No 10712, Tuesday, 05 Mar 13, Tester

ACROSS

7  Making leader of Cuba to move ahead in showing response (8)  CREATING - Letter C in REACTING moves ahead - Letter shift - The anno took a while to suggest itself to me - The letter shift is indicated properly but I am not sure if the surface reding is totally convincing
9  Creature - new one held by west bound Tibetan Priest (6) ANIMAL - NI in AMAL, i.e.,  reversed LAMA - Container-contained
10 A problem requiring investigation like in Central Excise (4) CASE - C(AS)E - Container-contained -Plausible surface reading
11 Give a ring to New Delhi - people there are happy to assist you (4,6) CALL CENTRE - A neat DD

They are happy to assist their customers...

Cartoon by Rishi

12 Part of house fully serviceable (6) USEFUL - Telescopic, from 'hoUSE FULly' - Plausible surface reading

14 One who lives in peninsula of peninsulas is a pure one perhaps (8) EUROPEAN - Anagram of APUREONE - Good definition, good anagram fodder
15 Fathers attempt to make baked food? (6) PASTRY - PAs TRY - Charade - Why the QM? - I hope it's not a case of too many cooks

16 British measure dreaded by the Indian batsmen (6) BOUNCE - B OUNCE - Re-read the clue -The other day we had to remove B from 'bounce'.
19 Figure altering randomly (8) TRIANGLE - Anagram of ALTERING
21 Quiet move to a higher position gets an expression of commendation (6) PRAISE - P RAISE - Charade
23 Ali before his name change had common city bird as target in trapshooting (4,6) CLAY PIGEON - Charade of words without any breakup

24 Beach article in southern district (4) SAND - S(AN)D - Container-contained - "Sands" may refer to a tract covered with sand, as on a beach. Whether 'sand' can lead to 'beach' I am not sure.
25 Discussion about what the first three debutants consumed (6) DEBATE - D E B ATE - Charade
26 Lookouts make small insertions in a written record (8) SENTRIES - S ENTRIES - Charade - Another clue whose anno took a few secs to dawn on me because of the clever use of 'insertions' - A false container-contained, shall we say?

DOWN

1 Cherished desires revealed in 500 papers (6) DREAMS - D REAMS -  Charade - "papers" gets 'reams', not just 'ream'.
2 A new driver in Georgia experiences strong wind (4) GALE - G(A L)E - Container-contained
3 Roundabout but crucial manoeuver before the end of war (8) - CIRCULAR - CRUCIAL* [wa]R - partial anagram
4 A flying one may be a UFO (6) SAUCER - Straightforward
5 Funny looking ant and a pig making up the WWF symbol (5,5) GIANT PANDA - Anagram of ANTANDAPIG - Good definition.

6 Ram, going back to Rhode Island, has time for nuptial ceremony (8) MARRIAGE - MAR<- RI AGE - Charade with reversal - I am not questioning the definition, but for me 'wedding' is a ceremony while 'marriage' is something that  a man and wife makes for a brief period or for a long, long time of pleasure or endurance or both.
8 Desperately longed to have something made from a precious metal (6) GOLDEN - Anagram of  LONGED - Neat surface reading.
13 Is Chartered Accountant (extremely lazy) gripped by fright during the accounting period? (6,4) FISCAL YEAR - FE {ISCA L[az]Y} AR - Container-contained - I will leave it to the CAs on this blog to challenge the statement here.
15 These type of lines seem to meet only at the vanishing point (8) PARALLEL - Straightforward - As the solution is singular, 'This type of lines ..." would do, I think.
17 Antagonist goes very soft on hospital department after the initial objection (8) OPPONENT - O PP ON ENT - Charade - Plausible surface reading in a clue where the components are handled smartly.
18 Simple machines always found in Lok Sabha (6) LEVERS - L(EVER)S - Container-contained - Those voting machines showing 'ayes' and 'noes'?
20 Good learner, one with the German sailplane (6) GLIDER - G L I DER - Charade - Learner here and 'new driver' in 2d above are used appropriately for the same letter L

22 Vocalist like the Inventor of sewing machine (6) SINGER - Double definition - ref. to  Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875), inventor and entrepreneur.
24 Categorise the gold held by saint (4) SORT - S(OR)T - Container-contained

LINK TO SOLUTION

No 10684, Thursday 31 Jan 13, Tester

Cakewalk with samosas today, too many giveaways and lengthy clues. Shades of our old enemy No 1 seen in some clues today?

