No.83 Welcome to the monkey puzzle

Across 1/26 Obscure guilt OK about old-fashioned creation of 1 down 13 (7,5) 5 Curled lip with foreboding for Billy from 16 11-5 (7) 9 Votes from umpire before noon with attorney (9) 10 Poles hold in anger at sweet singer (5) 11 See 16 Down 12 Bigmouth returns with Saint for the purpose of a karass in 22 24 (8) 14 Odds are favouring some leaders being chumps (4) 15 In the actual state of affairs, a perch exists (2,2,2) 17 A note from Homer? (3) 19 …and not Reagan’s backing? (3) 21 African country’s King meeting predecessor of June in 1 down 13 work (6) 22/24 Beheld arc stack holding back a work of 1 down 13 (4,6) 25 Ready to use, nice to leave (4,2,2) 26 See 1 29 Atlas, for example, is a thing with a brown cover (5) 30 The right housing beneath The Times? (9) 31 One who lies about a puzzle (7) 32 Ancient Britons to the north-east reveal a substance found in 22 24 (3-4)

Down 1/13 Bob Kent, guru on TV with Jasper, limits creator of many 18 (4,8,2) 2 Given endless prison sentence, snob is to depart Earth (4-3) 3 Surge where one may find pond snail? (6) 4 Wise? Not I – I’m an eagle (4) 5 Ballad in arrangement Edward performed, possibly in a work by 1 down 13 (4-5) 6 Taps slot, perhaps? (4,4) 7 Set up ruminant eating rodent to be graded again (7) 8 Advocate of unity imprisoning sly Royalist (10) 13 See 1 16/11 Guru heals those falling into a shambles (14) 18 Compositions calling out the fixing of wrongs? (8) 20 Marsupial’s footwork above house (7) 23 Turquoise raisin, oddly, is the genitive form of a zodiacal constellation (7) 24 See 22 Across 27 I fuss briefly over mystic (4) 28 This first regret is unquestionable (4)

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82.Carthorse upset musicians

Across 1 Moderately devious about where one might search when not high, according to the 24 (6) 4 Prisoners found with 30, according to the 24 (4) 7 Courier company experienced with the other types of clues, according to the 24 (3) 10 Street housing small accompaniment to 13, according to the 24 (5) 11 Painting a venerable teacher… (3,6) 12 …she’s good in real life, sources indicate (4) 13 Serving of coffee about right with the long of something, according to the 24 (5) 14 Hole may accompany 12 down, according to the 24 (4) 17 Talk of spit, expect leaves (5) 18 Eating type of bean, mostly, with Chinese follower of I (8) 22 Saw game fanatic put 12 down sort in place of steamship (8) 23 Elgar’s variation may follow by and according to the 24 (5) 25 Cover none of outdoor pool (4) 27 Heartless Star Trek character takes me to be what goes with 6, according to the 24 (5) 29 Note – organ should be felt to accomplish things, according to the 24 (4) 32 Corresponding sting made us get larger, say (9) 33 Cry of pleasure left spinner (5) 35 Live over by boy going with the flow, according to the 24 (3) 36 Regressive as iron going with sound, according to the 24 (4) 37 At home, with predator over entrance (6)

Down 1 Somalia’s equivalent of May Day, say (3) 2 Translation of Horace, admits rising clergyman, may aim too high? (9) 3 Dead beats never, according to the 24 (4) 5 Sort found with 34, according to the 24 (5) 6 Extent of fuzzy surfaces raised (4) 7 Release unoriginal kinswoman (5) 8 Ugly houses Earl put with 1 across according to the 24 (6) 9 No, grandma holding a drone is not one of us (8) 12 Ducks in Grenada may come before proper, according to the 24 (4) 15 100 slide to a stop? (5) 16 Cheesy antonym, according to the 24 (5) 19 Seance to establish correct composition of pocketbook (8) 20 Never upset pen that sends vital information to Head? (5,4) 21 Accompaniment to tear (according to the 24) found in low Earth orbit (4) 24 Corpse in church may be an old 22 (6) 26 Bend over backwards when around Eastern Star (5) 28 Academic holds love to be a trial (5) 30 Sound like writing experts? (4) 31 Bird’s pale (4) 34 Footrot got up for the pigs (3)

