No 13417, Thursday 02 Dec 2021, Sunnet

Solution to 22D 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.

ACROSS

1   Hit and walked out (6) STRUCK [DD]

4   Walk across to smash top serve (4,4) STEP OVER*

10 Some quit dancing after acquiring some sprains and twists (9) MISQUOTES {SOME+QUIT+Sp...s}*

11 Improve a meeting (5) RALLY [DD]

12 Beer with a drop of orange (5) POINT {P{Or...e}INT} Definition?

13 Engraver’s dash does not start at the origin (5-4)  PRINT-HEAD {sPRINT}{HEAD}

14 May possibly become disheartened and leave an insect (4-3) MOTH-FLY {MOnTH}{FLY}

16 Publication returned to England’s match (4) GAME {MAG<=}{E}

19 Rule on new grass (4) LAWN {LAW}{N}

21 Pain ruptured around the receding furrow (7) TORTURE {TOR{RUT<=}E}

24 Killing performance (9) EXECUTION [DD]

25 Devil’s two (5) DEUCE [DD]

26 Help! Verse is jumbled (5) SERVE*

27 Perhaps coconut oil to freshen and to massage chin outside (4,5) HAIR TONIC {H{AIR}{TO}NIC*}

28 A tragedy perhaps to give society’s publicity materials to a British politician (3,5) SAD STORY {S}{ADS}{TORY}

29 Pedals clearly cool e-books on the margins (6) CYCLES {Cl...lY}{CooL}{Eb..kS}

DOWN

1   Waste water remover mostly adds to hesitation in public-private partnership (4,4) SUMP PUMP  {SUMs}{PP{UM}P}

2   Reed’s elected to act carelessly (4,4) RUSH INTO {RUSH}{IN}{TO}

3   Forum to woo (5) COURT [DD]

5   Difficult examination in Germany (7) TESTING {TEST}{IN}{G}

6   Office clock is one that works occasionally (4-5) PART-TIMER {PART}{TIMER}

7   Hollow ball replaces a shower (6) VOLLEY V(-a+o)OLLEY

8   Worried Ray hid the capital (6) RIYADH*

9   Opts to change before visit (4,2) STOP BY {OPTS}*{BY}

15 Apartment you furnished is pretentious (9) FLATULENT {FLAT}{U}{LENT}

17 A mutual arrangement covering some nitty-gritties of the fall (8) AUTUMNAL {A}{UTUM{Ni...s}AL*}

18 Shield from French receiver (8) DEFENCES {DE}{FENCES}

20 Nor’s partner in ‘Crime Central’ is captured by underworld (7) NEITHER {NE{crIme}THER}

21 16 of Courier? Wrong web withdrawal (6) TENNIS {SIN}{NET}<=

22 Straps to capture small creatures (6) ?E?S?S (Addendum - BEASTS {BEA{S}TS} - See cooments)

23 Mocked ruddy entrance exam initially (6) JEERED {RED}<=>{JEE}

25 Silly to use 12 unknown numbers (5) DITZY {DIT}{Z}{Y}

Reference List

England = E, New = N, Society = S, Germany = G, From in French = DE, Small = S, Entrance exam = JEE, Unknown numbers = Y,Z

GRID SAME AS YESTERDAY

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

6th July 2008: Let us STOP BY at the All England LAWN TENNIS and Croquet Club, which is hosting its Mens’ Singles Final GAME at Wimbledon. It is a TESTING time for the ground staff to deal with the vagaries of the English weather. Although it is summer, there has been an almost AUTUMNAL rain at night and they have had to use SUMP PUMPS to drain out the water from the outfields of the Centre COURT. You know, it was before the retractable roof was installed for this only grass venue where Grand Slam events are held. NEITHER Rafael Nadal nor Roger Federer is sure which of them is going to script tennis history when they STEP OVER the portals of this hallowed ground. FedEx has won the 3 previous occasions here against Rafa, but has just lost to him in The French Open the previous month.

The SAD STORY is that both the champs are not in their best physical condition. Federer is recovering from the infectious mononucleosis that he contracted probably at the RIYADH airport, while he was on his way to the Dubai Tennis Championships a few months back. Nadal is TORTUREd by pain in his injured left foot. But, once on the ground, they are like charging BEASTS. The powerful SERVE of Rafa wins him the first 2 sets 6-4, 6-4. Wearing down his rival with an epic RALLY, Federer springs back winning the next two sets 7-6, 7-6 saving two championship POINTs in that historic fourth set tiebreak. The crowd which sat with a bated breath let out a collective gasp as Federer VOLLEYs with a power-packed forehand from the baseline to win the tiebreak. How the DEUCE  he manages to do that against the powerful stroke from Nadal is something only Federer and his Maker will know.

Rain plays spoilsport at this juncture and the game is held up for 30 minutes. The crowd which JEERED restlessly during the interruption is once again quiet as the players RUSH INTO the ground in fading light for the final set. STRUCK with brute force but with pin-point precision by Federer, the ball breaks the DEFENCES of Nadal and Federer comes to within two points for his sixth consecutive win at this most prestigious venue.  The deft EXECUTION of breaking FedEx’s serve in the 15th game of the final set is the turning point. The younger Nadal wins with an unbelievable 9-7 in near darkness at 9.15pm, in the longest final that lasted more than 4 ½ hours. The CYCLES of win and loss will no doubt continue for these fabled opponents.

