Saturday, 25 July 2026

No 14855, Saturday 25 July 2026, Hypatia

 ACROSS
8 Martial art in UK, from East spreading good fun (4,2) KUNG FU {UK<}{G FUN}*
9 Tickets in Universal cover O. Henry's plays (not old) (8) VOUCHERS {U CoVER O H'S}*
10 Censor sports during nice bull fights (4-6) BLUE-PENCIL PE in {NICE BULL}*
11 Couple in noisy clip (4) PAIR {~PARE}
12 Fine priest caught in romantic outing (8) DELICATE {ELI}{C} in DATE
14 Mother's sister lacking a day free (6) UNTIED {aUNTIE}{D} 
15 Animals having five enzymes originally in stomachs (7) BEAVERS BEARS around {V+Enzymes}
17 City in America choked by modern progress (7) CHICAGO {CHIC}{A}{GO}
20 About laymen saving expenses (6) OUTLAY [T]
22 Excuse for party (8) OCCASION [DD]
24 Extremely grateful and cheerful (4) GLAD {GratefuL}{AnD}
25 Brown girl stealing diamonds after greeting's unreliable (3-3-4) HIT-AND-MISS {TAN}{D}{MISS}<=>{HI}
27 Camel train meandering behind Persian taxi (8) BACTRIAN {CAB<}{TRAIN*} Persian=from right to left
28 Forces subordinates moving leader four steps ahead (6) POWERS {-l+P}POWERS L,M,N,O,P.

DOWN
1 Two students boarding vehicle look sweet (5,3) BULL'S EYE {BU{LL}S}{EYE}
2 Beginners in athletics generally use exercise to get fit (4) AGUE [Acrostic]
3 Triumphant cry frequently coming up in park near Pune (6) EUREKA {pArK nEaR pUnE}<
4 Booted new device taking time (7) EVICTED {DEVICE}* around T
5 Leave four rocks around line roughly in the middle (8) FURLOUGH {FOUR}* around L+{roUGHly}
6 Spooner checks birds - they are picked up for Chinese food (10) CHOPSTICKS Spoonerism of Stops Chicks
7 Entrance of road closed by small change becoming flatter (6) PRAISE {P{Road}AISE}
13 Revoke TADA in live broadcast (10) INVALIDATE*
16 Regular Trichy building surrounding every other home (8) RHYTHMIC {TRICHY}* around {HoMe}
18 Associate writing in shiny dictionary (8) GLOSSARY {GLOSS{A}{R}Y}
19 Satisfaction's // something internalised (7) CONTENT [DD]
21 Would app. supply drop quietly with transfer to cloud? (6) UPLOAD {wOULD APp}*
23 Appetiser in saucepan accidentally overturned (6) CANAPE [T<]
26 Catcalls from the show haters ultimately (4) MEWS [Tail Acrostic]

Reference List
Good=G, Universal=U, Old=O, Sports=PE (Physical Exercise), Caught=C, Day=D, Five=V, America=A, Diamonds=D, Student=L, Time=T, Associate=A, Writing=R, Quietly=P, With=W.

22 comments:

  1. Had a great start for the day!
    Enjoyed every clue. It felt like each clue was constructed with care and precision.
    Thank you Hypatia !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. 26D- Different cats make different sounds. Mine is always meow!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Extremely difficult to pinpoint COD- too many contenders!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! It is always a pleasure to crack Hypatia CW.
      Sathia

      Delete
    2. Thanks Paddy and Sathia.

      Delete
  4. Excellent grid and absorbing solve! Was searching for RA which usually features in a Hypatia grid..
    10A could have been "Censor new English clip?! (4-6)" to fit in the missing RA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Abhishek. I did try for an RA with this light but was not satisfied with the options. Normally avoid abbreviations in the fodder for reverse anagrams since they are already esoteric clue types.

      Delete
  5. No indian item today. Yesterday it was ghagra.

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    Replies
    1. In the surface there are a couple, Paise and Pune.

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    2. Ah.. didnt realize. There was also TADA and Trichy in the clues.

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  6. 6d is it checks birds or check birds ?

    ReplyDelete
  7. checks= stops
    birds= chicks
    changes to
    chops sticks
    In Spoonerism, pronunciation of syllables changes ( irrespective of spelling)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yeah, but we can simply have "check" instead of "checks"
      check birds = stop chicks ~ chop sticks
      checks birds = stops chicks ~ chops sticks (there is an extra 's' sound).
      It is a minor thing, may be doesn't matter much.

      Delete
    2. I see your point but to me both sound the same in.the Spoonerism.

      Delete
  8. Here it is-
    Stops chics to chops sticks

    ReplyDelete
  9. 7D killed me.. flatter as praise and not as "more plain" was something my brain refused to consider. These mental blocks are very difficult to overcome. good puzzle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha - yes the surfacs are deliberately meant to mislead. Hopefully that adds to a PDM when you crack it.

      Delete
  10. Great puzzle.
    I also floundered over flatter and stomachs for sometime.
    Also agree with Kiran
    Stop chicks to chop sticks makes more sense.

    But loved
    CHICAGO, RHYTHMIC, DELICATE, PRAISE.
    Thanx Sowmya!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks Gowri. Good to know the ones you liked.

    ReplyDelete

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