Solving time 25 minutes
On a day that sees a Government publish a radical bill for which it has absolutely no mandate after a leading MP admits trying to pevert the course of justice,a very enjoyable puzzle that ranges over several fields of general knowledge. A steady solve for most I would think with some interesting twists and turns along the way.
On a day that sees a Government publish a radical bill for which it has absolutely no mandate after a leading MP admits trying to pevert the course of justice,a very enjoyable puzzle that ranges over several fields of general knowledge. A steady solve for most I would think with some interesting twists and turns along the way.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | PARACETAMOL - PARA-(came to)*-L; Roman numeral L=50; what replaced religion as the opiate of the people; |
| 7 | SOB - BOS(s) reversed; ghostly sound in corridors of House of Commons as Government flouts democratic process; |
| 9 | GUILLEMOT - G(U)ILL-(TOME reversed); large seabird of the auk family; |
| 10 | ADULT - AD-(c)ULT; euphamism for porn; |
| 11 | BLERIOT - (a)BLE-RIOT; Louis who in 1909 was the first to fly the channel in a machine (ie not a baloon); |
| 12 | TENDRIL - TEN (all your digits)-(sounds like "drill"); what supports a climbing plant such as honeysuckle; |
| 13 | DECOR - RO(CE)D all reversed; |
| 15 | ARTHROPOD - A-(maste)R-THRO-POD; spineless creature with hard exterior sometimes found in Westminster; ; |
| 17 | EXTROVERT - TEXT-ROVER then move the first T; |
| 19 | ROGUE - (euro)* contains G=grand (£1,000); MP who seeks to pervert the course of justice, perhaps; |
| 20 | PROJECT - PRO-JE(C)T; Airbus A380; |
| 22 | ERASMUS - SURE reversed surrounds AS-M; Desiderus 1466-1536, humanist who eschewed Luther; |
| 24 | RABBI - RABBI(e) Burns; the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley, Mr Huhne; |
| 25 | BRAZIL,NUT - BRAZIL (exporter of coffee)-NUT (fruitcake); cause of much frustration at Christmas; |
| 27 | DUD - DU (some for Bleriot)-D (diamonds); Pete's mate; |
| 28 | GRETNA,GREEN - NE-ERG-ANT-ERG all reversed; Tyneside=NE; unit of work=ERG; Scottish border town where young couples used to flee to get married when under age in England. Today they just live together on taxpayer funded benefits; |
| Down | |
| 1 | PUG - G(r)U(m)P(y) reversed; |
| 2 | RAISE - R-AIS(L)E; what the Tyneside worker hasn't had recently; |
| 3 | COLLIER - CO-L(LIE)R; CO=Company=business; LR from L(eathe)R; Jarrow marcher perhaps; |
| 4 | TEMPT,FATE - TEM(PT-FAT)E; the Teme rises in Wales and enters the Severn at Worcester - the whole river is an SSSI; |
| 5 | MOTET - M-O(c)TET; music familiar to ERASMUS; |
| 6 | LEARNER - L(EAR)NER; LNER from L(i)NER; |
| 7 | SQUARE,PEG - SQUA(d)-REP-EG; from saying "a square peg in a round hole"; |
| 8 | BATTLE,DRESS - B-(rattled)*-ESS; good queen Bess; as worn by Bader; |
| 11 | BAD,TEMPERED - BAD(TEMP)ER-ED; another flyer, Sir Douglas Bader CBE, DSO, DFC, legless fighter pilot; me when considering current bunch of politicians we're lumbered with; |
| 14 | COTTON,BUD - C(OTTO)H-BUD; OTTO=attar=oil produced from the damask rose; used to clean the inner ear; |
| 16 | TITHE,BARN - TI(THE-BAR)N; old barn used to store the one-tenth (tithe) levy on grain collected by the church; |
| 18 | OPENING - O-PEN(n)ING; |
| 19 | READING - (gear)* surronds D-IN; famous for its prison, Mr Huhne; |
| 21 | TABLE - TABLE(t); what the dumped Mrs Huhne turned; |
| 23 | MANSE - MAN(S)E; home to a methodist priest; |
| 26 | TUN - NUT reversed; large beer barrel; |