No 13416, Wednesday 01 Dec 2021, Sunnet

Solution to 4A 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.

ACROSS

1   Regard silver found in pad (6) HOMAGE {HOM{AG}E}

4   Goodness! Sick room is next to bar in town (8) ?A?C?I?Y (Addendum SANCTITY {SAN}{C{T}ITY} - See comments)

10 Adore dual-enhanced text-to-speech feature (4,5) READ ALOUD*

11 Hesitation to plead in front of the lady (5) BEGUM {UM}<=>{BEG}

12 Chance an illness going with doubly exposed bikers (5) FLUKE {FLU}{biKErs}

13 Only one or one hundred (9) SINGLETON {SINGLE}{TON}

14 Perhaps London’s wealth (7) CAPITAL [DD]

16 Resistance in muslim leader’s city (4) AGRA {AG{R}A}

19 Keep backing Tesla (4) FORT {FOR}{T}

21 Ms. Mirza is in charge of branch (7) RADIATE {RA{DIA}TE}

24 Kit, Sally and staff featured in business newspaper (9) EQUIPMENT {E{QUIP}{MEN}T}

25 Review of uranium discovered in cesspool (3,2) SUM UP {SUM{U}P}

26 Revolutionary featured in advertisement is hurt (5) ACHED {A{CHE}D}

27 Brother? It is the woman’s countryman (9) BRITISHER {BR}{IT}{IS}{HER}

28 Hired nurse leaned (8) ENLISTED {EN}{LISTED}

29 Very first European group is found outside (6) REALLY {R{Eu...n}ALLY} 

DOWN

1   He won’t compromise with actual mobile cafe (8) HARDFACE {HARD}{CAFE*}

2   Copper interrupts lunch given to old man and accepts the error (3,5) MEA CULPA {MEA{CU}L}{PA}

3   Dangerous vault (5) GRAVE [DD]

5   Supplements notice given to lawyer outside library (7) ADDENDA {AD}{DEN}{DA}

6   Colour of horse changed without some emulsifier (6,3) COBALT RED {COB}{ALTeRED} 

7   Bars in Spain got shuttered (6) INGOTS [T]

8   God of death protects one river (6) YAMUNA {YAM{UN}A}

9   Part of labour code in front (6) MORSEL {L}<=>{MORSE}

15 Bid to overturn waste pods (3,6) TWO SPADES*

17 Thanks to horrible jam near aerospace company building (3,5) TAJ MAHAL {TA}{JAM*}{HAL}

18 Afternoon event where Peg shouted at defendant (3,5) TEA PARTY (~tee){TEA}{PARTY}

20 Medium to bifurcate high-pitched vibration (7) TREMBLE {TRE{M}BLE}

21 Sell on train (6) RETAIL {RE}{TAIL}

22 Former wife and a man running outside a compound (6) HEXANE {H{EX}{AN}E}

23 Ruler’s face is mostly healthy (6) MUGHAL {MUG}{HALe}

25 Grab dates, say (5) SEIZE (~sees)

Reference List

Sick room = SAN(Sanitorium), Bar = T, Resistance = R, Tesla = T, Brother = BR, Nurse = EN(Enrolled Nurse), Notice = AD, Lawyer = DA, One = UN, Labour = L, Thanks = TA, Medium = M 

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

Quietly flows the YAMUNA as I sit on its banks and my mind goes back three and a half centuries…

Khurram is an aging dejected man. He is held captive in the AGRA FORT, at the MUGHAL CAPITAL. In his enfeebled state the only thing he can remember is the ethereal beauty that RADIATEd from BEGUM Arjumand Banu,  and how he had ACHED for her when she was away for each of her confinements. REALLY, how could the same womb produce 2 sons who were polar opposites- the liberal Dara and the HARDFACE Muhi-al Din Muhammed, who has SEIZED power in the bloodiest manner?

The moulvi READS ALOUD with all the SANCTITY, a verse from the Holy Quran before Khurram sits for an evening meal, which is only a MORSEL- not those famed dinners he had lavished upon in his heydays. Roughly translated it means “you will not attain the reward, until you spend from that which you love”.  “Did I not make the Roza-e-Munavvara, a HOMAGE to my love for her,” Khurram thinks, as his weak eyes catch a silhouette of that famous GRAVE in a mirror. “Had I only been younger, I would have placed INGOTS of gold instead of glass in this- my love symbol. Why, I would have even replaced these unsightly COBALT RED stones in this fort with white marble”. “The Mercy of Allah, I at least have my doting Padsha Begum with me, who has chosen to be a SINGLETON to look after me” So go the thoughts of the sick man….

Just before the dinner, the guards file in with an ornate box on which is written “the King, your son, sends this gift, to let know that the son has not forgotten his father”. Knowing Muhi-al Din Muhammed, there is no joy on Khurram’s face as his hands TREMBLE to open the box.

