Howdy y’all. I’m on a road trip from the mountains of Colorado to the Lakes. Having stayed on Route 66 (at Springfield MO – home of the mighty Bears Soccer Team), I’m now in Memphis Tennessee – so let’s get rocking and rolling…
Or rather I would if the online paper updated – I was looking forward to doing this at midnight UK time (6pm here) and its now gone midnight here, early morning UK – the Quick puzzle is ‘not found’ but the regular one is there. Ah – is this all some kind of April fool’s joke? Thanks to Ulaca for pointing out the missing zero on the address so – eventually here we go.
i really can’t work out why the formatting goes awry after 10 across but I’m too tired to do much about it – sorted now thanks to mohn2.
Across |
1 |
So-so – SOS plus zero is only so-so |
3 |
Scowling – Cow inside sling |
9 |
Cranium – Uranium with C for carbon replacing the first letter |
10 |
Sushi – American (US) inside ship without the last letter |
11 |
Range – Double definition |
12 |
Layers – Another double definition |
14 |
Christmas Tree – Cryptic definition |
17 |
Sweden – anagrind is stormy – of Wednesday minus ‘day’. |
19 |
Facet – Fact around e for English |
22 |
Rheum – Rum around HE for governor (his or her excellency I think) |
23 |
Airmail – Announce is the ‘sounds like’ indicator (soundind?) Heir Male |
24 |
Bullseye – Frantically is the anagrind for Buy sell plus e for European this time |
25 |
Fray – double definition |
Down |
1 |
Sack race – Cryptic definition – do they still do these at schools sports days or have they been vetoed by the health and safety mafia? |
2 |
Spain – Spin around a |
4 |
Complimentary – Another double definition |
5 |
Wispy – Yet another double definition but a tricky one. I’ve never heard of Wispy and my brief look up just now didn’t find much – could have been wishy or washy but I guessed right. Oops – just seen this one – W for with plus I Spy. |
6 |
Insurer – Cryptic definition |
7 |
Grip – Double definition time again |
8 |
Divers – And again |
13 |
Mentally – People =men add up=tally – I seem to think we’ve had this recently – but then again I’ve been going through a 2006 Times Cryptic Crossword book on my travels so it may have been ages ago |
15 |
Raw deal – War backwards plus anagram of lead |
16 |
Safari – Cryptic definition |
18 |
Dumps – Double definition – drops and you get down in the dumps when you’re low |
20 |
Chair – Wasn’t quite sure of why – maybe carry is a sounds like indicator of triumphantly (chair could possibly sound like cheer? – doesn’t sound very convincing) and a professor has a chair at university and it means to carry triumphantly on the shoulders of others (thanks Ulaca) |
21 |
Drab – Bard for poet backwards |
The setter is Teazel, btw.
There’s room for a spelling error on an unchecked letter in 4dn, I think.
10 ac & 22 ac stodgy ‘oh of course!!’ solutions.LOI and COD was 8dn. Z8 increasingly on sidelines just around for the odd yell of ‘help!’ Very pleased to plunge straight in with 1 ac – meaning I didn’t need a kick-start to get going 🙂
Super blog Chris! Missing you already…
Edited at 2014-04-01 09:46 am (UTC)
Ho Hum.
Thanks very much for the blog Chris.
I’m guessing Vincent Kompany as your ‘top’ player.. but the put Jan Vertonghen as the other CB with Simon Mignolet behind them in goal and Thomas Vermaelen as another CB if one has to mention Ars players. Then Dembélé & Nacer Chadli in midfield (that just from Spurs) Eden Hazard, Marouane Fellaini,Christian Benteke, Kevin Mirallas, Romelu Lukaku..