Quite a mix of GK here with an old tennis player, a racecourse near Glasgow, a Dutch astronomer, an old film, and a cigar smoking dictator.
Good puzzle I thought which represented a fair challenge
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | PURSE – PUR(S)E; |
| 5 | WEIGHED – sounds like (Virginia) Wade retired tennis player turned TV commentator; |
| 11 | ADULATING – ADUL(A)T-IN-G; about=A; by=IN; |
| 12 | INSURED – I(NSU-R)ED; hybrid (car)=NSU; runs=R; death trap=IED; covered is definition; |
| 13 | ALME – (c)ALME(d); |
| 16 | INLET – IN-LET; cause=LET; |
| 17 | LOBSTER – (troubles – u)*; unionist=U; old slang for a British soldier = Tommy (Atkins); |
| 18 | DWELT – D-WELT; dry=WELT; hung out=lived=DWELT; |
| 19 | OPEN,ORDER – OPEN-ORDER; start=OPEN; alignment=ORDER; I don’t understand “to book’s”; |
| 23 | ENROLMENT – (loner)*-MEN-T; grunts=MEN; |
| 24 | AYRIE – AYR-IE; there’s a racecourse at AYR; |
| 25 | AWN,HAIR – A-W-N-H-AIR; and=N; |
| 28 | KSARS – (S-R-ASK) all reversed; Miltonian spelling of “tsars”; |
| 30 | EECH – (sp)EECH; spelling=SP; |
| 31 | ANT-LION – (latin)*-ON; |
| 32 | OORT,CLOUD – (to our cold)*; shell of icy objects in deep space named after Jan Oort; |
| 33 | EDENTAL – EDEN-(los)T-A-L; |
| 34 | HANDS – two meanings 1=those holding harness 2=skill in handling reins; for me there’s an unsatisfactory feel to this clue; |
| Down | |
| 1 | PAILLON – Pa(p)illon; reference Steve Mcqueen and Dustin Hoffman film; priest=p; a decoration; |
| 2 | RUSH – two meanings 1=overcharge 2=candle; |
| 3 | SLUMS – S(mokey)-LUMS; rookeries no longer is definition; |
| 4 | EARST – EA(R)ST; old word for “but not right now”; |
| 6 | EIDERDOWN – (wider one d)*; d from (be)d; nice clue; |
| 7 | INFIDEL – IN-FIDEL; reference Castro; |
| 8 | HELLENE – HELL-(d)ENE; ruin=HELL; small valley=dene; deserted=d; |
| 9 | EUMELANIN – (mealie nun)*; a darkish melanin pigment; |
| 10 | DUETT – DUE-TT; |
| 14 | POPPY,SEED – POP-(speedy)*; |
| 15 | TERRAMARA – T-(rare)*-MARA; rodent=MARA; |
| 20 | EARACHE – EA-RACHE; hunter=RACHE; |
| 21 | ONE-SHOT – (those on)*; |
| 22 | STRANDS – ST-RANDS; stumped=ST (cricket); |
| 24 | AKENE – A-KEN-(fre)E; unpleasant dwelling=KEN; fruit; |
| 26 | NATCH – three meanings 1=of course commonly 2=behind 3=display of Indian dancing; |
| 27 | HOLLA – H-OLLA; pot=OLLA; |
| 29 | CION – C(I)ON; US spelling of scion; |
Jeremy