Garry Gillard > crosswords > solutions > 4843
ACROSS
1 About to beat an old racehorse (3,3) RED RUM - RE + DRUM - Red Rum won the Grand National in 1973, 1974, and 1977, and is remembered in crossword puzzles
5 Corrupt way to meet fighter (8) WARPLANE - WARP + LANE
9 Real card tricks are what I do (9,5) PRACTICAL JOKER - PRACTICAL (real) + JOKER (a card)
10 Marry, so love wears out (8) FORSOOTH - another archaic oath, like 'marry' - SO + O inside FORTH (out) COD
12 US poet rejecting wife’s offer? (6) HITMAN - in the sense of a man who 'offs' (kills) someone - (w)HITMAN
13 Bullets held back by commando (4) AMMO incl. rev. inside 'cOMMAndo'
14 "Mutant spider turned on English" — German magazine (3,7) DER SPIEGEL (spider)* + LEG + E rev. - where the leg side in cricket is also in on side
16 Restaurant offering overeater chicken? Heads will roll! (10) FINGERBOWL - The overeater is a BINGER, the chicken a FOWL - with the positions of the 'heads' (first letters) having been exchanged (rolled) - I suppose a restaurant may 'offer' a fingerbowl for the diner's convenience
18 An island’s edge (4) INCH - dd - Inch is an islet off the Scottish coast, and to inch along is to edge along
20 Expert runs into trouble with applied science (6) R(uns) inside ADO (trouble) + IT - information technology, here an applied science
22 City name outside walls of old outer part (8) ECTODERM - EC is the postcode of the City of London + TERM (name) outside O(ld) - and the ectoderm is the outermost part of the skin
23 Write to singer about one after a drug (14) PEN (write) + TO + BAR(B)ITONE - where B is 'one after a'
25 Horse box with crank attached (8) a CHEST,NUT is a horse of another colour
26 Imagine former lover kissed on the ear (6) EXPECT - where PECT is a homphone for 'pecked'
DOWN
2 Repetitive strain injury for mare holding column up (7) EARWORM is a term for a song you 'can't get out of your head' - a 'repetitive strain' - (mare)* outside ROW (column)
3 Fantastic bird taking crumbs aloft? (3) Crumbs! (Cor!) rev. gives ROC
4 Newly married guards see what brides may be (4-5) MAIL ORDER (married)* outside LO (see!)
5 Met expectations? (7,8) WEATHER FORECAST, where 'met' is actually the MET (bureau of meteorology) cd
6 Indian prince almost had drink knocked over (5) RAJAH is HA(d) JAR (drink) rev.
7 Fleet happily accept doctor? (4,3,4) LIKE THE WIND - like is 'happily accept' and I suppose the wind is the doctor, as it may make you feel better. It certainly is the case where I live - we have the Fremantle Doctor.
8 Managed to return judge’s report (7) NARRATE - RAN rev. + RATE - most conventional clue in this puzzle
11 Justify locations for outdoor events (11) SHOW,GROUNDS
15 Pleasant friend one put forward (9) PAL,A,TABLE
17 Full hotel after cool office? (2-5) IN-DEPT,H(otel)
19 Republican appearing in stylish pants (7) CH,R,ON,IC - pants is Pommy slang for 'bad', as is 'chronic' - R + ON inside CHIC - where 'on' means 'appearing' (in a show)
21 Spike Milligan finally supports God (5) THORN - last letter of Milligan underneath THOR - I liked this clue best, tho it's perhaps not the most clever
24 Record without knowledge, ultimately (3) TAP(e) - as in a TAP on a phone - &lit (thanks Ragaman)
KEY
to abbreviations/terms/symbols which may have been used
(raga man)* = anagram of 'anagram'
cd = cryptic definition
dd = double definition
incl. = inclusive (hidden word)
def. = definition (synonym, literal)
rev. = reversed
anagind = anagram indicator
homophind = homophone indicator
surface - the apparent meaning of the clue, disguising what's really going on
&lit. - a clue in which the whole clue is the 'definition'
COD = clue of the day (imo); FOI, LOI, first/last one written in
Garry Gillard | New: 24 March, 2019 | Now: 24 March, 2019