{RooM}

14 They can change bad parts via laser surgery (9) VARIABLES {B} in {VIA+LASER}*

15 Judgment from authorities implicating outsiders initially seen suspiciously (4,5) GOOD SENSE {GODS} over {Ou...s} with {SEEN}*

16 Sleeping bags of top quality abruptly snagging? Peculiar (8) BEDROLLS {BE{DROLL}St}

18 Unkempt, i.e., run-down houses with fewer inhabitants (7) EMPTIER [T]  

20 Current discharge reported in coach (7) EDIFIER (~eddy fire)

21 Analyse the speed of light; it's useful for measuring long distances (6) PARSEC {PARSE}{C}

23 Girl has one drink (5) LASSI {LASS}{1}

24 Egg with spoilage surrounding base (4) ROOT {RO{O}T}

Reference List

College = C, Indian = DESI, Slang = CANT, And in French = ET, Vatican city = V, Queen = QU, Shirt = T, Large = L, Very = V, Bad = B, Speed of light = C

No 14576, Saturday 30 August 2025, Saral

ACROSS
7 Condition of abandoned seaside (7) DISEASE*
8 Baron wants cocktail in tour (6) RAMBLE {bRAMBLE}

9 Preparing draft about institute without guidance (6) ADRIFT {DRAFT}* about {I}
10 One displacing article from row behind second store (8) SQUIRREL {QU(-a+I)RREL}<=>{S}
11 Deport criminal pirate held by judge (10) REPATRIATE {PIRATE}* in RATE
13 Letter from the right college (4) ETON<
14 Came casually for summit (4) ACME*
16 Warning a bellboy from the middle near passage (5) ALARM {A}{belLboy}{ARM}
18 Enchantment of Ramayana (4) MAYA [T]
19 Lady lost weight in Gulf country (4) OMAN {wOMAN}
21 Unimaginative writer covering international trades, perhaps (10) PEDESTRIAN {PEN} about {I TRADES}*
23 Short felines returning, caught burying a ball (8) STACCATO {CATS<}{C{A}T}{O}
25 Animals running in shore shortly (6) RHINOS {IN SHORe}*

26 Able to hide in locality mainly. It's mysterious (6) ARCANE {AR{CAN}Ea}
27 Hard to control husband with trauma at first in sympathy (7) THOUGHT {T{H}OUGH}{Trauma}
 

DOWN
1 Valuation not working in maisonette building (8) ESTIMATE {MAISonETTE}*
2 Bearcat source of infection spreading germs (8) BACTERIA {BEARCAT Infection}*
3 Watches from both sides (4) SEES [Palindrome]
4 Group travelling to Peru (6) TROUPE*
5 European girl to enter lake and come out (6) EMERGE {E}{MER{G}E}
6 Story of largely ordinary novel (8) ALLEGORY {LARGELY O}*
7 Avoid party with director for example from the south (5) DODGE {DO}{D}{EG<}
12 Present a contest on crossword finally (5) AWARD {A}{WAR}{crossworD}
15 Church arranging meet by rector near yard in burial ground (8) CEMETERY {CE}{MEET*}{R}{Y}
17 Primarily handle problem lifting space rocket (8) MUSHROOM { Handle SUM<}{ROOM}
18 Male coach bypassing head in union (8) MARRIAGE {M}{cARRIAGE}
20 Delicious drink Puerto Rican rum I pour out (6) NECTAR {puErTo RiCAN}*
21 Steps outside large settings (6) PLACES {P{L}ACES}
22 Stop injured acrobat leaving a competition initially (5) ABORT {acROBAT}*
24 For starters only aloo tikkas - special breakfast item (4) OATS [Acrostic]

REFERENCE LIST

Baron=B, Institute=I, One=I, Second=S, Weight=W, International=I, Caught=Ct, Ball=O, Husband=H, European=E, Girl=G, Ordinary=O, Director=D, Church=CE, Rector=R, Yard=Y, Male=M. Large=L

