Thursday, 16 April 2026

No 14769, Thursday 16 Apr 2026, Gussalufz

Solution to 18A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered 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 answer, if not solved by 1 PM.

HIJKLMNO Pronounced

ACROSS
1   Development environment that boss nearly destroyed to grasp a bit of programming (4,4) STOP BATH {THAT+BOSs}* over {Pr...g}
6   Surprise for woman expecting escort? (6) SHOWER [DD]
9   Setter going for a social media interaction with Victoria, perhaps (4) LAKE L(-i+a)AKE
10 Some elaborate trap to teach obscure grammatical term? (10) TETRAPTOTE [T]
11 Oh, let's go back for a campus gathering (6) HOSTEL {OH<=}{LETS<=} 
12 Gang, in memoir, was regularly retreating for sport (8) SWIMMING {GaNg+In+MeMoIr+WaS}<=
13 Writer got sharply panned (10) STYLOGRAPH*
15 Cocaine, son, right away! (4) SNOW {S}{NOW}
17 Collect fingerprint pattern after returning (4) POOL<= 
18 Old bird circling cloud or a kind of delivery service? (4-2-4) D?O?-T?-D?O? (Addendum DOOR-TO-DOOR {D{OORT}ODO}{OR} - See comments)
20 Set out quinoa around five following chef's first dish (3,2,3) COQ AU VIN {QUINOA}* over {V} after{Chef}
22 "Outcome of naughty pout?" "Keeping quiet" (6) UPSHOT {UP{SH}OT*}
24 Made dry Indian crispy chicken starters, gobbled up with daughter (10) DESICCATED {DESI}{Cr...y}{Ch...n}{ATE}{D}
26 Welcome husband's distress (4) HAIL {H}{AIL}
27 Disentangle gunk and snot after blowing noses (6) UNKNOT {gUNK+sNOT
28 Spooner's young boy, batter with poor judgement (3,5) BAD TASTE (tad baste to bad taste)

DOWN
2   Quite a fort! Wonderfully hosts a small party (3,3,3) TEA FOR TWO [T]
3   Fold coat, bottom to middle (5) PLEAT PL(+e)EAT(-e)
4   Essentially, can't I logically use this operation to convert, say, 1 to 10? (7) ANTILOG [T]
5   How to prune butts, becoming attractive (3) HOT {HOw}{To}
6   Unoriginal southern liberal (7) SLAVISH {S}{LAVISH}
7   Made improvements in newspaper column about model I.I.M.s, with editing (9) OPTIMISED {OP ED} over {T+IIMS}*
8   Scoffed at faceless men on ecstasy (5) EATEN {AT}{mEN}<=>{E}
12 Squabble over private resort area (3,4) SPA TOWN {SPAT}{OWN}
14 All muddled, old language includes old pronunciation of R as L (9) LALLATION {ALL}* {LATIN} over {O}
16 One studying mountains is ordinary for university doctor (9) OROLOGIST (-u+o)OROLOGIST
18 Voted crankily to accommodate company housing for pigeons (7) DOVECOT {DOVE{CO}T*}
19 Lacking advanced auxiliary supports, ramshackle hut collapsed noisily (7) THUDDED {aADDED}<=>{HUT*}
21 Main article chases CEO's replacement (5) OCEAN {AN}<=>{CEO}*
23 Uh, sound missing in a chainsaw's clattering? (5) SCHWA CHAinSaW*
25 Save up for boat (3) TUB<=

Reference List
Son = S, Old bird = DODO, Cloud = OORT, Quiet = SH, Daughter = D, Husband = H, Southern = S, Model = T, Ecstasy = E, Old = O, Ordinary = O, University = U, Advanced = A

18 comments:

  1. 14d typo! muddled anind lal* lati(o)n.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Obscure terms-
    Tetraptote
    Coq au vin
    Schwa
    Nowhere near getting them.
    Still learning, but can we recall later? Hardly!

    ReplyDelete
  3. HIJKLMNO- I missing.
    H to O- H2O- Water?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bath, Shower, Swimming, Pool, Ocean, Tub

    ReplyDelete
  5. Spa? Water, water everywhere

    ReplyDelete
  6. Replies
    1. Elementary!!!
      Problem is that it is not there in the print edition. Why?

      Delete
    2. The print edition never gives the Title of the crosswords

      Delete
  7. 18A. DOOR TO DOOR, Dodo is old bird +or+oort which is cloud

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks. I got answer long but for right annotation.
    Here is my way of solving:
    Old(o) bird(d=dove), circling is container indicator. It is a reveral indicator too.
    O+d<do+do( dodo, a bird)+or+cloud(oort)
    Door-to-door= kind of delivery service (def)
    Oort cloud is above kuiper belt. A theoretical giant shell.
    My doubts:
    Question mark- it could be a pun.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Addendum 18A:
    Dodo= extinct bird, and this word often used to say that a person is outdated, old -fashioned.
    Door_to_door is also considered as an old- fashioned sales technique, method.
    So, is the word 'circling' as an indicator telling that the clue is a DD? Or,
    Is circling similar to cycling ( another indicator)?
    Anyone may kindly explain-
    Your answer is highly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete

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