Just the harder side of average, for me, with a couple of nudges that I now regard as chestnuts (it certainly does get easier!). I refer to ‘I = one’, ‘C = cold’, and ‘mostly = missing last letter’ (all making double appearances) as well as ‘le = the French’ and several others. On the other hand, there is only one anagram and no double definitions, plus I struggled with the plant and briefly with the March-time date.
I’m hoping that no errors or typos need immediate attention; my school has the pleasure of hosting Her Majesty’s Inspectors at the moment, so I had better
get some sleep do some more marking.
Definitions underlined.
|
| Across |
| 7 | French author of ‘Silver Nemesis’ (5) |
| VERNE - hidden in (of) silVER NEmesis. Very economical clueing! There aren’t many pastimes that can get you questioning the definition of ‘of’. |
| 8 | Broadcasts in front of very fashionable form of transport (7) |
| AIRSHIP - AIRS (broadcasts) before HIP (very fashionable). |
| 10 | Girl eating a little cottage cheese (7) |
| RICOTTA - RITA (girl) surrounding (eating) COT (shortened, or little, cottage). |
| 11 | Detect both poles coming into view (5) |
| SENSE - N and S (both poles) inside SEE (view). |
| 12 | Rate oil producer’s plant (9) |
| SPEEDWELL - SPEED (rate) and WELL (oil producer). |
| 14 | What runs on snow is about full of potassium (3) |
| SKI - reversal of (about) IS containing (full of ) K (potassium). |
| 15 | What one cold year could be? (3) |
| ICY - I (one), C (cold) and Y (year). |
| 16 | Company gamble about conflict shows faint-heartedness (9) |
| COWARDICE - CO (company) and DICE (gamble) around WAR (conflict). |
| 18 | Assistants having a date in Rome (5) |
| AIDES - A and IDES (date in Rome). |
| 20 | Pause craft and get going again (7) |
| RESTART - REST (pause) and ART (craft). |
| 22 | Former policeman with Ecstasy is let off (7) |
| EXPLODE - EX (former), PLOD (policeman), and E (ecstasy). |
| 23 | One mostly dark northern dwelling (5) |
| IGLOO - I (one) and GLOOm (dark) missing last letter (mostly). |
|
| Down |
| 1 | Working out Everest, aim to inflate the level? (12) |
| OVERESTIMATE - anagram of (working) OUT EVEREST AIM. |
| 2 | What one needs to serve up tea in cold part of garden (8) |
| CROCKERY - C (cold) and ROCKERY (part of garden). |
| 3 | Warm headgear lined with an edging of ermine (4) |
| HEAT - HAT (headgear) on the outside of (lined with) one end (an edging) of Ermine. |
| 4 | Small snack father served up during school punishment (6) |
| CANAPE - PA (father) reversed (served up) inside (during) CANE (school punishment). No comment. |
| 5 | Swelter uncomfortably before round’s beginning for fighter (8) |
| WRESTLER - anagram of (uncomfortably) SWELTER, then first letter (beginning) of Round. |
| 6 | Fine to use one’s imagination, mostly (4) |
| THIN - THINk (to use one’s imagination) missing the last letter (mostly) |
| 9 | Forecast keeps the French bias? (12) |
| PREDILECTION - PREDICTION (forecast) surrounds (keeps) LE (the, in French). |
| 13 | Ridicule, showing contempt initially for right verdict (8) |
| DECISION - DErISION (ridicule) with C (first letter of contempt) in place of (for) R (right). |
| 14 | Appropriate regular pieces from studio furniture item (8) |
| SUITABLE - every other letter (regular pieces) from StUdIo and TABLE (furniture item). |
| 17 | College head lacking experience over study (6) |
| WARDEN - RAW (lacking experience) reversed (over) and DEN (study). |
| 19 | Trick expected to take in chump finally (4) |
| DUPE - DUE (expected) surrounding (to take in) last letter of (finally) chumP. |
| 21 | Cut nails back (4) |
| SNIP - PINS (nails) reversed (back). |