Parksolve time 37:47, slightly sluggish all round.
Today’s entertainment is brought to you by Breadman. A nice meaty one I think with nothing too controversial, so let’s just get on with it.
Let us know in the comments how you got on.
| Across | |
| 1 | Right to divide Scotsman’s brandy (4) |
| MARC – R (right) “divides” MAC (Scotsman) | |
| 4 | Hunting dog terribly loud, Ken holding lead in hall (8) |
| ELKHOUND – (LOUD KEN)* “holding” H (lead in Half) | |
| 8 | Maybe Ben’s horse in top-class condition heading for Newmarket (8) |
| MOUNTAIN – MOUNT (horse) + AI (A1, in top-class condition) + N (“heading” for Newmarket)
Ben being Scottish for mountain, of course. |
|
| 9 | Long letter (eighth) wanting answer (4) |
| ITCH – AITCH (eighth letter) “wanting” A (answer)
Wait, you mean it’s not haitch? |
|
| 10 | Live temporarily with American in hovel (4) |
| STAY – A (American) in STY (hovel) | |
| 11 | Fungus spread rapidly (8) |
| MUSHROOM – Double definition
A mushroom is an edible fungus, sometimes used as a murder weapon in rural Victoria. |
|
| 12 | One owing money, say, finally sold single Born to Run (6) |
| DEBTOR – DE [last letters (finally) of solD singlE] + B (born) + TO + R (run)
I’m not quite sure what “say” is doing in here. I suppose a debtor could owe something other than money, but the standard definition is “one who owes money”. |
|
| 14 | Vigorously jerked part of foot, left unseen, in yard (6) |
| YANKED – ANKE [ANKLE (part of foot) without L (left)] in YD (yard) | |
| 16 | Clergyman’s tea without milk or sugar? (8) |
| CHAPLAIN – CHA (tea) + PLAIN (without milk or sugar?)
I have a friend who, when asked how he takes his tea, always responds with “normal”. |
|
| 18 | Some hiker hurried over European river (4) |
| RUHR – Reverse (over) hidden (some) in hikeR HURried | |
| 19 | Lake that is beyond edges of Exmoor (4) |
| ERIE – IE (that is) beyond ER (“edges” of ExmooR) | |
| 20 | One traditional athletics race keeping crowd riveted? (8) |
| IMMOBILE – I (one) + MILE (traditional athletics race) “keeping” MOB (crowd) | |
| 22 | Absurd debates start to demand support for lying people? (8) |
| BEDSTEAD – (DEBATES)* + D (start to Demand) | |
| 23 | Name fashionable English square (4) |
| NINE – N (name) + IN (fashionable) + E (English)
Nine being the square of three. |
|
| Down | |
| 2 | Champion prop getting in beer (7) |
| APOSTLE – PROP (post) getting in ALE (beer)
Yes, I learned very early in my rugby days not to drink with the props. |
|
| 3 | Limitations of costly confectionery in US (5) |
| CANDY – C AND Y (“limitations” of CostlY)
Nice one Breadman, always good to see some lesser-used clueing techniques. |
|
| 4 | Meg Ryan regularly ignored age (3) |
| ERA – alternate letters (regularly ignored) of mEg RyAn
That’s Meg of “I’ll have what she’s having” fame. Enough said. |
|
| 5 | Monarch, secretive, joining new knight somewhere in East Anglia (5,4) |
| KINGS LYNN – KING (monarch) + SLY (secretive) + N (new) + N (knight)
Famous for its rich maritime heritage, according to Google. |
|
| 6 | Character overseas moronic surprisingly (7) |
| OMICRON – (MORONIC)*
I think “surprisingly moronic character overseas” would have been a smoother surface. |
|
| 7 | Mexican food found in Arizona chophouse (5) |
| NACHO – Hidden in arizoNA CHOphouse | |
| 11 | Naval soldier grabbing scrap of cloth lifted greasy stuff (9) |
| MARGARINE -MARINE (Naval soldier) “grabbing” GAR [RAG (scrap of cloth) reversed (lifted)] | |
| 13 | Tense, work not as much? Adult model may appear thus (7) |
| TOPLESS – T (tense) + OP (work) + LESS (not as much) | |
| 15 | European Commission man alone uncovered rank in organisation (7) |
| ECHELON – EC (European Commission) + HE (man) + aLONe (alone “uncovered”) | |
| 17 | Huge number of people gather in auditorium (5) |
| HORDE – Homophone (in auditorium) of HOARD (gather) | |
| 18 | Steal from home bird (5) |
| ROBIN – ROB (steal from) + IN (home) | |
| 21 | Mother and daughter out to lunch (3) |
| MAD – MA (mother) + D (daughter) | |
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