The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/30096.
I suspect that the couple of quibbles that I have now will evaporate with a little more time to ponder – certainly, there are several definitions and wordplays that I saw at first as problematic, but which on a little reflection revealed themselves as perfectly valid. There are many excellent clues here, and with some time to reflect I think my admiration for the puzzle will only increase.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PROFITS |
Professional adds up money (7)
|
| A charade of PRO (‘professional’) plus FITS (‘adds up’). | ||
| 5 | EXAMPLE |
Model paper plane’s not one (7)
|
| A charade of EXAM (‘paper’) plus ‘pl[an]e’ minus AN (‘[ha]s not one’). | ||
| 9 | POTPOURRI |
Pocket tip and mostly split collection (9)
|
| A charade of POT (‘pocket’ eg. snooker) plus POUR (‘tip’) plus RI[p] (‘split’) minus its last letter (‘mostly’). | ||
| 10 | TOTED |
Did carry tons having ends of feet on either side (5)
|
| An envelope (‘on either side’) of T (‘tons’) in TOED (‘having ends of feet’ – questionable grammar?). | ||
| 11 | SEED |
Descendants to get diamonds (4)
|
| A charade of SEE (‘get’ as understand) plus D (‘diamonds’). | ||
| 12 | BIG BROTHER |
Ubiquitous leader is great alongside fellow union member (3,7)
|
| A charade of BIG (‘great’) plus BROTHER (‘fellow union member’). The definition refers to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. | ||
| 14 | BREECH |
Awkward delivery bowled here; front of crease is rough (6)
|
| A charade of B (‘bowled’) plus REECH, an anagram (‘is rough’) of ‘here’ plus C (‘front of Crease’). A breech birth is a baby leaving the womb bottom first, which may lead to complications. | ||
| 15 | RESERVE |
Soldiers wait on order (7)
|
| A charade of RE (Royal Engineers, ‘soldiers’) plus SERVE (‘wait on’). | ||
| 16 | CYPRESS |
Conservative leader of yesteryear to hug tree (7)
|
| A charade of C (‘Conservative’) plus Y (‘leader of Yesteryear’) plus PRESS (‘hug’). I like the surface. | ||
| 18 | HEIFER |
Perhaps one in stock here if wanting order (6)
|
| An anagram (‘wanting order’) of ‘here if’. | ||
| 20 | SUPERWOMAN |
She flies American back every week to country (10)
|
| A charade of SU, a reversal (‘back’) of US (‘American’) plus PER (‘every’) plus W (‘week’) plus OMAN (‘country’). | ||
| 21 | AIDS |
Bills squeezing current benefits (4)
|
| An envelope (‘squeezing’) of I (‘current’) in ADS (‘bills’). | ||
| 24 | OWLET |
Downed one water, drinking litre after round (5)
|
| A charade of O (’round’) plus WLET, an envelope (‘drinking’) of L (‘litre’) in WET (‘water’). Nicely devious. | ||
| 25 | TITLE ROLE |
Lead championship with Ronaldo’s header: that’s great for Real Madrid fans? (5,4)
|
| A charade of TITLE (‘championship’) plus R (‘Rinaldo’s header’) plus OLE (‘that’s great for Real Madrid fans?’). | ||
| 26 | STRIDER |
One steps over poo; shoe initially turned over (7)
|
| A reversal (‘turned over’) of RE (‘over’) plus DIRT (‘poo’) plus S (‘Shoe initially’). | ||
| 27 | OBSCENE |
Tramp without clothes, sight is disgusting (7)
|
| A charade of [h]OB[o] (‘tramp’) minus its outer letters (‘without clothes’) plus SCENE (‘sight’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PIPES |
Good, cheap cigarette papers, ultimately they’re for smoking tobacco (5)
|
| A charade of PI (‘good’) plus PES (‘cheaP cigarettE paperS ultimately’). | ||
| 2 | OUTWEAR |
Determined to put on exhaust (7)
|
| Difficult synonyms. A charade of OUT (‘determined’ – “he is out to do you harm”) plus WEAR (‘put on’). OUTWEAR can mean to last, wear longer, or to wear out, or exhaust (‘outwear ones patience”). | ||
| 3 | IRON |
Club batting, accepting run out (4)
|
| An envelope (‘accepting’) of RO (‘run out’) in IN (‘batting’). | ||