No 14575, Friday 29 Aug 2025, Karaoke

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS

1   Barely honest dealing, crafty move to cut rate (5,8) SHARP PRACTICE SHARPPRACTICE

9   Disgusting actor torn notes of hand (9) ATROCIOUS {ACTOR*}{IOUS}

10 Sage in the middle of crisis after consuming heroin (5) RISHI {cRIS{H}Is}

11 The French about to stop by to pay attention (4,2,3) LEND AN EAR {L{END}A}{NEAR}

12 Husband visiting food shop in city (5) DELHI {DEL{H}I}

13 A maiden drink and drug in return for puzzle (6) ENIGMA {A}{M}{GIN}{E}<=

14 Angry doctor leaves good eggs with nothing but fruit (8) GOOSEGOG {GOOd+EGGS}* over {0}}

17 Fought with old, green revolution (5,3) WAGED WAR {W}{AGED}{RAW<=}

18 They pickpocket swimmers (6) DIVERS [DD]

21 Money to circulate in North Africa primarily (5) NAIRA {N}{AIR}{Af...a}

23 Crime boss's assignment extremely mettlesome? I have no idea (4,3,2) DONT ASK ME {DON}{TASK}{Me...mE}

24 Curiously spending time finally in 12 to get a spice for Indian cuisine (5) HALDI {DeLHI}* over {A}

25 Something is distinctly better than cave about to collapse (1,3,5) A CUT ABOVE {CAVE+ABOUT}*

26 Destroy tent of Chinese, blow hot and cold (3,2,3,5) SIT ON THE FENCE*

DOWN

1   Cryptic solver thinking about setter as introvert (9,6) SHRINKING VIOLET {SOLVER+THINKING}* over {I}

2   Noted that a voucher mainly to show decimal roughly (9) ACCLAIMED {A}{vouCher}{DECIMAL*}

3   Beginning of puppy love that's not real (6) PHONEY {Pu..y}{HONEY}

4   Head sweeper strips tops in toilet (4,4) REST ROOM {cREST}{bROOM}

5   Smoked, used bad language forgetting saint (5) CURED CURsED

6   Say this when you don't understand, maybe like largest book? (3,3,5,2,2) ITS ALL GREEK TO ME {LIKE+LARGEST}*{TOME}

7   Losing weight? Get energy in the first place for putting things in presentable shape (7) EDITING {(+e)EDI(-e)TING}

8   Fool made up story after breaking law (6) WALLIE {LIE}<=>{LAW}* 

15 Tell a tale of state about to restrain American marine (4,1,4) SPIN A YARN {S{PIN}AY}{A}{RN} RN is Royal Navy and not a Marine!

16 Spooner says "Maybe Jack recycled material for money" (4,4) HARD CASH (card hash to hard cash)

17 Main wheel advances slowly in lifting devices (7) WINCHES {Wh..l}{INCHES}

19 Divorced wives essentially set out to hit the roof (3,3) SEE RED {SEvERED}

20 Consume drug on fun trip with girl on vacation (6) ENGULF {E}{FUN+GirL}*

22 Exotic Australian cat killing fox heartily for energy (5) ALIEN {A}{LI(-o+e)N}

Reference List

Heroin = H, The in French = LA, Husband = H, Maiden = M, Drug = E, Saint = S, Doctor = D, With = W, North = N, Energy = E

Special, Thursday 28 Aug 2025, Keynes

Welcome to our new setter Keynes. Bouquets and Brickbats welcome

Three answers per commenter till 1 PM (Annotations compulsory) 

Please submit all your answers in one comment.  

(COMMENTS ENTERED WITH LESS THAN THREE ANSWERS/ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE, UNLESS THE COMMENTER SPECIFIES THAT IT IS A COMPENSATION FOR A REPEAT)

Enjoy.

No 14574, Wednesday 27 Aug 2025, Bruno

Rangoli by Gowri

Artwork by Prasanna

By Bhargav

Solution to 13A 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.

