A fun puzzle from Tramp, with some ingenious clueing and a couple of his trademark long anagrams. Thanks to Tramp.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | FATHER FIGURE | Leading male with dad bod (6,6) FATHER (dad) + FIGURE (body, bod) |
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| 9 | IMMERSION HEATER | Element of surprise, initially therein a memoir isn’t true (9,6) Anagram of S[urprise] THEREIN A MEMOIR |
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| 10 | ALASKA | State two answers when tackling Latin question (6) L[atin] ASK in two A[nswer]s |
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| 11 | FOREBEAR | Old relation in favour of European support (8) FOR + E + BEAR |
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| 12 | BRISKETS | Cuts uncertainty in wagers (8) RISK in BETS – “cuts” of meat |
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| 14 | TITLED | Called in time to get sex? Did escort? (6) T[ime] + IT (sex) + LED (escorted) |
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| 15 | MANIAC | Cool morning, rejected air conditioning for fan (6) Reverse of IN (fashionable, cool) AM, + AC |
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| 18 | POLAROID | One next to Carol, not caught messing about in school photo (8) Anagram of CAROL less C + I in POD (school of whales) |
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| 21 | CROUPIER | Person raking in money in dock after court briefly disrupted (8) Anagram of COUR[t] + PIER (dock) |
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| 22 | CLEAVE | Conservative leading referendum vote that’s split (6) C + LEAVE |
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| 24 | UNSPORTSMANLIKE | Not following rules? PM Sunak silent or worried? (15) (PM SUNAK SILENT OR)* |
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| 25 | ENRAPT | In ecstasy tablet, rat poison extremely reckless (6) E (tablet) + anagram of RAT P[oiso]N – strange to have E for tablet straight after ecstasy in the definition, but the clue is sound |
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| 26 | RENTED | Let conservationists put grass outside (6) NT (National Trust) in REED |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 1 | FUMBLER | One dropping pound, picked up and pocketed by smoker (7) Reverse of LB in FUMER |
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| 2 | TREES | Spectator going up to support opener in the Ashes? (5) T[he] + reverse of SEER |
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| 3 | ENSNARE | Catch second name after nurse runs into empty ambulance (7) EN (Enrolled Nurse) + S[econd] N[ame] + R in A[mbulanc]E |
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| 5 | INHERIT | Be left at home with husband, flipping bore (7) IN (at home) + H + reverse of TIRE |
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| 6 | ULAN BATOR | Labour wants to lose bankers with redistribution for capital (4,5) Anagram of LABOUR [w]ANT[s] – it’s the capital of Mongolia |
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| 7 | ELEVATE | Increase tax in confused battle, member must go (7) VAT (tax) in MELEE less M[ember] |
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| 8 | DOOFUS | Make love with fellow, American idiot (6) DO + O (love, e,g. in tennis scores) + F[ellow] + US |
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| 13 | SKI JUMPER | One doing sport to take off short top (3,6) SKI[p] (take off) + JUMPER (top) |
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| 16 | ARRANGE | Score from area? Right to practise shooting here? (7) A + R + [shooting] RANGE – arrange/score as in music |
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| 17 | CHIRRUP | Tweet letter: pleased Tom might do this in retirement (7) CHI (Greek letter) + reverse PURR (what a tom cat might do) |
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| 18 | PHRASE | Couch potato originally to share nuts (6) P[otato] + SHARE* – as in “to express ideas in language of a particular sort” |
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| 19 | LACTATE | Towards the end, accepting work to feed the kids? (7) ACT (work) in LATE |
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| 20 | INVOKED | Called upon second couple to bonk: video shot (7) Anagram of [bo]NK + VIDEO |
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| 23 | ECLAT | Lie around snorting cocaine in ostentatious display (5) C[ocaine] in reverse of TALE |
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