A nice, tough offering from Scorpion with some very neat surface readings. There seem to be a lot of clues using abbreviations of one kind or another, some of which were a bit unfamiliar, but all perfectly fair. All told, a very satisfying solve.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | SIDEPATH – APED rev. in (THIS)* |
| 8 | UNSOLD – [-b]UNS,OLD |
| 10 | HIEROGLYPHICS – Cryptic def. |
| 11 | OPIATE – 0 (‘no score’) + AT (the ‘outside’ of addict) in PIE |
| 12 | DOWNPIPE – DOWN,PIPE |
| 14 | ETCH – ET + CH |
| 16 | IBIZA – IBI[-s] + Z(one) + A(dvanced) |
| 17 | EATS – [-b]EATS |
| 18 | SRI LANKA – Not 100% sure on this. I think it’s an anagram of RAIN + L in SKA, but welcome suggestions! |
| 20 | TWINGE – N IN TWIG + E (‘minimum of effort’) |
| 22 | EXTRAORDINARY – EXTRA + DINAR on 0,RY (‘no lines’) |
| 24 | BISHOP – BI-SHOP |
| 25 | MISCHIEF – ISCHI[-um] in ME + F(ollowing) |
| Down | |
| 1 | HIP-HOP – CHIP SHOP without C(onstant) and S(ingular) |
| 2 | HANOVERIAN – A + N (end of Golden) + OVER in HI + AN(onymous) – Quite a tricky one to work out, but a nice Posh ‘n’ Becks surface! |
| 3 | THE LADY IS A TRAMP – I think this is just a cryptic def. but could be wrong |
| 4 | GULP – P on GUL[-l] |
| 6 | FLESHPOT – (TOP-SHELF)* |
| 7 | EYEWASH – E (third in Open) + YEW +ASH – A nice golf clue |
| 8 | SKIMP – KIM in PS rev. |
| 13 | WEALTHIEST – (THE SAIL)* in WET |
| 15 | TURMERIC – RUT rev. + M + ERIC |
| 17 | EPITAPH – TIP rev. in EA. PH |
| 20 | LATCH – [-f]LAT,CH(eck) |
| 21 | GEYSER – RES(olution),YE,G rev. |
| 23 | ALPS – A(thletic),LP,[-peak]S |
Hi Ali
I parsed 18a as you did – [festiva]L in *(RAIN) in SKA (music style)
For 3d I had – THE LADY IS (she’s) A (acting) M (male) in PART (character) reversed (to promote)