An interesting variety of clues today, and some unusual words.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | SHISH KEBAB *(KISS BABE H H) H H is “H[ard] twice” |
| 7 | SACK dd |
| 9 | FREE d&cd |
| 10 | BUDGERIGAR BUDGE (shift) RI (Rhode Island=state) GAR (fish) |
| 11 | PITTAS SAT (took, as in “sat an examination”) TIP (suggestion), all reversed. This was the last to fall for me, since I was only familiar with the spelling pitas |
| 12 | INTEGERS *(STEERING) All integers are real numbers, but not all integers are natural numbers; the natural numbers are only the non-negative integers |
| 13 | TEA CHEST TEACHES (trains) T (“stow,” second piece) For the longest time I thought “stow” was a container indicator and that an S (for “second”) needed to be inserted somewhere |
| 15 | HIDE Odd letters of HaIrDyE (“even fragments … removed”) |
| 17 | SPIT TIPS (ends) reversed. A “spit” as in a spit of land |
| 19 | NEAP TIDE APT I (apartment one) in EDEN (garden) reversed |
| 22 | MAHARAJA Reversed in A JAR A HAMburger. The answer is at one end of the fodder, rather than contained within it |
| 23 | DEJA VU First letters of Despair Embraces Jailer After Visiting Underground |
| 25 | RAMSHACKLE *(ARCH LEAKS + M (motorway)) |
| 26 | DUNE N (noon) in DUE (expected) |
| 27 | MEWS dd |
| 28 | IATROGENIC *(ORIGINATE + C[linic]) An &lit. An iatrogenic condition is a complication brought about by the therapy or treatment directed at another condition |
| Down | |
| 2 | HEROINE HEROIN + E (one drug after another) |
| 3 | SMELT dd |
| 4 | KIBOSHED B.O. (horrible smell) + SHE in KID (small child) |
| 5 | BADMINTON RACKET d&cd; Badminton is the site of a famous showjumping competition |
| 6 | BREATH RE (about) inside BATH (something else drawn) |
| 7 | SLINGSHOT SLINGS (gets rid of) HOT (stolen) |
| 8 | CHARRED CHARMED (enchanted) with R (queen) replacing M (maiden) |
| 14 | CATHARSIS CATHAR (Christian sect) S (society) IS. I think the sect are referred to as “the Cathars,” so CATHAR should have been clued as “member of Christian sect.” |
| 16 | SAN DIEGO SAN DI (homophone of “sandy,” i.e., “like a beach”) + EGO (I) |
| 18 | PLACATE AT in PLACE (home) |
| 20 | DA VINCI VIN (French wine) C (Catholic) in DAI (Welsh man) |
| 21 | WASABI SAW (looked) reversed + A + BI[te] (half bite) |
| 24 | JUDGE G (good) in JUDE (referring to the Thomas Hardy novel Jude the Obscure). |