No 14645, Friday 21 Nov 2025, KrisKross

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   Sailor's date more pretty, they say (8) SEAFARER (~see fairer)

5   Music say, endlessly pained old king (6) ARTHUR {ART}{HURt}

9   Got bowled, but continued to bat? (6,2) PLAYED ON [DD]

10 Two firms working to provide cover (6) COCOON {CO}{CO}{ON}

12 Large furniture store's popular very quickly (4,1,4) LIKE A SHOT {L}{IKEA'S}{HOT}

13 Game is still tense (5) EVENT {EVEN}{T}

14 Punish ultras controlling synagogue (4) SHUL [T]

16 Ripped new hood in dance (7) HOEDOWN*

19 Exceed number of deliveries to score a single (7) OVERRUN {OVER}{RUN}

21 A techie on vacation making advance payment (4) ANTE {AN}{Te..iE}

24 Identical electronic coil (5) TWINE {TWIN}{E}

25 It helps musician play Modern Tempo, without percussion devices, primarily (9) METRONOME {MOdERN+TEMpO}*

27 Leading spinner from India who got England all out? (6) GANDHI [CD]

28 At once, POW heartlessly shot in city (4,4) CAPE TOWN {AT+ONCE+PoW}*

29 Free former politician involved in case of embezzlement (6) EXEMPT {EX}{Em...{MP}...nT}

30 Remove a judge after a short month (8) SEPARATE {A}{RATE}<=>{SEP}

DOWN

1   Deliver in an agile fashion (6) SUPPLY [DD]

2   Answer student's question about US state (6) ALASKA {A}{L}{ASK}{A}

3   An end of screwdriver - one turning a nut (5) ARECA {A}{s...eR}{ACE<=}

4   Manage to withdraw almost 50% - that's significant (7) EPOCHAL {COPE<=}{HALf}

6   US leader briefly revolted, so angry (9) ROOSEVELT {REVOLTEd+SO}*

7   Method to catch flying goose in pen (8) HOOSEGOW {HO{GOOSE*}W}

8   Sound from mobile - resonating, harsh, frequently ignored! (8) RINGTONE {REsONaTING}*

11 Must bathe regularly in US state (4) UTAH {mUsT+bAtHe}

15 Unwrapped needle to stitch stylish strap (9) HORSEWHIP {tHORn}{SEW}{HIP}

17 Italian family in Universal enthralled by film-making technique (8) MONTAGUE {MONTAG{U}E}

18 Opposition bound to take over Spain if doubled (8) DEFIANCE {D{E}{IF<=}ANCE}

20 Identity of national sport (not golf) (4) NAME {N}{gAME}

21 Expert nurses tense about exercise (7) ACTUATE {AC{TAUT<=}E}

22 Ring made from round acorn nuts (6) CORONA {O+ACORN}*

23 A setter wearing worker's cap (6) BEANIE {BE{AN}{I}E}

26 Revolutionary software possibly contributing to musical production (5) OPERA [T<=]

Reference List

Firm = CO, Large = L, Tense = T, Electronic = E, Student = L, Stylish = HIP, Universal = U, Spain = E, National = N, Golf = G