A nice and easy puzzle from Flimsy (said as a compliment). I would recommend this to anyone starting out on cryptics, or more experienced solvers who just fancy a rest from having the grey matter pummled for a change. Thanks Flimsy.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CONSTRUCTS | Makes prisoner cold with stiff walks outside (10) |
| CON (prisoner) then C (cold) in STRUTS (stiff walks) | ||
| 7 | DOSE | Deer eating second amount (4) |
| DOE (deer) contains S (second) | ||
| 9 | STIR | Stimulate gentleman? About time (4) |
| SIR (gentleman) contains T (time) | ||
| 10 | LEADERSHIP | Government heard lies about weapons at heart? (10) |
| anagram (about) of HEARD LIES and weaPons (heart, centre of) | ||
| 11 | COUPLE | Two people left in sports car (6) |
| L (left) in COUPE (sports car) | ||
| 12 | ABRUPTLY | Suddenly a Liberal enters pub – try mixing (8) |
| A then L (liberal in (PUB TRY)* anagram=mixing | ||
| 13 | FREQUENT | Regular visit (8) |
| double definition | ||
| 15 | ENDS | Stops regular withdrawals from teen’s dosh (4) |
| regular selection from tEeNs DoSh | ||
| 17 | IDLE | Useless object of worship? Sounds like it (4) |
| sounds like idol (object of worship) | ||
| 19 | RETURNED | 26 about to become elected (8) |
| REED (26 across) contains TURN (to become) | ||
| 22 | PASTRIES | Father’s attempts to get small cakes (8) |
| PA’S (fathers) TRIES (attempts) | ||
| 23 | ASSIST | Help when nurse drops the Queen (6) |
| AS (when) SISTer (nurse) missing ER (the Queen) | ||
| 25 | DECORATING | Red coating applied when doing this? (10) |
| anagram (applied) of RED COATING – very nice! | ||
| 26 | REED | Animal coming over to get grass (4) |
| DEER (animal) reversed (coming over) | ||
| 27 | USES | Considers abandoning masculine exercises (4) |
| mUSES (considers) missing M (male, masculine) | ||
| 28 | DESCRIBING | Explaining writing after editor returns (10) |
| SCRIBING (writing) following ED (editor) reversed | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | OUTDOOR | Unfashionable party with soldiers al fresco (7) |
| OUT (unfashionable) DO (party) with OR (other ranks, soldiers) | ||
| 3 | STRIP | Peel off football kit (5) |
| double definition | ||
| 4 | RELIEVED | Glad about first lady wearing top (8) |
| RE (regarding, about) then EVE (first lady) inside LID (top) | ||
| 5 | CHARACTERISTICS | Cleaner cries: attic is spoilt after one leaves marks (15) |
| CHAR (cleaner) then anagram (spoilt) of CRIES ATTIC iS missing I (one leaves) | ||
| 6 | SHERRY | Be wrong in wanting alcohol (6) |
| ERR (be wrong) in SHY (wanting, short of) | ||
| 7 | DISAPPEAR | Leave daughter one type of fruit with juice on (9) |
| D (daughter) I (one) then PEAR (type of fruit) following SAP (juice) | ||
| 8 | SKILLED | Conclusion of Brexiteers defeated expert (7) |
| brexiteerS (concluding letter of) and KILLED (defeated) | ||
| 14 | QUESTIONS | Doubts search is carrying on (9) |
| QUEST (search) then IS containing ON | ||
| 16 | STRANGER | Rest getting drunk outside called for more rum (8) |
| REST* anagram=drunk contains RANG (called) | ||
| 18 | DRAWERS | Lifting small purse to reveal underwear (7) |
| S (small) REWARD (purse) reversed (lifting) | ||
| 20 | EASTERN | Beginning to explain a small bird’s direction (7) |
| Explain (beginning, first letter of) and A S (small) TERN (bird) | ||
| 21 | RIBALD | Blue bird flying around everyone with no tail (6) |
| BIRD contains (flying around) ALL (everyone) missing last letter (with no tail) | ||
| 24 | SHRUB | Variety of bush, right? (5) |
| anagram (variety) of BUSH and R (right) – definition is &lit | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
Thanks Flimsy and PeeDee
It was good to get a more straightforward puzzle after focusing on all of the hard ones that I’d been dodging. Still missed parsing LEADERSHIP (just didn’t get back around to it) and was trying to do something with ASSIST (ANT – queen) at 23a. That was as hard as it got! It made for a very relaxing solve on the train home from work.
PeeDee, you may have missed an I in your 7d.
7d is fixed now
Thanks PeeDee,
Confused myself with 18 Down as DIAPERS and could not reason why REPAID was purse.
Ken (3) I was just going to post the exact same reaction!
I was pretty happy when I found that DIAPERS fit the crossings – I had been scratching my head on that one for a while. So even if it didn’t make any sense I thought it must be right.
Other than that I had it all straight – about the right level for me I’d say.
I had no knowledge of the “football kit” definition of “STRIP” but the first def fit so well I figured it must be correct, and so it was.
So, the CHARACTERISTICS of the way this puzzle is CONSTRUCTed are such that I was SKILLED enough to get almost all of it, and I SHRUBbed my shoulders at two I wasn’t sure about: STRANGER things have happened.
So REPAID and REWARD have similar meanings and both reverse into underwear. I never saw that coming, and I expect neither did Flimsy. Fascinating!
It sets me wondering what a clue for “REPAID REWARD” might be.