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Festive fare from the Don
Across
1 MASS dd
3 HAVERSACKS bags AVERS (states) in HACKS (cuts)
9 SKIABLE (IS BLEAK)*
11 EXACTOR demanding person EX ACTOR
12… Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed (anagram from ‘today – to’)
16 SNOWFALL winter feature S (sun) NOW (this time) FALL (autumn)
18 CORSAGES flower sprays COR (gosh) SAGES (wise men)
24 IN-HOUSE within organisation (HEINOUS)*
25 ENDORSE back END [h]ORSE
26 INDEFINITE a – indefinite article (FIEND)* IN (TIE)*
27 USED exhausted [am]USED (tickled minus A M)
Down
1 MISCONDUCT bad behaviour M (maiden) IS CONDUCT (wave arms!)
2 SLIP COVERS book jackets COVER in SLIPS (cricket)
4 AWEARY tired WEAR (clothes) in A Y (yen)
5 EVERYONE all – hidden in [chor]E VERY ONE[rous]
6 SWALLOW-TAILED like extreme of bird WALLOW(indulgent act) in ST (street) AILED (wasn’t well)
8 SARK island SHARK (fish) minus H (hard)
10 BLINDMAN’S BUFF game dd
13 EARTHWORKS defences and EARTH WORKS (electricity)
14 SLEEPYHEAD dozy type (HELPED EASY)*
17 MELODEON musicmaker (ONE MODEL)*
20 ODDEST most peculiar O (old) DD (theologian) EST (French for is)
22 MIDI in France ID (I had) in M1 (fast road)
( )* = anagram dd = double definition [ ] = omit
Thanks Quixote for a pleasantly straightforward puzzle and Jed for the blog. Favourite clue 26ac for the definition “Like a”, although I am sure that this is not the first time this has been used.
I took the long anagram on trust and it certainly opened the puzzle up, giving us two letters each of 1/2/13/14dn and three each of 6/10dn. Normally I regard it as undesirable when two answers cross more than once, but with an answer as long as the one here, it is practically inevitable.
A quiet day on the blog – we wonder why!
Thanks Quixote we enjoyed 25ac, it raised a smile. One of us saw the long answer fairly early on thankfully as we started the puzzle quite late.
Thanks Jed for the blog – may you have an enjoyable day tomorrow!
At last a very enjoyable puzzle, one for all to have a go at, especially for this busy time of year . Well done Quixote