No 14572, Monday 25 Aug 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 23A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Essentially leaving in vehicle for elite food (6) CAVIAR {C{leAVIng}AR}

4   Convicted criminal regularly seen in parties soon met Republican (8) PRISONER {PaRtIeS+sOoN+mEt}{R}

9   Chase American university to admit son in daughter's place (6) PURSUE PUR(-d+s)SUE

10 Birds quarrel before fights (8) SPARROWS {SPAR}{ROWS}

11 Pedestrian classification of Vande Bharat Express, for one (4-5,5) HIGH-SPEED TRAIN {PEDESTRIAN}* [RA]

13 Upgrades bookmaker for Spooner (4,6) GETS BETTER (bets getter to gets better)

14 Say, queen taking fine meat (4) BEEF {BEE}{F}

16 Swindle in shares cornering Asian markets, initially (4) SCAM Acrostic

18 Starter of rice in hot meal is cooked with temperature kept constant (10) ISOTHERMAL {Rice} in {HOT+MEAL+IS}*

21 Proposal helping to onboard million workers in European firm at Germany (14) RECOMMENDATION {RATION} over {M}{MEN}in {E}{CO}{D}

23 Bar for one, replacing leading advocate in practice (8) P?O?I?I? (Addendum - PROHIBIT {PRO}{H(-a+1)IBIT} - See comments)

24 Cheetah in India eating sesame dip (6) TAHINI [T]

25 Reportedly criticize authors in hand out (8) DISPENSE {~dis pens)

26 Girl at city checking hot skirt (6) GHAGRA {G}{H}{AGRA}

DOWN

1   Manage children outside park entrance, basically (4) COPE Acrostic

2   Opinion of ancient Sanskrit scriptures about right time (7) VERDICT {VE{R}DIC}{T}

3   American bachelor at Dubai working outside hot capital city (3,5) ABU DHABI {A}{B}{UD{H}ABI*}

5   Discourage wasting time on the counter packing gift displayed (11) REPRESENTED {DEtER<=} over {PRESENT}

6   King in clutches of evil goblin (6) SPRITE {SP{R}ITE}

7   Airplane on a terminal carrying latest arrival (7) NEONATE [T]

8   Bitter criminal enters Gulf? Not good! (9) RESENTFUL {ENTERS+gULF}*

12 Specialist bakeries repeatedly re-using ingredients in parties (11) PATISSERIES {PARTIES}* [Letter Bank]

13 Creature's tail twisted squeezing tight old strap (9) GASTROPOD {DOG<=} over {O+STRAP}*

15 Source of irritation in the exact area so frequently getting hard (4,4) HEAT RASH {tHe+ExAcT+aReA+So}{H} Is would have been better than so to maintain the frequent pattern

17 Devices to secure TV show hosts (7) ANCHORS [DD]

19 Low crew typing up a boat (7) MOORING {MOO}{RING} Typing seems to be a typo for tying

20 This referee hates ordering pushier team (6) UMPIRE {UMPIRE+HATES}*=PUSHIER TEAM

22 Upcoming, keen star (4) DIVA<=

Reference List

Republican = R, Son = S, Daughter = D, Fine = F, Million = M, European = E, Germany = D, Girl = G, Hot = H, Right = R, Time = T, American = A, Bachelor = B, King = R, Good = G, Old = O, Hard = H

No 14519, Tuesday 24 Jun 2025, Hypatia

FOR ATTENTION OF ALL VISITORS TO THE BLOG

I am reopening the blog so that anyone can access it, however from 7AM on Friday 27 Jun onwards, I will again be restricting access to the blog permanently and only custom readers will be able to access the blog. 

Those who want access to the blog as custom readers may therefore send me an e-mail at deepakgita@gmail.com and I will approve the same. Those who have already done so need not do so again.

I have been forced to change the settings as one person refused to adhere to the rules of the blog despite being advised on many occasions. Once the blog is restricted to custom readers as it was for the past 3 days, I will have the administrative power to remove anyone who does not follow the rules.

