The Sunday Crossword No 3286, Sunday 24 Dec 2023

ACROSS

1   Angler hopes for this amount of information, we're told (4) BITE (~byte)

3   Club alight: might ash be found there? (8) WOODLAND {WOOD}{LAND}

9   Last bits of Christmas cake, privately, by the coast (7) SEASIDE {c...aS}{cakE}{ASIDE}

11 Run and shove, pocketing one pound on the way back (7) PUBLISH {PU{1 LB<=}SH}

12 Sly cats at work, they cause things to change (9) CATALYSTS*

13 Ruled, showing signs of age (5) LINED [DD]

14 Book pricier option in hotel (1,4,4,1,4) A ROOM WITH A VIEW [DD]

16 Pure, holy band is playing Gershwin piece (8,2,4) RHAPSODY IN BLUE*

20 Removed middle section of electrical flex from speaker (5) CORED (~cord)

22 Soldiers given orders to go around duck (9) COMMANDOS {COMMAND{O}S}

23 Couple eating last of cracker that is plain (7) PRAIRIE {P{c...eR}AIR}{IE}

24 Starters of rice in stock, oregano to taste, onion ...? (7) RISOTTO Acrostic &lit

25 In large part, admitting two poor grades with unassuming manner (8) MODESTLY {MO{D}{E}STLY}

26 Gradually move back, say, adder regularly sidestepped (4) EDGE {EG}{aDdEr}<=

DOWN

1   'ABCs' is, put another way ...? (6) BASICS &lit

2   Display exuberant paintings etc, stuck up in eatery (9) TRATTORIA {AIR}{OTT}{ART}<=

4   Part of layover's awfully managed (7) OVERSAW [T]

5   Put down dopiest oddball (7) DEPOSIT*

6   Salad bar's boss, awfully unabashed (2,4,2,5) AS BOLD AS BRASS*

7   Condescend to remove first of specs from blueprint (5) DEIGN DEsIGN

8   Tail winds had owls shedding from both wings (6) SHADOW {HAD+OWlS}*

10 Everyman will take into account editor's 'Badly thought out' (3-10) ILL-CONSIDERED {I'LL}{CONSIDER}{ED}

15 One devout woman, old-fashioned, overwhelmed (9) INUNDATED {1}{NUN}{DATED}

16 Chef's instructions: pieces of endive and chicory ... filling ... ready to eat (6) RECIPE {R{En...e}{Ch...y}IPE}

17 They detail stevedores (7) DOCKERS [DD]

18 Endless, timeless – and godless! (7) IMMORAL IMMORtAL

19 Residue and mineral deposit collected on the land (6) ASHORE {ASH}{ORE}

21 Procure fresh weaponry and back Frenchman (5) REARM {REAR}{M}

Reference List

Exuberant = OTT(Over the top), Time = T, Frenchman = M

No 14053, Saturday 23 Dec 2023, Hypatia

ACROSS

1   State of German I pursued (7) MANIPUR [T]

5   Boxes taking out intellectuals (7) BOFFINS {B{OFF}INS}

9   I strive hard to consider again (7) REVISIT*

10 Behaviour of French firm's unusual (7) DECORUM {DE}{CO}{RUM}

11 Power secured in capital's old city (6) DELPHI {DEL{P}HI}

12 Country girl left university earlier (8) PORTUGAL {GAL}<=>{PORT}{U}

14 Relieves her as she is often stressed (5) EASES {hEr+As+ShE+iS}

16 Oil expert acting on a red alert? (3,6) ART DEALER*

18 Try adjusting rupee cost (9) PROSECUTE*

19 Do mean to yell at the beginning (5) PARTY {PAR}{To}{Yell}

20 Last in spite of everything (5,3) AFTER ALL [DD]

22 Steady horses (6) STABLE [DD]

26 Managed to wear one reflecting band in city (7) NAIROBI {R{1}AN<=}{OBI}

27 Caught a little leaf bitten by greener insect, say (7) CRAWLER {C}{RAW{Leaf}ER}

28 Abhors extremely disagreeable exams (7) DETESTS {Di...lE}{TESTS}

29 Two seconds to stop haemorrhage? That's lucky! (7) BLESSED {BLE{SS}ED}

DOWN

1   Respected American democrat left stuck in messy situation (5) MIRED adMIRED

2   Rising volcanic rock by ocean floor concerns ships (5) NAVAL {LAVA}{o..aN}<=

3   Spooner's present spread quickly (4-5) POST-HASTE (~host paste to post-haste)

4   Spoil Indian bread (4) ROTI {ROT}{I}

5   Oh! muted and minimized (3-7) BAD-MOUTHED {OH+MUTED}* [RA]

6   Feature of Church's solid walls (5) FACET {FA{CE}T}

7   Lawless guerrilla struggles ultimately switching sides (9) IRREGULAR {GUERRIL(-l+r)RA}*

8   By the same token slimy criminal shelters rotten liar (9) SIMILARLY {SLIMY}* over {LIAR*}

13 Accidents by negligent couples (10) CASUALTIES {CASUAL}{TIES}

14 Justified when former spouse got even, say (9) EXPLAINED {EX}{(~planed}PLAINED}

15 Successful candidates in a bear's roster (9) SHORTLIST {SHORT}{LIST}

17 Immigrant sacrificing right to speak (9) EXPATIATE EXPATrIATE

21 Cheats swindlers leaving clubs (5) ROOKS cROOKS

23 Locks and runs away (5) BOLTS [DD]

24 Pierre Dupont had made a mistake (5) ERRED [T]

25 Scoundrel in small taxi (4) SCAB {S}{CAB}

Reference List

Of in French = DE, Power = P, Left = PORT, University = U, Caught = C, Second = S, American = A, Democrat = D, Indian = I, Church = CE, Right = R, Clubs = C, Small = S