This was a puzzle themed around Microsoft products.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DEFENDER |
Guardian put off covering death (8)
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Defer(=put off) around end(=death) |
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| 6 | MASTER |
Married at the back of ship, missing navy commander… (6)
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Ma{rried} + ster[n](=back of ship minus n{avy}) |
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| 9 | STREAM |
…arranged to watch online (6)
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Master* (the previous answer) |
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| 10 | DISTRICT |
Area in which detective gets tough (8)
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DI(=Detective Inspector) + strict(=tough) |
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| 11 | SUGARCOAT |
Dress up perverted cougars with aunt’s clothing (9)
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Cougars* + a[un]t |
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| 12 | FABLE |
Brilliant fifty by English legend (5)
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Fab(=brilliant) + L(=fifty in Roman numerals) + E{nglish} |
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| 14 | FALLOUT |
Footballers given latitude with oaf’s quarrel (4,3)
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FA(=Football Association) + l{atitude} + lout(=oaf) |
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| 15 | NOTEPAD |
Computer tape to be refurbished, carried by unspoken assent (7)
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Tape* in nod(=unspoken assent) |
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| 17 | TEMPEST |
Police lying about nuisance creating disturbance (7)
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Met<(=Metropolitan police "lying about") + pest(=nuisance) |
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| 19 | OUTLOOK |
Forecast UK to rent bottling facilities (7)
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(UK to)* around loo(=facilities) |
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| 22 | PAPAL |
Secretary introduces friend of church leader (5)
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PA(=personal assistant i.e. secretary) + pal(=friend) |
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| 24 | FRONT PAGE |
Call beyond prom where splashes may be seen (5,4)
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Page(=call, as in "page someone") after front(=prom in the sense of promontory) |
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| 26 | RUNNIEST |
Most fluid dynamics basically dropped in deplorable uni trends (8)
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(Uni tren[d]s)* |
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| 27 | SPIRIT |
Demon drink (6)
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DD |
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| 28 | HEARTS |
Tries to frame Tiger’s first club (6)
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Hears(=tries, as in tries/hears a case) around T{iger}. Def refers to the football club Hearts. |
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| 29 | DESIGNER |
Stylist is gender bending (8)
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(Is gender)* |
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| DOWN | ||
| 2 | ENTOURAGE |
Irritate solicitor almost wedged inside train (9)
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Enrage(=irritate) with tou{t}(=solicitor) inside |
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| 3 | EYEBALL |
Where pupil is subject to examination (7)
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DD. To eyeball something is to subject it to examination. |
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| 4 | DAMP COURSE |
Woke, for you and me, embodied by drag actor’s home feature (4,6)
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(PC(=politically correct, similar to woke) + ours(=for you and me)) in dame(=drag actor) |
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| 5 | RADIAL |
Spoke with Republican – America screwed up (6)
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R{epublican} + A{merican} + laid<(=screwed in the sense of having sex) |
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| 6 | MESH |
Marine discharged quietly to get engaged (4)
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M[arin]e(=discharged i.e. remove its charge or contents) + sh(=quietly) |
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| 7 | SURFACE |
Top expert on water board? (7)
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CD/DD. Top=surface, surf ace = expert on water board. |
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| 8 | EXCEL |
Beat old tailless Manx? (5)
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Ex(=old) + Cel[t]. The Manx people are of partly Celtic origin. |
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| 13 | COLUMNISTS |
Graduates denied opening, squeezed by expenses, becoming writers (10)
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[A]lumni(=graduates) in costs(=expenses) |
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| 16 | ALONGSIDE |
Digs around unique housing next door (9)
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Digs* in alone(=unique) |
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| 18 | PLANNER |
Mastermind aircraft bearing north over Romania (7)
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Plane(=aircraft) around(=bearing) N{orth} + R{omania} |
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| 20 | LAPWING |
Bird‘s song cut short with boring electronic noise (7)
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La[y](=song) + (w{ith} in ping(=electronic noise)) |
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| 21 | GRATED |
Measure of going rate definitely went down badly (6)
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Hidden in "going rate definitely" |
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| 23 | AZURE |
Middle of lazy river is blue (5)
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[L]az[y] + Ure(=river in Yorkshire) |
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| 25 | LENS |
Tends to ignore Australian in French city (4)
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Le[a]ns(=tends minus A{ustralian}) |