ACROSS

6  Prosperous as salary is supplemented with fifty million (5) PALMY {PA{L}{M}Y}

7   Gangster's son bottles gangster's offensive poison (8) ALKALOID {AL}{K{AL}{O}ID}

10 Lane near river to wash pot while sailing's so ignored (7) TOWPATH {TO+WAsH+PoT}*

11 Setter with millions around globe with tax agency chasing.. that could be a set of stories (7) MEMOIRS {ME}{M}{O}{IRS}

12 Old queen of England, some say, eventually moved to ancient city (7) SEYMOUR {SOME+saY}*{UR}

13 Major heart transplant's going up (7) L?A?I?G (Addendum - LEAPING LEA(-d+p)PING - See comments) 

14 Failing defence overcome by bully.. Champion finally folding (7,4) CLOSING DOWN {C{LOSING}{D}OW}{c...oN}

19 Wanting $1000, joker ran circles regularly for glory (7) REJOICE {JOkER}*{cIrClEs}

21 Go-getter mounted horse with spur (7) TRIGGER {TRI{GG}ER}

23 Lying around, Polish queen's wearing India's version of 5D (7) BURQINI {RUB<=}{Q}{IN}I Last I from?

25 Survive in melting ice with material (7) ELASTIC {E{LAST}IC*}

26 Full-scale files arranged by Lizzie evenly (4-4) LIFE-SIZE {FILES}*{lIzZiE}

27 Mum left racks with brownies, perhaps (5) ELVES shELVES

DOWN

1   Technique to shoot bottoms in extremely sexy state (4,4) SLOW SYNC {Se{LOWS}xY}{NC}

2   Current producer of dairy goes on vacation to emerging middle eastern country (6) DYNAMO {DairY}{OMAN<=}

3   Rich girl's followed by knight in story - kind and protective (10) FATHERLIKE {FAT}{HER}{LI{K}E}

4   North Korean leader's recycling one kind of milk (4) SKIM {+s)SKIM(-'S}

5   Clothing item from orient stolen from motorcycle in India (6) BIKINI {BIKe}{IN}{I}

6   Chemical from common drug's like heroin (6) POTASH {POT}{AS}{H}

8   Problem of left bum's solved by a run (7) LUMBAGO {L}{BUM*}{A}{GO} 

9   Consumption of America over time... (5)  USAGE {US}{AGE}

13 ...found to be in lower intensity electronic device (5,5) LIGHT METER [C&DD]

15 Animal dies tripping over piece of iron with rust (7) OXIDISE {OX}{ID{Iron}SE*}

16 Cynical evangelist's sadly - often lost & isolated (8) NEGATIVE {EVANGElIsT}*

17 Bird good at brewing beer (5) GREBE {G}{BEER*}

18 Protective equipment giving support to professionals not accepted (6) BRACES {BRA}{aCES}

20 Dork at home jacket (6) JERKIN {JERK}{IN} 

22 One lost time in business for religious orders (6) IRADES {1}{tRADES}

24 Electronic assistant elevated to a Goddess (4) IRIS<=

Reference List

Fifty = L, Million = M, Gangster = AL(Capone), Offensive = O, Defence = D, $1000 = K, Horse = GG(GeeGee), Queen = Q, India = I, Mum = SH, Knight = K, Orient = E, Heroin = H, Left = L, Good = G, Accepted = A, Time = T

No 14573, Tuesday 26 Aug 2025, Avtaar

Solution to 9A 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.

