Solving time 35:32
OK, it ended up being Tuesday morning, but I got there in the end! Good puzzle, a lot of clever definitions and more than the usual share of &lits.
Across
| 1 | 0,RANGE,BLOSSOM – Chambers describes it as “the white blossom of the orange tree, often worn by brides”. |
| 14 | SET(F,IRE)TO |
| 15 | READING – Wilde was sent to Reading Gaol in 1895 for “gross indecency”. |
| 16 | AU,STRALIA DAY (A diary last)* – 26th January, from the date that the first shipload of convicts arrived in 1788. |
| 26 | NU(CLEAR,WAS)T,E – excellent &lit clue. |
| 31 | FLORENCE (elf crone)* – the nurse, not the bird! |
| 36 | LEWD – DWEL(l) reversed. |
| 39 | PRIM,OGENITOR – “rot in ego” reversed. |
| 51 | ILL,EG,I(n)TIMATE |
| 53 | O(FAMIN(e))D |
Down
| 1 | OSTRACISM – “MS I cart so”, all reversed. |
| 2 | AC(CU)SE,R – i.e. CU in case* + R, and another good &lit. |
| 5 | OUTMAN(amount*),OEUVRE |
| 7 | MEEK – always difficult to spot (for me anyway), this is WEEK with the first letter turned upside down. |
| 10 | ACADEMY AWARD – (way drama acted)*, without the T. Another good &lit clue. |
| 20 | LAUD,AN,UM – Coleridge was in good company – others who used it include Byron, Shelley, Keats, Longfellow, Dickens, Poe and George Washington! |
| 28 | LIFEBOAT – “by float” is how Spooner might have said it. |
| 37 | VIDEO NASTY – hidden in “proVIDE ON A STYlised”. |
| 41 | ST(EVEN)AGE |
| 52 | PUSS – double def. Tortoiseshell is a breed of cat, and puss and clock are also both slang words for the face. |
I don’t have the answer as haven’t been able to get into the site for three months.
thanks
adrian Cobb
moscow