I am broken from my reverie by the pain and revulsion evident on the face of Khurram seeing the mutilated severed head of his dear Dara in that box. History tells us that Khurram became a walking corpse that evening, spending his final days gazing silently out of a jharokha.

ADDENDA:

1.     Well, let me say ‘MEA CULPA’ for disguising the identity of my characters in this tale with their lesser-known names.

2.     You can find the true identity merely by FLUKE or by some inspired guessing or by reading the BRITISHER William Irvine’s Mughal Chronicles.

3.     I invite you to identify the real names of the following 6 which I have ENLISTED, in the comments section below.

        a)    Khurram

        b)    Arjumand Banu

        c)    Dara

        d)    Muhi-al Din Muhammed

        e)    Roza-e-Munavvara

        f)    Padsha Begum

No 13383, Friday 22 Oct 2021, Sunnet

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS ON FRIDAYS 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

1   Link note to former (6) RELATE {RE}{LATE}

4   Remove unknown abrasive (8) SCRATCHY {SCRATCH}{Y}

10 Somehow change current unit inside a toaster? (9) CHAMPAGNE {CH{AMP}AGNE*}

11 Pose with hollow air instrument (5) SITAR {SIT}{AiR}

12 Team’s strategic dialogue which includes India (5) SQUAD {'S}{QUAD}

13 Storytellers quickly moved back with artist to the upper house (9) NARRATORS {RAN<=}{RA}{TO}{RS}

14 Not in favour of strong move over preserving visibility (4-3) ANTI-FOG {ANTI}{F}{GO<=}

16 Colour of map in Kindle (4) PINK [T]

19 Grain I lost in jungle (4) MAZE MAiZE

21 Probationer’s part in ape’s transformation (7) PAROLEE {PA{ROLE}E*}

24 A position had some significance for deserters (9) APOSTATES {A}{POST}{ATE}{Si...e}

25 Film where doctor avoids maid in Mumbai (5) BAMBI {BA{MB}I}

26 Phoney Guru hugged young Chinese national (5) UYGUR {U{Y}GUR*}

27 Fix duct for dental procedure (4,5) ROOT CANAL {ROOT}{CANAL}

28 Made listener join again (8) REENLIST*

29 Finishes with zero wickets and leaves (6) ENDOWS {END{0}{W}S}

DOWN

1   Transport for Richard, the Mumbai opener (8) RICKSHAW {RICK}{SHAW}

2   Result in captain having till... (4,2,2) LEAD UP TO {LEAD}{UPTO}

3   Bound to initially copy and then delete (5) TAPED {To}{APE}{D} 

5   Explain Shakespearean character breaking a drinking vessel (5,2) CLEAR UP {C{LEAR}UP}

6   He stays away from Jack’s teacher without reading (9) ABSTAINER {AB'S}{TrAINER}

7   Fibre bed’s the current fashion (6) COTTON {COT}{TON}

8   It represents the tree of knowledge. Why? At the end, it has pain (1-5) Y-CROSS {whY}{CROSS}

9   Drink gone bad? Add a drop of ginger and some grape-juice (6) EGGNOG {E{Gi...r}{Gr...e}NOG*}

15 Relating to breaking French law on river (9) FRACTURAL {FR}{ACT}{URAL}

17 Angry duck/bird (8) FLAMINGO {FLAMING}{0}

18 Transports very fresh lichees (8) VEHICLES {V}{LICHEES*}

20 Obtains money from old wrongdoings (7) EXTORTS {EX}{TORTS}

21 Not a drop over a plunger (6) PISTON {NOT}{SIP}<=

22 Raja guaranteed to trap an animal (6) JAGUAR [T]

23 Go and tune out speech (6) TONGUE (GO+TUNE}*

25 Philosopher’s company in bar (5) BACON {BA{CO}N}

Reference List

Note = RE, Unknown = Y, Artist = RA, Upper House = RS(Rajya Sabha), Strong = F, Maid in Mumbai = BAI, Young = Y, Wickets = W, Jack = AB, Delete = D, Reading = R, French = FR, Very = V

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

S.N.Banerjee, the aging  SITAR maestro sits cross-legged on a PINK COTTON chaddar, in his crumbling ancestral house in Shyambazaar area of Calcutta (calling it Kolkata would be alien to my TONGUE).   What brings me all the way from Britain is that I have been enamoured by a TAPED recording of his concert in London in the late sixties. SCRATCHY as the recording was, it was enough to make me take this pilgrimage. Used to the comfort of my JAGUAR back home, it is a  bone-breaking ride on a RICKSHAW through the MAZE of Old Calcutta streets, with people and vehicles going in all directions at once.   The rickshaw-wala extorts a huge sum from a gora like me. The wooden stairs that LEAD UP TO his room are creaky. All these minor irritations are immaterial, for now I am here in front of the man himself.