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81.Excusez-moi

Across 1 Fruit of the Theatre Cat embracing Gardner (6) 4 A cut around Côte d’Ivoire church may involve hair loss (8) 9 Dawn could describe 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 27/25 down, and 12 and 21 across (6) 10 Curbing a boisterous Kiwi singer-songwriter (3,5) 12 By way of going through 9 in resort (5) 13 Tip off witches parked on top of house – they can stand the heat! (9) 15 Whip recipe up with a bone found under the 26 (7) 16 Equal to wire wrapped around speakers (7) 18 When is the letter from Greece due? (3) 19 To make a weapon useable again, remove Milligan (7) 20 Verifier, say, used for draughts (7) 21 It’s exquisite about singer getting together with revolutionary (9) 24 Trick mother with smoke in the mirror (5) 26 My aunt Dotty holding politician to be like a drum in the head (8) 28 City of London digger and repeater (6) 29 Caught out Andersen? (8) 30 Tenant reduced Cummings (6)

Down 1 Foreman losing the right to make a mistake (5) 2 Imitator’s gin mixer – assuming that’s drinks? (9) 3 I, a raconteur? Wrong, completely wrong! (2,9) 5 Behold anger on the continent (5) 6 Raised blame for equality (3) 7 Study game in Africa (5) 8 Driver with nothing to ___ __ it, so to speak? (9) 11 Peg restricting publisher to rug (6) 14 Pulp, soft food that is right for my endless pain (6-5) 15 Flirt could be stouter, perhaps? (9) 16 Hoard tons for the prestige (6) 17 Without a lot of noise, our Geoff is British first, then middle class (9) 22 Albert gave a type of shaft to us (5) 23 Partially recouped cost of vehicle (5) 25 See 27 27/25 Cherry-picking one contrivance in holey fabric (1,2,5)

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No.80 A Man’s a Man for A’ That

Across 1 Hurricanes were involved in this atmospheric struggle (6,2,7) 9 Adroitness is negligible, taking in English (7) 10 Relaxed about Channel Islands University’s metal (7) 11 Retreat from storyteller having change of heart (4) 12 See 1 Down 14 Mean to use tinned bananas (6) 15 See 27 18 Girl’s record swim to obtain pesticides (5,3) 19 Class flipping central poles for John, Lucy’s elevator (6) 21 Stone Hearts to escape holding Amazing Trio (10) 23 See 27 25 John, perhaps, and 4th century invader finding time for organised search (7) 26 Deposits everyone posh has to go through (7) 27/23/15 Second Witch’s digital intuition indicates approach of candle, perhaps (9,6,4,3,5)

Down 1/12 Burns work giving us this phrase – “animal chides me, and nest becomes ruin” (4-4,7,1,4,2,3) 2 …and another giving us this talent for self-observation – a combination of 8 and e-fit? (3,6) 3 John holds girl’s device (4) 4 Punctually describing what a book by Stephen Hawking is about? (2,4) 5 Lip of advocate caught bowler, perhaps (8) 6 Tell Chad I’m not exactly unsuitable (3-7) 7 Postulate a team with no Frenchman (5) 8 As the bell told John, we are all interdependent – demolish mansion and put after slain, roughly (2,3,2,2,6) 13 Output complete with a type of tape (3,7) 16 Member of supposed Russian minority, say, mails a woman 6 kilobytes 17 I pursue brittle, fragile songbooks (8) 20 Minor collision after son freed from prison (6) 22 Connect endless hesitation to a herbaceous plant (5) 24 Post-person raised 10 with the French (4)

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No.79 What links square, circle, black & white?

