I did this immediately after a main TC puzzle and I have to say it wasn't the easy 5 minute write-in these things used to be; like last Friday's, it seemed to have a good few clues which needed checkers or were up to the level of the main puzzle. So I hope those who are hoping to move from the blue runs to the red found it a good test. As usual there are no weird words or obscure general knowledge required, just some imaginative wordplay and six anagrams to unravel.
| Across |
| 1 | UP AGAINST IT - An assembly clue. U (university); PA; GAINS (gets) TIT (bird); def. struggling. |
| 9 | OP ART - O (love) PART (separate, as verb); def. style of painting. |
| 10 | AIMLESS - (A SMILE'S)*, anagrind 'spreading', def. without end. |
| 11 | POLKA DOTS - It seems easy in retrospect, but I have to admit this was my LOI when I had all the checkers and the P-L-A penny dropped. POLKA is the lively dance, then insert T (that's, initially) into DOS = parties. Def. features of pattern. |
| 13 | THO - Last letters (tails) of caT eacH kangaroO, def. all the same, abbr. for THOUGH. |
| 14 | NINETY - Hidden word reversed in everY TEN INtegers, def, number. |
| 16 | MALAWI - Insert LAW (ordinance) into MAI(N) = chief, mostly; def. African country. |
| 17 | MET - Double definition. |
| 18 | REPLENISH - (HELEN RIPS)*, anagrind 'agitated', def. top up. |
| 21 | KRISHNA - (IN SHARK)*, anagrind 'fantastically', def. deity, the top Hindu God. |
| 23 | LUPIN - LU sounds like LOO = ladies (toilet), then PIN = fasten, def. flower. |
| 24 | PERSIAN GULF - (PAT REFUSING)*, anagrind 'to travel around', def. ME region. |
| Down |
| 2 | PEARL - P (piano) EARL (peer); def. gem. I wondered if a pearl is a gem, but Wiki says it's an 'organic gem'. |
| 3 | GET CARTER - Insert ETC ('features in') into GARTER (band); def. Michael Caine film. I've never knowingly seen it as I find MC one of the worst actors in the history of acting; but he's rich, successful, a Sir, and has made over 115 films, so I must be in a small minority and am probably soon to receive a nasty letter from Sue, Grabbit & Run. |
| 4 | IMAGO - I'M = the writer's (short for 'the writer is); AGO = in the past; def. perfect stage, the last development stage in an insect's life. |
| 5 | SUM - SUMO wrestling not finished; def. problem. |
| 6 | ICED TEA - (I ACTED E)*, anagrind 'strangely', the E from energy; def. drink. |
| 7 | GO UP IN SMOKE - GO UP = mount, IN = home, SMOKE = cure, perhaps; def. fail disastrously. |
| 8 | ASTONISHING - (NOTHING IS AS)*, anagrind 'extraordinary', def. amazing. Nice brief surface for the anagram. Probably a chestnut but I don't remember seeing it before. |
| 12 | SHAKE A LEG - SHAKE (brandish) ALE (beer) G (mug, finally); def. step on it. |
| 15 | NITRIDE - NIT = fool, RIDE = trip; def. compound. It could have been NITRITE or NITRILE which are also nitrogen compounds, but RILE and RITE don't mean trip. A nitride is a compound where nitrogen has a formal oxidation state of −3, for example BN, boron nitride. Ah, we just love these chemistry lectures, I hear you sigh. |
| 19 | PLAZA - PLA(Y) = mostly perform, Z = jazz finally, on A, def. public square. |
| 20 | IMPEL - I.E. (that is) L (Liberal) around MP (politician; def. force. |
| 22 | HIS - HI = greeting, S = son; def. man's. |