 

I hear him CLEAR UP his throat and I am all agog to listen to him talking about his music. His assistant (I suppose, a student who doubles as a Man Friday) whispers in my years “baba has had a ROOT CANAL treatment this morning and is observing silence today, but he will play for you”. Some solace that. The perfectionist player that he is, Banerjee takes what seems an age to tune his sitar to the perfect pitch. He begins in Bilaskhani Thodi pondering over every single note. My mind RELATEs to what Francis BACON said “the job of the artiste is always to deepen the mystery”.

 

I close my eyes and allow the music to fill my being. I am transported to another world- now on the Rann of Kutch at sunset by a placid lake, an EGGNOG in my hand,  with FLAMINGOs dancing with their partners, now in the grape gardens of La Valée de la Marne, the CHAMPAGNE region of France (never mind the noisy SQUAD of Japanese tourists) and where have you? After working up to a crescendo, he ends his virtuoso performance for an audience of one. Although a life-long ABSTAINER, I can see this is far more satisfying, relaxing and enriching than the ‘high’ from the best wine or spirit. No word has been said but his music has said it all. I gesture a Namaste and leave quietly, wondering what ENDOWS his music that soul-filling quality. I am still searching for the answer.

 

Nicholas Fisher

Music critic, The Times, London

No 13381, Wednesday 20 Oct 2021, Sunnet

Solution to 18D 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.

Our pangrammist is back. So is our TalePiece specialist.

ACROSS

1   Clever method’s nearly complete (6) ARTFUL {ART}{FULl}

4   Black’s proposal to get English aircraft (8) SEAPLANE {SEA}{PLAN}{E} (Addendum - JETPLANE {JET}{PLAN}{E} - See comments)

10 Do italics when correctly placed show the lengthening of a normally short syllable (9) DIASTOLIC*

11 Circle a sister’s retreat (5) OASIS {O}{A}{SIS}

12 Van has nothing left to sing (5) CAROL {CAR}{0}{L}

13 Cat’s killer? (9) CURIOSITY [GK]

14 Exotic chanter’s part (7) TRANCHE*

16 Store in second step (4) SHOP {S}{HOP}

19 Dull poet is sent back (4) DRAB<=

21 Author is the devil (7) DICKENS [DD]

24 One accustomed to covering society without a policy? (9) UNINSURED {UN}{IN{S}URED}

25 Trustee’s deed for plot (5) TRACT {TR}{ACT}

26 Nearly fool me at first with peculiar expression (5) IDIOM {IDIOt}{Me}

27 To prevent reproduction doctor/sister lie (9) STERILISE*

28 Mobile atlases to attract unknown levy (5,3) SALES TAX {ATLASES}*{X}

29 Run a little way to get a large quantity of paper (6) STREAM {ST}{REAM}

DOWN

1   Give Australian money to a metro enterprise (8) AUDACITY {AU}{DA}{CITY} (Addendum - {AUD}{A}{CITY} - See comments)

2   Gingerly ate crack in rest period (3,5) TEA BREAK {ATE*}{BREAK}

3   Before seen in the hunt I loved (5) UNTIL [T]

5   Settle scores with some traitorous partners (7) ESCORTS {SCORES+Tr...s}*

6   Expert to cross one fragment of chromosome of basic life form (9) PROTOZOIC {PRO}{TO}{Z}{1}{Ch...e} Z/Cross? (Addendum - {PRO}{TO}{ZO}{1{Ch...e} - See comments)

7   Charge like captain (6) ASSAIL {AS}{SAIL}

8   Papers point to sassy broadcast (6) ESSAYS {E}{SASSY*}

9   Stereotype of communist picketing insurance company (6) CLICHE {C{LIC}HE}

15 Charles gets new trims for Noel (9) CHRISTMAS {C}{H{TRIMS*}AS} (Addendum - {CH{TRIMS*}AS} - See comments)

17 Gloomy local has half the eggs (8) NEGATIVE {N{EGgs}ATIVE}

18 Geographical line that is more in theory (8) ?S?T?E?M (Addendum - ISOTHERM {IS{OTEHR}M} - See comments)

20 Coffee dispenser in taproom is beginning to tilt? Ay! (7) BARISTA {BAR}{IS}{Tilt}{Ay}

21 Reformed odd German trickster (6) DODGER {ODD*}{GER}

22 Shakes birds (6) QUAILS [DD]

23 Loyal crowd around the shores of India (6) FILIAL {FIL{IndiA}L}

25 Time to join a card game after missing husband’s turn (5) TWIST {T}{WhIST}

Reference List

Black = JET, English = E, Left = L, Second = S, One = UN, Society = S, Trustee = TR, Unknown = X, Australian = Money = AUD{Australian Dollar) , Point = E(East), Charles = CHAS, Time = T, Theory = ISM, Husband = H

TalePiece

(By Dr RKE)

Hope it doesn't sound like a CLICHE or a DRAB IDIOM, when I exclaim "what the DICKENS of a themed pangram!"  

Many TWISTs and turns in the grid and one has to be an ARTFUL DODGER to negotiate through them. If one is successful, one can reach The Old CURIOSITY SHOP and buy a vinyl L.P. record of a CHRISTMAS CAROL. Or a gift of a miniature ESCORTS TRACTor, a mark of your FILIAL affection towards your farmer father. Make sure you get a bill and that GST is charged - in case you didn't know, SALES TAX is now passe. 