ACROSS

1   Not able to speak about India virtually for a short time (6) MINUTE {M{IN}UTE}

4   Brilliant compere taking up commercial hosting India's leading scholar (8) ACADEMIC {AC{AD}E}{M{In..a}C}

9   Constitutional rule to stop introduction of service tax (6) S?R?L? (Addendum - STROLL {Se...e}{T{R}OLL} - See comments ) 

10 Capsicum pie in crust of tomato baked with a bit of masala (8) PIMIENTO {PIE+IN+To..tO+Ma...a}*

11 Misrepresentation by school - parents mostly fleeced with ultimate in donations (5,9) FALSE PRETENCES {PARENTS+FLEECEd+d...nS}*

13 Victims of one-night stands? (10) CASUALTIES {CASUAL TIES}

14 Cheaply constructed gable going around (4) LEGO [T<=] 

16 Supply not starting for long (4) ACHE cACHE

18 Ambulance left a mortuary's entrance and travelled round the bend (10) UNBALANCED {amBULANCE+AND}*

21 Lost in the rush, heading for grand, magical heavenly spectacle (8,6) SOUTHERN LIGHTS {LOST+IN+THE+RUSH+Gr..d}*}

23 Prevail over our shortened boat crew cycling across Wales (8) OUTWEIGH {OUr}{(+t)TEIGH(-t)} over {W}

24 In which you will find lead members of the panel against retiring (6) GALENA [T<=]

25 Carefully consider introducing it in court following Avtaar (8) MEDITATE {D{IT}ATE}<=>{ME}

26 Cool tennis ace after losing a game at the end (6) SERENE {SERENa}{gamE}

DOWN

1   Disregard letter I have despatched (4) MISS MISSive

2   Typical standards of Vikings having left for Norway (7) NORMALS NORMA(-n+l)LS

3   Boxer's married wearing brown amulet (8) TALISMAN {T{ALIS}{M}AN}

5   What separates No-conflict zones? (7,4) CHINESE WALL [CD]

6   Cabbie runs into pickpocket (6) DRIVER {D{R}IVER}

7   Chain armour reportedly lined with tin after mounting (7) MANACLE {(~mail)MA{CAN<=}LE}

8   Army seizing vessel smuggling gold - it has lights in many parts (9) CROSSWORD {CRO{SS}WD} over {OR}

12 Power leads in apparatus having tentacles to secure shelter and gear gets IP certificate (6,5) PATENT RIGHT {P}{Ap...s}{Ha...g}{Te...s} over {TENT}{RIG}

13 Dreamy schoolmaster missing the new refurbished place where he is to take lessons (9) CLASSROOM {SChOOLMASteR}*}

15 Say, Kashmiri monkey losing tail before maturity (8) LANGUAGE {LANGUr}{AGE}

17 Tormented harassed groups close to paranoia (7) HAUNTED {H{p...iA}UNTED}

19 Model fills valise with two pieces of yellow gemstone (4-3) CATS-EYE {CA{T}SE}{YEllow}

20 Danger which inhibits engineers (6) THREAT {TH{RE}AT}

22 Animal fleece picked up (4) HARE(~hair)

Reference List

India = IN, Commercial = AD, Rule = R, Compere = MC, Wales = W, Left = L, Norway = N, Married = M, Runs = R, Vessel = SS{Steamship), Power = P, Model = T, Engineers = RE(Royal Engineers)

No 14572, Monday 25 Aug 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 23A 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.

ACROSS

1   Essentially leaving in vehicle for elite food (6) CAVIAR {C{leAVIng}AR}

4   Convicted criminal regularly seen in parties soon met Republican (8) PRISONER {PaRtIeS+sOoN+mEt}{R}

9   Chase American university to admit son in daughter's place (6) PURSUE PUR(-d+s)SUE

10 Birds quarrel before fights (8) SPARROWS {SPAR}{ROWS}

11 Pedestrian classification of Vande Bharat Express, for one (4-5,5) HIGH-SPEED TRAIN {PEDESTRIAN}* [RA]

13 Upgrades bookmaker for Spooner (4,6) GETS BETTER (bets getter to gets better)

14 Say, queen taking fine meat (4) BEEF {BEE}{F}

16 Swindle in shares cornering Asian markets, initially (4) SCAM Acrostic

18 Starter of rice in hot meal is cooked with temperature kept constant (10) ISOTHERMAL {Rice} in {HOT+MEAL+IS}*

21 Proposal helping to onboard million workers in European firm at Germany (14) RECOMMENDATION {RATION} over {M}{MEN}in {E}{CO}{D}

