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Across
1 Had a bit of a jog, I hear, and pay to return (6)
5 Sounds like her letter is not free! (6)
10 Quarters that are half the size (7)
11 The origin of "nap", I say (7)
12 I flubbed the line, so you finish it instead (2,4)
15 Copied someone's work at home (6)
16 Teen art about imp lore (7)
17 And French Swiss eat into it (4)
18 In the end I came before the blight, on the Sound (4)
19 Pretty quickly, like a lot of boats? (7)
20 Oh-oh! Now swoop around (4)
22 Be smart! Take the beer out of the chalice! (4)
25 A hackneyed tribute I see, to a sailor perhaps? (7)
27 Malingers, without mothers to hang around (6)
28 Moves Ali had in his garden? (6)
31 Often with winds, or not, I'm told (7)
32 He pays homage around us later (7)
33 A manly cup of tea from Tel Aviv? (6)
34 Sounds like "Donkey" O'Tay when he took a seat in the gods (6)
Down
2 Sweet, like Gabriel 99 (7)
3 Set before you sit down on it (6)
4 Mother's grand disguise (4)
5 Iron about a hundred on ahead (4)
6 With me are a lot for red (6)
7 Still, a bed? (5-2)
8 What Dotty must do in Egypt, I hear (6)
9 Frank can do this ... yesterday (6)
13 Not sure about the nuclear explosion (7)
14 Make nicer, as with old lace (7)
15 Two in the front, and two in the back maybe? (7)
20 Hooked up after the wash is done perhaps? (6)
21 The pain of being hit by a wok with flair? (7)
23 Besides, the gunfighter lost her replacement (7)
24 Sit here and listen to the Queen toasting you? (6)
25 He tries to find that street in the Shambles (6)
26 Make an all-in bet for the nutcracker perhaps (6)
29 What Tom says for me around the west (4)
30 Venomous, as an afterthought (4)
Here is each clue alongside its answer, with an explanation of the link between clue and answer. I hope it all makes sense! As always, I welcome feedback via comment and/or email. I’m particularly interested in hearing about clues that were too obvious or easy, and clues that were annoying or perhaps caused frustration. But, I’ll listen to all suggestions on how to make my puzzles more challenging and more fun!
Across
1 Had a bit of a jog, I hear, and pay to return (6)
RANSOM
Had a bit of a jog, ‘ran some’, I hear as RANSOM: and pay to return.
5 Sounds like her letter is not free! (6)
FEMALE
Letter is not free, ‘fee-mail’, sounds like FEMALE: her.
10 Quarters that are half the size (7)
EIGHTHS
EIGHTHS are half the size of quarters.
11 The origin of "nap", I say (7)
CORSICA
The origin, where he was born, of Nap. I (Napoleon Bonaparte) = CORSICA.
12 I flubbed the line, so you finish it instead (2,4)
I-N LIE-U
I (I) flubbed, an anagram of, the “line” (N LIE) so “you” finish it (U) = IN LIEU: instead.
15 Copied someone's work at home (6)
COGGED
Copied someone’s “work” at “home”, homework = COGGED. Not that I ever did ...
16 Teen art about imp lore (7)
ENTREAT
“Teen art” about, an anagram = ENTREAT: imp-lore.
17 And French Swiss eat into it (4)
ET-CH
And French (ET) Swiss (CH) = ETCH: eat into it.
18 In the end I came before the blight, on the Sound (4)
EN(I)D
In the end (EN-D) I (I) = ENID: came before Blyton (the Sound “blight on”).
19 Pretty quickly, like a lot of boats? (7)
FLEET-LY
A lot of a boats, a fleet, might perhaps move FLEETLY: pretty quickly.
20 Oh-oh! Now swoop around (4)
OOPS
No-w in S-w-OOP is SOOP, around, an anagram = OOPS: oh-oh!
22 Be smart! Take the beer out of the chalice! (4)
CHIC
Take the beer, ale, out of the ch-AL-ic-E = CHIC: be smart.
25 A hackneyed tribute I see, to a sailor perhaps? (7)
TAX-IC-AB
A tribute (TAX) I see (IC) to a sailor (AB) = TAXICAB: “hackneyed” perhaps?
27 Malingers, without mothers to hang around (6)
LINGER
MA-linger-S without mothers, MAS, = LINGER: to hang around.
28 Moves Ali had in his garden? (6)
DAHLIA
Moves, an anagram of, “Ali had” = DAHLIA: in his garden.
31 Often with winds, or not, I'm told (7)
NECKTIE
“Winds, or not” I’m told, so I hear it as ‘Windsor knot’, often found with a NECKTIE.
32 He pays homage around us later (7)
SALUTER
Around, an anagram of, “us later” = SALUTER: he pays homage.
