Guardian Cryptic #29756

2025-07-25

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Across

1a

Bully’s given a toss, a great (9)

flowerflowerflower
6a

Great banks left corporation? (4)

Generating...

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

definition: “corporation” can refer to belly fat / FLAB FAB (fabulous, “Great”), goes around/”banks” L (left)

8a

Skirt-wearing scholar lives for the pursuit of titillation (8)

Generating...

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

HEM=”Skirt”, around/”wearing” DON IS=”scholar lives”

9a

Advancement running plant (6)

flowerflowerflower
10a

Place of worship, holy building last of all visited by primate (6)

Generating...

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

CH (Church, “holy building”) plus the “last” letter of [al]-L; around/”visited by” APE=”primate”

11a

Great 17, say (8)

Generating...

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

STERLING can mean high quality or “Great”; or STERLING can refer to British pounds/money as a form of CAPITAL (17dn)

12a

Great book reviewed, see (6)

flowerflowerflower
15a

Great punishment (8)

flowerflowerflower
16a

Second feather, say, one splitting hairs? (8)

flowerflowerflower
19a

Reportedly, pipe suddenly went down (6)

flowerflowerflower
21a

Great romance with piano in a duet? (4,4)

Generating...

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

definition: ‘Woop woop!’ or ‘Great!’ as exclamations of delight WOO=”romance” + P (piano, in music notation), doubled/”in a duet”

22a

Great in the hinterlands? (3-3)

flowerflowerflower
24a

Cocktail, one ruined by gin, vermouth perfect (3,3)

flowerflowerflower
25a

Two Stalin scribbledJS, say? (8)

Generating...

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

anagram/”scribbled” of (II Stalin)*, with II=”Two”

26a

Amigo fed hot, hot curry (4)

Generating...

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

definition: Phal is a particularly hot/spicy curry dish PAL=”Amigo”, around/”fed” H (hot)

27a

Flag raised, white, perhaps? (9)

flowerflowerflower

Down

1d

Go over to the audience for some language (5)

flowerflowerflower
2d

Great band in short (7)

flowerflowerflower
3d

Great swimmer (5)

Generating...

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

BRILL meaning ‘brilliant’=”great”; or BRILL as in a type of fish = a “swimmer”

4d

Undoing last of knots I identified from below, male cuts through it (7)

Generating...

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

definition: to be someone’s undoing / to be their NEMESIS last letter of [knot]-S, plus I (from surface), plus SEEN=”identified”, all reversed upwards (“from below”); with M (male) cutting inside

5d

Same absurd ideas crushed by a pro (9)

Generating...

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

definition: ‘the same’=’the previously mentioned’=’the aforesaid’ anagram/”absurd” of (ideas)*, underneath/”crushed by” A (from surface) + FOR=’in favour of’=”pro”

6d

Discharge of gas leaving a system when running (7)

Generating...

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

definition: a training approach/”system” used by runners FART LE-[ a ]-K=”Discharge of gas”, minus/”leaving” a

7d

Literary similarity great, small issue with article penned (9)

Generating...

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

ACE=excellent=”great”, around/’penning’: S (small) + SON=offspring=”issue” + AN (indefinite “article”)

13d

Manipulator moving to teashop (9)

flowerflowerflower
14d

Call love and desire quite fair? (9)

Generating...

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

definition: hair that is “quite fair” might be YELLOWISH YELL=”Call” + O=zero=”love” in tennis + WISH=”desire”

17d

Great resources (7)

flowerflowerflower
18d

Great destruction (7)

flowerflowerflower
20d

Great, gee man! (7)

flowerflowerflower
22d

Detail stuff that’s about right (5)

flowerflowerflower
23d

Dark, one allowing in minimum of luminescence (5)

Generating...

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

UNIT=”one”, around/”allowing in” one letter (a minimum) of L-[uminescence]