No 12861, Tuesday 18 Feb 2020, Arden

ACROSS
1   Quietly drew away, was smart (6) SHREWD {SH}{DREW*}
4   Transported from regular perch — but not moving (8) ECSTATIC {pErCh}{STATIC}
10 Stone man lived in denial, perhaps (9) ALMANDINE {AL{MAN}DINE*}
11 Part of the problem, one that’s defective (5) LEMON [T]
12 Studied country’s extended borders (7) PERUSED {PERU'S}{Ex...eD}
13 Knowing finally the paint's to be mixed (7) SAPIENT {thE+PAINTS}*
14 Because of a song only... (3,2) DUE TO {DUET}{O}
15 ...soldiers and spies have reactionary tendencies (8) REAGENTS {RE}{AGENTS}
18 Dear Mike’s new profession (8) DIEMAKER*
20 Send back watch (5) TIMER<=
23 Not good to have set up the last fighting unit (7) BRIGADE {B{RIG}AD}{thE}
25 Two drinks over mid afternoon? There is mortification (7) CHAGRIN {CHA}{G{a..eRn..n}IN}
26 Posed say with French composer (5) SATIE {SAT}{IE}
27 Happy to take on, dog’s tail is stretched (9) ELONGATED {EL{ON}{doG}ATED}
28 A flower takes form, it’s of inferior quality (8) DECLASSE {DE{CLASS}E}
29 Weighed down with last of the tomatoes rotten (6) ADDLED sADDLED

DOWN
1   Frank meddles regularly, causing flight (8) STAMPEDE {STAMP}{mEdDlEs}
2   “Rue over etiquette”, they say (7) REMORSE {RE}{MORSE}(~ mores)
3   Trims down, unusually violent weather (9) WINDSTORM*
5   Shady character stole a fancy car (7,7) CHELSEA TRACTOR*
6   Bulb lit up by accident (5) TULIP*
7   Play’s in American city, by the way (7) TEMPEST {TEMPE}{ST}
8   Old king, one wearing something pretty (6) CANUTE {C{AN}UTE}
9   Making friends with cricket players, part of children’s code (7,7) FINDERS KEEPERS {FRIENDS}*{KEEPERS}
16 Alien entered England’s borders, was no longer friendly (9) ESTRANGED {STRANGE} in {En...nD}
17 Crime syndicates growing racket in the country (8) TRINIDAD {TRI{DIN<=}AD}

19 Depoliticise conversion, losing sleep is stupid (7) IDIOTIC DepOlITICIse*
21 One writing in Tamil dealt with union affairs (7) MARITAL {A}{R} in {TAMIL}*
22 Rated a book as old (6) ABUSED {A}{B}{USED}
24 Field where soldiers enter one by one (5) ARENA {A{RE}N}{A}

Reference List
Only = O, Soldiers = RE, Flower = River = DEE, Over = RE, Way = ST, One = AN, A, Writing = R, Book = B

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Mrs.CANUTE, the recently wedded wife of a DIEMAKER from TRINIDAD was ECSTATIC, when her husband presented her an ALMANDINE garnet ring for her birthday. Her father, who had been REMORSEful as he thought her daughter had married DECLASSE, was pleasantly surprised by the gift. He was SHREWD enough to sense that his son-in-law could not possibly afford such a costly gift. He got it PERUSED by a jeweller, who treated it with some chemical REAGENTS and declared it to be a cheap fake.  A WINDSTORM, nay a TEMPEST, blew through their MARITAL life, when she found out to her CHAGRIN that the ring was LEMON. An ELONGATED war of words followed, in which she ABUSED not only her husband but his entire clan. The diemaker sent a bunch of TULIPs with a note that said "'Sorry, I Love You, I'll Stop Acting IDIOTIC". Strange are the ways of a woman's mind; DUE TO this simple gift she was pacified and it prevented them from getting ESTRANGED. Of course, being SAPIENT, she had also extracted a promise from him that he would buy a CHELSEA TRACTOR, a real one, for her next birthday. 