Solution to 5A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Rat forcing cat to run (8) TURNCOAT*

5   Free delivery (6) ?E?C?E (Addendum - RESCUE [DD?] - See comments)

10 Little daughter at hospital ward nursed by mother (7) MODICUM {MO{D}{ICU}M}

11 Hypatia's books collected by cool Egyptian architect (7) IMHOTEP {I'M}{H{OT}EP}

12 Enthroned, Middle Eastern, elite ruler principally (5) EMEER &lit

13 Irregular sleep delayed husband ultimately snuggling close to you (9) NODULATED {NOD}{LATE}{h...nD} over {yoU}

14 Transfer result about unit in plant's output (7,5) PASSION FRUIT {PASS ON}{FRUIT} over {1}

18 British queens embrace new church avoiding mass exercises (5,7) BENCH PRESSES {B}{Em{N}{CH}PRESSES}

21 Strong green tea initially mixed with ice (9) ENERGETIC {GREEN+Tea+ICE}*

23 Ibexes breathing hard for oxygen in mountain passes (5) GHATS {G(-o+h)HATS}

24 Escalating tension? (7) VERTIGO [CD]

25 Cheerful or insecure self-confession (7) AMIABLE {AM I ABLE}

26 Gaining admission in US, a lad soon leaves (6) SALADS [T]

27 Indians and Belgians abroad (8) BENGALIS*

DOWN

1   Periodically the PM appears in bad mood (6) TEMPER {ThE+pM+aPpEaRs}

2   Require vacating judge to acquit (6) REDEEM {Re...rE}{DEEM}

3   Bug Spooner's music tutor (9) COCKROACH (~rock coach to cockroach)

4   Direction Bond gives regularly: "A martini isn't stirred" (14) ADMINISTRATION {bOnD+A+MARTINI+ISNT}*

6   They lit lamps initially in compound (5) ETHYL {THEY}*{La..s}

7   Life-size hoarding tackling sex - "Don't do that!" (3,2,3) CUT IT OUT {CUT OUT} over {IT}

8   Speed up former training with fresh diet (8) EXPEDITE {EX}{PE}{DIET*}

9   Choose as e.g., any futile pursuit (4,5,5) WILD GOOSE CHASE {CHOOSE+AS+EG}* [RA]

15 Young bird finally catching fish quickly took flight sitting above (9) FLEDGING {birD}{LING}<=>{FLED} (Correction {c...nG}{LING}<=>{FLED} - See comments)

16 Sees hint from SEBI over BSE reforms (8) OBSERVES {Sebi+OVER+BSE}*

17 Liberal Government's reliant as a whole (8) INTEGRAL {G+RELIANT}*

19 Play Game Boy endlessly reaching ultimate level (6) GAMBOL {GAMe}{BOy}{l..eL}

20 Flowers outlast erstwhile shows (6) ASTERS [T]

22 Champ's name in part of a crossword (5) GRIND {GRI{N}D}

Reference List

Daughter = D, Books = OT(Old Testament), Cool = HEP, British = B, New = N, Church = CH, Mass = M, Hard = H, Sex = IT, Training = PE, Government = G, Name = N

No 14518, Monday 23 Jun 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 10A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

