The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday No 39, Sunday 18 Jan 2026, Vidwan

ACROSS

1   Keep an eye on space around metal wheels (7) MONITOR {RO{TIN}OM}<=

5   Shaman loses head, chasing large reptile (6) LIZARD {wIZARD}{<=>{L}

10 Democrat breaking new ground, initially covered Australia and New Zealand (4,5) DOWN UNDER {D}{NEW+gROUND}*

11 Almost contain exposed rock damage (5) HAVOC {HAVe}{rOCk}

12 Officer mostly wears good perfume (7) COLOGNE {COLO{G}ONEl}

13 A comrade male MLA for instance (7) ACRONYM {A}{CRONY}{M} [DBE]

14 One whose conviction lasts the longest (5) LIFER [CD]

16 Suffering consumption every single game! (9) PAINTBALL {PAIN}{TB}{ALL} Anno for TB not clear See comments 

18 How may a feline suspect a trick? (5,1,3) SMELL A RAT [C&DD]

20 He replaces easel in never-ending board game (5) CHESS C(-easel+he)HESS

22 State of fashionable princess (7) INDIANA {IN}{DIANA}

24 Strips to make fun of a snooty fellow from the east (7) RIBBONS {RIB}{SNOB<=}

26 Union Point (5) NORTH [DD] Union/North(USA during Civil War) needs  to be specified further

27 Fellow dumped beautiful bride checking good way to catch flight! (3,6) AIR BRIDGE {fAIR}{BRID{G}E}

28 English 'crossword' for every setting essentially (6) EXPERT {E}{X}{PER}{setTing} Definition?

29 Breaking News! Sit and watch! (7) WITNESS*

DOWN

1   Degree doctor claimed (7) MEDICAL* Semi&lit

2   Jack buried treasure south of Norway's post (5) NEWEL {jEWEL}<=>{N}

3   Eeriness - tramp turning into registered nurse! (7) TRUDGER {TRUDGE}{ER} Definition seems incorrect. Why turning into? Plus there is an extra E

4   Salad symbolising communist spirit for everyone (3,6) RED PEPPER {RED}{PEP}{PER}

6   Receive from predecessors in their shifts (7) INHERIT {IN}{THEIR*}

7   Use lead (9) ADVANTAGE [DD]

8   Based on ten medical works (7) DECIMAL*

9   Plant food from our earth (4) UREA [T]

15 I felt endless pride, flying for expedition (5,4) FIELD TRIP {I+FELT+PRIDe}(*

17 Wring toe possibly to thrive on each other (9) INTERGROW {WRING+TOE}* Second R from?

18 Discipline based on logic, not against sense of morality (7) SCIENCE [CD]

19 Manufacturing the real suede (7) LEATHER*

20 Club occasionally admits having a bar! (7) CABARET {C}{ET} over {A}{BAR} ET from? Where's the definition?

21 Extremely tenuous, messy, unstable structures (7) SYSTEMS {Te...uS+MESSY}*

23 Nadal goes back a long distance (4) AFAR<=

25 Elder is awkward to idolise (5) OLDIE {OLDIE+IS}*=IDOLISE

Reference List

Large = L, Democrat = D, Good = G, Male = M, Fashionable = IN, Fellow = F, English = E, Jack = J, Norway = N, Registered Nurse = ER(Enrolled Nurse), Club = C