Across
Number one more than ten: 11 (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
One more than ten is eleven, then PLUS ONE (11 = reference to 11d) makes it twelve.
11’s special flower (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SP (abbreviation for special) + OUSE (one of various rivers of this name in England: a river is a thing that flows = a flower). Reference to 11d PLUS ONE = a partner.
Audibly welcome Mr Kelly’s sanitary practices (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Sound-alike (audibly) of HI GENE, which might be a greeting (welcome) to the actor and dancer Gene (Eugene) Kelly.
Legions’ fermented spirit (4,3)
Dictaphone consumables PA used recklessly – tiny bit stuck inside (10)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (recklessly) of PA USED , with IOTA (a tiny bit, from the name of a very small Greek letter) stuck inside it. Dictaphone = manufacturer of speech recording machines using magnetic tape cassettes (or recordings on wax cylinders in its early days), before the era of electronic recording.
1d
(and 1 Down) Catchphrase from heavy-going books, setter falls for solver in the second (2,2,2,3)
Maximum allowed to increase tenfold, essentially (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
LI [c] IT (allowed; perhaps more common in its negative form “illicit”), with the middle letter (essentially) changed from C to M (in Roman numerals, C = 100 and M = 1000, hence “to increase tenfold”).
Citizen from old city thorn in one’s side it’s assumed (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
UR (a city in Mesopotamia mentioned in the Old Testament, always a good guess for “old city” in crosswords) + BANE (as in “the bane of my life” = thorn in one’s side = a persistent annoyance), containing (assuming) IT . A person who lives in the city rather than the countryside.
Suggestion hotel and university done with redevelopment (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
INN (hotel = a place to stay overnight) + U (abbreviation for university) + anagram (with redevelopment) of DONE .
Antique trousered by Yorkshire licensee (5)
11 or 12 February? (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Double definition. Reference to 11d PLUS ONE: date = someone that you pair up with for a specific occasion (or more than one). Or a definition by example, indicated by the question mark: 12 February is an example of a date (and I’m not aware that it has any particular significance for this puzzle).
Briefly fume before violent rumble (3,7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SEETH [e] (fume = become angry) without the last letter (briefly), then ROUGH (violent). Rumble, as a verb = see through = to recognise a deception.
Start to loathe snakes and their game counterparts (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Starting letter of L [oathe], then ADDERS (venomous snakes, also known as vipers). Reference to the board game Snakes and Ladders .
Prize fighter rubs one the wrong way, generous at heart (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (the wrong way) of RUBS + I (one in Roman numerals), then the middle letters (heart) of [gen] ER [ous]. Prize fighter = someone who takes part in a fight or boxing match to win money; bruiser = someone big and tough who is easily drawn into a fight, or (according to Chambers) another word for a prize fighter.
Department of Defense withdrawing registration for one shirking draft, say (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
DOD (abbreviation for the US Department of Defense), then REG (abbreviation for registration) reversed (withdrawing). Draft dodger = someone who makes excuses to avoid military service.
Climb advanced trail (6)
Down
See 12 Across
Snobbery in English literature is minimal at first (7)
Card game score for Pierre – 11 (5,2,2)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
VINGT (French word for twenty, also called “a score”; Pierre = a French man’s name), then ET UN (French for “and one”; 11 = reference to 11d PLUS ONE). Vingt et un = twenty-one = a name for card games where the aim is to make a hand scoring twenty-one points. The English name pontoon is said to be derived from a corrupted pronunciation of the French name.
Fur rugs and throws (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Double definition. Pelt = the fur of an animal; or pelt = to throw repeatedly, as in to pelt someone with stones.
Left American baseball team maybe, 11, following one to Orleans (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
A (abbreviation for American) + TEN (for example a baseball team has 9 players, then “11” = reference to 11d PLUS ONE, making 10), after UNE (feminine form of “one” in French, for example in the French city of Orléans). Left on a plate at the end of a meal.
Puzzling new game I cracked – triumphant at last I see! (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (cracked) of N (abbreviation for new) + GAME I , then the last letter of [triumphan] T + I C (text-message representation of “I see”).
Companion poorly – no pulse (4,3)
Help learner to complete round of whist (4,1,4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
L (abbreviation for learner, as in L-plate on a learner driver’s car) + END (as a verb = to complete) + A HAND (a round in card games such as whist). Lend a hand = to give assistance.
Hospital grasping cleaning lady’s figures (3,6)
Greatly affected writer kidnapped by shifty dude (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
PEN (something that writes = writer), contained in (kidnapped by) an anagram (shifty) of DUDE . Turned upside down, or metaphorically “thrown into disarray”.
Give a hero’s welcome to rugby team winning international and latest bit of silverware (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
LIONS (short name for the British & Irish Lions rugby team) containing (winning) I (abbreviation for international), then the last letter (latest bit) of [silverwar] E . Lionise = to treat as a hero or celebrity.
Loose rock formation in dangerous creek (5)
11 oddly glum, expressionless, exhausted and close to exit (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Odd-numbered letters of G [l] U [m] + E [x[ressionles] S (exhausted = emptied out) + end letter (close) of [exi] T . Reference to 11d PLUS ONE, as in a formal invitation to “Sam Bloggs and guest” which entitles you to bring a partner or friend.
Type letters or click words in the clue