Sorry I’m so late. I awoke with a headache and – on seeing that it was once again a Hamilton Thursday – an agonised groan. For some odd reason I always find Hamilton an unfeasibly difficult setter, and today was no different. He gave me a right runaround and no mistake.
ACROSS
1. MIDNIGHT Anagram of timing H [hot] D [date]
5. RAGTAG Reversals of gar [pike] + gat [gun]
9. LAXATIVE Paul-ish cryptic definition
10. KERRIA Anagram of Afrikaner minus fan
11. CREAMERY Anagram of my career
12. JUNIOR Anagram of journalist minus last
14. DRAWSTRING Draw [attract] + string [horses, as in ‘second string’]
18. THEREAFTER E [Earl] within the rafter [the support]
22. CLERGY Cle [odd letters of CaLlEd] + (ene)rgy [power]
23. SHEETING Double definition (falling rain can be said to be sheeting)
24. AIRWAY Stairway [flight] minus st [saint, good man]
25. BANDANNA And [what’s more] within banna [sounds like banner, streamer] – a bandanna is a square of fabric
26. EXCITE Double definition
27. ETHEREAL Here [now] within anagram of tale
DOWN
1. MALICE Stumped. I assume the drug is E [ecstasy] but can’t see where pain fits in… help!
2. DEXTER X [kiss] in deter [put off]
3. IN TIME Intimate [suggest] minus reversal of TA [Territorial Army, volunteers]
4. HOVERCRAFT Stumped again, I fear – of course, his art is his craft, but who or what is this principal? EDIT: H(ow) + over [accomplished] + craft [art] – thanks to AID!
6. ADEQUATE Ad [advantage] + equate [balance]
7. TERRIFIC Double definition
8. GLAD RAGS Anagram of laggards
13. SWEETHEART Reverse clue: the ‘heart’ of sWEEt
15. STOCKADE Stock [animals] + ade [sounds like aid, help]
16. METEORIC Met [encountered] + O [zero, nothing] within Eric [man’s name]
17. RED GIANT Double definition, the first part mildly cryptic
19. PEDDLE Sounds like pedal [cycle]
20. FIANCE Finance [public money] minus n [new]
21. AGNAIL Ag [chemical symbol for silver] + nail [plate?]
I can’t make any useful suggestions on your missing clues, except for 4D and even here I am not at all sure.
H for HEAD (Principal)
OVER for accomplished
CRAFT for his art
I await more sensible analyses for this and other clues
Thanks AID! I think you’re right, although perhaps the h comes from the principal letter of h(ow)?
Better still!
Thanks Ringo
1dn is MAL (pain) ICE (drug); ‘mal’ is defined in Chambers as “Pain, sickness” and ‘ice’ “An illicit drug, a highly synthesized form of methamphetamine”.
You have a ? against ‘plate’ in 21dn. One of the definitions in Chambers for ‘nail’ is “A horny plate at the end of a finger or toe, usu distinguished from a claw in being flattened”.
Thank-you Gaufrid! Not on the ball this morning at all…
Can anyone explain how “take-up” in 5a is a reversal indicator? It would make sense for a vertical answer, but, IMHO, not so much for a horizontal one.