THE GIANT CROSSWORD
CHOOSE CRYPTIC OR QUICK, THE ANSWERS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME, THE SOLUTION WILL APPEAR IN MONDAY’S PAPER.
CRYPTIC CLUES
ACROSS
12 Deal with nursery problems early? (3,2,3,3) 13 Quickly grasp, from the excerpt (6) 14 Start on about the equipment I installed (6) 16 Happy? Good boy! (4) 17 Is no longer given credit when it runs smoothly (5,4) 18 Spies. Roughly some fifty imprisoned (5) 19 Lights reveal creatures in the water (4) 20 Widens winding streets encircling the church (9) 22 By back door, note litter (5) 23 Scowl child who’s been playing in mud gets (5,4) 27 Guarantee strife and bombastic talk (7) 30 Crouches and, turning, sees the ring inside (6) 31 Capture a man — Paddy (4) 32 Nonsense about a Sunday joint (5) 35 Change a pound, which makes sense (4) 36 At one point theirs moves — wriggles (7) 38 Talk surrounding North American (4) 39 In short, by hiding dismantled rifle inside (7) 42 Near the river it’s more humid (6) 45 Hears one covered for a crime (5) 46 Trying to get a peek at a card in your hand? (7) 47 Marine, large, creature (4) 48 Eve’s late: she’s very early (4) 50 Page from U.S. list of hotel jobs (7) 52 See it has to be strapped on (5) 54 Mean by ‘home’, back to the East (6) 56 He comes in later, to pound beat (7) 57 Put in hot sun, one’s indication of disapproval (4) 59 Don’t disturb the ram inside, quiescent (7) 61 A very bad substitute (4) 64 Blog rattling the Eastern world (5) 66 Get up and go, given marching orders (4) 67 At church, is embracing me when the bell rings (6) 69 Saw the two pupils entering and ran over (7) 72 Obscure? That would be without precedent (7-2) 73 Run down, or hit (5) 74 Hand over the wines. They ask to see them at the border (9) 79 Try to identify the river (4) 81 About to get trendy, because of (2,3) 82 What cannibal made of the German? (9) 83 Change the heading, though it’s a performance (4) 85 Silver in the mud? It’s an optical illusion (6) 86 In the arena, is not out for the count (6) 87 Was his progenitor a lion in Fleet Street? (3,8)
DOWN
1 Has agreed to hand down (4) 2 Question is how to separate the wheat from the chaff (6) 3 Crackling sound not heard on mobile? (6) 4 React strangely when he is brought in as instructor (7) 5 Split when there’s a volley of fire (5) 6 How something that went over really big appealed? (10) 7 Mark ‘Collector’s Item’ (5) 8 How long a library book lasts? (5,4) 9 Russian firm’s been given the boot (7) 10 Said it’s a drop in rank (4) 11 Children would be complained about in bars (4,4) 15 Drove mad with love? You exaggerate! (6) 21 Two names for back-up in traffic (5) 24 Feminine equivalent of ‘Leo’ (7) 25 Is irritated by it: game left unfinished (6) 26 Not much money but it makes a difference (6) 28 Motor catalogues (5) 29 Was first up today (3) 33 Lastly, the F in ‘friend’ (7) 34 Female stiff with cold (6) 37 Small boy with ginger hair (5) 40 Was supported by, at an unprofitable time (5) 41 CEO of an important company. He’s vain (7) 43 Contract from which many obtain comfort (5) 44 Teased, took the bone to sleeping place (6) 46 Hence, the day after, did some gardening (5) 49 Pre-eminent but powerless (7) 51 Clever book title (6) 53 Creature that can take off — and land (6) 55 Put in envelope, folded. That’s original (5) 58 Not a new means of indicating the passing of time (6-4) 60 End up in a hole (3) 62 Do get the child to have some food (5) 63 Having an off day — a day off from school? (3,2,4) 65 Are in no hurry, I note, to put on underwear (8) 68 Awfully nice order put through that will make money (6) 70 Dared to play about in, having run off (7) 71 The note annoys, creating hazards (7) 75 Food left uneaten doesn’t keep (6) 76 Creatures brought back to join the rest, having strayed (6) 77 Shop for the skirt material (5) 78 Erect, to accommodate (3,2) 80 Funny-looking creature, a little duck, inside (4) 84 Grass that upsets herbivores (4)