7   Modern AI trial unit's practical (11) UTILITARIAN*

8   Socialise after captain of Mumbai team retired (3) MIX {Mu...i}{XI<=}

10 Bragged in party (4) ?R?W (Addendum - CREW [DD] - See comments)

11 Middle Easterners re-building Basra (5) ARABS*

12 Attacks fools (4) MUGS [DD]

13 River Seine, extremely hot earlier to bathe (5) RINSE {R}{SeinE}<=>{IN}

15 Fancy clothes in wash - rest mostly dirty (9) SHERWANIS {IN+WAS+RESt}*

16 Invites him later to tour capital city (6) SHIMLA [T]

18 Colourful bird or two on air before May (6) TOUCAN {(~two)TOU}{CAN}

21 A rich child's booster seat (4-5) HIGH-CHAIR {A+RICH}* [RA]

23 Leaders of huge empires inheriting remarkable status! (5) HEIRS Acrostic Semi&lit

25 Women passing through never sent back in Sabarimala, say (4) TOWN {N{W}OT<=} Sabarimala is a hill and not a town

26 Perfect old performance (5) EXACT {EX}{ACT}

27 Incomplete cipher requiring a final part (4) CODA {CODe}{A}

28 Oddly join with girl to dance (3) JIG {JoIn}{G}

29 Reserved match, pointed Spooner (5-6) TIGHT-LIPPED (~light tipped to tight-lipped)

DOWN

1   Sea creature's prominent angle (8) STARFISH {STAR}{FISH}

2   Reflection of animal in stream (4) FLOW<=

3   Ultimately unfinished country album? (5) ATLAS {AT LASt}

4   Infuse exotic herb tea (7) BREATHE*

5   Language without writing tools, pens (8) SANSKRIT {SANS}{K{R}IT}

6   Antelope seen in his log cabin regularly (6) NILGAI {iN+hIs+LoG+cAbIn}

9   Young author's unpopular, discontented, boring friend (8) IMMATURE {I'M}{MAT{Un...aR}E}

14 Recalled why no HP mystery features a musical composition (8) SYMPHONY [T<=]

17 Allow sharing chat - one unusually active (8) ATHLETIC {LET} in {CHAT+1}*

19 A newly wed daughter securing ghunghat initially clipped (8) ABRIDGED {A}{BRID{Gh...t}E}{D}

20 Basic test about state leading to arrest killer (7) PIRANHA {P{IRAN}H}{Ar...t}

22 Working in ICICI? Most famous! (6) ICONIC {IC{ON}ICi}

24 Looted from shop changing hands (5) STOLE STO(-r+l)LE

27 Initially cut or paste your transcript (4) COPY Acrostic 

Reference List

Hot = IN, Women = W, Girl = G, Writing = R, Basic test = Ph

No 14493, Saturday 24 May 2025, Hypatia

 ACROSS
7 Group of readers express disapproval at Pak's final strike (4,4) BOOK CLUB {BOO}{paK}{CLUB}
9 Articles about women's breadth of knowledge cause a stir (6) AWAKEN {A}{W}{A}{KEN}
10 Basically melodious, yet noisy Asian bird (4) MYNA [Acrostic] & Lit

11 Scrubs behind square one, say (5,5) CLEAN SLATE {CLEANS}{LATE}
12 Transportation network bypassing river island perpetually (6) ALWAYS {rAiLWAYS}
14 King accepted to protect boxer and man rebelling in era of conflict (4,4) KALI YUGA {K}{ALI}{GUY<}{A}
15 Rhetorical question crashing bot one time - reboot! (2,2,2,3,2,2) TO BE OR NOT TO BE {BOT ONE T REBOOT}*
18 Accessories supplying juice// for// horses (8) CHARGERS [DD]

20 Is this lady posing with sad smile (6) DAMSEL {IS+DAMSEL}*=SAD SMILE [CA]
21 Removes from list when protest's discontinued (7,3) STRIKES OFF {STRIKE'S OFF}
22 Drop nothing at Cambridge college (4) OMIT {O}{MIT}
23 Turn back always entering in right time (6) REVERT {R}{EVER}{T}
24 Test demo of card game finished by Reverend (5,3) DUMMY RUN {Spoonerism of  RUMMY DONE}

DOWN
1 Multilingual theme outlining most mature story's ultimately good (8) POLYGLOT {P{OLd}{storY}{G}LOT}
2 Fine grass cut lady's fingers (4) OKRA {OK}{RAt}

3 Films// that are// hits (6) FLICKS [DD]
4 Challenge grand relative on rent (8) GAUNTLET {G}{AUNT}{LET}
5 Wore my pants with ruffle on top - it's long and cylindrical (6-4) GALLEY-WORM {WORE MY}*<=>{GALL}
6 Location identifier goes out every second on a flashing terminal (6) GEOTAG {GoEs OuT}{A}{flashinG}
8 How to make new doors retract? (5,4,4) BREAK ONE'S WORD {NEW DOORS}* [RA]
13 Eggplants stew with a bit of umami, sage and brine (10) AUBERGINES {Umami SAGE BRINE}*

16 Some let tenants eat breakfast (8) OMELETTE [T]
17 Retired academic's worth inspiring Spain and America (8) EMERITUS {E}{MERIT}{US}
19 Heard struggling with tense hostility (6) HATRED {HEARD T}*
20 Spoil reputation of noble lady courting English fellow (6) DEFAME {D{E}{F}AME}
22 Concerning axes in BlackRock? (4) ONYX {ON}{Y}{X}

REFERENCE LIST

Article=A, Women=W, River=R, Island=I, King=K, Accepted=A, Time=T, Nothing=Zero=O, Right=R, Good, Grand=G, Spain=E, America=US, Tense=T, English=E, Fellow=F, Axes= X and Y. 

