Got off to a slow start, then raced through most of the puzzle and ground to a halt with 5A and 2D. I also twigged one part of theme before even solving a single clue thanks “flier”, “duck” and “owl” in the first half of the across clues.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 5 | CURL,E,W – this, and 2D, were the last two clues I solved. In retrospect, I don’t know why it took so long. |
| 6 | FLAMING,O |
| 10 | A,R,BORE,TUM – very nice (and misleading) surface reading, especially the use of “corporation” for TUM. |
| 11 | SWIFT – author of Gulliver’s Travels and other satirical works. “A Modest Proposal” is very funny and worth a read. |
| 12 | ANS in MERGER |
| 15 | HI,BACH,I – had never heard of this but with H?B?C?? BACH looked irresistible as the composer and HIBACHI seemed convincing as a word. It’s a portable brazier, apparently. |
| 20 | hidden in “cluB ONE Day” |
| 21 | GOLD,C,REST – excellent touch in this one: the “au” in “au contraire” leading to GOLD (AU is it’s chemical symbol), with “contraire, initially” leading to C. Brilliantly worded. |
| 25 | (PIE PEN PAL)* – PINEAPPLE just leaps out at you really. |
| 28 | MA,CAWS |
| Down | |
| 2 | I in (OPERA)* – “comic opera” deceived me for much longer than it should have really. |
| 4 | hidden in both byzANTIum and constANTInople. |
| 5/8 | CHARM THE BIRDS OUT OF THE TREES – which neatly encapsulates the themes of today’s puzzle. |
| 7 | US in MISER – “employer” is deceptive, meaning someone who uses. |
| 9 | ASH in STING |
| 14 | RUSTLING – I guess this is supposed to be a cryptic definition but RUSTLING really does mean “to round up and steal cattle” so it’s a bit weak. |
| 18 | (DANCE)*,Z,A |
| 22 | CRAV(e),A,T – another ingenious bit of wording. |
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