A very gentle offering for this Monday morning – I found it pretty much a write-in, with only a couple of clues needing more than a few seconds’ thought. Thanks to Vulcan.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | OKLAHOMA | Just a quarter of this state would be fine (8) A quarter of OKlahoma is OK, or “fine” |
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| 5 | CHAINS | Ranges of jewellery items (6) Double definition |
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| 9 | STRAUSS | He provided waltzes as Truss danced (7) (AS TRUSS)* |
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| 10 | CHIPPER | Briskly cheerful person preparing potatoes? (7) Double definition |
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| 11 | TWICE | So shy after being bitten? (5) A reference to the proverb “once bitten, twice shy” |
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| 12 | CENTURION | Roman soldier expecting congratulatory telegram? (9) A reference to the telegram (now a card) sent from the monarch to a person on their hundredth birthday. A centurion can be “a person who has scored or achieved a hundred in anyway”, as well as the Roman soldier |
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| 13 | COLLARED DOVE | Arrested advocate for peace getting the bird (8,4) COLLARED (arrested) + DOVE (advocate for peace) |
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| 17 | ROUND THE BEND | What you don’t see when driving is crazy (5,3,4) Double definition |
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| 20 | PRIMARIES | Prudish stars get together for elections (9) PRIM + ARIES (constellation) |
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| 22 | AROMA | A traveller’s distinctive fragrance (5) A + ROMA |
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| 23 | HEINOUS | Outrageously wicked criminal in house (7) (IN HOUSE)* |
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| 24 | OCTOPUS | After a few weeks, work for an army type? (7) OCT (October, a few weeks) + OPUS (work) and an octopus is arm-y |
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| 25 | TENDER | Youthful follower of steam engines (6) Double definition |
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| 26 | INCREASE | In credit, comfort is to grow (8) IN + CR + EASE |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 1 | ON-SITE | Note is circulated at the workplace (2-4) NOTE IS |
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| 2 | LARKIN | One high-flying fashionable poet (6) LARK (high-flying bird) + IN (fashionable) |
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| 3 | HOUSEHOLD | Family should hope to move without pressure (9) Anagram of SHOULD HOPE less P[ressure] |
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| 4 | MUSICAL CHAIRS | Party game for conservatoire professors? (7,6) A chair is a professorship, so those at a conservatoire would be of the musical variety |
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| 6 | HAIKU | Japanese work hard, assiduous in keeping up with the leaders (5) First letters of Hard Assiduous In Keeping Up |
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| 7 | IMPRISON | Lock away troublemaker, absolutely not set up (8) IMP (troublemaker) + reverse of NO SIR (absolutely not) |
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| 8 | SPRINTER | Fast mover, first in shop to collect computer equipment (8) S[hop] + PRINTER |
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| 10 | CONTRABASSOON | Soon abort scan, having broken instrument (13) (SOON ABORT SCAN)* |
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| 14 | DONCASTER | Not scared to relocate here? (9) (NOT SCARED)* |
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| 15 | DROP SHOT | One dies in court, making a point (4,4) Cryptic definition of this tennis term |
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| 16 | AUDITION | Hearing test (8) Double definition |
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| 18 | HOOPLA | Band, note, played at funfair (6) HOOP (band) + LA (sixth note of the scale) |
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| 19 | LASSIE | Scots girl has energy after cold drink (6) LASSI (Indian cold drink) + E[nergy] |
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| 21 | ALONE | A mortgage said to be unique (5) Sounds like “a loan” |
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Not difficult but so enjoyable and smooth. I thought DROP SHOT was a super clue and also liked CENTURION, COLLARED DOVE, DONCASTER for the surface, OCTOPUS (there is an OCTOPUS Army clothing brand) and IMPRISON.
Ta Vulcan & Andrew.
Thinking that I’d seen it recently, Vulcan as Imogen clued OKLAHOMA in Sept 2025 as ‘State that is briefly satisfactory’. I’m guessing that OK is also the abbreviation for the state.
