Independent Cryptic #11694

2024-04-03

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Across

1a

Guard caught bird of prey covering head (6)

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4a

Charming king ignored by mountain climber (8)

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10a

Dance throughout arrest one day only (9)

Generating...

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

ROUND (throughout, as in “round the clock” perhaps?) + DELAY (arrest = to stop the progress of something), but with only one D (abbreviation for day) where the words meet. I knew this word as meaning a poem with a refrain (probably intended to be sung), but Collins tells me it also means a mediaeval circle-dance.

11a

Excited by love galore (5)

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12a

Surprisingly moral and creditable politician (15)

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13a

Metal charm found in Northern Ireland? I'm not sure (7)

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15a

Save uniform for one to steal fruit (6)

Generating...

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

SCR [i] MP (to spend as little money as possible), with U (Uniform in the radio alphabet) replacing I (one in Roman numerals). To steal fruit, typically apples, from a tree.

18a

Dicky asks about a new home for Dorothy? (6)

Generating...

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

Anagram (dicky = faulty) of ASKS , around A + N (abbreviation for new). In the film The Wizard of Oz , the title character Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas, until mysteriously transported to the land of Oz by a tornado – hence the line “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”.

20a

Endorsement about revolutionary place to play organs (7)

Generating...

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

VISA (an endorsement on a passport), around REC (short for recreation ground = place to play) reversed (revolutionary). The large internal organs of the body.

22a

I treat tender surgeries? (15)

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25a

The first season in the UK women scored for football club (5)

Generating...

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

[w] INTER (in the UK, the season that starts the calendar year), with the W (abbreviation for women) deleted (scored = crossed out). Abbreviation for football clubs whose full name starts with International (or the local translation of that): Inter Milan, Inter Miami, and several others.

26a

Put restriction on funds of jewellery dealer (9)

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27a

' Mon Oncle s (8)

Generating...

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

MON + first letter (lead) of O [ncle] + TONY (nickname for Broadway theatre’s annual awards: they’re named after Antoinette Perry). Monotony = routine = the same thing over and over again.

28a

Quietly film actor? (6)

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Down

1d

Motor track encircles old station in the main (8)

Generating...

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

CAR (motor) + LINE (track, as in railway line), around O (abbreviation for old). Radio Caroline, a former “pirate” radio station based on a ship in international waters to get round the UK’s licensing laws; in the main = on the sea.

2d

Heavy weight of fruit picked up (5)

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3d

Hospital workers demand statements from Boris? (9)

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5d

Cautious head ignoring answer's sardonic humour (7)

Generating...

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

W [a] RY (cautious) + NESS (headland), ignoring the A (abbreviation for answer).

6d

Operator conceals erotic inspiration (5)

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7d

Expert on game reveres Alison Mitchell's masterful elucidation primarily in Test Match Special ? (9)

Generating...

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

PRO (short for professional = expert), then initial letters (primarily) of G [ame] R [everes] A [lison] M [itchell’s] M [asterful] E [lucidation]. Definition by example: Test Match Special is the BBC’s cricket commentary radio programme, and Alison Mitchell is one of its regular commentators.

8d

Prematurely terminates fake Kazakh's advance to the top (6)

Generating...

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

BORAT’S (Borat is a fake Kazakh character created by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen), with the A (abbreviation for advance) moved to the beginning (to the top, in a down clue).

9d

American visiting prostitutes returned for obstacle race (6)

Generating...

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

A (abbreviation for American), inserted into (visiting) MOLLS (prostitutes) reversed (returning). A ski race in which the course bends around fixed poles (obstacles).

14d

Ginger individual Oscar managed stomach pain regularly (9)

Generating...

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

O (Oscar in the radio alphabet) + RAN (managed = was in control of) + GUT (stomach) + alternate letters (regularly) of [p] A [i] N . An ape with ginger-coloured hair.

16d

High rent fuels hurt (9)

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17d

Timeless achievement shown in crime film (8)

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19d

Admit to office son gets tiresome briefly (7)

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20d

Austrian city repulsed future queen? (6)

Generating...

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

ANNE IV (as far as I’m aware the UK has only ever had one reigning Queen Anne, but it’s possible we could have another three in the future), reversed (repulsed).

21d

It's rum is rum! (6)

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23d

Fish found in overturned waterproof sheets (5)

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24d

Wanting the other currency to be supported by yen (5)

Generating...

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

RAND (South African currency) before (above, in a down clue = supported by) Y (abbreviation for yen, the Japanese currency). “The other”, especially “a bit of the other” = slang for sexual activity; randy = slang for sexually aroused.