As a doctor, I recommend a TEA BREAK after all that exertion of shopping- just to ensure that your DIASTOLIC blood pressure doesn't hit the ceiling- there is BARISTA outlet conveniently round the corner.  

So UNTIL the next of these Talepiece ESSAYS, au revoir

Dr.Ramakrishna Easwaran

No 13037, Thursday 10 Sep 2020, Sunnet

Solution to 4A 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.

Though the e-paper says the setter is Afterdark, this is actually by Sunnet!!

ACROSS
1   Fall, for every one’s hard (6) PERISH {PER}{1'S}{H}
4   Player to grab and bring some record (8) ?A?P?P?R (Addendum - BAGPIPER {BAG}{PIPE}{Re...d} - See comments)
10 No part of nutritious liquid or soup is leak-proof (9) NONPOROUS {NO}{Nu...s}{OR+SOUP}*
11 Point of concern or theme (5) NORTH [T]
12 Touched Zero° F? (5) FROZE* &lit? Actually it happens at -212  32 Degrees F
13 Perfectly rig a ruler for cheating (9) IRREGULAR*
14 Travelling around with fifty pounds in toll (7) ROLLING {R{O}{L}{L}ING}
16 Terrible to ride off (4) DIRE*
19 River meets quiet sea (4) DEEP {DEE}{P}
21 Hide leak (7) SECRETE [DD]
24 Darker and more pretentious? Bill will block it (9) SHADOWIER {SH{AD}OWIER}
25 As right measure (5) QUART {QUA}{RT}
26 Fires enveloping some lovely car parts (5) AXLES {AX{Lo...y}ES}
27 A lead/head for animation (9) ALIVENESS {A}{LIVE}{NESS}
28 Ruin Pluto’s flower (8) DISASTER {DIS}{ASTER}
29 Joins World Organisation with better ties (6) UNITES {UN}{TIES*}

DOWN
1   Clip and a bow with dress (8) PINAFORE {PIN}{A}{FORE}

2   Managed my old training without bias (8) RANDOMLY {RAN}{MY+OLD}*
3   Way to a rock (5) STONE {ST}{ONE}
5   Swore fool’s practiced (7) ASSURED {ASS}{URED} Anno for URED not clear Link added
6   Praise well-built gay prince (9) PANEGYRIC*
7   Colour of perfect place inside (6) PURPLE {PUR{PL}E}
8   Take back note with greeting to engineer (6) REHIRE {RE}{HI}{RE}
9   Sweetheart! The ruler is not serious (6) JOKING {JO}{KING}
15 Reserve chambers in igloos? (9) ICEHOUSES {ICE}{HOUSES}
17 Communist’s sharp warning (3,5) RED ALERT {RED}{ALERT}
18 They prefer wide, open mouths with dimples having one small indentation in the middle (8) DENTISTS {DENT{1}{S}{i...nTa...n}S}
20 Archbishop’s formal tea arrangement (7) PRIMATE {PRIM}{TEA*}
21 Saint Mark is severe (6) STRAIT {S}{TRAIT}
22 Area in this landing (6) ISLAND [T]
23 Headless dogs? They can be spotted in the sky (6) EAGLES bEAGLES
25 Perhaps Elizabeth’s band (5) QUEEN [DD]

Reference List
Hard = H, Fifty = L, Pound = L, Quiet = P, Bill = AD, As = QUA, Right = RT, Pluto = DIS, A = ONE, Place = PL, Note = RE, Engineer = RE(Royal Engineers), Sweetheart = JO, Small = S, Saint = S

No 13036, Wednesday 09 Sep 2020, Sunnet

Solution to 19A 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.

ACROSS
1   Friends perhaps question word given to a business group (2,4) TV SHOW {TVS}{HOW}
4   Clearly see gross monsters (8) OGRESSES*
10 Alternative front by academy musicians (9) ORCHESTRA {OR}{CHEST}{RA}
11 Freighter’s crew (5) EIGHT [T]
12 Hold area with a quarter (5) SEIZE {S{E}IZE}
13 Add magnificience to a severe hairstyle (9) POMPADOUR {POMP}{A}{DOUR}

14 Endless garbage? Take 50% of that to power (7) NONSTOP {NONSense}{TO}{P}
16 Check speaker’s shower (4) REIN (~rain)
19 I initially verify that this is half of 11 (4) ?O?R (Addendum - FOUR - {I}{Ve...y} and 8/2 - See comments)
21 Blast road built by first woman (7) PANDORA {PAN}{ROAD*}
24 Speak of depressed land (5,4) TOUCH DOWN {TOUCH}{DOWN}
25 Finds lures undone (5) RULES*
26 Rigid past perhaps (5) TENSE [DD]
27 End assembly on Monday with another leader of young scouts (3,6) DEN MOTHER {END*}{M}{OTHER}
28 Pages man at rest? That is wrong (8) CHAPTERS {CHAP}{REST*}
29 Tie it to a thief (6) BANDIT {BAND}{IT}