23 Bar for one, replacing leading advocate in practice (8) P?O?I?I? (Addendum - PROHIBIT {PRO}{H(-a+1)IBIT} - See comments)

24 Cheetah in India eating sesame dip (6) TAHINI [T]

25 Reportedly criticize authors in hand out (8) DISPENSE {~dis pens)

26 Girl at city checking hot skirt (6) GHAGRA {G}{H}{AGRA}

DOWN

1   Manage children outside park entrance, basically (4) COPE Acrostic

2   Opinion of ancient Sanskrit scriptures about right time (7) VERDICT {VE{R}DIC}{T}

3   American bachelor at Dubai working outside hot capital city (3,5) ABU DHABI {A}{B}{UD{H}ABI*}

5   Discourage wasting time on the counter packing gift displayed (11) REPRESENTED {DEtER<=} over {PRESENT}

6   King in clutches of evil goblin (6) SPRITE {SP{R}ITE}

7   Airplane on a terminal carrying latest arrival (7) NEONATE [T]

8   Bitter criminal enters Gulf? Not good! (9) RESENTFUL {ENTERS+gULF}*

12 Specialist bakeries repeatedly re-using ingredients in parties (11) PATISSERIES {PARTIES}* [Letter Bank]

13 Creature's tail twisted squeezing tight old strap (9) GASTROPOD {DOG<=} over {O+STRAP}*

15 Source of irritation in the exact area so frequently getting hard (4,4) HEAT RASH {tHe+ExAcT+aReA+So}{H} Is would have been better than so to maintain the frequent pattern

17 Devices to secure TV show hosts (7) ANCHORS [DD]

19 Low crew typing up a boat (7) MOORING {MOO}{RING} Typing seems to be a typo for tying

20 This referee hates ordering pushier team (6) UMPIRE {UMPIRE+HATES}*=PUSHIER TEAM

22 Upcoming, keen star (4) DIVA<=

Reference List

Republican = R, Son = S, Daughter = D, Fine = F, Million = M, European = E, Germany = D, Girl = G, Hot = H, Right = R, Time = T, American = A, Bachelor = B, King = R, Good = G, Old = O, Hard = H

Special, Sunday 24 Aug 2025, Ghaza

Three answers per commenter till 1 PM (Annotations compulsory) 

Please submit all your answers in one comment.  

(COMMENTS ENTERED WITH LESS THAN THREE ANSWERS/ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE, UNLESS THE COMMENTER SPECIFIES THAT IT IS A COMPENSATION FOR A REPEAT)

Part-B: Find the remaining characters hidden in the puzzle.

Enjoy.

The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday No 18, Sunday 24 Aug 2025, Incognito

ACROSS

8   Setter and lieutenant convert solid into liquid by application of heat (4) MELT {ME}{LT}

9   Counterfeit for giving exchange initially (5) FORGE {FOR}{Gi...g}{Ex...e}

10 Sketch doctor with a woman (4) DRAW {DR}{A}{W}

11 Stick advertisement at this place (6) ADHERE {AD}{HERE}

12 US cat lay writhing in hospital department (8) CASUALTY*

13 Extraordinary ace tests container (8) CASSETTE*

15 Mad vet leaves Venetians in a tizzy (6) INSANE {veNEtIANS}*

17 One travelling around carrying counterfeit visa results in circumvention of law (7) EVASION {ONE}* over {VISA}*

19 Roars, “Smithy uses it” (7) BELLOWS [DD]

22 Commencement of pain, laceration and fever leads to medieval epidemic (6) PLAGUE {Pain}{La...n}{AGUE}

24 Close shave next to girl! (4,4) NEAR MISS {NEAR}{MISS}

26 Peninsular Malaysia is behind reportedly high mountain range (8) HIMALAYA {MALAYA}<=>{(~high)HI} 

28 Embosses postal fee receipts (6) STAMPS [DD]

30 Cobalt, aluminium and anthracite (4) COAL {CO}{AL}

31 Hong Kong gangs’ torture instruments (5) TONGS [DD]

32 “Arabian port” is bad English to some extent (4) ADEN [T]

