* = anag, < = reversed, () = dropped
The bird theme made this crossword the easiest Monday puzzle for some time, but the clues were all well-constructed and there were some good cryptic definitions.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pelican: Pen around lic(e) + a. |
| 5 | Crossed: Dec< around Ross. I assume the male name is Ross. It’s not common as a first name but does occur (as in Ross Noble, for example). |
| 9 | Fantastic: Ant in fast + ic. I wasn’t sure about the “ic” for “I see”. There’s nothing to indicate it’s a soundalike, so I assume it must be an accepted abbreviation, although it’s not in my dictionary. Or are Instant Messaging abbreviations now creeping into crosswords ? |
| 10 | Snipe: double def. |
| 11 | Ibis: Bi(rd)< + is. |
| 12 | Favourites: Fa + our in vites. A Punk favourite – the single word used to represent wordplay. |
| 14 | Peacock: Peck around a co. |
| 15 | Martin: Double def. |
| 19 | Easter: s in eater + neat cryptic def. |
| 20 | Chicken: double def. |
| 23 | First Class: First lass around c. |
| 25 | Rhea: soundalike of rear. |
| 27 | Mavis: M + avis (latin for bird). |
| 28 | Montezuma: Cryptic definition based on Montezuma’s revenge. |
| 29 | Dynasty: D(add)y + nasty. |
| 29 | Tannery: Try around anne + cryptic def (“hides”) attempting to mislead you into thinking this was another bird themed clue. |
| Down | |
| 1 | Puffin: puffin(g) |
| 2 | Lankiness: Lane around kin + ss. |
| 3 | Chat: double def. |
| 4 | Nuthatch: Nut + hatch. |
| 5 | Cuckoo: Double def. |
| 6 | Observance: (carves bone)*. |
| 7 | Swift: Double def. |
| 8 | Dressing: Cryptic def (activity after rising = dressing). |
| 13 | Scientists: (insects)* around ist. |
| 16 | Tree house: Cryptic def (spruce tree). |
| 17 | Perfumed: Peru around f + med. |
| 18 | Chestnut: Double def. |
| 21 | Blimey: By around lime. |
| 22 | Canary: Canard (French for duck) with the last letter altered. |
| 24 | Raven: (C)raven. |
| 26 | Tern: soundalike of “turn”. |
Enjoyed this, not as easy for me as NealH found it. I C = I see is, I think, there from long usage and I pencilled in the C in a crossing word before solving.
The SE corner was the trickiest with MONTEZUMA and having to know the French for duck. I liked the cryptic definitions for TREE HOUSE and DRESSING.
The bird theme made this the hardest Monday crossword for me for a while. I gave up on the bottom half round 10:30 last night…