| 4 | STRAIGHT SHOOTER |
True American siren chasing pure son (8,7)
|
| A charade of STRAIGHT (‘pure’) plus S (‘son’) plus HOOTER (‘siren’). | ||
| 5 | EDINBURGH TATTOO |
Forces show terrible drug being cut: heroin put into skin with needle (9, 6)
|
| A charade of EDINBURG, an anagram (‘terrible’) of ‘drug bein[g]’ minus the last letter (‘cut’); plus H (‘heroin’) plus TATTOO (verb, ‘put into skin with needle’). | ||
| 6 | AUTHORSHIP |
Writing this, hour wasted filling a puzzle at the beginning (10)
|
| An envelope (‘filling’) of UTHORSHI, an anagram (‘wasted’) of ‘this hour’ in ‘a’ plus P (‘Puzzle at the beginning’). Although clearly related, I cannot see how ‘writing’ and AUTHORSHIP can be equated; but I suspect that Tramp can show them to be closer than I can at present. | ||
| 7 | PITCHER |
One trying to flog something is a tosser (7)
|
| Double definition. For the second definition, I think that the player on a baseball mound might object to being called a ‘tosser’; and the first is ambiguous: it could be a drug dealer, or one who pitches (‘flog’s) an idea or proposal; or as antique slang, a street seller. | ||
| 8 | ENDORSE |
Back horse with tip for the first from Haydock (7)
|
| ‘horse’ with the H (‘first from Haydock’) replaced by END (‘tip’). | ||
| 13 | CEREBRATED |
Thought before entering bet, card getting dealt (10)
|
| An envelope (‘entering’) of ERE (‘before’) in CBRATED, an anagram (‘getting dealt’) of ‘bet card’. | ||
| 16 | CASTORS |
Vehicles over street with old wheels (7)
|
| An envelope (‘over’) of ST (‘street’) plus O (‘old’) in CARS (‘vehicles’). | ||
| 17 | POPULAR |
Common cold going round pub, endlessly (7)
|
| An envelope (‘going round’) of ‘pu[b]’ minus its last letter (‘endlessly’) in POLAR (‘cold’). | ||
| 19 | EPITOME |
Summary in short, great book (7)
|
| A charade of EPI[c] (‘great’) minus its last letter (‘in short’) plus TOME (‘book’). | ||
| 22 | SUEDE |
‘90s band did rock on the radio (5)
|
| Sounds like (‘on the radio’ – more closely than many) SWAYED (‘did rock’). | ||
| 23 | FEES |
Spot fine, put up charges (4)
|
| A reversal (‘put up’ in a down light) of SEE (‘spot’) plus F (‘fine’). |
I thought this was a great puzzle. Not easy, but many clever clues.
It took me an extra five minutes after finishing the grid to figure out the wordplay of TOTED. PeterO was not sure of the grammar, but I parsed it as toed = having toes, and toes are the ends of the feet, so toed=”having ends of feet”. A bit awkward maybe but otherwise fine.
As for 7d, I didn’t go the baseball route but simply equated pitch and toss, so PITCHER = tosser.
Tx.
Gave up, revealed most – too hard for me
TOTED and PITCHER
Agree with Dr.WhatsOn@1
AUTHORSHIP
Writing in the sense of ‘act of writing’ or ‘profession of writing’
should work, I think.
Thanks Tramp and PeterO.
Dr. WhatsOn @1 ‘TOED might be awkward if you think of it in human terms, but not if you think instead of a three-toed sloth. As a follower of the sport, a habit acquired during a year teaching at a Massachusetts university, PITCHER immediately took me to the baseball field. Unfortunately, the Red Sox lost last night…,
I enjoyed the hardest challenge of the week so far from Tramp.
Like others I paused on TOTED and waited for all the checking letters. It did give me a good think about but after referral to VAR and reading other comments all is good.
Favourites today TITLE ROLE and SUPERWOMAN.
Thanks Tramp and PeterO
Very tough crossword.
Completed but still going through some parsings. Gonna need the blog today to sort out a few holdouts
Thanks Tramp and PeterO
Thanks Tramp and PeterO
This required a lot of electronic help to finish, but I got there in the end. Smiled at “downed one” for OWLET.
