Doc writes: welcome to Smurf as our third new compiler joining our team. One unclued light, the heart of which is of essence, is linked with eight other unclued lights, verifiable in Brewer. Two further unclued lights are appositely characteristic. One other light is abbreviated. Ignore an apostrophe. Across 4 No can do?
The unclued lights (one of two words) share a feature, different in each case, and one is a past participle. One of the clued solutions shares this feature but is not as long and should be highlighted. One other solution is an acronym. Across 5 Army doctor’s business supported by wife’s capital (6) 10
The second and fourth letters of six unclued lights (defined by surplus single words in six clues) form a set whose name is cryptically suggested by the remaining pair. Across 1 Acknowledged 500 vatu due (6) 5 Raptors seek rats chandler set free (8) 10 Seabird collecting books about one UK fleet? No way!
Eight unclued entries are of a kind. A 9-letter word for their position must be highlighted in the grid. Across 1 Am being harassed by society celebs (8, two words) 5 Idiots half-heartedly following British and Russian decrees (6) 9 Surer 4, strangely unsure (10) 14 Fitting carpet, ignoring odd bits (3) 16 Nobody
The unclued lights are of a kind and all have to be ignored in the completed grid. Across 1 Fortune-teller worried small company chairmen. Right! (11) 7 Party goer often over the clutch (3) 11 Spike, I look anaemic! (6) 13 Prize stone cut with edge of blade (7) 15 Become liable to back
All unclued entries are, unusually, not all unclued; all are different and there are no proper nouns. A repeated cryptic clue fixes not only once such entry, but also the central 2×2 block and, as a result, another such entry. Ignore one accent. Doc writes: we welcome Cheese-Cracker to the compiling team. Across 1
Eight unclued entries (two of two words, one hyphened) form a folk rhyme used as the basis for the first lines of a work whose title is the other unclued entry (hyphened). Its author (5 cells) must be highlighted. Elsewhere, ignore two or three apostrophes and an accent. Across 1 Needing complex course, my
The unclued lights (five of two words, two pairs and a singleton) are of a kind, verifiable in Brewer. Across 11 Ore obtained by worker underground, a trainee (7) 12 DJ due to broadcast around ten (6) 16 Bound by discretion, one is silent (5) 19 Quandary of back-cover girl (7) 21 Bridge
We recently lost a fine 13, whose legacy includes 10 (two words) and 9 (two words), and four other unclued lights (including one of two words and a pair). A further two unclued lights combine with a clued one to give an anagram of the 13’s name (two words); the clued light must be shaded.
Unclued lights are a set of literary 40s. Their creator is hidden in the grid and should be shaded. Elsewhere, ignore one accent. Across 1 How ducks eat, billions in valley (6) 7 In college, record time to take degree (6) 11 Garden visitor, immature female, tiny size (10) 13 Cleave small, timid mammal
The seven clues below have to be interpreted cryptically and are then entered in the grid where they will fit. (In 10 Down, alphabetical order takes precedence in one unchecked letter.) AL (12, two words) EARTH (10) IF (7) L (9, three words) RI (11, three words) STEW (8, two words) WAND (5, two words)
The first three or four letters of eight unclued lights (including one proper name) form a set said to be safe for 1A. Elsewhere, ignore an accent. Across 10 Sauce that will do OK for Frankfurters (4) 12 Sea-fishers lent warmer pants (10) 14 Upset goddess upset menial (3) 15 Departed by rail, oddball with
1D (two words) 15 10 26 né 21 died on 2 February. Most famous for 7A 37 and 14, he was also in 1A (two words)’s 24. Doc writes: This year some new compilers are joining the team. Today we welcome La Jerezana. We hope that solvers will enjoy the challenges which our new
The unclued lights, two of two words and the remainder when paired, are of a kind. Across 1 No fellow for mixing! (8, two words) 8 Over the channel I have left the Bastille, say (4) 12 Garbage has been the empties (5) 14 Seals cases (7) 16 Care costing less than a shilling (4)
According to Brewer, a five-word phrase was used to describe a creature, but applies also to a three-word fictional character. The unclued entries, one doing double duty, comprise the phrase, the creature, his victim, the character, and the author’s surnames. Across 1 ‘Poacher’s instruments’ mean whisky (8, hyphened) 6 A jockey’s is shorter than
Unclued lights, all confirmed in Chambers or Collins, are three sets of four words of a kind, each set relating differently to a theme word which must be shaded in the completed grid. Across 11 Religious devotee keeping a church in shade (6) 12 Sloth in tangles in New Zealand trees (6) 13 Country
The unclued lights can be paired in some way or other. One is of two words. Across 1 Distrain a dog brutally leading to loss of status (12) 10 Deep blue of Mediterranean ‘îles’ (4) 14 When this fish turns, it’s not fit for eating (3) 17 Pays attention to journalist when he’s around
Unclued lights (six of two words, one of three), correctly linked, make ten members of a seasonal set, one light doing multiple duty. Ignore one hyphen and two apostrophes. Nineteen across clues contain a superfluous word; initial letters of these words in clue order form the full name of the creator. The name of the
‘12/15’ (six words in total) is a quotation (in ODQ) suggested by the remaining unclued lights (two hyphened), whose fifth and sixth letters might give A NUN AMBROSIA. The surname of the quotation’s author will appear diagonally in the completed grid and must be shaded. Across 1 Scots bike across district in region round
Two unclued lights give the name of a location and another a means of arrival and -departure. Other unclued lights give the names of the party arriving, including one who joins them at the location, and none who leave them there. The three instances of a certain letter appearing in the grid must be written