No 14492, Friday 23 May 2025, Hypatia

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS

1   Father met mother wearing a Japanese nightdress (6) PAJAMA {P{A}{{J}A}{MA}

4   Drink after silly cat behaves badly (4,2) ACTS UP {SUP}<=>{CAT}*

9   Unidentified pain point manifesting periodically (4) ANON {pAiN+pOiNt}

10 American dug entire ground for eco assessment (5,5) GREEN AUDIT {A+DUG+ENTIRE}*

11 Musical composition of ragas on a tanpura (6) SONATA [T]

12 Press dispatch (8) EXPEDITE [DD]

13 Derisive of actors in Indian attire at inauguration of Cannes (9) SARCASTIC {SAR{CAST}I}{Ca...s}

15 Rank beginners in technical institutes earning recognition (4) TIER Acrostic

16 Co-ordinate on the phone for founder (4) SINK (~sync)

17 Skip exercise by students initially sorting types wrongly (9) MISSPELLS {MISS}{PE}{LL}{So...g}

21 Monkey putting shelled nut in top portion of jaw (8) CAPUCHIN {CAP}{nUt}{CHIN}

22 Advise lacking love for one ailing (6) INFIRM INF(-o+1)IRM

24 Determined sibling cycling behind park before turning ten (10) PERSISTENT {(+er)ERSIST(-er)}<=>{P} and {TEN*}

25 House fly? (4) RACE [DD]

26 Attempts dissertations (6) ESSAYS [DD]

27 Repeatedly consider delivering cotton fabric (6) MULMUL (~mull mull)

DOWN

1   Curious girl's dad checking both gates (7) PANDORA {P{AND}{OR}A}

2   Just undisciplined nationalists thwarting authority, basically! (5) JUNTA Acrostic &lit

3   Hard gangster intercepts, attacks powerful tycoons (7) MUGHALS {MUG{H}{AL}S}

5   John joining work before May's final projection (6) CANOPY {CAN}{OP}{maY}

6   Spooner secured spot for a pithy quote (9) SOUNDBITE (~bound site to soundbite)

7   Murugappa interestingly, collected M.F. Hussain, say (7) PAINTER [T]

8   Entertainment box's live on-site (10,3) TELEVISION SET {LIVE+ON+SITE}* [RA]

14 Triumphs spending time for question in competitions (9) CONQUESTS {CON(-t+qu)QUESTS

16 Thai men's team has its regulars retiring (7) SIAMESE {mEnS+tEaM+hAs+ItS}<=

18 Fancy this posh zone featuring hot dog (4-3) SHIH-TZU {THIS+U+Z}* over {H}}

19 Rallying cries exciting this romantic singer (7) LYRICAL [CA] {LYRICAL+SINGER}*={RALLYING+CRIES}

20 Spirit of weak man's ultimately bleak, sadly (6) WHISKY {W}{HIS}{b..aK}{s..lY}

23 Old fellow promoted strange group (5) FORUM {O}<=>{F} and {RUM}

Reference List

Japanese = J, American = A, Exercise = PE, Student = L, Park = P, Gates = AND, OR, Hard = H, Gangster = AL(Capone), John = CAN, Work = OP, Time = T, Question = QU, Zone = Z, Hot = H, Weak = W, Old = O, Fellow = F

No 14470, Monday 28 Apr 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 9A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

8   Criticise, essentially ruining ancient grammarian (6) PANINI {PAN}{ruINIng}

9   Meddle with current switch boxes (4,2,2) B?T? I? O? (Addendum - BUTT IN ON {BUTT{IN}ON} - See comments)

10 Ring Beth and become happier (8,2) BRIGHTEN UP {RING+BETH}* [RA]

11 Basically got richer, expanding wider! (4) GREW Acrostic &lit

12 More painful cut by mark on bishop's old hat (8) SOMBRERO {SO{M}{B}RER}{O}

14 Section of ulcer is extremely red (6) CERISE [T]

15 Love eggs initially hatched by nimble, small birds (7) OSPREYS {O}{SPR{Eggs}Y}{S}

17 Eloquence of pilot welcoming uncle sadly left out (7) FLUENCY {FL{UNClE*}Y}

20 Mozart of Madras almost succeeding British creator (6) BRAHMA {RAHMAn}{<=>{B}

22 School observatory? (8) AQUARIUM [CD]

24 Originally, Japanese app. visualised AI programming language (4) JAVA Acrostic

25 Boy at peril shot in volatile zone getting top award (5,5) NOBEL PRIZE {B+PERIL}* in {ZONE}*

27 Calculated write-off with auditor's reports (8) RECKONED (~wreck owned) Not sure of Anno (Correction - (~wreck and) - See comments)

