Independent on Sunday 1,240 – Commoner

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I mentioned a few months ago that I was very impressed by Commoner’s style, and this puzzle hasn’t done anything to make me change that view! Excellent clueing again throughout with some nice, neat double definitions and anagrams. Extra points too for taking the road less travelled with the definition for 21A.

Across
1 ACROSS – A CROSS
5 LADYBIRD – LAD + Y[-o]B + 1 + R(oa)D
9 IMPENDING – IMPE[-n]DING
10 NUTMEG – GEM + TUN rev.
11 GRASS SNAKE – (Gunther) GRASS + NAKE[-d] around S(quare)
12 HYPE – Hidden in tetcHY PErson
14 MIXED BLESSING – (GLIBNESS)*
17 SIDE-SPLITTING – PLI[-ers] in (DENTIST IS)* + [-arousin]G
19 IDEA – AIDE with A moved to back
21 OVER THE TOP – OVERT + HE + T[-rain] O[-ld] P[-ugilists]
23 OPIATE OP + I + ATE
25 OPERA HAT – Cryptic def.
26 PLANKTON – P (quiet) + LANK (gaunt) + NOT rev.
27 PEYOTE – O (round) in (TYPE)* + E (drug)
Down
2 COMPROMISED – COM[-edy] + PROMISED
3 OVERSEXED – VERSE in O (hug) + X (kiss) + ED
4 SUITS – Double def.
5 LUGSAIL – LUGS AIL
6 DINNER SET – DIN + (ERNEST)*
7 BATCH – C(ollege) in BATH
8 RYE – “wry”
13 PIG IGNORANT – (ANTI-GROPING)*
15 DISHONEST – (HEDONISTS)*
16 ITINERARY – 1 + TIN (can) + A in ERR + [-entirel]Y+
18 LIE DOWN – (WILD ONE)*
20 AGAIN – A(cting) + I in NAG rev.
24 PAL – ALP with foot going to the top!

5 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1,240 – Commoner”

  1. An enjoyable Sunday morning solve. It took me a few minutes to get on Commoner’s wavelength but once I did I raced through the rest of the puzzle until I got to the clue for IMPEDING, my LOI, and for some reason it took me quite a while to see it.

  2. Thanks for the blog Ali, but you’ve missed out 22d – TIE UP, perhaps deliberately, since IMHO, this is a bit of an ugly clue in an otherwise elegant puzzle – I had it as a dd: STALL as both noun and verb.

  3. A nice and tidy crossword by Commoner.

    I liked 1 across very much with “This is one [across, indeed]!” as the definition.
    I do not understand O = hug in 3d but that is perhaps due to me generally being a non-tweeter and/or non-texter …. ?

    Thanks, Ali & Commoner.

  4. Yes, a nice tidy crossword. I liked the misdirection in 21ac which had me looking for something with a U in it.

    Sil @3 – According to the Urban Dictionary O for a hug refers to the arms encircling the person hugged.

    Thanks, Commoner and Ali.

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