No 12860, Monday 17 Feb 2020, Arden

ACROSS
9   Maybe bad sign — it takes guts (7) ABDOMEN {BAD*}{OMEN}
10 Sam, perhaps on a roll initially, can't make out (7) UNCLEAR {UNCLE}{A}{Roll}
11 Each adopted the wild cat (7) CHEETAH {EACH+THE}*
12 Big bird with a nice clipped tail (7) TITANIC {TIT}{A}{NICe}
13 Rain on grass, odd rain creates a hotchpotch (9) POTPOURRI {POT}{POUR}{RaIn}
15 Testing time for kids — Terminator bombed airport terminal (5) APRIL {AIRPort+terminaL}* [CA]
16 Late to cover study, you can go no further (4,3) DEAD END {DEA{DEN}D}
19 American upset with scrambled eggs and tea — it’s prompt (7) SUGGEST {US+EGGS+T}* (Addendum - {US<=}{EGGS*}{T} - See comments)
20 Long, maybe nearly fifty gone (5) YEARN NEARlY*
21 Redemption — meant to modulate and check voice (9) ATONEMENT {A{TONE}MENT*}
25 Long time spent in line like an animal (7) LEONINE {L{EON}INE}
26 Case of cockney demand for some bling (7) EARRING (~ 'earing)
28 Food complaint, two characters flipped inside (7) ALIMENT A(I<=>L}MENT
29 Melissa used for earthmoving activity (7) SEISMAL*

DOWN
1   Crazy plan to get an aide (6) MADCAP {M{ADC}AP}
2   Start with one diamond opening (6) ADVENT {A}{D}{VENT}
3   Novel must be filth (4) SMUT*
4   Party by the hour, no universal support (6) ANCHOR {ANC}{HOuR}
5   Sit out among doctors, shows respect (8) CURTSIES {CUR{SIT*}ES}
6   A beautiful fish, less than right in a way (5,5) ACUTE ANGLE {A}{CUTE}{ANGLE}
7   Fake news? True, she does provide nourishment initially (3,5) WET NURSE*
8   Risk taking people, by law get a handcuff (8) BRACELET {B{RACE}{L}ET}
14 Placing reliance on a mode of transport (5,5) OCEAN LINER*
16 Air filter for chemical wash (8) DRYCLEAN {DRY}{CLEAN}
17 A defence pact faces trouble over Asia Minor (8) ANATOLIA {A}{NATO}{AIL<=}
18 Face oddly excites tongues (8) DIALECTS {DIAL}{ExCiTeS}
22 Some are embarrassed on being hauled up to port (6) ODESSA [T<=]
23 New meaning, not new puzzle (6) ENIGMA MEAnING*
24 Switch to Google — loves to go (6) TOGGLE {TO}{GooGLE}
27 Scotch during regular reunions (4) RUIN ReUnIoNs

Reference List
Grass = POT, Fifty = L, Aide = ADC(Aide-de-camp), Diamond = D, Universal = U, Law = L, New = N, Love = 0

Dr RKE's TalePiece

TITANIC TALE RETOLD

In the month of APRIL 2019, a luxury OCEAN LINER, ENIGMAtically named TITANIC II,  lifted ANCHOR and set sail from the port of ODESSA. Some SUGGEST that it was a MADCAP idea to have named it so, knowing well the RUIN, literally a 'DEAD END,' that the earlier ship by the same name had run into.  It was UNCLEAR if the captain of this ship, who hailed from ANATOLIA, known for his LEONINE courage, YEARNed for a place in naval history or only wanted his two minutes of fame. He was seen on deck in a DRY CLEANed crisp uniform wearing a BRACELET and a single EARRING, which were his lucky charms. A POPOURRI (for that is how POTPOURRI ought to be pronounced, the 'T' being silent in the proper British DIALECT) of dishes awaited in the plush hotel named 'ALIMENT' two floors below the deck,  where the maître d' CURTSIEd to welcome the guests. SEISMAL activity many nautical miles away caused the ship to pitch and yaw violently, causing a revolt in the ABDOMEN of the diners. They thought the end was near, fell to their knees and prayed for ATONEMENT. Captain Cool, fleet as a CHEETAH, charged to the control room and merely TOGGLEd some switches, turned the ship's course at an ACUTE ANGLE, and they were back on to smooth waters. That is what ADVENT of technology has done to make shipping safe.