28 Places from the East, like Buddhist shrines (6) STUPAS {PUTS<=}{AS}

DOWN

1   Father jogs taking Indian country fans (8) PATRIOTS {PA}{TR{I}OTS}

2   Carol or wrong girl (4) SING {SIN}{G}

3   Integrity of contest inspiring rectitude regularly (6) VIRTUE {VI{RecTitUde}E}

4   Baraats would have this in desert? (7) ABANDON {A BAND ON}

5   Start to crack Hypatia puzzles - not hard and liberal, unlike others (8) ATYPICAL {Cr..k+hYPATIA}*{L}

6   Non-alcoholic beverage given by reveller teasing Spooner (6-4) GINGER-BEER (~binger geer to ginger beer) (Correction - (~binger jeer to ginger beer) - See comments)

7   Intimates dogs (6) BOXERS [DD]

13 Say spot communist leader's identification signs (10) BIRTHMARKS (~ berth marx)

16 Sensibly earn in Yokohama, saving Yen (8) YEARNING [T?] Anno not clear

18 Audacity of chap swimming around shack close to Ritz (8) CHUTZPAH {C{HUT}{ritZ}PAH*}

19 Dance by the French eating badam nuts (7) LAMBADA {L{BADAM*}A}

21 Zoomed wasting seconds in front of room and screamed (6) ROARED {sOARED}<=>{R}

23 Except when American concealed sensual plays (6) UNLESS SENSUaL*

26 Track featuring ordinary beat (4) ROUT {R{O}UT}

Reference List

Mark = M, Bishop = B, Old = O, Small = S, British = B, Boy -= B, Indian = I, Girl = G, Hard = H, Liberal = L, The in French = LA, Second = S, Room = R, American = A, Ordinary = O

No 14469, Saturday 26 Apr 2025, Hypatia

 ACROSS
1 Fill drink before travel (6) SUPPLY {SUP}{PLY}
4 Sensibilities affecting cold, detached economist (8) EMOTIONS {EcONOMIST}*
9 Tom, Dick or Harry (most of those reading this) boring Hathaway, say (6) ANYONE {AN{YOu}NE} Anne Hathaway, the actress or Shakespeare's wife
10 Forefather captivated by dance story (8) ANCESTOR [T]
11 Mini cosmos in embassy (4,10) HIGH COMMISION {MINI COSMOS}* [RA]
13 Squibs essentially going into crackers out of place (10) UNSUITABLE {sqUIbs} going into {UNSTABLE}
14 Fruit//chaat (4) BHEL [DD]

16 Bob doesn't use chair, kneeling originally (4) DUCK [Acrostic]
18 Software capturing racing cars registered in Burj Khalifa, for one (10) SKYSCRAPER {CARS}* in {SKYPE}+{R}

21 Attempt to salvage via tense discussions during heated cult wars (6,2,6) CLUTCH AT STRAWS {T}{CHATS} in {CULT WARS}*
23 Roast about performance in shows (8) DISPLAYS {DIS{PLAY}S}
24 A father stopped by priest for long (6) ASPIRE {A}{S{P}IRE}
25 Disheartened doctors nursing veteran's strange depression (8) DOLDRUMS {DoctorS} nursing {OLD}{RUM}
26 America declines applications (6) USAGES {US}{AGES}

DOWN
1 Instant// photo (4) SNAP [DD]
2 Shy models in images for school subject (7) PHYSICS {SHY}* in {PICS}
3 Playing regularly, composer's skipping over main part (8) LYNCHPIN {pLaYiNg}{CHoPIN}
5 Artists cropped missing Tamil reels (11) MINIMALISTS {MISSINg TAMIL}*
6 Bees tested hold up - some fly (6) TSETSE [T<]
7 Nest ultimately circled by large magnificent bird (7) OSTRICH {nesT} in {OS}{RICH}