Sorry great misdirections here. Looked at all sorts of cricket delivery words (LENGTH?), until finally an “aha” moment. Also Downed one was very clever. Other favourites – SUPERWOMAN and POTPOURRI.
Tough but very fair.
No quibbles from me. A fun solve.
Thanks Tramp and PeterO
It was clever to use TRAMP at the beginning of 27 AC to make us think of I or me. Good puzzle, though I, too, needed a couple of word searches.
You gotta love a bit of SUEDE. I managed to finish this last night in a reasonable time and thought SUPERWOMAN and EDINBURGH TATTOO were marvellous because of their surfaces. Like DrWhats On @1, baseball never entered my mind.
You appear to have a rogue 8 in the middle of your RESERVE, unless you have done something clever, I can’t work out.
Ta Tramp & PeterO.
Lovely stuff. Thanks both.
What does it say about me that I’d forgotten that Suede ever existed?
Thanks for the blog, which clarified a few confusions I had.
Super Tramp indeed. Podium places for CEREBRATED, TITLE ROLE and BREECH
Cheers P&T
The solutions of some of the tougher setters’ puzzles come to me increasingly quickly during a solve. With Tramp, I find the pacing more evenly slow. In what seemed like a tough puzzle, I naturally looked for synonyms for the likes of pub and pro when I didn’t need to. If I’d focused on 1a a bit longer, I may have been more efficient.
Does Pi: “pious or sanctimious” really qualify as good? The implied hypocrisy would seem to make it the opposite. I accept it’s a crossword staple (and definitely not an error) but does that make it right?
Anyway, a good challenge. All solved and parsed with only the occasional glance at text books.
Thanks Tramp and PeterO.
Tough stuff, with a lot of guess, then check, then attempt (often unsuccessfully) to parse. Plenty of difficult synonyms too, as even PeterO admits. I am always thrown by some setters’ habit of describing the past tense with the awkward “did verb” (did carry=TOTED and “did rock” for swayed/SUEDE today). Legitimate, but it adds another twist of difficulty, though I did find “toed” without too much trouble.
I liked OWLET, CASTORS, SUEDE and SUPERWOMAN.
Thanks, I had a more convoluted parsing of ENDORSE and prefer the one here.
AIDS took far too long as I was fixated on a different meaning of bills.
Always a worthwhile effort to solve when it’s Tramp setting.
Martin @15 Chambers has pious as a definition of good so maybe PI is not that irrational 🙂
Definitely worth a toot from the cliche klaxon though
I’m with PeterW @ 8 – ‘tough but very fair’, to which I’d therefore add ‘enjoyable and satisfying’: I don’t mind putting in the work, – indeed, I expect to – so long as I can rely on the integrity of the setter’s clues. (Unfortunately, that confidence doesn’t extend right across the board but I know where I am with Tramp.)
I chuckled at the clever misleading definitions. I have more experience of childbirth than cricket, so that was my first thought for ‘delivery’, before reading the rest of the clue but I didn’t immediately latch on to the ‘forces show’ in the excellent EDINBURGH TATTOO.
Other favourites were PROFITS, CYPRESS, HEIFER, TITLE ROLE and POPULAR (all lovely surfaces – in fact, there wasn’t a dud one anywhere).
Many thanks to Tramp for the fun – hope to see you again soon – and to PeterO for the blog.
That was a tough one. Only 2 on the first pass but it slowly came together, with the help of the check button from time to time. Thought 7D PITCHER was fine – as you can do an elevator pitch etc. Thanks to PeterO and Tramp.
Sorry to be thick but can someone explain why downed one = OWLET?
Got only half a dozen before giving up. I usually persist with Tramp puzzles but just wasn’t in the mood. I did get OWLET, which raised a smile.
‘Pocket’=POT in 9a is questionable. Snooker players pot balls into pockets, not the other way round. The two terms are not synonymous.
Enjoyed this one! OWLET very nice indeed. Thanks Tramp and PeterO.
Justigator @21
Young birds are covered with down rather than full feathers until they fledge.
Thanks Bodycheetah @18. I didn’t think to look at it that way around. It’s funny how, even in thesauri, some synonyms have one way valves fitted. Tramp’s accuracy was never in question but I do agree with your klaxoning.
Justigator #21, down is a type of feather as in eider down, so a downed one could be any bird. I found this hard but the answers kept coming, very slowly! My favourite was BIG BROTHER, because of the term ubiquitous leader in the clue. Great stuff, thanks to both.
