This week’s Big Crossword
ACROSS 1. Wardrobes 6. Brindled cat 10. Belated 14. Naive 18. Air traffic monitoring system 19. Rest 20. Extent 21. Retorted wittily 22. Ethical 23. Direct (to specialist) 24. Progress 25. Margins 26. Labours hard 27. Mosquito-like flies 28. Vibrated 30. … or famine 32. Most agreeable 35. Catch-up bulletins 39. Chinese calculator 42. Pester 46. Amends 48. Dependable 49. Arrive at (destination) 50. Wicked 51. Ask (question) 53. Sort 55. Sleazy gaze 57. Sports grounds 58. Tack on 60. Papeete is there 61. Individuals 63. Hole-making power tool 64. Shorted out 65. Excludes 66. Rail shunting line 70. Reduce 73. Undo (trousers) 74. Wise Men’s gift 75. Meander, … and turn 76. Drifter 77. Hopping parasite 78. Cyclone centre 79. Module 80. Biblical traitor 81. Granted 83. Occupy the throne 85. Whole amount 86. Friendless 88. Stop 91. Sooty 93. Breadth 95. Cinema gangway 97. Closed 98. Prickly desert plant 99. Weep 100. Principles 101. Lord’s wife 103. Legend 107. Playthings 109. Worship 110. Jerks 111. Dried grape 112. Czech Republic’s
capital 114. Group feeling,
… de corps 116. Guarantee 118. Provides (assistance) 121. Starter course 123. Smell awful 127. Metered-fare vehicles 129. Instruct 131. CDS, compact … 133. Punctuation mark 136. Constructor 137. Blue gem, … lazuli 138. Exterior 139. Enrich 140. Shockingly vivid 141. Re-equip with weapons 142. Call off 143. Curves upwards 144. Nuisances 145. Large villages 146. Siblings DOWN 2. Chortle 3. Soda pumps 4. Wood source 5. Jockey’s seat 6. Bring under control 7. Cropped up 8. Lingerie items 9. Hollered 10. Pinpoint 11. Cancels (TV show) 12. Residue 13. Spun thread 14. Writer, … Christie 15. Communists 16. Boniest 17. Religious offshoots 28. College 29. Highland garments 30. Completely 31. Chucks 33. Breakfast foods 34. Defer briefly 36. Knitting stitch 37. Trophies 38. Reflected sound 40. Rabbits 41. Warn 43. Terrific 44. Authoritarian rule 45. Land and housing developments 47. Significant occurrence 52. Creativity 54. Venomously 56. Prince Philip’s dukedom 58. Genuine 59. Deftness 62. Intensified (of war) 67. Eskimo dwelling 68. Public profile 69. Thickened meat juices 70. Boiling mad 71. Astounds 72. Proofreads 82. Abuses (3-4) 84. Masculine and feminine 86. Asian fruits 87. Atomic 89. Rome’s language 90. More scrumptious 92. Latin American dance 94. Buzzed monotonously 96. Surgical light-ray instrument 97. Gradients 102. Adolescents 104. Elephant’s nose 105. Ancient harp 106. Callous opportunist 108. Beginning 113. Milder 115. Medieval farm worker 117. Womb 119. Squeaks and rattles 120. Usher 122. Stopwatches 124. Loud bump 125. Colour 126. Pacific or Indian 128. Attract (penalty) 129. Notify 130. Trim 131. Filth 132. Japanese-style wrestling 134. Balls 135. Against
When you’ve solved the crossword, the letters on the shaded squares, reading left to right, top to bottom, spell a mystery word or phrase.
The mystery word or phrase: