Crossword 804 solution
The clue for 16 down is not elegant, infringing one of the “rules” of the game by having more words than necessary (pleonasm if you will), being in effect a double clue. I did this because I felt it needed a little help: the answer, while hardly a “hard word”, might not be familiar to quite a few solvers.
I had a little difficulty cluing 14 down and got around it with an unusual device: indicating a plural with “and another …”. A little clunky perhaps but I hope it’s fair enough, even though the anagram indicator is naughtily doing double duty.
You will see here that I am trying to forestall criticism by doing it myself. Is that fair enough?
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | COLOURLESS | |
| Pale and wan, soul closer to collapse (10) | Anagram of SOUL CLOSER | |
| 6 | OTIC | |
| Opposition leader with twitch of the ear (4) | Opposition leader = O + twitch = TIC | |
| 10 | TAILLIGHT | |
| Pursue flimsy red car component (9) | Pursue = TAIL, flimsy = LIGHT | |
| 11 | GREEN | |
| Envious of being immature (5) | Double definition | |
| 12 | HEALTH INSURANCE | |
| She ran unethical new scheme providing elective surgery cover (6,9) | Anagram of SHE RAN UNETHICAL | |
| 13 | SEEDS | |
| Notice dancing school beginners are nuts, for example (5) | Notice = SEE, dancing school beginners = DS | |
| 15 | GAS HEATER | |
| Slice open a restaurant customer to get warmer (3,6) | Slice open = GASH, a restaurant customer = EATER | |
| 18 | INGRAINED | |
| Trendy garden I cultivated is deep-rooted (9) | Trendy = IN + anagram of GARDEN I (cultivated = anagram indicator) | |
| 19 | ELAND | |
| An antelope that is no good out of a British country (5) | no good = NG deleted from a British country = ENGLAND | |
| 20 | CHINESE CHECKERS | |
| The proofreaders at the Beijing Review are game (7,8) | Double definition | |
| 25 | SLEEP | |
| Rest, taking shelter in an empty ship (5) | shelter = LEE, empty ship = SP | |
| 26 | FURIOUSLY | |
| Your flu is bad in a wild and stormy manner (9) | Anagram of YOUR FLU IS | |
| 27 | SO-SO | |
| Run up repeatedly, it’s said, but it’s not outstanding (2-2) | Homophone clue. Run up = sew | |
| 28 | UNDERSIDES. | |
| I undressed funnily revealing soles (10) | Anagram of I UNDRESSED. | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | CATCH | |
| Suddenly apprehend a doorstopper (5) | Double definition | |
| 2 | LAID AN EGG | |
| Like a good bird, flopped in performance (4,2,3) | Cryptic/double definition | |
| 3 | UNLIT | |
| There are fifty in the apartment and it’s not burning yet (5) | fity = L (Roman numeral), apartment = UNIT | |
| 4 | LOGGING ON | |
| Starting to use a computer, googling madly before noon (7,2) | Anagram of GOOGLING + noon = N | |
| 5 | SITES | |
| Locations used while set is rebuilt (5) | Anagram of SET IS | |
| 7 | TIE-IN | |
| Link that is inserted in a can (3-2) | that is = IE, can = TIN | |
| 8 | CONFERRED | |
| Granted a title, having had a serious talk about it (9) | Double definition | |
| 9 | AGGRIEVE | |
| Give rage somehow and cause sorrow (8) | Anagram of GIVE RAGE | |
| 13 | SUIT-CASES | |
| Grips become jobs for detectives (4-5) | become = SUIT, jobs for detectives = CASES | |
| 14 | SHAKE-UPS | |
| He’s up? Ask for reorganisation, and another, equally drastic (5-3) | Anagram of HES UP ASK | |
| 16 | SIDE HORSE | |
| Hide roses sneakily in a piece of gymnastic equipment (for the team trotter?) (4,5) | Anagram of HIDE ROSES + (additional clue – team = SIDE, trotter = HORSE) | |
| 17 | TRAVERSED | |
| A paper aeroplane, having risen bearing a piece of poetry, passed over (9) | A paper aeroplane = DART. having risen = reversal indicator, bearing = containment indicator, a piece of poetry = VERSE | |
| 21 | IDEAS | |
| Turn aside suggestions (5) | Anagram of ASIDE | |
| 22 | ELFIN | |
| Like a fairytale character absorbed in self-indulgence (5) | Hidden word, s ELFIN dulgence | |
| 23 | CHOPS | |
| Sudden hits from many a substance in beer (5) | Many = C (a hundred), a substance in beer = HOPS | |
| 24 | STYES. | |
| Eye infections by the way? Indeed (5) | way = ST (street), Indeed = YES. |
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