Sunday, 3 May 2026

The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday No 54, Sunday 03 May 2026, Vidwan

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
9   Listen in, the first lady has a small mention (9)
10 Go on about English being meanest (5)
11 Cry about adopting India colour (5)
12 Fool hosting a short form of artistic work/period drama on TV (4,5)
13 So return could be sponsored (7)
15 Good and right to take responsibility as adult (7)
17 I've innocence! No convoluted nuisance! (13)
21 Perhaps only chap relinquishing power to become happy (7)
22 Scoring century in gentleman's game and yet a bit shaky (7)
23 Local clubs McCartney regularly goes to dehydrate (9)
25 Stir fear over fine (5)
27 Cause devastation with clubs discarded by amateur (5)
28 Fan crossing line to watch engaging royal consume grass in excess (9)

DOWN
1   Cryptic callers' crypts (7)
2   Oddly you've a large cricket ground (4)
3   Go back into shop coyly, perhaps for study of personality (10)
4   A forced kind of despair (6)
5   Small request by German peacekeepers for painting tool (5,3)
6   Drop of olive oil used for Spanish style stew (4)
7   Temple spread included pickled crane (10)
8   Gifts back case of peltry with belts (7)
14 Wildebeests upset by girls' shades (10)
16 Say O+ve strain (10)
18 Ex-Indian cricketer taking kid around to find a Goan delicacy (8)
19 Dark had replaced northern cold (7)
20 Latin apple stones, perhaps for tennis player (7)
22 Point about English sailor's coat (6)
24 Bakery item about to make bar millons (4)
26 Short Indian PM from south state (4)

62 comments:

  1. 9A. Eavesdrop= listen in
    Eve( first lady) s(small) drop( mention),a(a)
    As is anagrind
    My first

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No anagram here and 'As' cannot be anagrind. Where do you get As from?

      Delete
    2. Yes. No anagram. The first lady ( eve) has ( containment indicator) a =
      E(a) ve(s) drop
      Thanks paddy

      Delete
  2. 17A. Inconvenience=nuisance
    Convoluted is anagrind
    My second

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is the anagram fodder?

      Delete
    2. I've innocence, inconvenience =nuisance
      Convoluted is indicator

      Delete
    3. But that it seems is not. What is the anagram fodder is what paddy asked

      Delete
    4. As per you
      (Innocence ive)* But that contains only 12 letters. But enu is 13. Only N is needed but not 'No'

      Delete
  3. 18D. Vindaloo= Goan delicacy
    Vinoo is ex- cricketer, vinoo mankad
    Lad= kid
    Take in is containment indicator
    Vin(dal)oo
    Around is reverse indicator, lad becomes dal
    My third

    ReplyDelete
  4. 18 dn vindaloo-goan dish
    vinoo (mankad): indian cricketer.
    kid-lad< . vin(dal)oo.
    5 dn spray gun. s-small request -pray.g-german. peacekeepers-un
    s pray g un.
    14 dn sunglasses.shades
    wildebeests-gnus< girls-lasses.

    ReplyDelete
  5. in lieu of 18 d
    1 dn cellars-crypts callers*

    ReplyDelete
  6. 2D- Oval- yOuVe A Large- Alt. letters
    Def.- Cricket ground

    ReplyDelete
  7. 3Dn PSYCHOLOGY - study of personality
    From shop coyly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Shop coyly' has only 9 letters whereas enu is 10.

      Delete
    2. Perhaps G from Go as Shay mentioned. I don't know where enu comes from for this.

      Delete
    3. enu is enumeratiion- 10 letters.
      'Shop coyly' has only 9 letters. It needs extra G. But no indication to pick only G from go.
      Go back may indicate 'go' in reverse in PsycholOGy. But we have to leave out O from Coyly.

      Delete
  8. 23A - DESSICATE - Dehydrate;
    Local = Desi, (C)lubs, mCcArTnEy regularly
    2D - OVAL - cricket ground;
    yOuV A (L)arge
    3D - PSYCHOLOGY - study of personality
    {SHOP COYLY} with (G)o, anagrid - perhaps

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In lieu of 2D
      11A - WHITE - color
      Cry about - wet souns like WHET
      adopting (I)ndia or {WH(I)TE}

      Delete
    2. In lieu of 3D - A lot of enthusiasts have solved it before me. This is my final one!
      22A - RICKETY - a bit shaky;
      CRICKET - C (scoring or removing C and adding (Y)et making it RICKETY

      Delete
    3. 23A - spelled as DESICCATE. Sincere apologies for the misspelling. I have to draw the crossword on paper as I do not have an interactive version.