8 Jet through special skating arena next to the French river (9) SPRINKLER {SP}{RINK}{LE}{R}
12 Poet and old character actor crossing my city (Manama), at last (4,7) OMAR KHAYYAM {O}{MARK}{HA{mY}{citY}{manamA}M} Easy to solve, tough to parse

13 Global organization's detectives indeed on the fence (9) UNDECIDED {UN} {DE{CID}ED}
15 Checks admitting million supporters of members? (8) ARMRESTS {AR{M}RESTS}
17 Lawyer cracking clue with son (7) COUNSEL*
19 Making a pledge beneath park's shelter (7) PAWNING {P}{AWNING}
20 Basically observe crystals under light augmenting range of vision (6) OCULAR [Acrostic]
22 A man and woman heading for salon cuts (4) HEWS {HE}{W}{Salon}

REFERENCE LIST

Cold=C, Registered=R, Tense=T, Roast=Diss, Priest=P, America=US, Large=OS (Outsize), Special=SP, The French=LE(THE in French), Old=O, Park=P, Man=He, Woman=W.

No 14448, Wednesday 02 Apr 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 19D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Try rounding up crowds in South Indian temple towers (8) GOPURAMS {GO}{PU<=}{RAMS}

5   European chose nuts for parrots (6) ECHOES {E}{CHOSE*}

10 Discharges captain losing semifinals, perhaps (7) LAYOFFS pLAYOFFS

11 One left in cycling division's fastest (7) AGILEST  {1}{L} in (+age)AGEST(-age)

12 Different from extremely outright woman (5) OTHER {Ou...hT}{HER}

13 Diaries in craft corners, per Spooner (9) NOTEBOOKS (~ boat nooks to notebooks)

14 Ate without folding her seat down (12) DISHEARTENED {DI{HER+SEAT}*NED}

18 Process for plating oyster cell is complicated (12) ELECTROLYSIS*

21 Greeting from the Spanish web domain in Zoom (9) WELCOMING {W{EL}{COM}ING}

23 Warrior discovering gun in Jammu (5) NINJA [T]

24 Fix rent including new lock (7) RINGLET {RIG}{LET} over {N}

25 Everyone joining say, troops returning quickly (7) ALLEGRO {ALL}{EG}{OR<=}

26 Asterix's infinitely funny caricature (6) SATIRE {SATIRE+X'S}*=ASTERIX'S [CA]

27 Divine sightings of Sant at his errands, reflecting regularly (8) DARSHANS {SaNt+As+HiS+eRrAnDs}<=

DOWN

1   Capacity of old historical ship out of Europe (6) GALLON GALLeON

2   Person's spirit - yet captures his emotions, basically! (6) PSYCHE Acrostic &lit

3   Progressive terms for relocating outside India (9) REFORMIST {TERMS+FOR}* over {I}

4   Those who hate people avoid taking this part on cast (14) MISANTHROPISTS {MISS} over {THIS+PART+ON}*

6   Setter's inspecting constant weight scale (5) CLIMB {C}{L{I'M}B}

7   Private phone too near beds (3-2-3) ONE-TO-ONE [T]

8   Reserve ideas (3-5) SET-ASIDE {IDEAS}* [RA]

9   Protest march from yard in Agra has at last been defused (4,10) SALT SATYAGRAHA {Y} in {AGRA+HAS+AT+LAST}*

15 Complex relationships and mix-ups involving Romeo at Italy (9) TRIANGLES {T{R}{I}ANGLES}

16 Social groups for fishing and macrame? (8) NETWORKS [MD]

17 Strangely knew about students at technology firm (4-4) WELL-KNIT {WE{LL}KN*}{IT}

19 Central letters hidden in magazine's cryptic puzzle (6) ?N?G?A (Addendum ENIGMA {MAGazINE}* - See comments)

20 Bill recalled working at small clubs (6) BATONS {TAB<=}{ON}{S}

22 Labourer spending time in fuel tanker (5) OILER tOILER

Reference List

European = E, Left = L, The in Spanish = EL, Web domain = COM, New = N, Troops = OR, Europe = E, India = I, Constant = C, Weight  = LB(Pound), Yard = Y, Romeo = R, Italy = I, Student = L, Technology = IT, Small = S, Time = T

No 14447, Tuesday 01 Apr 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 20D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

