Time taken to solve: 30 minutes for all but 16dn which I never heard of and took some working out. I also spent extra time considering an alternative at 26ac but plumped eventually for my first thought. Other than that, this was one of the easiest puzzles I have ever had to solve and blog. I laughed at 1ac despite generally not liking Spoonerism clues. There is no underwear today but we have a loose woman and a loose garment.
Across | |
---|---|
1 | FLAT CAP - Spooner's version would be "cat flap". Love it! |
5 | MOBSTER - MO (second), B |
9 | EPHEMERAL - ME (this person) inside anagram of A HELPER. |
10 | OMANI - MAN (isle) inside OI |
11 | ANTIHISTAMINE - Anagram of IN THE MAIN IT’S A |
13 | PITILESS - Anagram of LIES inside PITS (ditches) |
15 | BUDGET - BUDGE (shift),T |
17 | REVIVE - IV (four) inside EVER (always - reversed) |
19 | MAGELLAN - LL (lakes) inside anagram of MANAGE. Ferdinand, the Portuguese explorer. |
22 | TELL ME ANOTHER - Two meanings. |
25 | REACT - |
26 | COST PRICE - On edit: After originally posting that I didn't understand this one fully the penny suddenly dropped and I deleted that remark before anyone had commented on anything. At that stage it seemed so clear to me how the clue worked that I didn't feel an explanation was necessary, but after a request from Ulaca I added one under Comments below which has given rise to further queries so it's possible there is something else going on here that I haven't spotted. I don't really think so though! |
27 | SMOTHER - S,MOTHER |
28 | ENRAGED - |
Down | |
1 | FLEW - Sounds like "flu" |
2 | AT HEART - HE (the man) inside A TART (a loose woman) |
3 | COMET - CO (commander), MET (satisfied) |
4 | PURCHASE - CHA (tea) inside PURSE (bag) |
5 | MOLEST - MOLES (spies), T (road junction) |
6 | BLOW A FUSE - W |
7 | TEASING - TEA (meal), SING (carol) |
8 | RHINESTONE - The clue defines it. |
12 | SPARE TYRES - Anagram of SET PRAYERS |
14 | LOVE MATCH - LOVE (nothing - tennis), MAT (dull), CH (Companion of Honour). |
16 | JALOUSIE - J (judge) followed by I inside A LOUSE (a mean type). It's some sort of slatted blind which I have lived 65 years without meeting before. |
18 | VOLCANO - 'Ante' reversed gives 'Etna', so "one such". |
20 | LARKING - ARK (rescue vessel) inside LING (fish) |
21 | LASCAR - L |
23 | HYPER - HYPE (drug addict), R |
24 | MEAD - MADE (manufactured) with its E moved up. |