Bit of a curate’s egg for me.
OWLET was sweet; I liked both the pithiness and surface for RESERVE, and the misdirection of having “Tramp” in 27A. TITLE ROLE was pleasing.
Others were less satisfying (yes OUTWEAR, I’m looking at you. Other than the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, does anybody still say outwear, rather than “wear out”??).
I’ve never previously encountered CEREBRATED, and had to check that it really was a word.
And I wasn’t wild about SUPERWOMAN; “she flies”: hmmmm. There was no way I would have got that without many of the crossers…
Still, at least nobody will be grumbling that this crossword was too easy, or had the temerity to include an aural pun that doesn’t work in all English-speaking parts of the world.
Thanks Tramp for the challenge – and a huge hug to PeterO for the very many, much-needed explanations.
‘Downed one’ was certainly my COTW. All very clever!
Very tough, but I got there in the end with a lot of guessing letters and checking. I could parse most, but needed a little help from PeterO. I guessed iron, but could not parse, because I thought betting is “on” (The team is on), so was left puzzled where the i came from. Edinburgh tattoo is nicely timely. Like Martin@15 I was also surprised that professional=pro and endless pub=pu, thinking I must find synonyms, and like gladys@16 I wondered why “did carry” is not simply carried and “did rock” rocked. I did not know the rock band Suede, by the way. I only came to the UK in the mid/late 90s; the big UK rock band at the time was Oasis. Owlet is very good; it took me a few minutes to parse. I also really liked superwoman. Thanks, Tramp and PeterO
Thank you muffin @24, Of course!
A lot of “penny-drop” answers. There’s extra satisfaction when that happens. And just enough more-straightforward clues to offset the trickier ones. Agree with quibble about OUTWEAR — a puzzle like this could outwear me, but is more likely to wear me out. Thanks PeterO and Tramp.
Great crossword. Thought I’d have to give up, having got no answers in the first ten minutes but then started spreading out from SW corner. Right at the limit of my ability but got there with solving aids for the last few.
Along with Paul, that’s 2 Setters on my “don’t even bother to look at it” list
Tough. I needed help from the web but didn’t have to use the reveal button.
Many thanks to PeterO for sorting out some of the parsing.
Nho the phrase STRAIGHT SHOOTER but obvious. I also thought OUTWEAR could mean WEAR OUT, but nobody would ever use it in that sense. Next time I come in from a hard day, would I say “I’m outworn”. I don’t think so.
Some very neat clues here and an enjoyable solve. Favourites ENDORSE, OWLET, SUEDE end EDINBURGH TATTOO.
Thanks Tramp and again PeterO
He admitted that the essay was not of his own writing/authorship … ? Sort of works.
Great puzzle with some imaginative definitions and surfaces. I started very slowly but got there in the end, which was very satisfying. I liked the pocket POTPOURRI collection, the EXAMPLE of a model paper plane, the BREECH awkward delivery, the OWLET downed one, the TITLE ROLE that’s great for Real Madrid fans, the EDINBURGH TATTOO forces show, and the POPULAR common cold (not so popular if you get a nasty one).
Thanks Tramp and PeterO.
It’s raining again and I can give a little bit of time to Tramp, challenging in places but always logical. Even in the quietest moments I knew what I had to do and it all resolved itself beautifully. Cotd – TITLE ROLE
Thanks to Tramp and PeterO
I agree with Wellbeck#27 She flies as a def for Superwoman was a bit broad. I spent some time before any crossers trying to fit Stewardess.
But I finished by 14:00!
After a thorough drubbing yesterday, I approached this with some trepidation. It wasn’t easy, and some of the synonyms needed a decidedly sideways glance, but it proved to be a slow, steady, enjoyable solve. LOI OWLET was also my COTD, although there were some excellent surfaces, such as the clues for CASTORS, OBSCENE and IRON. Thanks to Tramp and PeterO.
Surfaces for AUTHORSHIP and PITCHER were Lol moments. Lovely xword. Roz due soon.
This was tough sledding on the first pass, but I slowly found Tramp’s wavelength and got there in the end, albeit with a couple questionably parsed.
I even remembered PI for once, although I still think it should be retired. I don’t recall in all my years ever encountering it outside a crossword.
