A straightforward Sunday puzzle. Thanks Poins.
| Across | ||
| 8 | VOLATILE |
Detestable to describe books covering the return of Capone as explosive (8)
VILE containing (to describe) OT (Old Testamant, books) containing (covering) AL (Al Capone) reversed (the return of) |
| 9 | LANCE |
Initially naive to supply Spike with a weapon (5)
Naive (initial letter of) inside (to supply…with) LACE (spike) |
| 10 | BORE |
Tolerated back in Esher obviously (4)
found reversed on eshER OBviously |
| 11 | FOR CERTAIN |
Definitely in favour of creating changes without a hint of glitz (3,7)
FOR (in favour of) with CREATINg* anagram=changes missing Glitz (first letter, a hint of) |
| 12 | COWARD |
Oddly cool about sketch of chicken (6)
CoOl (odd letters of) then DRAW (sketch) reversed (about) |
| 14 | AMENABLE |
Easily persuaded soldiers to invade key island from the east (8)
MEN (soldiers) inside (to invade) A (key, music) ELBA (island) reversed (read from the east, the right) |
| 15 | INTENSE |
Extremely serious when concerned with the future for example (7)
IN (concerned with) TENSE (the futrue tense for example) |
| 17 | SO THERE |
An expression of finality in that respect follows accordingly (2,5)
THERE (in that respect) follows SO (accordingly) |
| 20 | FAIR GAME |
Gamble on Five’s opening song becoming a legitimate target for ridicule (4,4)
GAME (gamble) following (on) Five (opening letter of) AIR (song) |
| 22 | FIDDLE |
Falsify dossier to frame religious scholar (6)
FILE (dossier) contains (to frame) DD (Doctor of Divinity, religious scholar) |
| 23 | CONTRAVENE |
Dispute with flyer featured in short story (10)
RAVEN (a flyer) inside (featured in) CONTE (short story) |
| 24 | STEM |
Appear half-hearted about tenor’s arrest (4)
SEeM (appear, half-hearted) containing (about) T (tenor) |
| 25 | SCORE |
Painful to accept Conservative account (5)
SORE (painful) contains (to accept) C (Conservative) |
| 26 | SILENCER |
Sincere about limiting length of exhaust attachment (8)
SINCERE* anagram=about containing (limiting) L (length) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | GO TO TOWN |
Act enthusiastically when Dorothy’s companion turns up in a dress (2,2,4)
TOTO (Dorothy’s companion in the Wizard of Oz) reversed (turns up) in GOWN (a dress) |
| 2 | SAFE |
Trustworthy leaders of society are found taking ecstasy (4)
first letters of Society Are Found then E (ecstacy) |
| 3 | BIFFED |
Struck by a story put up by female newspaper boss (6)
FIB (story) reversed (put up) by F (female) ED (editor, newspaper boss) |
| 4 | RETREAT |
Soldiers having to deal with retirement (7)
RE (Royal Engineers, soldiers) having TREAT (to deal with) |
| 5 | ALTER EGO |
Foolishly agree with Lot’s confidant (5,3)
anagram (foolishly) of AGREE with LOT |
| 6 | UNATTACHED |
Single girl longed to possess Otto’s heart (10)
UNA (a girl) ACHED (longed) containg (to possess) oTTo (heart of) |
| 7 | GENIAL |
Fellow after information on international friendly (6)
AL (fellow, man’s name) following GEN (information) with I (international) |
| 13 | ABERRATION |
Right to stop allowance after Lincoln’s moral lapse (10)
R (right) inside (to stop, like a cork) RATION (allowance) following ABE (Abraham Lincoln) |
| 16 | SEAFARER |
A good way to obstruct someone looking for salt (8)
A FAR (good way) inside (to obstruct) SEER (someone looking) |
| 18 | RELIEVED |
Freed from anxiety about the first woman to break cover (8)
RE (regarding, about) then EVE (the forst woman) inside (to break) LID (cover) |
| 19 | REVERSE |
Revolutionary’s endless poetry of defeat(7)
REd (revolutionary, endless) VERSE (poetry) |
| 21 | AROUSE |
Turn on American runner after start of race (6)
A (American) OUSE (the River Ouse, something that runs) after Race (starting letter of) |
| 22 | FEEBLE |
Unconvincing complaint raised by the French (6)
BEEF (complaint) reversed (raised) by LE (the, French) |
| 24 | SENT |
Told to go before leaving a gift (4)
preSENT (a gift) missing PRE (before) |
definitions are underlined
Well done. Some quite tricky clues for a Sunday.
23A While the literal translation from Latin might mean “come against”, not convinced that “contravene” could be substituted for “dispute with”.
Meant to say thanks to Poins and PeeDee.
gwep – perhaps the definition should just be ‘dispute’. I didn’t really get the definition either, but it was in the dictionary so fair enough.