7   Pass secured by end of semester's chosen to be remembered (11) RECOLLETED {COL} in {s...eR}{ELECTED}

8   Recipe tossing a bit of mango preserve in container (3) JAR JA(-m+r)R

10 Primarily cozy and friendly eatery! (4) CAFE Acrostic &lit

11 Wipe small baby cuddling close to mother (5) SCRUB {S}{C{m...eR}UB}

12 Sign in Gulf country using English instead of Arabic header (4) OMEN OM(-a+e)EN

13 Gutted transcripts containing old time messages (5) TEXTS {Tr...{EX}{T}..ts}

15 Remove dust from trifle (6,3) FILTER OUT {TRIFLE}* [RA]

16 Parched after cycling around historic waterway? (6) SEARED {RED}<=>{SEA}

18 Humble Mahatma's teachings chiefly inspired poems (6) MODEST {Ma...a}{Te...s} over {ODES}

21 Supporting one charged after second time for advancement (9) PROMOTION {PRO} with {ION}<=>{MO}{T}

23 Pose No. 1 in selfie amidst three articles (5) ASANA {A}{Se...e}{AN}{A}

25 Obligation needing unwavering strength, basically! (4) ONUS Acrostic &lit

26 Bad idea to join guru's final farewell (5) ADIEU {IDEA}*{gurU}

27 Avoid stay oddly lacking travel permit (4) VISA {aVoId+StAy}

28 Basic test with egg soup? (3) PHO {PH}{O} 

29 Spooner's key more expensive for retailer (11) STOREKEEPER (~core steeper to storekeeper)

DOWN

1   Asian seen going West with sweetheart, bored by friend (8) NEPALESE {SEEN<=}{swEet} over over {PAL}

2   Slimy mud over Elephant's head at animal park (4) OOZE {El...t}{ZOO}<=

3   What can be broken by two girls (5) GLASS {G}{LASS}

4   Criminal or cop is giving a sign (7) SCORPIO*

5   Switched vibrate on mobile - literally (8) VERBATIM {VIBRATE}*{M}

6   Some dog ate auntie's creamy cake (6) GATEAU [T]

9   Occasionally cook more and less for colleagues (8) COMRADES {CoOk+MoRe+AnD+lEsS}

14 Mauritius flourishes exporting posh dessert (8) TIRAMISU MAURITIuS*

17 Began rebelling around college and brings down (8) DETRACTS {STARTED<=} over {C}

19 Yeltsin is terrified about dark (8) SINISTER [T]

20 Partly concealed hole on Iyer's  blue underwear (7) ?O?I?R? (Addendum - HOSIERY {HOle}{IYERS*} - See comments)

22 Rich and mostly lively city (6) RANCHI {RICH+ANd}*

24 Starts to quit using after knees essentially tremble (5) QUAKE Acrostic

27 Contend with women's opinion (4) VIEW {VIE}{W}

Reference List

Pass = COL, Recipe = R, Small = S, English = E, Time = T, Second = MO, Basic test = Ph, Girl = G, LASS, Mobile = M, Posh = U, College = C, Women = W

No 14421, Saturday 1 Mar 2025, Hypatia

 ACROSS
7 Mother adopts flexible hours to grow quickly (8) MUSHROOM {M{HOURS*}OM}
9 Tree in the ground provides protection (6) HELMET {ELM inside THE*}
10 Jog behind park (4) BUMP {BUM}{P}
11 Request money to inspect sample for particular supervisor (10) TASKMASTER {T{ASK}{M}ASTER}
12 Uncovered moral stories that are productive (6) ARABLE {pARABLEs}
14 Crooked staff mint crores handling international school (8) CROSIERS {CRORES* over I}{S}

15 Glibness? It may be both good and bad (5,8) MIXED BLESSING {GLIBNESS}* [RA]
18 Say, atta is hard to sweep (8) FLOURISH {FLOUR}{IS}{H}
20 Most antique fragment of idol destroyed (6) OLDEST [T]

21 Free universal study about love god inspires sweetheart (10) UNOCCUPIED  {U}{CON<}{CUPI{swEet}D}
22 Union/ strike (4) CLUB [DD]
23 Characters regularly seen in alliance are mostly straight (6) LINEAR {aLlIaNcE}{ARe}
24 Visitor dropping a famous actor outside shooting spot (8) STRANGER {ST{RANGE}aR}