Across 1 Voilà, a lout has been captured by two supporters (11) 7/28 Spooner’s short trip and trinkets an apparent source of rabbits for 27 (3,3) 9 Sweetener as originally supplied by Gauls for a goulash (9) 10 Cards to treat alternative? (5) 11 Roman coinage for woman (5) 12 Digger getting copper over aluminium right on a small scale (9) 13 Rise of patriarch and sugar magnate (8) 15 Cloaks? Could be I guess (6) 18 Pick nibbles, say (6) 19 An arm and a leg beginning to go after quiet five-pointed star (8) 22 Three rule victory has been cut short by disease particles (9) 24 Brown drink holding constant (5) 26 One heard chant of sweetener (5) 27 Practitioners of 23 may fool deciders in case (9) 28 See 7 29 Crippled foe falling for a practitioner of 23 (11)

Down 1 Passages artist’s written up for football club (7) 2 Jessica’s other half sometimes heard without? (5) 3 Minion is said to be one of the world’s pre-eminent novelists (9) 4 They may say “welcome” a lot holding rat’s head and headless rats (8) 5 Christian concealing very loud floor (6) 6 Upper storey helping to make crystal lattice (5) 7 Stir peel with cold mash to make liqueur (6,3) 8 Airborne soldiers hold back reasonable food items (7) 14 One producing charms to soothe the savage breast to visit lion, perhaps (9) 16 Ended in the direction of murder of suitable quality (2,2,5) 17 Trust divinity to spike ascending with church (8) 18 The fact is, leaders constrained by money create fake online profiles (7) 20 Pleased about having slipped away? (7) 21 This Latin vessel causes a minor obstacle (6) 23 Computer holds soldier to be illusion (5) 25 Pressure mounted on written language (5)

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No.78 We can work it out

Across 1 Altering triangle? Could change either for a limit of sums (8) 5 Samples of pressure covers (6) 9 Whims mislead benches, say (8) 10 Seb holds wrongdoing to be A/H (6) 12 Confirmed saint’s shabby (5) 13 Nanny is unarmed, perhaps (9) 14 Chap caught between floor coverings has little energy regarding numbers (12) 18 Unkindest ghost removing last saint, which could be insensitive (5-7) 21 Note reptile with large mass making experimental model (9) 23 Horse: “I vote against!” (5) 24 Successor ‘olding 59 to be cure-all (6) 25 Ancient knowledge found in ghastly grey tome (8) 26 Case of Egyptian name attached to plug for ancient deities (6) 27 Snake carrier by the Spanish meadow found in Hades, according to the Ancient Greeks (8)

Down 1 On the off chance, some fashionable detective work? (2,4) 2 14 muscle? (6) 3 Vert I go? – No, I’m just pretending to (9) 4 Six-footer on hindrance of vocal playwright (5,7) 6 River, or the oddly lacking one? (5) 7 Sacha Baron Cohen character getting egg for a sly ruler (8) 8 Romantic idyls, during which drink in an unfaltering manner (8) 11 Supermen brim with tears – they’re indivisible (5,7) 15 Dryad, very small, keeping right speed (4,5) 16 Rush seal to garden, almost (8) 17 14 social event? (8) 19 Was appropriate, like some sheets (6) 20 Those people are going to tango before a year in Hell (6) 22 Board may supply attendees with spirits (5)

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No.77 Now in glorious black and white!

Across 1 Book and film vanished, and article? Make the clock go! (4,4,3,4) 8 Chewing over teetotal magicians (11) 10 Russian flower held back by Danny La Rue (4) 11 Snap back: “without a raised edge?” (4) 12 Oblique type of thing one strokes with the tongue, say (7) 14 I smoke bomb a Northerner (6) 15 Listen to direction in which to make last journey (6) 16 Where you could watch “Treasure Island”, perhaps? (3,6,6) 17 Fruit lose nothing to mountains (6) 19 Hence musical instrument dissolved matter (6) 20 Heroic about agreement to not return home (4,3) 21 Possesses old-fashioned headgear to hide head (4) 23 Discovered naked rake in… (4) 24 … rut – question usage of compression bandages (11) 25 Stars taking turns to shine – point to film extract, chant throwaway lines? (9,6)