DOWN

1   Force boy at last (4) BEND {B}{END}

2   Emphasises, “Small locks” (8) STRESSES {S}{TRESSES}

3   A couple of females with middlemen in European court get result (6) EFFECT {FF}{mEn} in {E}{CT} 

4   Pain in injured rat’s windpipe (7) TRACHEA {TR{ACHE}A*}

5   Sweat on steeple (8) PERSPIRE {PER}{SPIRE}

6   Thought beginners in legal service can be role models (6) IDEALS {IDEA}{Le..l}{Se...e}

7   Throw wild cats (4) CAST*

14 Smith’s block included in Roman villas (5) ANVIL [T]

16 New stew cooked in salamanders (5) NEWTS {N}{STEW*}

18 Wrongly carve a bit of tendon in large hams (8) OVERACTS {CARVE*}{Te...n} in {OS}

20 A sad lamb dances and dances (8) LAMBADAS*

21 United Nations container near New York is mysterious (7) UNCANNY {UN}{CAN}{NY}

23 Girl and woman hug student happily (6) GLADLY {G}{LAD{L}Y}

25 Help like sister when queen is away (6) ASSIST {AS}{SISTer}

27 Historical curtain once protecting Soviet Union from unfair onslaughts (4) IRON [T]

29 Good King Edward’s seaside construction (4) PIER {PI}{ER}

Reference List

Woman = W, Advertisement = AD, Boy = B, Small = S, Female = F, European = E, Court = CT, New = N, Large = OS, Girl = G, Student = L, Good = PI, King Edward = ER

No 14571, Saturday 23 August 2025, Incognito

 ACROSS
8 Insect gets right drink (4) BEER {BEE}{R}
9 Cruise along shoreline (5) COAST [DD]
10 Consumer appears in trousers (4) USER [T]
11 Person displaying// rain (6) SHOWER [CD and D]
12 Boy correct about seaside resort (8) BRIGHTON {B}{RIGHT}{ON}

13 Design changed to absorb pressure and energy for moving at high velocity (8) SPEEDING {S{P}{E}EDING*}
15 Fast dances from girls having operation (6) GALOPS {GAL{OP}S}
17 22 Laos cat's holiday spot (7,6) COASTAL RESORT {LAOS CAT}* [RA]
19 Art seen in part of bridge in old city (7) SPARTAN {SP{ART}AN}
22 See 17 Across (6)
24 Doctor wrongly singes bandage (8) DRESSING {DR}{SINGES*}
26 Resident of box turning tops getting large sums of prize money (8) JACKPOTS {JACK}{TOPS*}
28 Lives in tents around university and university grounds (6) CAMPUS {CAMP{U}S}
30 Island mentioned in Minsk yearbook (4) SKYE [T]

31 Retains silly pekes (5) KEEPS*
32 Girl leaves game for precious stone (4) RUBY {RUgBY}

DOWN
1 In short, queen's wager with husband (4) BETH {BET}{H}
2 Fighters rolling barrels around front of wineshop (8) BRAWLERS {BARRELS*}around {Wineshop}
3 Tax coir to be twisted (6) OCTROI*
4 Bachelor in vehicle storage area produces junk (7) GARBAGE {GAR{B}AGE}
5 Hang saint and make telephone call (6,2) STRING UP {ST}{RING UP}
6 Four pecks from former American president chased by the Spanish (6) BUSHEL {BUSH}{EL}
7 After losing wife, owner is confused in city (4) RENO {OwNER}*
14 Call head of police honey endlessly (5) PHONE {Police}{HONEy}
16 Some non-vegetarian food wrap is recycled, no? (5) PRAWN {WRAP}*{N}
18 Statues, for example, and two arks renovated around end of October (8) ARTWORKS {TWO ARKS}* around {octobeR}
20 Where one may come face to face with four stony presidents... (8) RUSHMORE [CD}