I think this was Vulcan at his best – with lots of playful clues. I particularly liked AROMA, OKLAHOMA, DROP SHOT and OCTOPUS (where I for a moment mulled over why US = “army” – current events are taking their toll I guess). NHO LASSI = drink or CENTURION = telegram. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew!
Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew, especially for the wonderful ( now that it’s been explained) arm-y definition
Got the answer but could not parse it
Layman@3
Centurion does not refer to the telegram itself but rather the 100 year old expecting the royal telegram on her birthday
Good on you Alan C@1 for getting DROP SHOT. I do know tennis but it took me a while to parse it.
I liked the arm-y OCTOPUS. I think I’ve seen something similar before. And IMPRISON.
HAIKU was a good example of a haiku. 17 syllables
ROUND THE BEND is very topical here. We’ve had so many accidents and road closures due to people not driving to the ongoing wet conditions on our bendy road, a ”major” highway. Numerous FB posts about ”crazy” drivers.
OCTOPUS = arm-y type made me groan.
I could not parse 1ac but assumed a connection to OK=fine 12ac; 25ac (have heard of these telegrams but did not think of them today), HOT = ‘in court’ bit of 15d, having assumed that dies = drops – okay I get it now.
paddymelon @6: back at you for HAIKU, great spot.
AlanC@2
OKLAHOMA
I think the clue could act as a CAD in a way
(in addition to the fine=OK play).
OCTOPUS
def: Déjà vu
Liked COLLARED DOVE and DROP SHOT.
michelle@7
DROP SHOT
I also tried to parse it the way you did first before realising it was a CD.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.
And agree with Drop Bear (gotta be an Aussie) @5 about CENTURION. There is a question mark at the end. Not sure if LAYMAN @ 3 is part of the ‘Commonwealth’ or would know about the tradition of the monarch sending telegrams to those who’ve reached their century. It’s a loss I’m prepared to live with if we all end up being part of a republic.
paddymelon@6
HAIKU
Wow!
I have found Vulcan a bit chewier on his last few outings but this went back to usual Monday difficulty.
I only knew one of the definitions of TENDER and didn’t fully understand DROP SHOT not being a tennis fan but otherwise few problems.
PRIMARIES my favourite clue today
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew
Once again the arm-y thing fooled me for a while when I was wondering where the definition of OCTOPUS lay within the clue. Though I suppose this creature has tentacles rather than arms. And had to look up that a Lassi was indeed a cool drink once LASSIE was last one in. The usual smooth Vulcan solve to start the week off with…
…watched the film My Octopus Teacher a short while ago, showing what an extraordinary, intelligent creature the OCTOPUS in fact is. Recommended…
DropBear@5, paddymelon@11 – thanks; I wasn’t very attentive when reading the blog, obviously 🙁 No I’m not in the Commonwealth and where I’m from there’s no such tradition, or a monarch
HAIKU is super!
I spotted the syllables
and felt so clever!
Ah, so that’s why an octopus is an army type. Cute.
Despite having solved it instantly, I have mixed feelings about the clue for OKLAHOMA. I feel sorry for the other six letters that weren’t clued at all, entirely overlooked. I hope their feelings weren’t hurt.
I know a few doves, but hadn’t heard of this one.
All in all, most enjoyable.
Am I missing something with DONCASTER? The anagram is straightforward, but “here” seems a bit weak as a definition.
thanks V and A! I too was bemused by OCTPUS and then delighted by the ARM-Y explanation in the blog!!
Defeated by the army OCTOPUS, a pun worthy of a Christmas cracker, but everything else was smooth.
All went in very swiftly until the last four or so.
LOI was DROP SHOT – I’m not a follower of tennis, so the term isn’t one I know, and I was for too long trying to fit “RIP” into it somehow.
OCTOPUS (another one of the last few) is my CotD: even when I’d puzzled out OCT for the “few weeks”, then OPUS for work, I was still looking at it from various angles for the military reference (some kind of tactical formation?) until the penny dropped… Clang!
Much else to like, but particular ticks for MUSICAL CHAIRS (I can visualise the Profs now, in full academic dress, fighting over the last remaining seat) and CONTRABASSOON for its nice surface.
