THE BIG ONE
ACROSS
12 Toxic substance for destroying plants (9) 14 Diatribe (8) 15 Thought (4) 16 Long collar extension (5) 19 Give undue praise to (7) 20 Variety of Christmas cake (4,3) 21 Electrical unit (3) 22 Small active dog originally used for hunting (7) 23 Buying and selling (5) 25 Lawn’s neat border (6) 27 Digging tool (5) 29 Accompanied by (5,4) 34 Waist-length dressing gown (9) 36 Simultaneous firing of weapons, often in salute (5) 37 Pet bird’s enclosure (4) 38 Annoy, pester (6) 41 Any one of four New Testament books (6) 43 Keep to general custom (7) 45 Disconnect (4) 46 Vibrating strip in a clarinet (4) 47 Work for (wages) (4) 49 ___ of Praise, BBC religious programme (5) 51 Crack (5) 53 Defender (9) 55 Grassy border (5) 60 Sliding box in a cabinet (6) 62 Sceptical person (5) 63 Liquid in consistency (5) 65 Gabriel’s heavenly rank (9) 67 Close inspection (5-4) 69 Gesture of indifference (5) 70 Cumulus, eg (5) 72 Consider it correct (to) (3,3) 73 Surgical dressing (5) 75 Likely to catch fire (9) 77 Flash (5) 78 Cow’s bag-like organ (5) 83 Riding crop (4) 85 Unforeseen obstacle (4) 86 Toy on a string (2-2) 88 Past master (7) 90 Parrot’s croaky call (6) 92 Hushes (6) 93 Crass person (4) 94 Ghostly (5) 95 College head (9) 98 Instrument for stargazing (9) 100 Kitchen flooring (5) 102 Awkward (6) 104 Domestic building (5) 108 Nutritional food element (7) 110 Bark in a high-pitched tone (3) 111 Hand-thrown bomb (7) 113 Beer factory (7) 115 Mid-sentence punctuation mark (5) 116 Licence to enter a country (4) 117 Improving after a weak spell (8) 118 Reject (a candidate) for club membership (9)
DOWN
1 Bank of coral (4) 2 Sharp, keen (5) 3 Revered (6) 4 Hard part of a toe (4) 6 5 Happening week Eagerly (5) excited seven (4) times a 7 Acknowledgement of merit (6) 8 Delicate, fine (5) 9 Morale-boosting speech (3,4)
10 Hired car and driver (4) 11 Covert (6) 13 Intertwined (7) 17 Operator of a writing machine (6) 18 Excessive drinker (8) 24 Hair tie (6) 26 Zest (5) 28 Lavish (7) 30 Produce cloth on a loom (5) 31 Collapse to the ground (4) 32 Having a full rounded fleshy shape (5) 33 Stage of life (3) 35 Recoil of a gun (4) 37 Big edible sea fish (3) 39 Shoot or sprout of a tree (5) 40 Having tiers at different 42 Expert levels (8) golfer (3) 44 Tights fabric (5) 48 Brass instrument (4) 50 Building for a car (6) 52 Shrub bearing showy drooping flowers (7) 54 Sweeping, thorough (7) 56 Large bird of the hawk family (5) 57 Tranquillise (4) 58 Great distance (4) 59 Came to an end (6) 61 Move rapidly (5) 62 Internal conflict in a country (5,3) 64 Egg on (4) 66 Meat from the back of an animal (4) 68 Cut of beefsteak (4) 71 Holder, possessor (5) 74 Fire residue (5) 76 Slackly (7) 79 ___ de cologne, perfume (3) 80 Elephant’s tusk material (5) 81 Opposed to (4) 82 Becomes larger and puffier (6) 84 Cost (5) 85 Picked (8) 87 Scull or sweep (3) 89 Short social media message (5) 90 Large bag for potatoes (4) 91 Haul by rope (3) 95 Just right (6) 96 Adage (7) 97 Alfresco (4-3) 99 Hire (6) 101 Make known (6) 103 Misty group of stars (6) 105 Obscure or secluded road (5) 106 Blue-green gem, or woman’s name (5) 107 Aquatic bloodsucking worm (5) 109 Units of electrical resistance (4) 111 Squall (4) 112 Female relative (4) 114 Yellow of an egg (4)