21 Yes, rejected after soy containing a bit of dirt spoiled long journey (7) ODYSSEY {YES<}<=> {Dirt} in {SOY*}
23 York development covers north eastern archipelago (6) ORKNEY {YORK}* around {N}{E}

25 Old tax surplus (6) EXCESS {EX}{CESS}
27 Boats in Newark sailing-club (4) ARKS [T]
29 Protuberance in gum-bottle (4) UMBO [T]

REFERENCE LIST

Right=R, Boy=B, Pressure=P, Energy=E, University=U, Girl=G, Husband=H, Bachelor=B, Saint=ST, The (in) Spanish=EL, Wife=W, No=N, Old=Ex

No 14570, Friday 22 Aug 2025, Incognito

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ACROSS

1   Toilet occupied? No further options? (7,2,2) NOWHERE TO GO [DD]

9   In South Africa, little one gets diving equipment (5) SCUBA {S{CUB}A}

10 Simple meal with fish? It's hard... (9) GRUELLING {GRUEL}{LING}

11 Sad? Sprint away and get plans... (10) BLUEPRINTS {BLUE}{SPRINT*}

12 Kind of light one distributed at noon (4) NEON {ONE*}{N}

13 Animal changing lane at end of road (5) ELAND {LANE*}{roaD}

15 Puts off US and Jordan arrangement (8) ADJOURNS {US+JORDAN}*

17 Person wanting to get away from reality, having Spanish headgear, is trailing at first (8) ESCAPIST {ES}{CAP}{IS}{Tr...g}

19 Remembers carrying smouldering coal (5) EMBER [T]

22 Spotted salmon from company head office (4) COHO {CO}{HO}

23 Company's objective? To get a cut! (10) COMMISSION {COM}{MISSION}

26 Removed organ and saved (9) DELIVERED {DE-LIVERED}

27 Prompt running guardsmen after throwing away arms (5) NUDGE {GUarDsmEN}*

28 Information about power supply in latest headlines? (7,4) CURRENT NEWS [C&DD]

DOWN

1   Run about carrying gold in island country (5) NAURU {N{AU}RU*}

2   Concluded. "Is fully absorbed" (7,2) WRAPPED UP [C&DD]

3   Need GI at sea? Insert... (4,2) EDGE IN*

4   Blew up! Blew up rude pet! (7) ERUPTED*

5   But endless nylon gets entangled (4) ONLY NYLOn*

6   A lovebird can mutate to show uniform colour (5,4) OLIVE DRAB*

7   American sailor at port with leave finally capable of utilisation (6) USABLE {US}{AB}{L}{l..vE}

8   Spies' silver wrongly sent (6) AGENTS {AG}{SENT*}

14 Person addicted to liquor obtained from Cocoa Hill (9) ALCOHOLIC*

16 Respect old boy arranging seance around 1 (9) OBEISANCE {OB}{E{1}SANCE*}

17 Create cipher from "Nurse fish and start to experiment" (6) ENCODE {EN}{COD}{Ex...t}

18 Plague Supreme Court and love press? (7) SCOURGE {SC}{O}{URGE}

20 Called queen's forest officer (6) RANGER {RANG}{ER}

21 In the middle of a street, dim characters retreat (6) AMIDST {A}{DIM<=}{ST}

24 Remove oar from dinosaur writhing in river (5) INDUS DINoSaUr*

25 Completed 6 deliveries (4) OVER [DD]

Reference List

Noon = N, Spanish = ES, Company = CO, COM, Sailor = AB, Port = L(Left), Old Boy = OB< Nurse = EN(Enrolled Nurse), Queen = ER, Street = ST