| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | MP in TRUED UP |
| 9 | ACK(nowledge) in BLOG – nice to see words like BLOG appearing in crosswords but, if you know the word, “online journal” is something of a giveaway. How else to indicate it though? |
| 11 | alternate letter of “EaStEr EgGs” reversed – a neat variation on the alternate letters trick. |
| 12 | TIMPANIST – cryptic def. |
| 13 | AD,RENA,NIL< – I hesitated over this as I wasn’t really sure that RENA was a woman’s name. |
| 20 | I’M,PROMPT,U |
| 22 | E,FT in LIST – FT is the “Financial Times”. |
| 23 | hidden in “gOT TO MANchester” |
| 25 | DI,MEN in RUTS – 501 is a suspiciously precise number, making DI fairly obvious. |
| Down | |
| 2 | (CLUE RAN)* |
| 3 | PAL,A,EON,TO,LOG,IST – the wordplay part of this clue is good; trouble is, it doesn’t really flow well with the defintion part. |
| 5 | (UP A TERM OR TWO AND)* – excellent clue, with a smooth reading surface. |
| 6 | (PAYS MORE SETTING)* – another good one, although one minor quibble is that Windows (the OPERATING SYSTEM) should have a capital W. |
| 15 | SINGS,ON,GS |
| 17 | I,P in TOFFS |
| 20 | IGLOO – amusing cryptic def. |