Nice and easy this week. There’s a couple of odd words, but usually with such clear signposts and complete definitions, it’s not very hard to check you’ve got the right thing. Overall, a pretty nice puzzle I thought.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CALYPSO – C(ombo) + (PLAYS)* + O |
| 5 | TOOK ILL – TOO = on top of that (as in “I’ll have another on top of that”) + KILL |
| 9 | OUTERWEAR – (AREWETOUR)* |
| 10 | CASCA – C in CASA = Spanish for house. Casca was a conspirator against Julius Caesar. |
| 11 | EYRIE – (Jane) EYRE around I. An eyrie is an eagle’s nest. |
| 13 | SANBENITO – (ESTONIAN)* around B. As described in the clue, a sanbenito is was a robe worn by heretics, particularly during the Spanish Inquisition. |
| 14 | PUSH THE BOAT OUT – dd |
| 16 | A ROOM WITH A VIEW – dd. Incidentally, this is one of my favourite books so I’m ashamed at the number of checking letters I waited for before getting this! |
| 20 | PRESSES ON – PRESS + (NOSE)< |
| 21 | TENET – E(veryone) in TENT |
| 22 | CLEAN – LE in CAN |
| 23 | GRILLROOM – GROOM = curry around RILL = channel |
| 25 | SUMMERY – “SUMMARY” |
| 26 | RUSTLER – cd. “Nowt” is Scottish slang for cattle. |
| Down | |
| 1 | CLOSE-UPS – LOSE in CUPS |
| 2 | LOT – hidden in wilL-‘O-The wisp |
| 3 | PERFECT NONSENSE – PERFECT = tense (past, present, future etc.) + NONSENSE |
| 4 | OVERSEE – VERSE in (p)OE(m) |
| 5 | TORONTO – RON in TOTO |
| 6 | ORCHESTRA STALLS – (STARTLESSCHOLAR)*. Interestingly, this area of a theatre is most commonly abbreviated as the Stalls in the UK and the Orchestra in the U.S.A. |
| 7 | INSTITUTION – dd |
| 8 | LEAD ON – (ONELAD)* |
| 12 | RESERVE TEAM – RESERVE = book + (MATE)* |
| 15 | TWO-TIMER – TWO + (REMIT)< |
| 17 | WISE – WISE + GUY |
| 18 | TANGIER – (GRANITE)* |
| 19 | SPACES – SP + ACES |
| 24 | OIL – (OLI)*ves + &lit to a certain extent |
Common crossword abbreviations this week:
love = O [zero in Tennis etc.]
caught = C
one = I
black = B
special = SP
Re SPACES what is the definition in the clue? Boxes? What are box spaces?
Andrew, I think SPACES is meant to be like the basic instruction when doing a crossword:
“Fill the spaces with the correct letters”
“Fill the boxes with the correct letters”
It sort of works, I guess.
Nick
Mmm. I guess. Not one of his best