Thank you Tramp and PeterO.
Roz won’t be appearing today. I find it strange that not everyone thought SUPERWOMAN was such a clever clue, but we’re all different thankfully.
Thanks both. Quite a struggle. I hope that those carping about the puzzles this week being too easy are happier now.
Thanks for the blog, PeterO and thanks for the comments.
I wrote this in October 2022. I haven’t written a puzzle in a couple of months and I’m struggling. I think I have about ten in the pipeline.
I’m sorry about the clue for SUPERWOMAN. it should say: “She might fly…”. In my head, I pictured Supergirl, who does fly.
Neil
@poc #23
Pocket…
transitive verb…
8.To play into a pocket (snooker, etc)
Chambers Dictionary 6.30 App
Tramp def ok with this one. From a quick Google the English Pool Players uses pocket as a verb meaning pot in their rules
Thanks Tramp @44: I always presumed SUPERWOMAN could fly, who knew.
Tramp @44 Superwoman first appeared in a DC comic in 1943, and she certainly does fly! No problem with that clue for me.
I hope your puzzles start flowing more easily soon.
Thanks both.
Tough puzzle. Difficult to get any momentum — one solution at a time (like Martin@15). LS stickiest, but eventually got there. Agree with PeterO that it was a great puzzle. Lots of mind bending synonymns, like 1a PROFITS (“adds up” = FITS), 9a POTPOURRI (“tip” = POUR), 10a TOTED (“having ends of feet” = TOED), 16a CYPRESS (“hug” = PRESS), 21a AIDS (“benefits”), 5d ET (“forces show”), 24a OWLET (“downed one”), 26a STRIDER (“poo” = DIRT), 13d CEREBRATED (itself), 17d POPULAR (“cold = POLAR). Many other favourites
Thank you both
[Well done AlanC@42 — very appropriate!]
Way out of my league with many I couldn’t parse even after revealing.
In my mind a “hug” pulls towards where as “press” pushes away, so struggled with the synonym
nho OUTWEAR
Never come across STRAIGHT SHOOTER to mean ‘true american’. Does ‘true’ = straight and therefore ‘shooter’ = American?!
Why does PI mean good? Obviously PIE is good, but 3.14?
@21 & 24, thank you from a non twitcher.
EDINBURGH TATOO was new too, but easily discovered online.
Superb crossword I thought. Just the right level of deviousness & difficulty for late in the week.
This is a specimen of her AUTHORSHIP/writing? Probably works.
Not That Paul @49: she pressed him towards her in a close embrace?
A STRAIGHT SHOOTER is an honest (true) person & the term is American – that’s what the clue is getting at, I think.
Pi is short for “pious” & while it’s usually used (when used at all) to mean “sanctimonious”, it can mean “good”.
Good puzzle. Didn’t get much of it last night.
I have actually run across PI in the wild — I think in British children’s books of a certain decade (don’t ask me which.) My guess would be it’s public school talk, which as a kid I assumed it was just how they talked in England.
I guessed the military meaning of TATTOO, but had no idea what the first word would be till I googled “tattoo military” and found the Endinburgh one, the first mentioned.
bodycheetah@18 nice one!
staticman1@5 VAR?
.
DRW@1 Pitch is not the same as toss in the game — first everyone pitches a coin at a wall and whoever gets closest wins; then the winner gets to toss all the other coins in the air and keep whichever ones land heads up.
PeterO I would bet that the player on the pitcher’s mound has never heard of “tosser,” so wouldn’t be put out.
Thanks, Tramp and PeterO.
Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues , many solved using just the wordplay which shows precise setting and devious definitions . No quibbles at all from me and I think all points have been answered . Pitcher still very much a modern term for selling goods , I see them at all the markets I visit , DelBoy was a fly pitcher ( no license ) .
AlanC keeping my spot warm , my streak is over but my cloud-chambers reprieved for another year so I am inordinately pleased .
[ A lunar eclipse early tomorrow , almost total so a blood-red moonset , quite spectacular . No danger at all , naked-eye is fine or binoculars . Need a clear Western horizon , swimming in the Irish Sea works best , but the clouds look ominous . ]
Sorry Tramp – no quibbles over ultimate legitimacy of clues – but too much convolution in clueing and stretched synonyms. Thanks PeterO for relieving my frustration – I lose patience when I get the solution fairly easily, but parsing takes too long. I seem to be unique amongst commentators in objecting to WET as a synonym for WATER, even if I accept that owls are “downed”
Peter B @55
Read “wet” and “water” both as verbs.