DOWN
1   You file a number (8) THOUSAND {THOU}{SAND}
2   Engineer notices some small fragments (8) SECTIONS {NOTICES*}{Sm..l}
3   Bull’s view of a plant (5) OXEYE {OX}{EYE}

5   Measure damage to syntax (7) GRAMMAR {GRAM}{MAR}
6   Height of joy? Collecting fragments of Everest (9) ELEVATION {EL{EVe...t}ATION}
7   Mark’s about to enlist (4,2) SIGN UP {SIGN}{UP} (Correction - SIGN ON {SIGN}{ON} - See comments)
8   Wit posed with anger (6) SATIRE {SAT}{IRE}
9   Climb and come forward (4 2) STEP UP [DD]
15 Also some trimming is the solution for one with the most prominent dentures (9) TOOTHIEST {TOO}{Tr...g}{IS+THE}*
17 Work and shower in a garden store (8) TOOLSHED {TOOL}{SHED}
18 Without Karnataka’s IT & Communication scheme (8) SANSKRIT {SANS}{KR}{IT}
20 Arrange to procure again (7) REORDER [DD]
21 Linguist’s sandwich (6) PANINI [DD]
22 Stable in just a tick (6) STATIC [T]
23 Discrete amounts as Tan is varied (6) QUANTA {QUA}{TAN*}
25 Wine/Port in Germany? Yes (5) RIOJA {RIO}{JA}

Reference List
Academy = RA, Quarter = E, Power = P, Monday = M, As = QUA, Yes in German = JA

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Sri Vidyasankar was an expert in SANSKRIT GRAMMAR. He had become internationally famous after he started a YouTube channel, in which he explained the RULES of syntax, phonemes, TENSE and conjunctions in FOUR videos. These were based on the Ashtaadhyaayi, PANINI’s book of EIGHT CHAPTERS, written 2500 years ago. The greatness of Vidyasankar was that he was able to establish that Sanskrit had not been STATIC since Panini’s times. The language had evolved and flowered so much in the ensuing centuries. The lessons had garnered THOUSANDS of ‘likes’. The comments SECTIONS not only had the usual gushing remarks but also serious discussions by experts on computational meta-language, who had SIGNed ON, because they were enamored by the QUANTAl algorithmic structure of the ancient language that had several parallels to the recently described machine languages.

It is no surprise that when Vidyasankar’s flight TOUCHed DOWN at the Boston airport, Ada Franklin, the professor of Modern Linguistics at MIT, Cambridge, STEPped UP to welcome him.  She had requested him NON-STOP for a year to give the prestigious Naom Chomsky lecture at MIT. The following morning, Vidyasankar gave a clear exposition of the relevance of Panini’s syntactical rules to the present day, holding his audience spell-bound. Ada Franklin had a tough time REINing in the eager graduate students, who SEIZEd the opportunity at teatime after the lecture to interact with the man who so easily blended the ancient with the modern.  No doubt, there was a great ELEVATION of the status of India that day at that temple of learning.

On Good Morning, America, the breakfast TV SHOW on CNN, Vidyasankar said “I am only an interpreter of what the sages said eons ago, RE-ORDERing their cryptic pronunciations into a form that is easily understood by our generation”.  That is what we call the humbleness that comes with great scholarship of the Orient.

No 13004, Monday 03 Aug 2020, Sunnet

Solution to 12A 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.

ACROSS
1   Hail one that displays? (6) SHOWER [DD]
4   Stops current leaking out with standard mineral (8) FELDSPAR {FiELDS}{PAR}
10 Grill/Toast them for not more than... (2,3,4) AT THE MOST*
11 Plant employing thousands is a liablity (5) SISAL [T]

12 Friend running in to call (5) C?O?Y (Addendum - CRONY {CR{ON}Y} - See comments)
13 On replica being rebuilt in China (9) PORCELAIN*
14 Plan for measure (7) PROGRAM {PRO}{GRAM}
16 Speech defect to slip out (4) LISP*
19 Drink in Baja Valley (4) JAVA [T]
21 Cut without any handicap (7) SCRATCH [DD]
24 Eye frost found on street inside British city (9) LEICESTER {LE{ICE}{ST}ER}
25 Bachelor’s degree, thus is fundamental (5) BASIC {BA}{SIC}
26 Team’s court (5) SQUAD {'S}{QUAD}
27 Highlight using sepia mesh (9) EMPHASISE*
28 Therefore hat in France is hardest (8) SOLIDEST {SO}{LID}{EST}
29 Margin in house shelves (6) HEDGES [DD] (Addendum - LEDGES {L{EDGE}S} - See comments)

DOWN
1   Bend and run away with a painting (8) SEASCAPE {S}{E{A}SCAPE}
2   Hot rod damaged by bull? True (8) ORTHODOX {HOT+ROD}*{OX}
3   Point to my rival (5) ENEMY {ENE}{MY}
5   Transport restitched halter-neck initially (7) ENTHRAL {HALTER+Neck}*
6   Princess takes poet to pharmacist (9) DISPENSER {DI}{SPENSER}
7   Pa massaged a scalp (6) PASCAL*
8   Yield advanced again (6) RELENT {RE-LENT}
9   Woolen ball to two little dogs (3-3) POM-POM {POM}{POM}

