Independent on Sunday 1026 by Quixote – 11 Oct 2009

I found this much harder than usual from Quixote, with some less familiar words, solving time, 29 mins.

* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS

1 F (REE P) ORT peer<

5 BLISS Double definition

9 ULAN BATOR (anti-Labour)* less i Capital of Mongolia

10 HAMAL Hidden, an Eastern porter

11 SPECIAL (place is)*

12 NAN DINE

13 MICROCLIMATE (it commercial)*

17 ANCIEN REGIME 1 in (man in Greece)*

20 COVE RED

21 CO (Michael) CAINE

22 Lord NORTH

23 W (APE NT) AKE A region in the North – a hundred is another name for a region

24 CRO (U)P

25 PROSPEC beaT (coppers)*

DOWN

1 FOURSOME “for some”

2 E (VAN ESC) E middle of wEEk esc key on computer keyboard

3 PUBLIC OWNERSHIP Cryptic definition, though not the most cryptic ever

4 RATEL hidden a kind of badger, found in Africa and India

5 BEHIND THE SCENES (Nice NHS bedsheet)*

6 I AM BIC BIC is a kind of pen

7 SA(L)VER

8 FRONTMEN “Leaders in the military van?” Had some doubts about this, but van = front, military front ie on the front line, I think

14 LA (I’D DO) WN

15 MITIGATE (game It It)*

16 TE (NEM E) NT (E men)< it also works if E men is not reversed, but I guess Quixote did that to give a better surface reading

18 I CONIC

19 OVERDO “Maybe burn ham” Double definition, favourite clue punning on ‘ham’ = meat and overact

21 CA(m)PER Liked this one too “Someone under canvas, male out for a bit of fun?”