ACROSS

7   Royal Engineers take fees with hesitation, but they ensure fair play (8) REFEREES {RE}{F{ER}EES}

9   A condition of general abundance at the French National Theatre on the outskirts of Pondicherry (6) PLENTY {Pondi{LE}{NT}cherrY}

10 German leader had food at the passageway (4) GATE {G}{ATE}

11 Everybody wants to die in this manner. Will it not be better if they live together in this manner? (10) PEACEFULLY [CD]

12 You and I go to Andhra Pradesh playing a type of instrument (6) WEAPON {WE}{AP}{ON}

14 Constituents of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space (8) ELEMENTS [GK]

15 Prepared food for commander with approval of journalist (6) COOKED {CO}{OK}{ED}

16 Rides a bicycle to the footstalls disheartenedly (6) PEDALS PEDestALS

19 One who is the first to think of fashionable outlet for gold (8) INVENTOR {IN}{VENT}{OR}

21 Satisfy the French, like in Peru (6) PLEASE {P{LE}{AS}E}

23 Great Barrier Reef for example, is a natural wonder (10) AUSTRALIAN* &lit as well

24 A layer of earth’s surface with sulphur and petroleum (4) SOIL {S}{OIL}

25 Editor turned up and allowed Edward to remove something (6) DELETE {DE<=}{LET}{E}

26 Sample of special ice sent back to soldiers (8) SPECIMEN {SP}{ECI<=}{MEN}

DOWN

1   Belgian leaders have to act properly (6) BEHAVE {BElgian}{HAVE}

2   Listen to the audience at this place (4) HERE (~hear)

3   Extraordinary person facing South-East gets an answer (8) RESPONSE {PERSON*}{SE}

4   Superintendent of police here has his area of influence (6) SPHERE {SP}{HERE}

5   Make payment to neuter mare surgically (10) REMUNERATE*

6   The least trained to compete in sports! (8) ATHLETES*

8   Scary creatures that emerge from darkness when healer goes out (6) SNAKES dArKNESS*

13 Attributes of correct social relationships (10) PROPERTIES {PROPER}{TIES}

15 Bewildered by trick that fellow employed (8) CONFUSED {CON}{F}{USED}

17 Former political leader and journalist grew vigorously (8) EXPANDED {EX}{P}{AND}{ED}

18 Paths of satellites or small fragments (6) ORBITS {OR}{BITS}

20 Of no use to treasured cocktail dealer (6) TRADER TReAsuRED*

22 Tremble convulsively like tennis player Pam (6) SHIVER She was 'Shriver' and not Shiver!!!

24 Flask insulated with an outer covering (4) SKIN [T]

LINK TO SOLUTION

No 10654, Wednesday 26 Dec 12, Tester

Quite a straightforward test from Tester today.

ACROSS

7   Strong vessel causes suffering (8) HARDSHIP {HARD}{SHIP}

9   Immeasurably small heart of anatomical structure (6) ATOMIC [T]

10 Territorial Army follows American lawyer for information (4) DATA {DA}{TA}

11 Meddling with lethal item without respite (3,3,4) ALL THE TIME*

12 Bid to capture back the German (6) TENDER {TEN<=}{DER}

14 Encircle old city with ammunition after the first of September (8) SURROUND {S}{UR}{ROUND}

15 Help donkey first (6) ASSIST {ASS}{1'ST}

16 Renovated synagogue without you and reached a sacred river (6) GANGES SyNAGoGuE*

19 Am I surrounded by two-winged insects in these social units? (8) FAMILIES {F{AM}I}LIES}

21 People who extract ore lay explosive devices in front of Rajya Sabha (6) MINERS {MINE}{RS}

23 Type of visual communication that is avoided when lying (3,7) EYE CONTACT [CD]

24 Wharf built out of rock using Dinar instead of Rand (4) DOCK (-r+d)DOCK

25 Sick Queen behind King is a slayer (6) KILLER {K}{ILL}{ER}

26 Carry out the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit (8) EXERCISE [E]

DOWN

1   Made changes with silver to inflict harm (6) DAMAGE {DAM{AG}E*}

2   Thought from middleman making regular sacrifices (4) IDEA mIdDlEmAn

3   The rates are abnormal for these rooms in hospital (8) THEATRES*

4   Kind of unusual heat on the outskirts of Raipur (6) RATHER {Ram{HEAT*}puR}

5   Instrument played to hug Norma (5,5) MOUTH ORGAN*

6   Maid came back on the first of December with small gemstones (8) DIAMONDS {DIAM<=}{ON}{D}{S}

8   Refine constabulary by sacking engineer maintaining silence (6) POLISH {POLIce}{SH}

13 Clearly Diana isn’t bemused by chance to love you first (10) DISTINCTLY {DI}{ISN'T*}{C}{T}{L}{Y}

15 Short answer about gangster and unknown sub-inspector leads to a kind of detailed examination (8) ANALYSIS {AN{AL}{Y}{SI}S}

