Independent Cryptic #12145

2025-09-11

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Across

1a

Few days demand to be discussed without resistance (9)

Generating...

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

Sound-alike (to be discussed) of WEEK (a few days) + NEED (demand).

6a

Meteorologist's beginning to follow briefly scattered cloud cover (5)

Generating...

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

Beginning letter of M [eteorologist], following an anagram (scattered) of CLOU [d] without the last letter (briefly). Locum = cover = someone temporarily doing another’s job in their absence.

9a

He performed rural violence i.e. scuffling (15)

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10a

Closely examine Cambridge's final call about degree (7)

Generating...

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

Final letter of [cambridg] E , then YELL (call) around BA (abbreviation for an academic degree). Eyeball, as a verb = stare closely at.

11a

Student official found in sports court (7)

Generating...

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

REF (abbreviation for referee = sports official), in PE (abbreviation for physical education = sports lessons at school) + CT (abbreviation for court, especially in streetmaps). A senior school student given some measure of authority over others.

13a

A Homeward Bound t (8)

Generating...

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

Last letters (at the end) in [o] F [th] E [las] T [nigh] T [w] E [neve] R [se] E [homewar] D .

15a

Too much off depleted capital (6)

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17a

Danish scientist flipped over one thousand and one shapes (6)

Generating...

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

BOHR (Niels Bohr, Danish atomic physicist) reversed (flipped), containing (over . . .) M (Roman numeral for one thousand), then I (Roman numeral for one). Plural of rhombus = shape otherwise known as a diamond or lozenge.

19a

Trademark covering this girl's equally skimpy underwear (8)

Generating...

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

TM (abbreviation for trademark), containing HER (belonging to a specific woman = this girl’s), then ALS [o] (equally) without the last letter (skimpy?). Short for thermal underwear, worn to conserve body heat in cold conditions.

22a

Authorise vessel to carry politician over (7)

Generating...

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

EWER (a large jug = vessel), containing (to carry) MP (abbreviation for Member of Parliament = politician) + O (abbreviation for over, in cricket scoring).

23a

Recount finished after left-leaning Republican tried to get elected (7)

Generating...

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

ATE (finished, as in “she finished her meal”), after R (abbreviation for Republican) + RAN (tried to get elected) reversed (left-leaning = reading right to left). Recount = narrate = tell a story.

25a

E.g. Tim Horton's choice messed up by important customer having left (15)

Generating...

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

Anagram (messed up) of CHOICE , then KEY (important) + PAYER (someone who pays = customer) around L (abbreviation for left). I had to ask Wikipedia about Tim Horton ; can’t say I know much about the sport.

26a

Like fireman's tea (5)

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27a

Parliamentarian had to inject drug after some drinks (9)

Generating...

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

HAD (from clue text), containing (to inject) E (abbreviation for the drug ecstasy), after ROUND (several drinks bought at the same time for a group of people). Supporter of Parliament (rather than the King) during the English Civil War.

Down

1d

Christian campaigner's brief desire previously to accommodate Roman Catholic separately (11)

Generating...

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

WIL [l] (desire) without the last letter (brief), then BEFORE (previously), containing R C (abbreviation for Roman Catholic), with the two letters inserted separately rather than together. William Wilberforce, Christian anti-slavery campaigner.

2d

Extremely sharp trim after a time in New York (but not now) (7)

Generating...

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

CUT (trim) after A (from clue text), then EST (abbreviation for Eastern Standard Time, the time zone used in New York – but not at the moment because it’s on Eastern Daylight Time until early November). Acute = sharp, with the -est suffix indicating “extremely”.

3d

Knock back a mild Indian dish (5)

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4d

Initially ignored gamete editor was brilliant (8)

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5d

Hanging up pants in yard (6)

Generating...

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

POOR (pants = slang for not very good), in YD (abbreviation for yard), all reversed (up, in a down clue).

6d

City unexpectedly re-elects independent (9)

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7d

Hybrid car struggling keeping that man Elon at the top (7)

Generating...

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

Anagram (struggling) of CAR , containing (keeping) HIM (that man) + first (top) letter of E [lon]. (Who of course runs a company making electric vehicles, not hybrids.) Chimera = a mythological creature combining parts of various different animals; or a single organism composed of two separate sets of cells, for example by the fusion of two embryos.

8d

Wise to avoid exterior ruin (3)

Generating...

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

[s] MAR [t] (wise), avoding the outer letters (exterior). Not sure about the definition: to me, “mar” = to damage or disfigure something, suggesting rather less than “ruin” = to destroy it or make it unusable. The difference between scratching your car’s paintwork and writing it off in an accident.

12d

Relocated coaches firing current agent accepting blunder (11)

Generating...

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

TRA [i] NS (coaches, as a verb = teaches, especially in sport) without I (scientific symbol for electrical current), then FED (abbreviation for a US federal law enforcement officer = agent) containing ERR (blunder, as a verb = make a mistake).

14d

Space in berth to sway half-heartedly about (9)

Generating...

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

MOOR (berth, as a verb = to tie up a boat in harbour) + WOB [b] LE (sway) with one of the two middle letters (heart) missing (half-heartedly), all reversed (about).

16d

Short outing to collect tissue that's much appreciated (8)

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18d

Sorry for reflecting on American who went to hell and back (7)

Generating...

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

EH (eh? = sorry? = expression meaning “please repeat what you just said”) + PRO (for = in favour of), all reversed (reflecting), then US (abbreviation for United States = American). In Greek mythology: after Orpheus’s wife Eurydice died, he went to the underworld in a heroic but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to get her back.

20d

Inspect some cheesy LA nachos on the counter (7)

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21d

Deal-maker is worse off (6)

Generating...

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

Broke = badly off = short of money; so whimsically, broker = more broke = worse off.

24d

Did judge like some paper? (5)

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25d

Slice of artisan bread kept here? (3)

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