15 Crashed parent’s close to boy (4-5) REAR-ENDED {REAR}{END}{ED}
17 Pain remains inside, hiding (8) STASHING {ST{ASH}ING}
18 Ordered test around Rustic Woods (8) THICKETS {T{HICK}ETS*}
20 Cooler braid of player (7) ACTRESS {AC}{TRESS}
21 Railway division’s new pit lines (6) SCRIPT {SCR}{PIT*}
22 State requests for containers (6) FLASKS {FL}{ASKS}
23 Drug container intercepted by Soviet Union is visible (6) VISUAL {VI{SU}AL}
25 Fire in second class lounge (5) BLAZE {B}{LAZE}

Reference List
Current = I, Running = ON, Street = T, Is in French = EST, House = LS(Lok Sabha), Bend = S, Princess = DI, Boy = ED

GRID

(Same as Saturday)

No 13003, Saturday 01 Aug 2020, Sunnet

Solution to 29A 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.

London Bridge is falling down

Falling down, falling down

London Bridge is falling down

My fair lady

Build it up with wood and clay

Wood and clay, wood and clay

Build it up with wood and clay

My fair lady

Wood and clay will wash away

Wash away, wash away

Wood and clay will wash away

My fair lady

Build it up with iron and steel

Iron and steel, iron and steel

Build it up with iron and steel

My fair lady

Iron and steel will bend and bow

Bend and bow, bend and bow

Iron and steel will bend and bow

My fair lady

Build it up with silver and gold

Silver and gold, silver and gold

Build it up with silver and gold

My fair lady

Silver and gold will be stolen away

Stolen away, stolen away

Silver and gold will be stolen away

My fair lady

Send a man to watch all night

Watch all night, watch all night

Send a man to watch all night

My fair lady

ACROSS
1   Exact note sent back by air (6) IMPOST {MI<=}{POST} (Correction - IMPOSE {MI<=}{POSE} - See comments)
4   Fool to return before dark? Ok (8) PASSABLE {SAP<=}{SABLE}
10 Unwanted growth in cold, tossed macaroni (9) CARCINOMA {C}{MACARONI*}
11 Wrong a girl (5) AMISS {A}{MISS}
12 Block China’s trade corridor? With a blank check? (5) BRICK {BRIC}{ChecK} (Correction - {BRI}{ChecK} - See comments)
13 Transport frames and hollow protective cover for ship (9) DEADLIGHT {DE{AnD}LIGHT}
14 Jittery one ran out of election meeting in the COVID-19 era (7) TELECON ELECTiON*
16 Mud is about to settle (4) CLAY {C}{LAY}
19 Partially preserving old wealth (4) GOLD [T]
21 Going down to Florida to catch a cod perhaps (7) FALLING {F{A}L}{LING}
24 One song by new church member (9) UNITARIAN {UNIT}{ARIA}{N}
25 This is after a hair is transplanted here (5) BIHAR {aB}{HAIR*}
26 Women Fliers’ meeting? (5) COVEN [CD]
27 Reaching out to former nurse in Guinea (9) EXTENDING {EX}{TEND}{IN}{G}
28 Most peaceful seer sent off (8) SERENEST*
29 Mostly better road surface binder (6) ?O?T?R (Addendum - MORTAR {MORe}{TAR} - See comments))

DOWN
1   Warm in island with every other tree chopped (8) INCUBATE {IN}{CUBA}{TrEe}
2   Spot page with report (8) PARTICLE {P}{ARTICLE}
3   Glue a cane (5) STICK [DD]
5   A means of communication using a memory and a chip (7) ARAMAIC {A}{RAM}{A}{IC}
6   Small secure protective cover for regular post (5,4) SNAIL MAIL {S}{NAIL}{MAIL}
7   Bond girl blocks partner (6) BRIDGE {BRID{G}E}
8   Fake rates rectified by last letter (6) ERSATZ {RATES*}{Z}
9   Capital’s liberal professor’s on (6) LONDON {L}{DON}<=>{ON}
15 Among corn scattered by ancestor (3-6) CRO-MAGNON*

17 Items desired by wife’s a little high grade (4,4) WISH LIST {W}{IS}{High}{LIST}
18 Some drag a rag around contents of petri dish (4-4) AGAR-AGAR [T]

20 Clubs with some deep waterways (7) DRIVERS {Deep}{RIVERS}
21 Limited it in damages (6) FINITE {FIN{IT}E}
22 Fakes bird calls (6) QUACKS [DD]
23 Metal piece with a little lead dropping (6) SILVER S(-l)I(+l)LVER
25 Ostracise judge linked to Oxygen’s music producer (5) BANJO {BAN}{J}{O}

Reference List
Note = MI, Cold = C, About = C, New = N, Page = P, Memory = RAM, Chip = IC, Small = S, Girl = G, Liberal = L, Wife = W, Judge = J, Oxygen = O

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Opposite indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

No 12972, Friday 26 Jun 2020, Sunnet

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS ON FRIDAYS 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

The regular blog will replace the clues at 4 PM.

