Crossword solution
to 2272: Holiday time
21 and 41 are definitions of SUMMER; RECESS defines each of the other unclued lights. First prize Rhiannon Hales, Ilfracombe,…
to 2271: I’m not here or there
All but one of the unclued lights can be preceded by DOCTOR (or in one case DOC). The title also…
to 2270: Hard
Seven unclued lights were names of VERSE-MEN (22) minus one letter: VI(R)GIL (1A), BRO(O)KE (15A), BRID(G)ES (16), DON(N)E (9), S(P)ENDER…
to 2269: Humiliation
Answers to clues in italics are Clockwise (16), mondial (25), smugly (26), mushroomed (15) and pantable (32), each of which…
To 2268: In state
The unclued lights are US STATE CAPITALS. First prize Stewart Jones, Winchester, Hants Runners-up John M. Brown, Rolleston-on-Dove, Staffs; Gareth…
2267: Double-edged Swords
The unclued lights are anagrams of words meaning ‘blessing’, hence 43A MIXED BLESSINGS. The words are 11A AGREEMENT, 31A BENISON, 34A…
To 2266: 587
Associations with adjectives are ALL RIGHT (16), BRIGHT LIGHTS (40), BEAUTIFUL DREAMER (31), GREAT DANE (42), and SMALL BEER (4). The…
To 2265: POURING
The unclued lights Across are CATS and the unclued lights Down are DOGS. First prize John Kitchen, Breachwood Green, HertsRunners-up…
To 2264: The A-Team
‘Harry the King, BEDFORD (19) and EXETER (18), WARWICK (1D) and TALBOT (25), SALISBURY (4A) and GLOSTER (12)’ (Henry V,…
To 2263: Hurry
Corrections of misprints in clues give STEP ON THE GAS, indicating the unclued lights in each of four columns in…
To 2262: Numbers game
The unclued Across lights are ANAGRAMS of French numbers (22: trente, 24: soixante, 26: sept, 29: onze, 43: trois) and…
To 2260: B & B
BUTTONS AND BOWS (1A) is a song in the film THE PALEFACE (10), sung by BOB HOPE (27). Other unclued lights…
To 2259: Eco
The unclued lights can be preceded by GREEN which had to be shaded in green, as indicated in the solution…
To 2258: Perimetrical jigsaw
The perimeter quotation is from L.P. Hartley’s The Go-Between, in which Leo, Marian and Ted are the main characters. First…
2257: A spree
SHAKESPEARE — indicating the action required to create 9, 11, 32, 18 plus 24, and the puzzle’s title — is the name…
To 2256: 11 x 11
The unclued lights reveal ELEVEN (five English and six Scottish) league football teams (3/38, 4/1D, 10, 14, 18, 18/28, 19,…
To 2255: In the pink
Oscar WILDE (35) described hunting as THE UNSPEAKABLE IN FULL PURSUIT OF THE UNEATABLE (1A, 14, 30, 42), and the…
To 2254: Ecofriendly
To create entries at 5, 9, 20, 29D and 41, answers to clues in italics become TREE-HUGGERS (15), embracing sallow,…
To 2253: Your starter for ten
FIRST, the ‘starter’ solution at 10 Down, can be linked with the other unclued lights, with it also appearing twice…
To 2252: Writer deploys me
The works were Striding Folly (anagram of 11/22), Whose Body? (36/1D), The Nine Tailors (2/48), Strong Poison (9/30) and Gaudy…
To 2251: Animal track
WILD HORSES, the title of a track on STICKY FINGERS (1D) by the ROLLING STONES (12), defines the other unclued…
To 2250: Knavish
The unclued lights can be preceded by JACK. First prize Margaret Lusk, Preston, Lancs Runners-up P.D.H. Riddell, London SE23;…
to 2249: Transformation
In line with 10A, other unclued lights were anagrams of US states: 17A ILLINOIS; 29A MARYLAND; 35A UTAH; 7D TEXAS;…
To 2248: In the stars
The starred words in the clues are EYE, RAIL, SAGE, SNAP, TRAP, HIDE, NUTS, GUN, EE. They combine with nine…
Crossword solution 2247: Commoners II
The unclued lights are some of the Wombles of Wimbledon COMMON, paired at 25/21, 31/16 and 35/10. First prize Belinda…