Greetings, barred-grid fans.
Another fun 90-degree grid from Paul McKenna this week, and a classic pun across the top row. Not too difficult, but some really fun wordplay this week.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Foretell women’s score for Scots against England (5) |
| WRITE – W (women’s) RIT (score) next to E (England) | |
| 5 | No good getting into mere story, daughter snarled (7) |
| TANGLED – NG (no good) inside TALE (mere story), then D (daughter) | |
| 11 | Insecticides spoiled no trees, no? (9) |
| ROTENONES – anagram of NO,TREES,NO | |
| 12 | With penny for it, thrilled being cut off no longer (7) |
| EXCIDED – D (penny) replacing ‘T (it) in EXCITED (thrilled) | |
| 13 | To some extent “swoun” begins to cease to exist in Hardy (4) |
| UNBE – hidden inside swoUN BEgins | |
| 15 | Joint that’s cooked? Name’s lost for good (5) |
| JIGOT – anagram of JOINT with N (name) replaced with G (good) | |
| 16 | With the little grey cells leading steer towards eastern mass of stone (12, two words) |
| HEAD FOREMOST – HEAD FOR (steer towards) , E (eastern), M (mass), O (of), ST (stone) | |
| 17 | Measure of book’s power, but with left-hand side in short (7) |
| EIGHTVO – WEIGHT (power) minus W (with), then VO (verso, left-hand page) | |
| 20 | Paste is twinkling outside (4) |
| MISO – IS with MO (twinkling, short time) outside | |
| 22 | Touch of driver, for instance (4) |
| DREG – DR (driver), EG (for instance) | |
| 23 | One under control after being pitted (7) |
| ENSILED – I (one), LED (under control), after ENS (being) | |
| 24 | Hastily erect an entry for celebration (12) |
| TERCENTENARY – anagram of ERECT,AN,ENTRY | |
| 26 | Assume old-fashioned interest having been cut by pence (5) |
| USURP – USURY (old fashioned interest) minus the last letter, then P (pence) | |
| 29 | Interest succeeded being held for contracted denial (4) |
| ISNT – INT (interest) containing S (succeeded) | |
| 30 | First sources could be somehow true before Christ and Son (7) |
| URTEXTS – anagram of TRUE, then XT (Christ) and S (son) | |
| 31 | Soldier who follows sermon on new life (9) |
| SERREFILE – SER (sermon), then RE (on) and an anagram of LIFE | |
| 32 | Undoubtedly captured by duff promises (7) |
| ASSURES – SURE (undoubtedly) inside ASS (duff) | |
| 33 | No more experience tea, almost unknown (5) |
| ASSAY – ASSAM tea minus the last letter, then Y (unknown) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Retired, Henry fills Wednesday being twisted by Spenser (7) |
| WRETHED – RET (retired) and H (Henry) inside WED (Wednesday) | |
| 2 | Desire to make fast husband free (4) |
| ITCH – HITCH (to make fast) minus H (husband) | |
| 3 | Incline to retain one tax for the Scots (5) |
| TEIND – TEND (incline) containing I (one) | |
| 4 | In a strange way define the pro as bawdy (12) |
| END-OF-THE-PIER – anagram of DEFINE,THE,PRO | |
| 5 | Darned time with dictionary (4) |
| TOED – T (time) and OED (dictionary) | |
| 6 | Fireside rest? What’s more robust? (7) |
| ANDIRON – AND (what’s more), IRON (robust) | |
| 7 | Ceanothus is gathered early on island and mostly dark blue (12, three words) |
| NEW JERSEY TEA – NEW (gathered or harvested early), JERSEY (island) and TEAL (dark blue) minus the last letter | |
| 8 | Sort of varnish is left beside grand hamper with no top (7) |
| LONG-OIL – L (left), ON (beside), G (grand), then FOIL (hamper) | |
| 9 | Blooming Boers’ mess — they raise in relief (9) |
| EMBOSSERS – anagram of BOERS,MESS | |
| 10 | Chas and Dave, eg, in proper limits of talent (5) |
| DUETT – DUE (proper) then the external letters of TalenT | |
| 14 | Male anger upended old tax — we’re likely to get loads (9) |
| HEIRESSES – HE (male), IRE (anger), then SESS (old tax) reversed | |
| 18 | Inter alia, loving and leaving, for instance, turned up on Scots lists (7) |
| GERUNDS – EG (for instance) reversed, then RUNDS (lists) | |
| 19 | It’s uncertain for an undertaker to sniff at old practice (7) |
| VENTURE – VENT (sniff) then URE (old practice) | |
| 21 | This epic Karen could be donkey’s years in trouble (7) |
| ODYSSEY – anagram of DONKEY’S YEARS minus KAREN | |
| 24 | I must get into swimmer’s form of massage (5, two words) |
| TUI NA – I inside TUNA (swimmer) | |
| 25 | Shakespearean puds, fine when prepared on Sabbath (5) |
| NIEFS – anagram of FINE, then S (Sabbath) | |
| 27 | Ascendant sister, Reformed Episcopal, falls from grace (4) |
| ERRS – reversal of SR (sister) and RE (Reformed Episcopal) | |
| 28 | Inverted stanza in pushing along fixed line (4) |
| AXIS – reversal of SIXAIN (stanza) minus IN | |