OKLAHOMA has “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” as maybe its most (only?) memorable song – well, it’s a pretty good morning here, but as for a bright golden haze mostly what I can see through the window looking down to the local meadow is a considerable expanse of water.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew!
[me@22: Reading the wikipedia article, I find I was a more than bit unfair on the other songs in “Oklahoma”: many of the others came immediately, hummingly, to mind as soon as I saw the titles; not least the title song. Also I find it’s very definitely “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ “, without the final “g”. Maybe I should watch the film – I’m not sure if I ever have.]
That my clue for HAIKU was seventeen syllables long was a complete coincidence! I was just looking for a good surface for the wordplay. My unconscious must have been having a good day. (By the way, I didn’t put anything in to mark it, but this puzzle was Vulcan no. 200)
I know what a Drop Shot is, but don’t get how the ‘one dies’ bit fits. I had thought like others that this explained the ‘drops’ but the that left ‘hot’ unparsed. How is it a CD? ‘Dies’ meaning ‘wins point’ doesn’t work, so what is it?
Very smooth solve, just right for the start to the week. Congratulations Vulcan @24 for your bicentenary; I didn’t realise you were that old! My LOI was TWICE, where I spent ages looking for the non-existent wordplay. I liked the quarter of OKLAHOMA, the TENDER nerd, the good anagrams for HOUSEHOLD and CONTRABASSOON, and the great cd for DROP SHOT. Like Petert @19 I was a bit underwhelmed by ‘here’ as the definition for DONCASTER.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.
Arpee@25: a DROP SHOT is a shot that is hit in such a way that it “dies” after it crosses the net, leaving the opponent trying to rush at the net to get it back over – if they fail, you make the point.
Arpee @25; in a DROP SHOT the ball ‘dies’ after it hits the ground because of the backspin.
A groan for the army octopus and a laugh for being not scared of Doncaster. A good start to the week.
Vulcan@24…
An open mind can
Invite opportunity
That you didn’t see
Not mine, someone else’s…
Surely it’s a CENTENARIAN that recieves a telegram? Does anyone ever use the term CENTURION with regard to those turned 100?
Came here all chuffed to have spotted the haiku clue only to see it already spotted by paddymelon@6, phrased beautifully by Lissian@17, and disproved by Vulcan@24 — and yet, chuffed I remain. Beautiful coincidence!
The army type was excellent. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew!
Very pleasant with smooth clues and surfaces. I enjoyed OKLAHOMA — clueing just part of the answer is a bit unusual these days, but going back in crossword history it seems to have been more common. I have a book of puzzles by Afrit published in 1949 and there are several clues of this type, for example “Mediterranean islanders who always end up with rows (8)”.
Many thanks Vulcan and Andrew.
Congrats Vulcan @24 and bravo for the honesty.
I thought, like Staticman @13 that this was more like the Monday Vulcans of old, with a bit more emphasis on fun definitions.
DROP SHOT, AROUND THE BEND and OCTOPUS were among my later entries and my favourites on the day. I quite happily parsed them, along with everything else.
Thanks all.
Not wanting to challenge the clue which I enjoyed, my mum turned 100 a couple of years ago, she didn’t receive a telegram rather a card with a picture of the current king and queen on the front (auto)signed by both of them.
It appears the royal telegrams were discontinued in 1982; the wider service of inland greetings telegrams certainly was. Currently, you can receive the cards in eligible countries for 100th birthdays, 105th birthdays and all subsequent birthdays; and for 60th, 70th and 80th (good luck with that one!) wedding anniversaries.
I don’t think that I would want one. It would go straight into the recycling.
My own mother, who received her royal 100th birthday card in November, treasures hers…
A bit too easy, even for me. It didn’t even last for just my lunchtime. I did, however, love the OCTOPUS showing off all his arms.
Many thanks Vulcan and congrats on the bicentenary. For those wanting to judge a puzzle by its ease of solving, could I suggest that there are many ways to appreciate the setters art. This was as smooth, fun and accomplished set of clues as we could hope for.
