More enviably entertaining, inventive stuff from Mr Cryptica. There’s plenty to admire here as always, with 21A and 20D being the standouts for me. Read the rest of this entry »

I always enjoy one of the Don’s crosswords and this was no exception. Some clever clues and I particularly liked 28a even though it went in on the first pass. 19a, 22a, 5d, 7d and 20d are also worthy of a special mention.
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Across
1 COUNTERBID  COUNT (noble) *(BRIDE)
7 CORE  homophone of ‘corps’ (division of army)
9 DONG  DON (Bradman) G (good)
10 ON THE CARDS  *(HOT DANCERS)
11 BARSAC  BAR (pub) homophone of ‘sack’ (another, white wine)
12 LOCATION  AC (bill) reversed in LOTION (skin preparation)
13 CALLISTO  CALL (name) I (one) ST (way) O (round)
15 IOTA  O (nothing) in ITA (child’s alphabet)
17 PANG  PAN (face) G[rimace]
19 TOILETTE  TOIL (hard work) TT (avoiding booze) in EE (middle of week)
22 BURNOUSE  BURN ‘OUSE
23 PADAUK  PAD (home) AUK (bird)
25 SEPARATIST  A RAT (a deserter) IS in SEPT (clan)
26 BLIP  B[looming] LIP (cheek)
27 STAY  ST[r]AY (wander off not right)
28 TREE-HUGGER  both ‘Thelma’ and ‘Sasha’ contain the name of a tree

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An interesting theme today, and luckily for me something I managed to guess early on – I suspect it’d be somewhat impenetrable if you can’t guess what BG stands for (I’ve assumed British Game [It's been pointed out in the comments that 'ball game' is more likely]), and there’s precious little else to help you along until you get there!

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I found this trickier than usual, solving time, 26 mins.   RHS much harder than LHS

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Monday Prize Crossword on 16 February 2009
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram

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Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of February 14

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