17 Abstainer wearing strange diadem was allowed to enter (8) ADMITTED {ADMI{TT}ED*}

18 Heartlessly calculate the approximate worth of landed property (6) ESTATE ESTimATE

20 Give little attention to Italian man scratching head (6) IGNORE sIGNORE

22 Respite from tax after the start of recent events (6) RECESS {R}{E}{CESS}

24 Avoid zero in cricket (4) DUCK [DD]

LINK TO SOLUTION GRID

No.10623, Tuesday 20 Nov 12, Tester

At the risk of sounding flippant, this puzzle was mostly a write in. On the plus side it was easy and there seemed to be a mini theme of sorts with geographical places appearing in some clues. I particularly liked 17D for its nice surface and wordplay even though Trust means Rely On, not just Rely. On the flip side, some of the surfaces don't mean much which some people (read me) may not like.

ACROSS
7 Revolutionary in tears brings out the torchbearers of the society (8) TEACHERS (CHE inside TEARS)
9 Possessing gin won in wrestling (6) OWNING (GIN WON)*
10 A form of entertainment from Illinois in frequency modulation (4) FILM (IL inside FM)
11 Bowmen roar excitedly for tissue that produces red blood cells (4,6) BONE, MARROW (BOWMEN ROAR)*
12 A female revenue inspector and chartered accountant get to the south of Mediterranean Sea (6) AFRICA (A F R I CA)

14 Inclination to capture back a hiding place at Cyprus (8) TENDENCY (NET>= + DEN + CY)
15 Choose to reform pilferer without the Italian (6) PREFER (PilFERER)*
16 Trades with German leader for short time and assigns a rank (6) GRADES (TRADES with G for T)
19 Bengali, reportedly tense, to get the judgment of conviction (8) SENTENCE (SEN + ~TENSE)
21 General keeps out from using glycerine for shedding tears (6) CRYING (GlYCeRINe)*
23 Peons fared poorly for someone with a severe auditory impairment (4,6) DEAF,PERSON (PEONS FARED)*
24 Ground forces depicted in popular myths (4) ARMY (T)
25 South Carolina man and setter make an elaborate and systematic plan of action (6) SCHEME (SC + HE + ME)
26 King beheaded theist for backup man (8) RELIEVER (R + bELIEVER)

DOWN
1 Faith of both Priest and Earl in Burkina Faso (6) BELIEF (ELI + E inside B F)
2 Surreptitious camera uncovering a fraudulent business scheme (4) SCAM (T)

2G ?

3 A thin pliable sheet provided by bubbly barmen in Middle East (8) MEMBRANE (BARMEN* inside M E)
4 Company operating with Frenchmen in the middle is not rare (6) COMMON (CO + ON outside M M)
5 Funny idler turns hostile (10) UNFRIENDLY (FUNNY IDLER)*
6 Reforms free cons and ensures observance of laws and rules (8) ENFORCES (FREE CONS)*
8 An assembly having legislative powers sends Lawrence after Indian armed force (6) SENATE (SENA + TE)
13 I’d brought round definite change and established who I am (10) IDENTIFIED (I'D + DEFINITE*)
15 Falsely repent before Church — that is an unsupportable quality (8) PRETENCE (REPENT* + CE)
17 Trust accepted some money not so long ago (8) RECENTLY (RELY outside CENT)
18 Crone brings in small changes to someone who suppresses what is considered obscene (6) CENSOR (CRONE* outside S)
20 Required editors supporting north-east (6) NEEDED (NE + ED + ED)
22 Not showing any feeling in front of queen to enumerate (6) NUMBER (NUMB + ER)
24 Anglers regularly ignored for a prolonged period of time (4) AGES (AnGlErS)

LINK TO GRID

LINK TO SOLUTION GRID

No 10594, Monday 15 Oct 12, Tester

Plenty of anagrams today otherwise a smooth and easy flowing CW.

ACROSS

7   - User gone berserk is willing to share unstintingly (8) - GENEROUS*

9   - New type of missile is limited in scope (6) - NARROW {N}{ARROW}

10 - Try out the easy, simple things first (4) - TEST {T}{E}{S}{T}

11 - Safe recipe used for an emergency exit (4,6) - FIRE ESCAPE*

12 - Position held by typist at useless office (6) - STATUS [T]

14 - Changing it in reformed racist will be aesthetically pleasing (8) - ARTISTIC {AR{TI*}STIC*}

15 - Endures good man and school head (6) - STANDS {ST}{AND}{S}

16 - Use gin cocktail to become one who is dazzlingly skilled (6) - GENIUS*

19 - Put together again without a point to bear a likeness (8) - RESEMBLE REasSEMBLE

