A good plain crossword from Aardvark. No themes, ninas or other funny business, just straightforward crossword fun. My favourite clue was 14 down, least favourite was 17 down.
Hold mouse over clue number to see clue.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PEGASUS | PASt US (without T=time) going round (to circulate) EG (for exaple) – the winged horse of Greek mythology |
| 5 | RETSINA | RETINA (part of the eye=observer) includes (features) Special – Greek wine flavoured with pine resin |
| 9 | RELAY | RE (again, prefix) and LAY (put down, a path for example) |
| 10 | TEST MATCH | Tenor EST (‘is’ in French) MATCH (something that lights) – international cricket match |
| 11 | ON PURPOSE | PR (price) inside SOUP (consomme) all reversed inside ONE |
| 12 | AT WAR | RAW (unprepared) Territorial Army reversed |
| 13 | SIGMA | StIGMA (disgrace without T=troy ounce) |
| 15 | HENRY FORD | HEN (bird) FORD (crossing) on RY (railway, track) |
| 18 | MISTHROWN | anagram (is improper) of WOMaN (ignoring A) and SHIRT – definition is ‘wrongly cast’ |
| 19 | RATTY | Definition and cryptic definition – Ratty is a water vole in the childrens novel Wind in the Willows |
| 21 | KNELL | KNee (joint, deficient=not completed) and LL (two 50s as Roman numerals) – the sound of a funeral bell, proclaiming the end of something |
| 23 | MEANT WELL | Male and ANT (worker) inside EWELL (town in Surrey) – definition is ‘intended to help’ |
| 25 | SERENGETI | GREEN* (anagram=models) inside SET (class) and I (1 Roman numeral) – region of Africa whose name means ‘endless plains’ |
| 26 | TROLL | Right inside TOLL (charge) |
| 27 | OBSCENE | river OB in Siberia and SCENE which sounds like “seen” (discovered) – definition is ‘blue’ |
| 28 | GINSENG | GG (horse) around NINE* (anagram=excitedly) containing (eats) Sugar (first letter=a piece of) – plant whose root is used to make drink and medicine |
| Down | ||
| 1 | PARLOUS | (RAP SOUL)* |
| 2 | GALAPAGOS | GALA (party) and AGO (earlier) inside Private Secretary – Pacific islands |
| 3 | SKYER | SKYE (Isle of, near Harris in the Hebrides) and Retrieve (beginning of) – a cricket stroke sent high up in the air |
| 4 | SUTTON HOO | NOT reversed (promoted=raised) in SOUTH* (anagram=terribly) and Old – Anglo-Saxon burial site |
| 5 | ROSIE | IS reversed (surfacing=coming up) inside ROE (eggs) – girl’s name |
| 6 | TOM SAWYER | TOM’S (tom=lad, male) WEARY* – character in Mark Twain novels |
| 7 | IN TOW | pINTO (spotted horse without P=power) and Weak (abbreviation, paticle physics) |
| 8 | ADHERED | HERE (present) inside (in hands of) ADD (tot) |
| 14 | ASH BLONDE | (ON BED HAS)* covering L (last letter of wall) |
| 16 | NON-PAYING | ON PA (per anum, every year) inside GINNY* |
| 17 | ON THE NOSE | |
| 18 | MAKES DO | Mike (M in phonetic alphabet) and SOAKED* (anagram=in a shower) |
| 20 | YULE LOG | YULE sounds like (broadcast) “you will” and LOG (record) |
| 22 | EUROS | EROS (love god) contains (encapsulates) Universal |
| 23 | MY EYE | Double definition – location of pupil and expression of disbelief |
| 24 | TITAN | InsecT (wings=sides of) inside TAN (shade=colour) |
*anagram
PeeDee I think you are being a bit hard on Aardvark re 17d.
‘
‘Precisely at that time seaman is ‘then OS’, and ‘sole’ is ‘one’ which catches the seaman rather than the seaman catching him.
Quite chuckle-worthy IMHO.
Many thanks PeeDee & Aardvark.
I struggled with 18a MISTHROWN after entering SUTTON HOE for 4d which looks as though it’s an alternative spelling:
http://homes.trovit.co.uk/sutton-hoe-pictures
I couldn’t see the sailor in 18a either.
Thanks Aardvark for a pleasant crossword and PeeDee for the blog. I parsed 17dn the same way as Conrad @1, with the definition being the single word “Precisely”.
This was an elegant effort from Aardvark. I liked the clues for Pegasus, Retsina and Test Match. This was quite a quick solve but I spent a couple of minutes at the end considering every possible alternative answer to On the Nose before concluding that it was the only possiblility. Thanks to Conrad for explaining that. Does anyone else detest ‘Just the opposite’ clues or is it just me?
Thanks to PeeDee for explaining Obscene. I have never come across the river Ob before. I’m surprised that it is not used more often since Po is the only other 2-letter river in Crosswordland.