      Delete
  9. 3D- Psychology- Study of personality- G in (Shop coyly)*
    Go? O extra?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I meant to strike the o in Go and take only G but don’t know how to do it on the typed response. I wonder how Col does it.

      Delete
  10. 21Ac HALCYON - {ONLYCHA(-p)}*

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  12. 21A- Halcyon- (Only chap- P)*- To become happy

    ReplyDelete
  13. 19 SHADOWY=dark
    cold=S(-N)OWY +HAD
    (N)orth replaced by HAD

    ReplyDelete
  14. 5d SPRAY GUN=painting tool
    Sm̶a̶l̶l̶+ PRAY=request, Gu̶n̶ +UN=peace keepers

    ReplyDelete
  15. 10a LEAST=meanest
    LAST=go on, about, (to contain)En̶g̶l̶i̶s̶h̶
    L(+E)AST

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

    ReplyDelete
  17. 26 oman (namo) <
    16ac grownup
    (g) (r) own up(take responsibility
    5dn spray gun (s) (pray) (g) (un)

    ReplyDelete
  18. 7D:tabernacle=temple
    spread(table), pickled=anagrind
    (crane)*, {tab(crane)*le}

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  21. In lieu of 5d, already answered my 3rd
    15a GROWNUP=adult
    (G)o̶o̶d̶, (R)i̶g̶h̶t̶, +OWN UP (take responsibility )

    ReplyDelete
  22. 13A:respond=return
    (so)+(respond)=sponsored

    ReplyDelete
  23. There may be a special at 4 PM today

    ReplyDelete
  24. 6D:olio=stew
    drop of olive(o), (oil)*
    used=anagrind, {(o)(oil)*}

    ReplyDelete
  25. Happy birthday wishes Ajeesh. Have a great year ahead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Birthday & Many Happy Returns of the Day, Ajeesh!

      Delete
  26. 22D: sailor’s coat= reefer
    (Ref(e)er)
    Sathia

    ReplyDelete
  27. 27A: cause= wreak
    devastation = wreck
    (+a) with (-c)
    Sathia

    ReplyDelete
  28. 24D CAKE = bakery item { about C+ mAKE-M, make bar millions}
    8D STRAPPY = with belts { gifts PARTS back<< +PY case of PeltrY}
    27A WREAK = cause devastation {devastation WRECK - C, clubs + A amateur}

    ReplyDelete
  29. 25A AW(OK)E = stir
    fear - awe
    fine - ok

    ReplyDelete
  30. Special at 4 PM by Harish Kamath

    ReplyDelete
  31. 16D: strain = overcharge
    Say O +ve is charge (it means Over charge)
    Sathia

    ReplyDelete
  32. 1dn. Cellars (crypts). Rearranging letters from callers.
    2.dn. Oval. (Cricket ground). yOuVe A Large.
    3.dn. Psychology. shop coyly + g (go). And rearranging the letters.

    ReplyDelete
  33. 28a. OVERGRAZE. - Consume grass in excess
    (-l)OVER - Fan, crossing line (L)
    GAZE. - Watch
    R. - Royal
    Engaging - Insert Ind for R

    ReplyDelete
  34. 20D yet to be solved.
    Sathia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There seems to be an error in the clue.
      Pyrenes is the seed of apples. There is a tennis tournament in Pyrenees (near Pyrenees mountains) To my knowledge there is no tennis player by that name.

      Delete
    2. Probably it is DD.
      In Latin apple stones are called Pyrenea
      Pyrenees or pyrenea is a place in Spain where they conduct Tennis tournaments.
      Sathia

      Delete
    3. Clue says: *perhaps for* tennis player
      Setter probably meant related to tennis player.

      Delete
  35. 4d PRISED: forced
    (A(PRISED))*: kind of : DESPAIR (RA)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Yes, it is a DD and a tennis tournament- not a player.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ter%C3%A9ga_Open_Pau%E2%80%93Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es

    ReplyDelete

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