i Cryptic Crossword 720 Scorpion

Sorry this is late, I thought WritingHawk was doing today’s blog.

Bit of a toughie this, with a few I didn’t understand. Some Fifteensquared explained, others still bemuse me.

COD? 25ac. ‘Hotel incorrect to evacuate, don’t you think? (5)’.

Here’s the 2008 blog, and clues missed.

Across

8 STArT
9 E-MAIL – LAME, holding I, all back.
17 BEAT, though I’m not sure I understand why.
20 GO SSIP<-
26 PI PE

Down

2 MOT IF
5 RELIT <-
21 PHI AL – No idea who AL is though?

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/29/independent-6745scorpion/

i Cryptic Crossword 719 Eimi

What looked like a doddle at first glance turned quickly into something much harder, until I ground to halt on the combination of 22ac / 22d. I failed miserably to spot the nina, which might have saved my bacon. I liked 3d, 21d, 19d and 23ac, amongst others, the wordplay as inventive as you expect from Eimi. Not so fond of 6ac, and the obscurities in both the wordplay and answer for 16ac.

1ac was, presumably, edited to make it more topical? If so, a nice touch!

The 2008 blog is complete, so I’ll just nominate a COD – 21d, with 3d close behind. ‘In the place at which sport is broadcast (5)’.

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/26/independent-6742-eimi-bank-holiday-fun/

i Cryptic Crossword 718 Dac

So I guess we should be congratulating Dac on his coral anniversary this week? Not that I noticed the hidden message until Fifteensquared alerted me.

I struggled on two today – 19ac and 21d. The former perhaps because SARS isn’t in the news quite so often these days.

COD? 13d. ‘Conferences often go so disastrously wrong (4-6)’.

The 2008 blog linked to below is complete:

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/27/independent-6743dac/

i Cryptic Crossword 717 Virgilius

A very clearly signalled theme, that luckily for me required no knowledge of the source material, fairly clued as it was! Too many excellent clues to list, as always, from Virgilius, but COD for me 26ac. ‘Put extra back in large pool (9)’.

Here’s the 2008 blog, and clues missed.

Across

14 D(Y)ER <-
18 COOK – Cryptic Def.
27 E M(I R)ATE

Down

3 IS(RAEL<-)I
5 LI(P I)DS
6 THe RIFT Y
16 FALLS FOR
21 DRAW OUT

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/06/06/independent-6747virgilius/

i Cryptic Crossword 716 Quixote

The only thing wrong with this crossword was that is was over far too quickly! Good from start to end… The 2008 blog is complete, so I’ll just nominate a COD – 15d. ‘Workers getting depressed easily (5,4)’.

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/06/05/independent-on-sunday-955-by-quixote/

i Prize Cryptic Crossword 709 Phi

Fairly straightforward today, with only one I was uncertain about (12ac). The 2008 blog is complete, so I’ll just nominate a COD – 8d. ‘Form of decoration’s good – not what one turns over! (4,4)’.

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/16/independent-6734-by-phi/

i Cryptic Crossword 714 Monk

Nothing too difficult today, to wind us down for the weekend. COD 14d – ‘Revise, spreading different test papers on the table? (10)’.

Here’s the 2008 blog, and clues missed:

Across

6 PRO F
10 Hidden in ViETNAm
17 L EVE L
19 T ASK FOR CE
25 ENTOMOLOGY – A not particularly cryptic def.
27 D E BASEMENT

Down

1 PL(A)Y
11 PULL A FAST ONE – very good!
13 STOCKS TILL
21 HO OH<- A
22 J(OK)E

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/20/independent-6737monk/

i Cryptic Crossword 713 Nimrod

As tricky as you expect from Nimrod, with quite a few that went in on a wing and a prayer. I failed miserably to spot the Nina, so 9d was a bit of a mystery to me, despite the obvious answer, until I consulted Fifteensquared.

Unfair clue of the day? 13ac. I’ve never heard of either definition.

COD? Now that I can see it, 9d. ‘Fairytale start? The end’s in sight – look left and right (4,4,1,4)’.

Here’s a link to the 2008 blog, and clues missed.

Across

11 REF UTE
26 MEMBRANE – ME around (barmen)*
28 SNOWIER – S + (new Rio)*

Down

4 BRA V A DO
7 INFER NO
19 IN GRATE
24 TENSE – Because T is an abbreviation for TIME and TENSE?

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/05/30/independent-6741nimrod/

i Cryptic Crossword 712 Dac

Only 18ac gave me much pause for thought this morning, so about par for Dac, and as good as ever, the clues always fair and precise.

COD? 15ac. ‘Association runs two different forms of transport (12)’.

Below a link to the 2008 blog, and the two clues missed.

Across

15 R ELATION SHIP

Down

23 T A(X)I

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/04/09/independent-6702-dac-pleasant-stuff/

i Cryptic Crossword 711 Punk

I found this reasonably challenging – having made quick progress in the SE corner, I got badly stuck, until 1d fell into place. Lots of good clues, my COD being 16ac – ‘What one gets, say, in Romeo? (3-4)’.

Below a link to the 2008 blog, plus clues missed.

Across

11 IN COG
15 S(HELL)AC
19 SUM(MON)S
21 MORALISER – (realism or)*
24 fIND IA<-

Down

2 TONIC, but the exact wordplay eludes me. Best suggestion is that a TONIC is the first degree on the diatonic scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_scale
7 INTAGLIO – (Gilt in a)* + O
8 AS THE CASE MAY BE – Cryptic Def.
17 VOL(TAG)E
18 RO <- STRUM
20 M(IS TRA<-)iLd

http://www.fifteensquared.net/2008/04/10/independent-6703punk/