Guardian Cryptic #29412

2024-06-18

Solve on Guardian →

Across

7a

Moralist turning up in front of train wreck (7)

flowerflowerflower
8a

Singer’s entertaining dad dancing in Somerset village (7)

flowerflowerflower
9a

Start of silly season for Rishi? (4)

flowerflowerflower
10a

Wrecked boat at sea captured by revolutionary French artist (9)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

BOAT in reverse of (Edgar) DEGAS

12a

Might some garden warblers return? (5)

flowerflowerflower
13a

No.7 in club team (8)

flowerflowerflower
15a

Supplies side-splitting joke (4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

EQUIPS (supplies) with its sides having left or “split”

16a

Fellows invested in Spanish couple’s tips (5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

F F In DOS (Spanish for 2)

17a

One Republican in US showing a bit of flex (4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

1 R in WE (“us” in dialect or careless speech)

18a

Mike goes inside to make a meal for PM (5,3)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

M[ike] in CREATE A – a cream tea is a meal for the afternoon

20a

Spooner’s subdued fish (5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Spoonerism of “low-key”

21a

Four contrary aliens welcoming a conversation (4-1-4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

A in four reversed ETs

22a

OXO rejected fine (4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

OXO can be split as OX O, or YAK O, which is then reversed

24a

What Jack Sprat’s wife did on counter holding fine cloth (7)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

F[ine] in reverse of ATE FAT (“Jack Sprat would eat no fat, his wife would eat no lean…”)

25a

Staggering tax rise for comic character (7)

flowerflowerflower

Down

1d

Department of Justice usually recruits awful leaders (4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

First letters of Justice Usually Recruits Awful. Jura is one of the départements of France, named after the Jura mountain range

2d

Discharged current of gas (8)

flowerflowerflower
3d

Masons arranged for someone to do the heavy lifting (6)

flowerflowerflower
4d

American Dad! winning animated Oscar generates media events (5,3)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

HOT (excited, animated) O[scar] in POPS (mostly American name for a father)

5d

Proverbs in modern times? (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Modeen times could be A.D. (Anno Domini) AGES

6d
20d

He crashed out before the end of racethat’s bad luck! (4,6)

Generating...
11d

Maybe attaché provides a clue for B.O.? (9)

flowerflowerflower
12d

Group accepting the ending of Parklife is more offensive (5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

[parklif]E in BLUR

14d

The German boy exhausted in race (5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

DER (German “the”) + B[o]Y

16d

Test card broadcast from Mars? (8)

flowerflowerflower
17d

Rules written up claiming pole dancing is PC in Australia (8)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

POLE* in reverse of R[ule] LAW. Chambers says this is old Australian slang for a policeman

19d

Soldier provided that answer for political movement (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

ANT (soldier) + IF (provided that) + A[nswer]

20d

See 6

21d

Jack embracing Zulu king (4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Z in TAR (sailor), Chambers describes this unusual spelling of Tsar/Czar as rare; as TSAR would have fitted just as well, this answer tipped me off to the fact that the puzzle is a pangram (all the letters of the alphabet appear in the answers)

23d

Greedy singer turns up (4)

flowerflowerflower