No 2790, Sunday 11 May 2014

ACROSS
1   Song and dance, to a degree (6) BALLAD {BALL}{A}{D}
4   Beads scattered round the chapel (8) BETHESDA {BE{THE}SDA*}
10 Want adage to be self-evident (2,7,6) GO WITHOUT SAYING {GO WITHOUT} {SAYING}
11 Charge across river for bait (5) TROLL {T{R}OLL}
12 Willing? Sounds like servant may be ideally suited (5-4) READY-MADE {READY}-{MADE}(~maid)
13 Is nice try, though scrappy, in truth (9) SINCERITY*
14 Old female, a music-hall singer (1'4) O'SHEA {O}{SHE}{A}
15 Irritable, youth leader after trial (5) TESTY {TEST}{Y}
17 Drink that may get one general drunk by end of evening (6,3) GINGER ALE {G}{1+GENERAL}*
19 The very same dialect in broadcast (9) IDENTICAL*
21 Some criminal lawyers taken together (2,3) IN ALL [T]
23 What may be required during play in new surroundings (6,2,7) CHANGE OF SCENERY [DD]
24 Small leaves used in cooking the Parisian rejected inside? Scarcely (8) SPARSELY {S}{PARS(-le+el)ELY}
25 Loan shark certain to be seen in ancient city (6) USURER {U{SURE}R}

DOWN
1   Changing at the front, rowing crew in large bay (5) BIGHT (-e+b)BIGHT

2   Dope in an inferior position? (7) LOWDOWN [DD]
3   Powerful guns, not well positioned in main road (9) ARTILLERY {ART{ILL}ERY}
5   Sort of language used by heartless guy in resort (7,7) ESTUARY ENGLISH*
6   Intoxicating froth on top of yours (5) HEADY {HEAD}{Y}
7   Go round with a child for a vegetable (7) SPINACH {SPIN}{A}{CH}
8   Total got from a boy standing in narrow opening (9) AGGREGATE  {A}{G{GREG}ATE}
9   Getting on coach for Roedean, say (8,6) BOARDING SCHOOL {BOARDING} {SCHOOL}
13 Synchronise men's rehearsed moves (3,6) SET PIECES {SET} {PIECES}
14 Wisecracks concerning English passenger ships (3-6) ONE-LINERS {ON}{E}-{LINERS}
16 Czech composer in Vilnius met an accompanist (7) SMETANA [T]
18 Scholar enthralled by a true eccentric, a dabbler (7) AMATEUR {A}{MA}{TRUE*}
20 Adult wearing clothes, garments worn by ancient Romans (5) TOGAS {TOG{A}S}

22 Hen, perhaps, in film (5) LAYER [DD]

No.11081, Saturday 10 May 2014, Sunnet

Good stuff from Sunnet. Nice clues in UNARM, SEAT, VIED, RIGID, OLYMPUS and ROLLS. Looks like a politically correct puzzle. I counted 9. Let me know if I missed any. And yes a pangram too.

ACROSS
1 Bend a fastener (6) BUCKLE [DD]

4 Driver to train Guy (8) COACHMAN [COACH + MAN] Not sure who Guy (Fawkes?) is in the surface
10 People’s rule to exhibit broken car near empty city (9) DEMOCRACY [DEMO + CAR* + CitY]
11 Called in the Vietnam editor (5) NAMED [T]
12 To render harmless, manure for the most part, is burned (5) UNARM [MANURe]*
13 Measure news source’s head’s lack of substance (9) EMPTINESS [EM + PTI + NESS]
14 Part One : Street’s lawyers (7) LEGISTS [LEG + I + ST'S]
16 Central actor is placed by the side of main chair (4) SEAT [SEA + acTor]

                           Illustration by Bhargav

19 Competed in somersaulting dive (4) VIED [DIVE]*
21 To stimulate lubricant in burner (4,3) FUEL OIL [FUEL + OIL]
24 Platform for human celebration in a satellite (9) MANIFESTO [MAN + FEST inside IO]

                                                               Cartoon by Rishi

25 Name of Roe is in ruins (5) ROSIE [ROE IS]*
26 Stiff sentence on retrograde Indian policeman (5) RIGID [Rigorous Imprisonment + DIG <=]
27 In heartless Delhi, lawyer’s note became memorable (9) INDELIBLE [IN + DELhI + BL + E]
28 Survey old tax cut backed by left (4,4) EXIT POLL [EX + Income Tax + LOP<= + L]
29 A free standing kitchen unit from New Guinea perhaps (6) ISLAND [DD]

DOWN
1 Cover dirty quid placed in cummerbund (3,5) BED QUILT [QUID* inside BELT] Not sure this is a valid dictionary phrase
2 Spoil a camping movement (8) CAMPAIGN [A CAMPING]*
3 Substitute for old temperature measure in chimney (5) LOCUM [O + Celsius inside LUM]
5 Elevation of Greece’s only representative supported by America but not Norway (7) OLYMPUS [OnLY + MP + US] Is this fair given how far away from ONLY the instruction to delete N is?
6 Frank had an applicant (9) CANDIDATE [CANDID + ATE]
7 Limb of an associate (6) MEMBER [DD]
8 Bare philosophy? (6) NUDISM [CD]
9 Sheep, for example, without their ultimate watchers (6) GAZERS [GrAZERS] Which R of the two should be deleted?
15 Fancily dressed pups, if fed crackers… (7,2) SPIFFED UP [PUPS IF FED]*
17 See dreadful Bhaskar dropping rupee in a house (3,5) LOK SABHA [LO + BHASKAr*]
18 Reportedly puffed tobacco in plant (4,4) BLUE WEED [~BLEW + WEED]

20 Rectify princess’s farm (7) DISTILL [DI'S + TILL]
21 Crosses found around the Capital of Java’s narrow inlets (6) FJORDS [FORDS outside J]
22 Surface to quarter and blend (6) EMERGE [E + MERGE]
23 Commission agriculturist to showcase wild asses (6) ONAGRI [T]
25 Cylinders for a high end car (5) ROLLS [DD]