Independent Cryptic #11598

2023-12-13

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Across

6a

Sleep with love god taken from behind leading to ulcer (7)

Generating...

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

BED (sleep, as in “early to bed, early to rise”), then EROS (Greek god of love) reversed (taken from behind). UPDATE: as in the comments below, Eccles may well have intended “bed” = “sleep with”. A pressure ulcer caused by lying in the same position for long periods.

7a

Edge around gloomy devoted worshipper (7)

flowerflowerflower
9a

Golf course in German port? (5)

Generating...

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

Definition and cryptic definition. A type of golf course generally built on sandy coastal land; or the German word for left (as opposed to right) = port in nautical terms.

10a

Prepare to turn around one hundred baking sheets (9)

Generating...

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

Anagram (to turn?) of PREPARE , around I + C (Roman numerals for one and a hundred). Edible paper made from rice starch, used in baking.

11a

Trying to get flat just before bedtime? (7)

flowerflowerflower
13a

Groups crossing English river (6)

Generating...

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

GANGS (groups) containing (crossing) E (abbreviation for English). River in Asia.

15a

Instructions for Countdown: Make sure you win! (13)

flowerflowerflower
19a

Gave in when producing Mexican plants (6)

flowerflowerflower
20a

Chorus of Desist! (7)

flowerflowerflower
23a

Mostly at sea? (9)

flowerflowerflower
24a

Slightly over medium range (5)

Generating...

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

A BIT (slightly), around M (abbreviation for medium size). Ambit = range = extent, especially the range of someone’s responsibility.

26a

American Express can get one a South American rodent (7)

flowerflowerflower
27a

Important mission regenerating assembly line abandoned (7)

Generating...

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

Anagram (regenerating) of ASSEMB [l] Y , abandoning the L (abbreviation for line).

Down

1d

When naked I can be supreme creator (4)

Generating...

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

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea about the wordplay for this one. Odin is a Norse creator god, and perhaps the definition should also include “supreme”, but I can’t see what else is going on. Maybe I’ll be kicking myself when someone tells me. UPDATE: Thanks to commenters – yes, it’s obvious when you see it. [i] ODIN [e] (I = the chemical symbol for this element), without the outer letters (naked). The Norse creator god.

2d

Chlorofluorocarbon said to protect small tree (6)

flowerflowerflower
3d

Single out car from 1989/90 that's blocking Seat Ateca essentially (9)

Generating...

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

G-REG (short for G-registration: in the UK, a motor vehicle registered between August 1989 and July 1990, which had a registration plate starting with the letter G), inserted into (blocking) SEAT + middle letter (essentially) of [at] E [ca]. Segregate = to split into separate groups according to a particular characteristic (such as gender or nationality). I don’t think that’s quite the same as “single out”, which is to pick out one from a larger group.

4d

Careless husband down with friends from the south (8)

flowerflowerflower
5d

Cockney's announced right good look at biased information (10)

Generating...

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

The sound in a Cockney accent (Cockney’s announced) of PROPER (right) + GANDER (as in “take a gander at” = slang for a look at something). I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to read it as “right good” or “good look” – the “good” isn’t really needed in either case. Information disseminated by a government or other organisation to promote its own point of view exclusively.

6d

Everyone in fancy dance (6)

flowerflowerflower
7d

Treaty stored on phone (4)

flowerflowerflower
8d

Tempting Muslim missing first love (6)

Generating...

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

M [o] ORISH (historical term for the Muslim civilisation in North Africa and Spain) without the first O (zero = love in tennis scoring). More usually spelled “moreish”, I think; of food, tempting in the sense of making you want to eat more of it.

12d

Stock additional tonic supply (10)

flowerflowerflower
14d

Tear up about row with a Parisian making escape (9)

Generating...

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

REND (tear = pull apart), reversed (up, in a down clue), containing (about) OAR (as a verb = row = propel a boat using oars) + UN (French, therefore Parisian, for the indefinite article “a”). Slang for run away, especially to avoid arrest.

16d

Physical appearance of Sham 69's leader knocking out tenor (8)

Generating...

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

PRE [t] ENCE (sham), with the leading letter of S [ixty-nine] replacing the T (abbreviation for tenor). Nothing to do with the punk band from Hersham in Surrey.

17d

Spoil home with a basin that's enclosed (6)

flowerflowerflower
18d

Snobbish hostess not typically welcoming (6)

flowerflowerflower
21d

Wonderful times eating bit of lamb fat (6)

Generating...

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

FAB (short for fabulous = wonderful) + BY (times = multiplied by, as in “3 by 2”), containing (eating) the first letter (a bit) of L [amb].

22d

Pub on island in Italian city (4)

flowerflowerflower
25d

Tied up detective (4)

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