Independent Cryptic #12000

2025-03-26

Solve on Independent →

Across

8a

ULEZ boundaries backed by prosperous financial centre (6)

Generating...

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

A reversal (‘backed’) of first and last letters only or ‘boundaries’ of U LE Z + RICH (prosperous)

9a

Admit Galatians includes old, embarrassing mistake (3,4)

Generating...

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

OWN (admit) GAL (Galatians – abbreviation in the bible) around or ‘including’ O (old)

10a

Fairly inexperienced solver, no good, is hopeless to begin with (8)

Generating...

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

YOU (solver) NG (no good) IS H (first letter of hopeless or ‘to begin with’)

11a

Devil-woman wantonly hit on one in fifties (6)

Generating...

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

An anagram (‘wantonly’) of HIT on I (one) in L L (fifties) – we had to check this one

12a

Khan’s stately home - by a non-Tamil state of India (6)

Generating...

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

X (by) A tamil NADU (state of India missing Tamil)

14a

Italian scorer scores pig hides in the middle (8)

flowerflowerflower
15a

Foretell of conflicts undergoing polar shift (4)

Generating...

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

WAR s (conflicts) with S (south) changing to N (north) – a ‘polar shift’

17a

Folded in half then turned back sides of origami paper (5)

Generating...

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

FOL ded (half only) then a reversal (‘turned back’) of O rigam I (first and last letters only or ‘sides’)

18a

Holiday job initially involves a day trip to Saudi (4)

Generating...

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

H oliday J ob (initial letters only) around or ‘involving’ A D (day)

20a

Used Hoover Dam upper curve whilst overlooking river meanders (8)

Generating...

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

An anagram (‘meanders’) of DAM U (upper) and CU r VE missing or ‘overlooking’ ‘r’ (river)

22a

Grizzly relative I knocked out first with attack on both sides (6)

Generating...

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

I with KO’D (knocked out) first and then A ttac K (first and last letters only or ‘on both sides’)

24a

Doctor thrown into Russian river under cover of darkness (6)

flowerflowerflower
25a

Measure what one eats a bit at a time (8)

Generating...

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

INCH (measure) MEAL (what one eats). A new word for us which we needed to check in Chambers.

27a

Somewhat insult an Arab ruler’s wife (7)

flowerflowerflower
28a

Two characters making the case for Romeo having married by chance (6)

Generating...

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

R AND O (the two letters at either end of Romeo or ‘making the case’) and M (married)

Down

1d

Robots requiring gold to make all transistors and leads (8)

flowerflowerflower
2d

70s Jagger's sexually ambiguous rock sound (6)

Generating...

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

BI (sexually ambiguous) + a homophone (‘sounds like’) of ANCHOR (rock)

3d

Empty calabash, excellent for tea (4)

Generating...

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

C alabas H (missing the middle letters or ’empty’) AI (excellent)

4d

Horse turf tipped to be ready (4)

Generating...

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

A reversal (‘tipped’) of H (horse) SOD (turf)

5d

Rambling hikes along one of our national symbols? (7,3)

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6d

Tarot card ladies who meet by thorium gaslight? (4,4)

Generating...

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

FOOL (Tarot card) WI (ladies who meet) TH (thorium)

7d

Ugly exfoliating skin rash problem caused by bug? (6)

Generating...

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

u GL y (middle letters only or ‘exfoliating skin’) ITCH (rash)

13d

Foreign fabricator follows fellow feeding a French friend (10)

Generating...

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

LIAR (fabricator) following F (fellow) inside UN (a in French) AMI (friend)

14d

Got to retire delirious once free from obligations (5)

Generating...

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

A reversal (‘retiring’) of DELIR ious without or ‘free from’ IOUS (obligations)

16d

Nervous society filled with tense people unable to take sides (8)

Generating...

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

NEURAL (nervous) S (society) around or ‘filled with’ T (tense)

19d

Full range of notes expressed in sad piano movement (8)

flowerflowerflower
21d

Nearly a thousand missing outside (6)

Generating...

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

A + M (thousand) with LOST (missing) outside

23d

Fats make protein-building acid non-active (6)

Generating...

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

DO (make) a MINO (protein building acid) without ‘a’ (active). The Fats is Fats Domino.

25d

One country's nationalist going to question another (4)

Generating...

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

IRA (one country’s nationalist) Q (question)

26d

Complain about BBC English (4)

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