Pretty standard with a couple of neat tricks here and there, but nothing to tax Everyman regulars.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CICELY – (ICYCLE)* |
| 4 | SPROUTED – R in SPOUTED = sounded off |
| 9 | MUSCLE – (CLUES)* after M = spymaster. M is James Bond’s boss. |
| 10 | PASSOVER – PASS = take place, as in what came to pass + OVER = during, as in over the weekend |
| 12 | AGINCOURT – AGIN + COURT |
| 13 | EERIE – “EAR” + I.E. |
| 14 | GEORGE FORMBY – GEORGE BY around FORM |
| 18 | MILLS AND BOON – MILLAND around (=penning) S(tory) + BOON. Ray Milland was a Welsh-born actor. |
| 21 | AWARE – A WAR + peac(E) |
| 22 | PINEAPPLE – (PIEPENPAL)* |
| 24 | SERGEANT – ANT after SERGE. Serge is a cloth often used in suits, and an ant is a worker who is social! |
| 25 | OBTUSE – dd |
| 26 | NEW DELHI – NEW + DELHI |
| 27 | CREDIT – CR + EDIT |
| Down | |
| 1 | CAMPAIGN – (CAMPING)* around A |
| 2 | CAST IRON – CAST + IRON |
| 3 | LILAC – I in CALL< |
| 5 | PLASTER SAINT – PLASTERS = daubs + p(AINT) |
| 6 | OYSTER BED – cd, using main = sea and natives = type of oysters |
| 7 | TAVERN – s(ERVANT)* |
| 8 | DARKEN – DEN around ARK |
| 11 | SUFFOLK PUNCH – SUFFOLK + PUNCH. Suffolk Punch is a breed of horse. Punch was a satirical British magazine. |
| 15 | GUINEVERE – (REVENGEI)* around (Jan)U(ary). Cruciverbalists’ favourite mistress makes yet another appearence! |
| 16, 17 | COMPOUND INTEREST – COMPOUND = heighten + INTEREST |
| 19 | PARSON – P + ARSON |
| 20 | FARROW – FAR + ROW. A farrow is a litter of piglets |
| 23 | AMBER – hidden in cAMBERwell |
Common crossword abbreviations this week:
king = R
that is = I.E.
councillor = CR
one = I
pressure = P