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

ACROSS
1   Brew of choice after operation is over (6) POTION (OP<=TION}
4   A chance to house helpers (8) ABETTORS {A}{BET}{TO}{RS}
10 Pine for example is always fresh (9) EVERGREEN {EVER}{GREEN}
11 Alto’s gentleman’s vehicle (5) AGENT {A}{GENT}
12 Gypsy’s design finally is from an Italian city (5) ROMAN {ROMA}{d...gN}
13 Helpful woman is given a gold coin by one (9) EDUCATIVE {E{DUCAT}{1}VE}
14 Caught girl’s jokes (7) SALLIES (~sally's)
16 Bag and belt without cap (4) TRAP sTRAP
19 Unite for a suit (4) CLUB [DD]
21 Breather for boy getting back on trail after disappearance of adult (7) NOSTRIL {SON<=}{TRaIL}
24 Foreigner had daughter transferred (9) ALIENATED {ALIEN}{ATE}{D}
25 Fascinating magazine has one chapter (5) MAGIC {MAG}{1}{C}
26 Part of bank lending (5) ANKLE [T]
27 A parasite ruined some title (9) MISTLETOE*

28 Relish grooming (8) DRESSING [DD]
29 Trips to judge relatives (6) JAUNTS {J}{AUNTS}

DOWN
1   New pictures of a sweet base (3,5) PIE CRUST*
2   Winter wear got from the right shopping areas after spending money (8) THERMALS{THE}{R}{MAlLS}
3   Rag or nag badly (5) ORGAN*
5   Bar’s peaceful without some idiotic feast (7) BANQUET {BAN}{QUiET}
6   Rowdies divide a street and society (9) TEARAWAYS {TEAR}{A}{WAY}{S}
7   Exile Bond’s revolutionary superhuman character (6) OBELIX [T<=]

8   Easy catch for a model (6) SITTER [DD]
9   Note on tax break (6) RECESS {RE}{CESS}
15 Perhaps English setter slurs (9) ISLANDERS {I}{SLANDERS}
17 Cow’s just inside the swamp (8) FRIGHTEN {F{RIGHT}EN}
18 They don’t like working with Cockney girl in informal trousers (8) SLACKERS {SLACK{'ER}S}
20 Spot upper class gentlemen with roofing material (7) BITUMEN {BIT}{U}{MEN}
21 Demand for payment is raised by first naturist (6) NUDIST {DUN<=}{1ST}
22 Tough to take a final letter and guess (6) HAZARD {H{A}{Z}ARD}
23 Bored the French peasant’s representative? (6) SICKLE {SICK}{LE}
25 Take liquor to a Mediterranean island (5) MALTA {MALT}{A}

Reference List
Operation = OP, House = RS(Rajya Sabha), Alto = A, Adult = A, Daughter = D, Chapter = C, Judge = J, Right = R, Money = L, Society = S, On = RE, Upper class = U, The in French = LE

Dr RKE's TalePiece

The Misadventures of Asterix

“The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the ROMANs. Well, not entirely…One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders…

All efforts by Gluteus Maximus to TRAP Asterix, in the EVERGREEN Boulogne forest while on his way to buy a new SICKLE at Lutetia have failed, thanks to the might of his friend OBELIX. The CLUB swinging Obelix owes his superhuman strength to the MAGIC POTION (made of MISTLETOE by the druid Getafix) into which he had fallen as a baby, when his baby SITTER was snoozing. The duo manage to hoodwink the devious Clovagarlix and his ABETTOR Navistrix and lay their hands on a secret underground store of golden sickles.

On their JAUNT back to the village, their NOSTRILs are hit by the scent of roast boar, being cooked for the annual BANQUET. Asterix tells Obelix that PIECRUSTIX, the chief cook for the banquet is an AGENT of Inspector General Overanxius and he could have poisoned the wine to render them comatose. Dogmatix, their faithful canine, SALLIES forth, jumping over the stockade around the village, built by Overanxius to keep the rebel villagers ALIENATED from the rest of Gaul.  Obelix tries the same trick but sprains his ANKLE. Getafix applies a DRESSING and prescribes rest for 2 weeks.

When he is cooling his heels Obelix, normally a SLACKER, hits upon the idea of selling menhirs to Preposterus. Since he cannot carry the menhirs in his indisposed state, he employs ISLANDERS from MALTA. These people, who were NUDISTS back home, resent wearing the THERMALS made of bear skin to protect them from the cold winter of Gaul. Obelix FRIGHTENs them that they run the HAZARD of their ORGANS jellying into BITUMEN, if they TEAR AWAY the bear skin robe….”

Here comes the RECESS in this EDUCATIVE(!) movie, The Misadventures of Asterix, scripted by RKE Goscinny and illustrated  by CGB Uderzo. Await the second half, a saga of valour and cunning, profound and profane, classic and yet modern!