Many thanks Vulcan and Andrew for a delightful Monday afternoon’s entertainment. Now for some tahini and broccoli 🙂
Thanks for the blog , a rare perfect write-in but that is how a Monday should be , I would have loved this when I was a beginner . Great variety and very clear wordplay .
Great spot PDM@6 but is it true for rhotic speakers ?
Nice puzzle, solving was short but sweet. Loved DROP SHOT, scored quite a few points that way yesterday.
[ AlanC@1 , I have been away for a month but some things never change .
I heard on the radio that KPR lost 8-0 to themselves , is this a record ? ]
Feeling rather chuffed. Solved this in its entirety without having to cheat (first time ever) AND on the same day 🙂
[Jen@44: Congratulations: quite right to feel chuffed!]
I’ve nho this meaning of centurion either, but it seems to exist in the dictionaries.
Using “peace advocate” for “dove” seems a bit under-wordplayed to me, just repetitive.
Ronald@14 The limbs of an octopus are not called tentacles but arms. They’re a bit more usable than a jellyfish’s tentacles.
Thanks, Vulcan and Andrew.
I’m reminded of a spoof version of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” that includes:
Where the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye
And as for the grass …
Straightforward stuff, but some nice smooth cluing. I liked DROP SHOT, for pretending to be cryptic, and OCTOPUS for arm-y! I didn’t like STRAUSS (though I love the tunes) for using the horrendous Ms Truss as anagram material, and reminding me of how much her disastrous budget has cost me.
Thanks to the V&A.
I likewise hadn’t met CENTURION meaning a centenarian, and would have expected it to be spelled centuriAn if it did. Oh well, you live and learn. Not being a tennis player or fan, I didn’t know how DROP SHOTS behave either. Enjoyed the prudish stars, the army type and the professors playing MUSICAL CHAIRS.
[In my childhood, when OKLAHOMA was all the rage, our neighbour used to walk down the garden path every day singing Oh What A Beautiful Morning! at the top of his (fortunately quite tuneful) voice.]
Congrats to Vulcan on becoming a TWICE-CENTURION. (Also for being a poet who didn’t know it.)
And thanks to Andrew.
Mowen@40: ‘tahini and broccoli’ – if you run out you can have mine.
[Roz @43: good to have you back for your constant encouragement 😊].
A pleasant solve, but a few sticky ones made it not a write-in for me. Excellent variety of devices. LOI 24a OCTOPUS, I think we’ve seen “army” used before, but still tricky. As a musician I enjoyed 4d MUSICAL CHAIRS and 10d CONTRABASSOONS. 19a LASSIE, Mrs. Mig loves mango lassis and loved this clue!
paddymelon@6 (and Lyssian@17)
Well done noticing
the clue for HAIKU is in
the form of haiku!
Lovely to have a rare appearance from Vulcan@24, letting us know that the syllables were just a coincidence! And congratulations on (Vulcan) puzzle No.200!
Roz@41 are you suggesting that “hard” is a two-syllable word for rhotic speakers? Not the case [Great to have you back in the weekday comments!]
Petert@19 I agree the definition for 14d DONCASTER is weak
I absolutely despise OKLAHOMA the musical*, but the title song does give you the key to the clue we got here: “You’re doing fine, Oklahoma–Oklahoma, OK!”
*(I’ve had to sit through too many amateur productions, is one reason, but some other reasons are that it’s built largely around poking fun at rural people; there’s that moment when Curly only half-jokingly tries to talk Jud into committing suicide (to combine those two points, the title of the song, and I kid you not, is Pore Jud is Daid); and the plot is really, really thin. I’ve never been to Oklahoma the state, so I have no opinion about it, but it’s the reddest of all the red states, so I doubt I would like it much. It makes Utah look liberal. Utah!)
Valentine@46…ooh, I never knew that.
