| 1 |
Composer from New Harlem (6) |
|
MAHLER – anagram (‘new’) of HARLEM |
| 4 |
Starts to alter bus route in a foreign country (6) |
|
ABROAD – A[LTER] + B[US] + ROAD |
| 8 |
Dull Head of Theology cut gospel (7) |
|
MATTHEW – MAT (dull) + T for Theology + HEW |
| 10 |
Clean seats returned around back of stage (5) |
|
SWEEP – PEWS backwards around E |
| 11 |
Pound pinched by rebuked infant (5) |
|
CHILD – CHID with L inserted |
| 12 |
Criminal harm that primarily involves old British chemicals company (7) |
|
ILLICIT – ILL (harm) + T[HAT] with ICI inserted. |
| 13 |
Gloomy, small, unnaturally pale bird (5,4) |
|
BLACK SWAN – BLACK + S + WAN |
| 17 |
Element extracted from half of Cava? (7) |
|
CALCIUM – half of Cava is Ca, the chemical symbol for calcium |
| 19 |
Spear second fish (5) |
|
SPIKE – s + PIKE |
| 20 |
Smutty pair of ducks kept in pen (5) |
|
SOOTY – OO (pair of ducks) inside STY. Smut originally meant soot, before the other meaning arose. |
| 21 |
Section of Arctic or, better, Scottish mountain (7) |
|
CORBETT – Hidden word. A corbett is a mountain between 2500 and 3000ft. Over 3000ft and it becomes a munro. I don’t make the rules. |
| 22 |
Friends divided by extremely naïve juries (6) |
|
PANELS – PALS ‘divided’ by N[AÏV]E |
| 23 |
Fool shortened her dress (6) |
|
CLOTHE – CLOT + HE[R] |
What *is* the nina for Cheeko puzzles?
Also, what on earth does ‘dicky’ mean that could make it an anagram indicator?