Independent on Sunday 976 by Quixote

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I found this quite easy, solving time, 14 mins.

* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS

1 M (ODIC) UM odic = of poetry

5 A MAL(e) G AM

9 TOTE M

10 DASH BOARD

11 TAR (PAULI) N

12 SUM O

14 TAM O SHANTER (a monster hat)*

18 MA (I SON NET) TE

21 LOPE Hidden

22 URSA MINOR (Mars in our)*

24 RESER (PI) NE pi = very good in (serener)*

25 LAG (O) S

26 iDEa RANGE

27 KIND RED

DOWN

1 MO TETS (Stet OM)<

2 DOT A RD

3 CO (M)P ACTION

4 MIDDLEMAN Man is in the middle of ‘Romania’

5 (p)ARSON

6 ALBS cf labs

7 GR (AD U) ATE

8 ME (D (I) OC) RE cod<

13 WATERMELON (a new Merlot)*

15 SO TO S PEAK (SOT OS)<

16 I (MP LORE) D

17 DIS POSER Sid<

19 O NAG(g)ER

20 ERAS ED

22 UNIT E E fifth letter in alphabet

23 WREN (CH)

4 comments on “Independent on Sunday 976 by Quixote”

  1. Questions of a newbie simpleton…
    1. 4 down. Why Romania? Why not Bulgaria or Japan?
    2. 19 Down. Why is ER half-hearted? Is it hesitation?
    3. 24 across. Why is pi very good?

  2. We don’t often get comments added to a post that is nearly five years old! I don’t have the relevant clues but I will try to answer your queries.

    4dn: there are several countries where MAN appears in the name but only one, Romania where it is exactly in the middle.

    19dn: ‘half-heartedly’ indicates the removal of one of the Gs in the middle of ‘nagger’ to give NAGER.

    24ac: pi is a shortened form of pious, one meaning of which is ‘devoutly religious’.

  3. Thanks Gaufrid

    That’s clear now.

    The crossword may have been in the Indy on Sunday 5 years back but I saw it in the i yesterday – 14/10/2013.

    Tom

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