Solving time: 15 mins
* = anagram
ACROSS
1 BACK Pleasing double definition
10 LIME (RICK) S
11 Don’t cast a CLOUT till May is out. Old proverb re clothes. Puzzle is first to appear in May
17 A MAL (Malachi – Book of the Bible) GAM (School of whales)
20 MOBILE LIBRARY Rider Haggard’s book She.
23 BOATLOADS More showing it’s a plural
DOWN
1 BALA (Lake in Wales) C LAV = John ‘AS
2 a luna (moth) p (quiet – music) mac (Scotsman) all “climbing” to give CAMPANULA
6 Golf clubs Jeremy IRONS
9 S(C)HEM E Noah’s son Shem going round c = about with e = energy
13 LAID EYES ON (Isle one day)* Saw = definition “Sailing around” chosen as anagram indicator to fit the words
18 M (A LAB) AR Region of India
19 BELDAM cf Bedlam
20 MINOR “Miner” “This” child shows which of the two is the correct answer
21 EELS (h)EELS Cockneys dropping the initial h
despite it being the first word in the clue ‘She’, if it refers to a book title ought to be in quotes or italics. I agree that the clue is quite fun, but it still seems to me to be cheating a little, as if one put ‘west’ when referring to Mae West. You can add misleading capitals etc, but you shouldn’t omit necessary indications.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Fair point -and I thought about it when writing the clue, but once you use italics you rather give the game away! May I be forgiven -and may the Great Macnutt not turn in his grave!