All in all on the easy side I thought
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | STAPLE – S(L-PAT reversed)E; line=L; Home Counties=SE (England); “main” is definition; |
| 5 | PROSIT – PRO-SIT; for=PRO; model=SIT; drinking toast; |
| 10 | KARAITE – KARA(I)TE; a Jew who believes in strict interpretation of scripture; |
| 12 | ALARM – ALAR-M; ALAR=Daminozide, a chemical once sprayed on fruit that proved to be carcinogenic; |
| 13 | STERNAL – unchanging=eternal then swap “e” for “s”; |
| 14 | LIST – two rather old obscure meanings 1=desire 2=pay heed; |
| 15 | ZAMOUSE – ZA-MOUSE; South Africa=ZA; I never yet met a woman that wasn’t scared of mice and spiders; a buffalo; |
| 16 | PAINTRESSES – PAIN-TRESSES; |
| 17 | SEXTAN – S-EXTAN(t); recurring fever; |
| 23 | CURATS – CU-RATS; copper=CU; rather twee expression of annoyance=RATS; usually “cuirass” – chest protector; ; |
| 25 | HYPOTHECATE – (the cheap toy)*; |
| 26 | TLINGIT – T(LING)IT; language of Alaskan Americans; |
| 29 | CHAL – CHAL(one); old word for person; the “very” is not needed; |
| 30 | COGENCY – CO(GEN-C)Y; |
| 31 | LERNA – LE(RN)A; RN=Radon; mythical swamp chez the Hydra; |
| 32 | LIE-ABED – LIE(ABE)D; |
| 33 | IGNORE – (s)IGNORE; |
| 34 | KREESE – E(SEER)K reversed; a dirk; |
| Down | |
| 1 | SKALDS – SKA-L(a)DS; WI music=SKA; the bard of Bergen; |
| 2 | TALIPED – (i’d leapt)*; having a club foot; |
| 3 | PARTITIONER – PART(IT-I-O)NER; see history of Ireland, Germany, India, Korea, Vietnam etc; |
| 4 | LIMINAL – (all)* surrounds I-MIN = 60 seconds; nearly comatose; |
| 5 | PETARA – PE(TAR)A; a clothes basket; |
| 6 | RIEM – Riem(ann); reference Bernhard Reimann 1826-1866 who help to develop number theory; a thong; |
| 7 | SENUSI – IS-UNE-S reversed; society=S; member of a Muslim sect; |
| 8 | ITAS – SATI reversed; SATI is a widow burning herself to death on her husband’s funeral pyre; palm trees; |
| 9 | TELESM – M-SELE(c)T reversed; a charm; |
| 11 | DROSERACEAE – (a coarse reed)*; the sundew family of flowering plants; |
| 18 | SUCKLER – SUCK(L)ER; |
| 19 | STEANES – ST-(seen)* surrounds A=area; old pottery; |
| 20 | SHTCHI – (this)* surrounds CH; Russian cabbage soup; |
| 21 | EPIGON – bird=pigeon then raise “e”; an inferior imitator; |
| 22 | CHICLE – CHIC-LE; gum; |
| 24 | SALADE – SA-LADE; SA=Salvation Army (who do not fight); |
| 27 | LONG – LO(N)G; LOG=logarithm=exponent eg log 100 to base 10=2; in some academic circles, the summer break; |
| 28 | GNAR – RANG reversed; |
My wife is not keen on spiders though she can catch them if I’m not around. But mice, she loves. Our cats bring in a steady succession of mice, shrews, voles, and the odd dormouse. Mostly alive and she is very adept at grabbing them, and we take them outside and hide them in the shrubbery.. they have also brought in squirrels, a pheasant (now in the freezer), an occasional bird, bats, you name it..
SHTCHI is a wonderful collocation of consonants. Many years ago I had a Swiss colleague whose family name was GSCHWIND which always fascinated me for the same reason.