33 A manly cup of tea from Tel Aviv? (6)
HE-BREW
A HEBREW is someone from Tel Aviv, and a HE-BREW might be a “manly cup of tea!”
34 Sounds like "Donkey" O'Tay when he took a seat in the gods (6)
Sounds like “Donkey” O’Tay, Don Quixote, a SATIRE, which sounds like ‘sat higher’, a seat in the gods perhaps!
Down
2 Sweet, like Gabriel 99 (7)
ANGEL-IC
Like Gabriel (ANGEL) 99 (IC) = ANGELIC: sweet.
3 Set before you sit down on it (6)
SET-TEE
Set (SET) before you, U (TEE) = SETTEE: sit down on it.
4 Mother's grand disguise (4)
MA’S-K
Mother’s (MA’S) grand (K) = MASK: disguise.
5 Iron about a hundred on ahead (4)
F(A-C)E
Iron about (F-E) a hundred (A C) = FACE: on a-head.
6 With me are a lot for red (6)
ME-R-LOT
With me (ME) are (R) a lot (LOT) = MERLOT: for red.
7 Still, a bed? (5-2)
LYING IN
Still a-bed, still in bed, is LYING IN.
8 What Dotty must do in Egypt, I hear (6)
SENILE
Must do in Egypt, ‘see Nile’, I hear as SENILE: dotty (and I know how that feels!).
9 Frank can do this ... yesterday (6)
CAN-DID
Can (CAN) “do” this yesterday (DID) = CANDID: frank.
13 Not sure about the nuclear explosion (7)
UNCLEAR
About the “nuclear” explosion, an anagram = UNCLEAR: not sure.
14 Make nicer, as with old lace (7)
Make, an anagram of, “nicer, as” = ARSENIC: as with “old lace” in the stageplay Arsenic and Old Lace, and the hilarious film spin-off of the same name starring Cary Grant.
15 Two in the front, and two in the back maybe? (7)
CARLOAD
Two in the front and two in the back is maybe a CARLOAD of passengers.
20 Hooked up after the wash is done perhaps? (6)
ON-LINE
After the wash is done it is perhaps ON (the) LINE = ONLINE: hooked up.
21 The pain of being hit by a wok with flair? (7)
PAN-ACHE
A wok with (PAN) the pain of being hit by (ACHE) = PANACHE: flair.
23 Besides, the gunfighter lost her replacement (7)
HOLSTER
“Lost her” replacement, an anagram = HOLSTER: beside(s) the gunfighter.
24 Sit here and listen to the Queen toasting you? (6)
CHAIRS
Listen to the (posh) Queen toasting you, saying ‘cheers!’ and you may hear CHAIRS: sit here.
25 He tries to find that street in the Shambles (6)
TESTER
That “street” in the Shambles, an anagram = TESTER: he tries.
26 Make an all-in bet for the nutcracker perhaps (6)
In bet (B-ET) make an “all” in (ALL) = BALLET: for The Nutcracker perhaps.
29 What Tom says for me around the west (4)
ME-O-W
For me (ME) around (O) the west (W) = MEOW: what tom (cat) says.
30 Venomous, as an afterthought (4)
AS-PS
As (AS) an afterthought (PS) = ASPS: venomous.
2 comments:
Hi Bill,
What a brilliant crossword (because I really, really thought I would not be able to finish it, and then I finished it, and because of all the great clues)!
Loved MASK (that you had K rather than M, so much more today!)
Loved the memories evoked by COGGED (I didn’t either), ENID (I did) and ARSENIC (I saw the film).
So many good ones, TAKICAB, NECKTIE, HEBREW, SATIRE, SENILE, to name but a few.
What, NUTCRACKER in the puzzle, and no Aria (or have you had it already)?
As a FEMALE who was FLEETINGLY stuck on many clues, I SALUTER you. Just the right level of challenge (for me anyway), and really good fun.
Now to make Sunday dinner (just as well it wasn’t any harder or it might have been bread and cheese for the family).
Thanks again
Eleanor
Hi Eleanor,
Well, you've given me a bright start to the day! I am just thrilled that you were able to solve the puzzle, and at the same time you found it to be challenging enough for you. You've made my day :o)
In today's puzzle I wanted to focus on clues that were a little "punny", so I built the rest of the puzzle around RANSOM (ran some), FEMALE (fee-mail), CANDID (can-do), CHAIRS (cheers!), SATIRE (sat higher), HEBREW (he-brew), ONLINE (on line), SENILE (see Nile). I like a clue that brings a little smile.
I wasn't able to include my usual sprinkling of Irish references today, sadly. I did manage to put in COGGED which I regard as somewhat somewhat Irish, although I think the term is used across the water in England too.
Thank you, Eleanor, for working the puzzle, and a special thanks for the encouraging words. I wish you well in your battles with the expert, M. Crosaire, in the coming week!
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