Sunday, 22 February 2026

The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday No 44, Sunday 22 Feb 2026, Incognito

Three answers per commenter till 4 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)

ACROSS
8   Skis broken in minor accident involving a gentle touch (4)
9   Drink box (5)
10 Stone duck with friend (4)
11 Person making design on stone and such things is with her (6)
12 Sticking plaster may be made from strange cosmetic (8)
13 Displacing dust, reserve to obtain equine pedigree record (8)
15 Think retired alien is following stupid aide (6)
17 Dirty relative having a bearing (7)
19 Idiotic git holding body part demanding to be scratched (7)
22 Man leaves human nosh prepared in island (6)
24 Middle Eastern countries having loan instalment with taxes (8)
26 Badly beat the endlessly careless journalist (8)
28 Damaged cart carrying Virginia's neckwear (6)
30 Rescue without charge (4)
31 Polishes fans (5)
32 Flavouring agent possessed by Father Brown (4)

DOWN
1   Colour from Austin, Texas (4)
2   Snake with head of department next to the Spanish flower (8)
3   Love troop marching around Portuguese city (6)
4   Ulna broken by Eisenhower is different (7)
5   Take things without paying from ship loft at sea (8)
6   Drive Ethel endlessly for German polymath (6)
7   Powder seen in hospital clock (4)
14 Brown gets chance for dance (5)
16 Stressful past, for example (5)
18 Bah! Dubai can be made capital of UAE... (3,5)
20 Top level discomfort? (8)
21 Ned's show of goodwill on departure (4,3)
23 Part of flower obtained from saint before conclusion of prayer (6)
25 Carve "Incorporated company is established at first" (6)
27 Musical instrument possessed by Tushar Pandey (4)
29 City shown in diagram (4)

17 comments:

  1. 11A:etcher=person making design on stone
    and such things(etc) is with (her)
    (etc)(her)
    2D:asphodel=flower
    snake(asp) with (hod) next to the spanish(el), {(asp)(hod)(el)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 4D. Unalike= different
    Ulna broken is unable
    IKE= nickname of Dwight Eisenhower
    My first

    ReplyDelete
  3. 9A. Drink = punch= box. It's a DD
    My second

    ReplyDelete
  4. 13A:studbook=equine pedigree record
    displacing dust(stud), reserve(book)
    {(stud)(book)}

    ReplyDelete
  5. 28A. Cravat= a short, wide strip ofva)t fabric worn by men round the neck and tucked inside an open-necked shirt

    Damaged cart= crat
    VA= Virginia( abbrev for the state of Virginia).
    Carrying is the containment indicator .
    Cra(va)t
    My third

    ReplyDelete
  6. 10 a OPAL Duck is zero. Pal is friend. OPAL is a stone..

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1 d TINT. Colour is hidden in AusTIN Texas

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 19A: demanding to be scratched = itching
    (Git)*
    Body part is chin
    Hence, (it(chin)g)
    24A: Middle East countries = emirates
    ((EMI)(rates))
    23D: part of flower= stamen
    ((St)(amen))
    Sathia

    ReplyDelete
  11. 17A- Unclean- Dirty- (Uncle) a n
    bearing- direction- N
    22A- Honshu- Island
    Man leaves human- Hu
    Nosh prepared- (Nosh)*- Onsh
    H onsh U
    In us container indicator
    26A- Thrashed- Badly beat
    The endlessly- TH
    Careless- Rash
    Journalist- Ed
    Th rash ed

    ReplyDelete
  12. 8Ac KISS - {SKIS}*
    6Dn GOETHE - {GO}{ETHE(l)}*
    15Ac IDEATE - {AIDE*}{EE<=}

    ReplyDelete

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