DOWN
1 German University's unusual tour of Agra, ignoring capital city (8) GURUGRAM {G}{U}{RU{aGRA}M}
2 Wide and fashionable belt (4) WHIP {W}{HIP}
3 Courage of old American killed in war (6) BOTTLE {B{-a+O}TTLE}
4 Cleaners collecting meat and waste material on board (8) SHAMPOOS {S{HAM}{POO}S}
5 Cold drink nursed holds one secret (10) CLASSIFIED {C}{LASSI}{F{I}ED}
6 Heavenly body's heavier, when picked up? (6) METEOR {~MEATIER}

8 Such a similar tactic finally used in stand-out party game? (7,6) MUSICAL CHAIRS {SUCH A SIMILIAR tactiC}*
13 Spooner secures groups for prepacked meals (3,7) BOX LUNCHES {Spoonerism of LOCKS BUNCHES} 
16 Pump air without opening liquid cocktail (8) DAIQUIRI {AIR lIQUID}*

17 Doctor greets us and waves (8) GESTURES*
19 Clothing for men lifting some design ultimately (6) LUNGIS [T<]
20 Rules /for/ fraternities (6) ORDERS [DD]
22 100 + 1 - A solid figure (4) CONE {C}{ONE}

REFERENCE LIST

Park=P, Money=M, International=I, School=S, Hard=H, Universal, University=U, German=G, Wide=W, Old=O, American=A, On board=SS(Steam Ship), Cold=C, One=I.

No 14420, Friday 28 Feb 2025, Hypatia

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS

8   Notice American eating Australian fruit (6) SAPOTA {SPOT}{A} over {A}

9   Verified Google maps, for one and drove around (8) APPROVED {APP}{DROVE*}

10 Big picture of cover guy, per Spooner (6,4) MASTER PLAN (~plaster man to master plan)

11 Dull poet's retrospective (4) DRAB<=

12 Artisan touring English Church in a frenzy (8) MECHANIC {M{E}{CH}ANIC}

14 Light coal without lead (6) IGNITE lIGNITE

15 Monsters almost gobble and injure son (7) GORGONS {GORGe}{SON*}

17 Flexibility of girl replacing bachelor in faculty (7) AGILITY A(+g-b)GILITY

20 Parades potentially showcasing tyrant (6) DESPOT [T]

22 Optimistic article boring mad genius (8) SANGUINE {S{AN}GUINE*}

24 Basically happy or lively Indian celebration! (4) HOLI Acrostic Semi&lit

25 Initially Rio cycles to join friend after drink (10) ORIGINALLY {(+o)ORI(-o)} with {ALLY}<=>{GIN}

27 Regularly learned Watkins was revolting in some way (2,2,4) AS IT WERE {lEaRnEd+WaTkInS+wAs}<=

28 Doctor had given genetic material in agitation (6) DHARNA {HAD*}{RNA}

DOWN

1   Aha! Ban erotica to suppress hot stuff (8) HABANERO [T]

2   Keep supporting Tesla (4) FORT {FOR}{T}

3   Alert engineers blocking complex network (6) WARREN {WAR{RE}N}

4   Store installing awfully old security device (7) PADLOCK {PA{OLD*}CK}

5   Broadcasting about president's expense (8) SPENDING {S{P}ENDING}

6   Master Chef's coloured bourbon - extremely fancy (6,4) CORDON BLEU {COLOURED+Bo...oN}*

7   Department renewing this academic's term (6) PEDANT {PEDANT+TERM}*=DEPARTMENT [CA]

13 Stop in best parts (4,6) HIGH POINTS {STOP+IN}* [RA] 

16 N/n: Get 1 or n - it's complicated (8) NITROGEN* 

18 Knotting a piece of twine before fishing (8) TANGLING {Tw..e}{ANGLING}

19 Dreams of snakes controlling anger (7) ASPIRES {ASP{IRE}S}

21 Say nothing at first to narcissist (6) EGOIST {EG}{O}{1ST}

23 Early signs of numerous aquatic insects acquiring wings of dragonflies! (6) NAIADS {Nu...s}{Aq...c}{In...s}{Ac...g}{Dr...eS} Semi&lit

26 Unfortunately like to entertain the French (4) ALAS {A{LA}S}

Reference List

American = A, Australian = A, English = E, Church = CH, Girl = G, Bachelor = B, Tesla = T, Engineers = RE(Royal Engineers), President = P, The in French = LA