But I suppose army is a lot easier to manipulate into a crossword clue rather than the more spectacular tentacular…
I think the point about DONCASTER may be that it’s known as a paranormal hotspot. DTS: For my money Oklahoma!’s finest song is “People Will Say We’re in Love”. Do watch the film. Rod Steiger’s Jud Fry is priceless.
Thank you to both setter and blogger. Your work is appreciated. However I find describing it as practically a “write in”, or implying it is very easy, very demotivating for those of us (I’m sure I am not the only one) who don’t find it so and are simply pleased to (nearly) solve it all. Please try to comment in a way that encourages all solvers.
Like Michelle @7, I thought it was DROPS (dies) + HOT (in), with the whole think being a loose cryptic def. Thanks to Vulcan & Andrew.
WynnD @56
I have had a write-in recently – see here – but I didn’t think this was one, just a well-pitched Monday puzzle. I was a bit surprised by Andrew’s description too.
Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew.
Am I alone in thinking that a random month (Oct) is a bit weak for “a few weeks”? I couldn’t parse this one until I read the blog. But “army type” more than made up for it 😂
Congratulations to Vulcan on the double ton, and this puzzle was a very gentle nudge into the leg side to bring it up. Favourite OCTOPUS.
[ AlanC@51 I genuinely heard on the radio , Rangers 8 Kings Park 0 , three weeks ago from yesterday .
I trust your preparations are in hand for the Feast of St Damien . ]
Mig@52 , I was not being serious , just a bit of teasing with reference to the endless debates on this blog for any soundalike clue . Back for a month and see how my screen-time goes , it was around 10 minutes a day for six months when I was banned and I found it much better for me .
Coloradan@55 thanks for the background on DONCASTER. That it’s particularly known for haunted locations does make the clue work better
Roz@62 I can usually catch your unsignalled humour, but missed it this time! As one who bristles at non-rhotic soundalikes, I was getting ready to twist my knickers about 22a AROMA (traveller = roamer = roma? How dare they!) until Andrew’s blog set me straight 🙂
Hope you find the right balance re screen-time, and that it includes space for your interesting and funny comments on this blog. I miss you when you’re not here!
Slingshot@59 – I had the same thought about Oct for “a few weeks”
MrPenny@53 – My younger self always enjoyed the clever word play in Curly’s baiting of Judd but I can see how in retrospect it is a bit unkind to the poor misfit.
Blanchflower#48, here are a couple of ways to make 9d STRAUSS more palatable:
(1) The clue destroys the odious name, and converts it into something much more harmonious to the rest of us; or
(2) The anagram fodder refers to the author of “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”.
WynnD#56, if I assessed my solving experience of a particular puzzle based on the comments of better solvers (Roz, KVa, all the bloggers, etc.) I too would be discouraged. Instead I measure my performance against my own abilities – I.e., did I do as well as I should have? And, more importantly, did I enjoy the puzzle?
Today I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle even though I needed some help from the blog to understand some of it, so I thank Vulcan and Andrew (and all the constructive commenters) for the Monday fun.
[ Roz#43, welcome back. If you discover a constellation made up of eleven very weak stars, will you name it KPR? ]
Slingshot@59: I take the view that what we are doing here are crosswords, so it’s OK to to have some clues where a bit of help from the (probably easier) crossing answers might be useful. OCTOPUS was nearly my last one in, so I had O-T-P-S already, and so it wasn’t a big leap from “a few weeks” to “a month, maybe”, to OCT. And so on.
Opinons, as they say, may differ.
Mig#64, as a fellow Canadian and rhotic speaker, I refuse to get my knickahs in a twist over non-rhotic aural wordplay. Surely we have heard enough non-rhotic speech in plays, movies, television, and newscasts from the UK (not to mention the Boston accent), to bring those “arless” puns to mind when looking at a clue that signals an aural joke.
I trust that you, like me, appreciated in hindsight Roz’s gentle tease at #41.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew ! I’m still not at the point that any puzzle is a write in, but I did breeze through about half of this one. I slowed myself down in the rest in part due to lacking some GK (eg DROP SHOT and the second meaning of TENDER were new to me), and in part because I had confidently entered ALIEN for 21D…
Arriving late today so only now seeing early comments about messages from the King to centurions/centenarians. I think it is the case – someone will know for sure – that Irish citizens born in Ireland get not only a letter from the President on their 100th birthday but also a gift of about 2500 euros. Possibly more welcome than an autosigned photo.