21 - Light this by renovating land in church (6) - CANDLE {C{LAND*}E}

23 - A source of income from organising milk, tea etc. (4,6) - MEAL TICKET*

24 - Telephoned Greek leader following urn damage (4) - RUNG {URN*}{G}

25 - Origin of our cold in south-east (6) - SOURCE {S{OUR}{C}E} Indicator misplaced (See comments)

26 - Last of the seven youthful years (8) - NINETEEN [CD]

DOWN

1   - Choose the French in a religious group (6) - SELECT {SE{LE}CT}

2   - Departed from a portable shelter with wife for Thailand (4) - WENT (-t+w)WENT

3   - Bewildered by headless, unfocused change (8) - CONFUSED uNFOCUSED*

4   - Boat with damaged stern creates a state of agitation (6) - UNREST {U}{STERN*}

5 - Type of movement in favour of tax had no one turning up (10) - PROCESSION {PRO}{CESS}{1ON<-}

6   - Highly intelligent and playful marine mammals (8) - DOLPHINS [E]

8   - An unbroken series of events performed by engineer in the midst of difficult task (6) - STREAK {ST{RE}AK}

13 - People who move around troubled tall server (10) - TRAVELLERS*

15 - Supporting structure is not sleek for a change (8) - SKELETON*

17 - Stimulating interest from former partner referring for proof (8) - EXCITING {EX}{CITING}

18 - Consider preparing coke in Royal Navy (6) - RECKON {R{COKE*}N}

20 - Came to an agitated state when retiring old boy lied terribly (6) - BOILED {BO<-}{LIED*}

22 - Desired strongly by a bridge player in dilapidated lodge (6) - LONGED {LO{N}GED*}

24 - Ostentatious display of elegance in Pietermaritzburg (4) - RITZ [T]

LINK TO GRID

No 10564, Monday 10 Sep 12, Tester

Welcome to Tester our new setter*.  Why do most first time setters have a penchant for Anagrams?

ACROSS

7   - Parrot is inconvenienced at these points of takeoff (8) - AIRPORTS*

9   - Lifer freed around the end of June has this feeling (6) - RELIEF {RELI{E}F*}

10 - Indians play this well (4) - SPIN [CD]

11 - A sponsored ad on television about .com miracle (10) - COMMERCIAL*

12 - Remember a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (6) - RECALL [DD]

14 - Specialist I rely to a complete degree (8) - ENTIRELY {ENT}{I}{RELY}

15 - Oriental taste distorted the type of property (6) - ESTATE {E}{TASTE*}

16 - Theologian, holding crooked cane, moved in a rhythmical manner (6) - DANCED {D{CANE*}D}

19 - Smudged paper, held by worker, is clearly revealed (8) - APPARENT {A{PAPER*}NT}

21 - Frenchman in alias cooked the sausage (6) - SALAMI {SALA{M}I*}

23 - Holding in restraint on noticing an abnormality (10) - CONTAINING*

24 - Helps leader at international disarmament summit (4) - AIDS {A}{I}{D}{S}

25 - A written document describing the findings about harbour (6) - REPORT {RE}{PORT}

26 - Most pleasing to the senses like the stolen fruit (8) - SWEETEST [CD]

DOWN

1   - Dim-witted politician in lawless isle (6) - SIMPLE {SI{MP}LE*}

2   - Portion of desktop environment that is accessible to all (4) - OPEN [T]

3   - Bet, holding clear order, gives a type of jewellery (8) - BRACELET {B{CLEAR*}ET}

4   - Halt artist turning up with others (6) - ARREST {AR<-}{REST}

THAT'S ARRESTING

5   - Late cleric not exactly concerned with energy made available by the flow of charge (10) - ELECTRICAL*

6   - Elaborate action to capture a spy (8) - DETAILED {DE{TAIL}ED}

8   - Type of temperature when I replaced you reportedly in the warmest season (6) - SIMMER {S(-u+i)MMER}

13 - Allurement of teetotaller in exotic raincoat (10) - ATTRACTION {A{TT}RACTION*}

15 - Hired doctors deploy after a bit of emotion (8) - EMPLOYED {EMotion}{DEPLOY*}

17 - Appointed to a post on account of having a handwritten signature (8) - ASSIGNED {AS}{SIGNED}

18 - Takes away relatively long narrow pieces (6) - STRIPS [DD]

SEE THESE STRIPS!!

20 - Forces out sick civets (6) - EVICTS*

22 - Humble, most absorbing of the French (6) - MODEST {MO{DE}ST}

24 - Artist cannot hold back these parts of drama (4) - ACTS [T<-]

LINK TO GRID