After 7 days of the Lenten season last week, this time Virgilius gives us the 7 deadly sins, familiar (in theory, of course) to most, I’m sure. This made it an easy puzzle, with all but 4 solved in under 8 mins – then delayed by having miswritten one entry. Again proving a puzzle can be very good and very easy at the same time.
Solving time: 13 mins
* = anagram
ACROSS
7 OVERSLEEP Excellent cryptic definition (Other things had come to mind before I got it.)
15 O UTD O Utd abbreviation for Manchester UNITED in 0-0 draw.
16 SEVEN DEADLY SINS (Evil say ends ends)*
20 SUCCESS (Hit) O R
23 ANGER Refers to the seminal 50s play “Look Back in Anger” leading to the Angry Young Men, social change etc etc.
25 ENV(O)Y Not love (O)
26 HAND (measure of horses) I CAPS
DOWN
1 COVE TO US NESS Ness = point is worth remembering
2 WEE D Trickiest clue, I thought wee = small d = diameter or depth. Defn = drug, on which its sister paper IoS has over the last few weeks reversed a campaigning liberal position it took in 1997.
3 O SIR IS Egyptian deity you’ll meet in crosswords
4 HEADLINE Phrenology = studying the head physically to ascertain mental faculties, not a science accepted by all…
5 GLUTTONY Cryptic definition consume = eat
8 P RIDE
12 TROUSER PRESS Excellent cryptic definition with misleading context. Bags = trousers
18 DOCTRINE (Direction)* less i
20 S LOTH a slow-moving mammal as well as one of the 16s
21 ET ALIA Hidden (from Latin – literally “and others” et al for short)
22 Thomas GRAY (Elegy etc). Normal US spelling of grey
You nearly beat me – also struggled on WEED, taking 11:58.