Earlier this year, I was present when my old boss, a very eminent scientist (knighted, FRS, etc.), was presented with the “On your 100th birthday” thing from the King. Since he had not been born in the UK, having come over from Germany with the Kindertransport in the 1930s, this was a special one, in a presentation frame and all. Quite an occasion.
Ok, I’ll ask, how do CHAINS = RANGES?
HIYD: think mountains.
mrpenny @73 – thanks
Just failed on OCTOPUS.
Thanks both.
Cellomaniac@68, no, I’m not going to bite — we’d only fall into Roz’s clever trap! Fortunately we haven’t had any non-rhotic soundalikes in a long time, so my knickers have been relatively untangled lately…
Yes, I always enjoy Roz’s comments. Yours, too! 🙂
I think a Venn diagram of people who know what a telegram is and people who do cryptic crosswords would show a considerable overlap.
[Cellomaniac @66: you’re dead to me😊
Roz @61: I only remember The Wake of Poseidon, so the Feast defeats me? Love your 8-0 reference, unsurprisingly coming from East Belfast I’m also a big Rangers fan although they’re rubbish as well]
Comment #77
I think 22: ‘A traveller’s distinctive fragrance’ is a homophone, where A ROAMER (traveller) sounds like A ROMA with ‘distinctive’ being the indicator. The definition is therefore fragrance and not distinctive fragrance.
[AlanC@77 In The Wake of Poseidon came out on the same day as me , my mother’s little joke . For the Feast you need to think cryptically , Father Damien liked to wear colourful shirts with hibiscus flowers , he liked pineapple on his pizza and he was a SAINT .
Cellomaniac@66 it has already been named , the Southern Hemisphere constellation Gaviidae . ]
(What are you saying Roz@80? Gaviidae? Are we all loons down here?
I would love to see the total eclipse of the moon tonight, but unfortunately weather conditions not permitting, even though I live in an area where I can get away from street lights etc.. I did see the last one. Gonna be a long wait for the next one.)
Sorry if someone’s already said this but:
Where did Napoleon keep his armies?
Up his sleevies.
Today’s Guardian hard copy is a repeat of 3 February’s. I thought it seemed familiar!
We keep learning more about Roz! Now we know that in the midst of her busy life she finds time to listen to Scottish football results and she ws born on 15 May, 1970!
1a OKLAHOMA was a bit unusual for me. I did work out that a quarter of the state name ‘OK’ would be fine but I couldn’t see any word play for the rest (LAHOMA). So it left me thinking I had missed something. I now see that I was thrown by the fact that the definition state was in the middle of the clue.
[PDM@81 , I meant DIVERS/footballers , I only put Southern because I had made it up . DId you see the eclipse ? The clouds stopped me seeing Mercury at the weekend but a stunning moonset on the sea this morning for our swim . The students were very impressed . ]
[ Pino @84 , I control the radio all week and in return I have to suffer 5Live on Saturday and Sunday afternoon . I have the album bought by my father on the day , beautiful embossed cover , still played regularly , especially on my Birthday . ]
I’ve just thrown in the towel and come here for the explanations. I managed 25/28ths of this, which is a personal best for me having only started my “career” with Saturday’s quick cryptics. I found it challenging but doable, but really didn’t like DONCASTER – although the anagram was reasonably easy to spot. OCTOPUS was one I failed on. If October is ok to clue a few weeks would a holiday satisfy also? Good pun though. Thanks to setter and blogger. (I’m not deterred by all you “write-in” people, I just skip over your comments )🙂
Lots of fun: Loved OCTOPUS the army type!
Just being pedantic, 1D should say (NOTE IS)* and not just NOTE IS
Apropos of some of the discussion, may I pedantically point out that the overwhelming majority of Commonwealth citizens live in republics?