Solving time 20 minutes
This is not a difficult puzzle but it has a distinct flavour
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | FOOTSLOG – FOOTS-L-(GO reversed); ambulate the estate in the mud; |
| 9 | OMISSION – O-MISS-I-ON; “on about”=”yatter” in upper circles (rabbit in pleb land); |
| 10 | SNAPPERS – two meanings 1=visitors to the stately home 2=type of sea bass; |
| 11 | HIGH-FIVE – excited=HIGH; basketball team=FIVE; celebrating another grouse in the bag; |
| 12 | CORNFLOWER – CORN(F-LOW)ER; tory blue flower; |
| 14 | TERM – two meanings 1=stretch in Strangeways 2=stretch in Oxford (where else?); |
| 15 | MEMENTO – M-E(MEN)T-O; Russian doll clue; bric-a-brac sold to hoi polloi after visiting stately home; |
| 17 | ODYSSEY – (b)ODY’S-(YES reversed); a little Greek to liven up proceedings; |
| 21 | LOUD – another double meaning 1=effect of turning up volume 2=vulgar (a bit brassy my mum would have said); |
| 22 | SCHOOLMARM – S(CHOO-L)MARM; train=choo-choo for little Algernon; teacher at Cheltenham Ladies College no doubt; |
| 23 | PONYTAIL – (to in play)*; unisex hair do; |
| 25 | LOPSIDED – rich=loaded then replace a=area by psi=a little more Greek; the content of this puzzle; |
| 26 | RANCHERO – RAN-C(HER)O; South American cattle baron; |
| 27 | TINTAGEL – TINT-A-GEL; attendee at Cheltenham Ladies College=GEL; a castle in North Cornwall; |
| Down | |
| 2 | OMNIVORE – ‘OM(N-IVOR)E; not sure Ivor would appreciate being called a bloke (bit vulgar don’t you think); |
| 3 | TUPPENCE – (PUT reversed)-PEN-CE; two old pence or old posh slang I’ll leave you to research in your own time; |
| 4 | LEEK – suddenly collapse=”keel over”=LEEK; erudite reference to Henry V by Waggle-dagger; |
| 5 | GOSHAWK – GO-SHAW-(par)K; shaw=copse on the estate; used to hunt rabbits by gad; |
| 6 | DIDGERIDOO – DID-G(DIRE reversed)O; antipodean trumpet – a bit out of place here; |
| 7 | TININESS – hidden (kep)T-IN-IN-ESS(ex); little kids=small young goats?; |
| 8 | UNSEEMLY – (enemy+l+us)*; l from (shel)l; more vulgarity – tut, tut; |
| 13 | LOTUS-EATER – (resolutely at)*; a member of the landed gentry; |
| 15 | MALAPERT – MAL(APER)T; don’t be malapert Evangeline; |
| 16 | MOURNING – MO(U)RNING; lamentation; |
| 18 | SEMOLINA – SE(MO)LINA; posh lady = SELINA; frequent course in school meals in 1940s and 1950s; |
| 19 | EARPIECE – EARP-I(EC)E; City of London postcode=EC; |
| 20 | SHALLOT – and another double meaning; the second “sounds like” (The Lady of) Shalott; we needed some poetry; |
| 24 | SPIN – S-PIN; reference “spin doctors”; and we end with a posh word for driving around aimlessly; |
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