A straightforward challenge from the Don this friday. Made quick work of it with only 2d holding me up a bit.
FF: 8 DD: 6
| Across | ||
| 7 | LETTERED | Literary communication sent to editor (8) |
| LETTER (communication) ED (editor) | ||
| 8 | REPAID | Settled up with material help (6) |
| REP (material) AID (help) | ||
| 11 | WHITE | Completely blameless person in indoor game (5) |
| double def | ||
| 12 | TORRIDITY | Great heat with dirty riot turning nasty (9) |
| DIRTY RIOT* | ||
| 13 | HOSPICE | Lodging in house with something that adds interest (7) |
| HO (house) SPICE (something that adds interest) | ||
| 14 | EASE OFF | Only some cease offending and become less intense (4,3) |
| hidden in “..cEASE OFFending.. | ||
| 15 | WOODY NIGHTSHADE | Who so hated dying, undone by poison? (5,10) |
| WHO SO HATED DYING* | ||
| 18 | INEXACT | Imprecise during performance, no longer retained (7) |
| [IN (during) ACT (performance)] containing EX (no longer) | ||
| 20 | UNFROCK | Take vestments off – fantastic fun – groove to the music! (7) |
| FUN* ROCK (groove to the music) | ||
| 22 | TASK FORCE | Assignment for church to form working party (4,5) |
| TASK (assignment) FOR CE (church) | ||
| 23 | BAIRN | Child, one imprisoned in outbuilding (5) |
| I (one) in BARN (outbuilding) | ||
| 24 | EMETIC | Man possibly avoiding awful mincemeat – it can make you sick (6) |
| mInCEMEaT* (without the letters of MAN) | ||
| 25 | NAIL DOWN | Lad with no win – awful fix (4,4) |
| LAD NO WIN* | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BLOW THE WHISTLE | Indicate that the game must stop and report bad goings-on (4,3,7) |
| double def | ||
| 2 | STAINS | Location near Heathrow reported evidence of pollution (6) |
| sounds like STAINES (location near heathrow) | ||
| 3 | CELERITY | Rapidity with which star dismisses bishop (8) |
| CELEbRITY (star, without B – bishop) | ||
| 4 | GET THE PICTURE | Comprehend what thief in art gallery wants to do? (3,3,7) |
| cryptic def | ||
| 5 | DEVILS | Daughter and son full of wickedness – real baddies (6) |
| EVIL (wickedness) in [D (daughter) S (son)] | ||
| 6 | MANITOBA | Frenzy to squash maggot turning up in Canadian location (8) |
| MANIA (frenzy) containing reverse of BOT (maggot) | ||
| 9 | DAY OF RECKONING | Find a cry gone, OK? Possibly, when justice finally triumphs (3,2,9) |
| FIND A CRY GONE OK* | ||
| 10 | GREENHOUSE GAS | Hero engages us, troubled by this threat to the environment (10,3) |
| HERO ENGAGES US* | ||
| 16 | OVERSEES | Manages to be abroad, we hear (8) |
| sounds like OVERSEAS (abroad) | ||
| 17 | SOFTBALL | Newspaper in expression of grief over everyone in game (8) |
| [FT (newspaper) in SOB (expression of grief) ] ALL (everyone) | ||
| 19 | AFFAIR | A broadcast about two females in naughty relationship? (6) |
| [A AIR (broadcast) ] around FF (two females) | ||
| 21 | ORISON | Old jail with priest brought out for prayer (6) |
| O (old) [pRISON (jail, without P – priest)] | ||
*anagram
Many thanks for the blog, Turbolegs. For 23 across I had ‘bairn’. Although I’m sure there are lots of children called Brian :))
Yes, but no building called a BRAN! Thanks to reviewer
🙂 Fixed it. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
TL
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs. Very enjoyable. I struggled a bit with the five long solutions (e.g., I started with “see’ THE PICTURE that doesn’t quite work) but once I unscrambled WOODY NIGHTSHADE (the woody” was also new to me) things fell into place. Here in the US I did know Staines-STAINS from many trips on the Heathrow Express. My LOI was WHITE when I finally figured out the link to Clue.
acd@4. This side of the pond, Clue is called Cluedo.
Although the solution to 5d was clear, I didn’t like the construction. Ok, regular bits can mean every third letter, but when it relates to just two letters, it seems a bit weak. Could take regular bits to be almost any two letters provided that they are sufficiently separated.
Apart from that minor quibble, a quick and enjoyable solve. Thanks to all.
My apologies, ignore my second paragraph, I was looking at Phi’s Independent crossword by mistake. Big whoops!
Pasquale is usually more difficult than his alter ego Bradman. This was breeze. LOI STAINS.
a*,oops.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Found it at the easier end of the Don’s difficulty scale where BAIRN was my first one in.
Liked untangling the long anagrams and the subtraction anagram at 24a.
Finished in the NW corner with HOSPICE, STAINS (where I needed to google map around Heathrow to find Staines) and WHITE (a clever double definition) the last few in.