It is great to have 15 squared so that we can come here to find that others had a hard time too!
Valentine @52: Yes, I’ve also met “pi” in the wild. My ex-mother-in-law, very posh, landed gentry & in a manor house, “looking-glass”, “wireless”, “scent” & all that, occasionally used it. God forgive me, I used to relish her wince when I announced I was “just going to the toilet” in front of her inevitable guests.
Thanks Tramp for a challenging crossword. My first glance yielded very little (FOI, 21a) but gradually everything came into focus. I managed to get all of the solutions but a number were not fully parsed. Great surfaces throughout with my favourites being SUPERWOMAN, OWLET, OBSCENE, POPULAR, EPITOME, and SUEDE. Thanks PeterO for the blog.
Valentine @52, Julius @58, I don’t remember pi from Enid Blyton. Can you give an example of how was it used?
Iain@60 I’ve never read any Enid Blyton, though I’ve read about her. I don’t think she made it across the Atlantic. I would guess my sightings were with E Nesbit and the Bastables, though I can’t come up with any quotes. The narrator of that set of books often says that something is “common.”
Julius@58 you’re a hoot!
Great puzzle, Tramp. Chewy and satisfying, good parsing rewarding the solver. BREECH, OWLET, POPULAR and ENDORSE all had great surfaces. EDINBURGH TATTOO does too, though it’s rather more disturbing. TILT: CEREBRATED (after which I celebrated, naturally).
Writing as a gerund works fine, as others have said. e.g. The writing/authorship of the work was attributed to Aristotle.
Thanks, T&PO.
Hard pounding for me today, falling back on the ‘check’ button more than once; the blog explains a few uncertainties. TTS&B.
[ JuliusCaesar @58: You may already know that ‘mother-in-law’ is an anagram of ‘Hitler woman’ ]
I was able to get a few (maybe a good third) but then hit a brick wall where I couldn’t clearly spot a definition let alone work out wordplay. Hence ended up revealing many, and then having lots of doh! moments either then and there or after reading here. I really should have persevered with some but I’d had a tiring day. Thanks PeterO for lifting the veil on clues I found obscure, and to Tramp for landing me in a maze of twisty passages all different.
It puzzles me when some solvers complain when a setter uses a less common synonym. Aren’t these clues supposed to be cryptic? 2d OUTWEAR Is a good example: “People usually say wear out instead of outwear, so although it’s a word and Tramp is not wrong, I still don’t like the clue.” Why not? If the synonym is a word I don’t normally use, I thank the setter for the TILT.
I share Eileen’s assessment of this puzzle (@19). Tramp is always fair and his clues are clever and witty.
My favourite among many smiles was the hilariously self-deprecating 27a OBSCENE.
Iain@60 ‘Oh, See the Secret Seven
So very smug and pi,
Eyes turned up to heaven
As they go walking by.
They think they’re very clever,
Alas, we don’t agree,
We think the Secret Seven are as silly as can be.’
Remembered that. Don’t remember the title of the book. Or, indeed, what I had for breakfast….
Yes, I agree with those who found this hard, but I managed all, though with a crossings checker to get POTPOURRI (hated by the late Ian Paisley), and fooling me by being written as one word and not two. I did the same for CEREBRATED, after being tricked into thinking that the definition was “dealt” and not “thought”. So it’s sourdough toast crusts on the PSRHS for me.
Thanks one and all.
Honestly this crossword is making me think about giving up. It makes me think I’ve made no progress in the last few years and am as bad at these as I always was. Perhaps more importantly I got little pleasure from it. I got five (one of which unparsed). I just couldn’t find enough easier ones to at least get a foothold. And reading the blog I’m not sure there were many easy ones. I was reading charades as insertions, insertions as charades, not spotting deletions and not spotting the few anagrams there were at all.
Thanks PeterO. Thanks Tramp. Well done those who completed
This was tough! Funny though, l guessed the right answer through the misdirects several times. Eg, BREECH, but couldn’t parse them. Learned much about advanced clue construction on this one,
Thanks both
Roz 54,
[Looks like the east of the country has best chance of clear skies.]