Down 1 Clues go cryptic with short abrupt take on origin of Dick Whittington (15) 2 Dead rising, and others (2,2) 3 Completely where Dorothy’s lunch was? (2,4) 4 Mark’s character is Spooner’s volatile Chuck, dear, no? (11,4) 5 Film director taking English describes a sophisticated device (2-4) 6 Tiddly follower makes a subtle allusion (4) 7 Wilder work in mind, yet change ringer going west (6,9) 8 Vietnamese flower forms necks to hook, say, the King of Comedy (4,7) 9 Film maker clue: “eggs, or a soup?” (6,5) 12 Drinks tipple in raised house with one shared wall (7) 13 Bird to speak admiringly in capital (3,4) 18 Rears bird aboard ship (6) 19 Assistant editor raising Scots brew for residential area (6) 22 Leading history of people in Native American tribe (4) 23 School characters in “A Slip of the Tongue” (4)

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No.76 It’s all humbug, you know

Across 1 The boxes hearts arrived, with a little one, back in – a structure of nickel, ivory, brass and quartz (3,4,7) 9 Romantic play in which one fails to score (4,5) 10 West playing this card game (5) 11 Sulk about help being slackened (4,3) 12 Prepares to transport carpet as baked goods more expensive (5,2) 13 Father gives a talk? (3) 15 Goldenhorse brought back a type of medieval polyphony (6) 18 Diffuse, large rodent with university dropout (6) 19 Possessor of a 1 across employing H-word (2,3) 20 Note found in a pit reflected puzzle (6) 22 Lack of love for thorium? (6) 24 Barn dance without a combination of blues and jazz (1,1,1) 26 See a graduate play tennis? (7) 27 Previously Billy’s girl exchanging last two letters about love (2,2,3) 29 Dance away the sunburn? (5) 30 One garrison a French king took back with greater reason (1,8) 31 Bill’s fish follows stray monarch, leading to unease (7,7)

Down 1 Has hotel photo been developed to show Bill and 13’s version of 1 across? (9,5) 2 “Postperson” appearing in 1 across left out in Nevada (or vice versa) for a brief stanza (5) 3 A blazing row not disclosing state of painful toenail (7) 4 Brown builder of a type of 1 across’s aunt encountered the Head (6) 5 Ridiculous sailor getting a root (6) 6 1 across creator’s audible sources of mercury (1,1,5) 7 Physicist raising hotplate in Armstrong’s cooker, finally (5,4) 8 Half-heartedly dancing around two birds, he declared 1 across impossible (7,7) 14 Hubble plied with alcohol, ends up… (5) 16 …finding mysterious sigils and musical slides (9) 17 Countess of Lovelace is rising prosecutor, note (3) 18 Beheaded saintly being appearing in 19 (3) 21 “Postperson” appearing in 1 across with upstanding memory and a small amount of hair (7) 23 Make sir, for example, a thing – why not, you ask with loose lips? (7) 24 “Get Back”, say, in the downpour (6) 25 Greeting in nude resulting in bribe (3,3) 28 Fleming, say, taking a short time to get up for Campbell, say (5)

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No.75 Spooner’s spotter of sin

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Across 8 Bore gate-crashing to attract bird (8) 9 He had a plum job once (6) 10/2 Faithful, but real sad (4,4) 11 Carmen reportedly to display pelts? (10) 12 See 3 Down 14 Point to knack you French disregarded when water moves least (4,4) 15 Crack-head metal-head removed – a headcase! (7) 17 PC may be on it, or vice versa (7) 20 Shell content, say, to refine the wig (3,5) 22/22D Adopters of my frailest parts (6,6) 23 Nice in the drink by Roger’s Retreat, where knots are produced (6,4) 24/24D Casts off TVs and becomes ill with foot raised (4,4) 25 Ribs: part of the face? (6) 26 They say the pit’s very dark in Finland (8)

Down 1 I’m told God is close – could it be more difficult? (8) 2 See 10 Across 3/12 Fibres clumsiest use to move around (6,6) 4 Britain, stereotypical British weather, and European winner of Eurovision (7) 5 Two “Lord of the Rings” characters in the South East? That’s them, all right! (8) 6 Embarks upon last rites? (10) 7 Sacred rattle’s rattled (6) 13 Airman or woman is Spooner’s spotter of sin (10) 16 Motorcycles rev in unison, holding everything up (8) 18 Pass is visible (take tip-off) (8) 19 African kingdom gets less of the endless love (7) 21 Note with greeting for spiritual leader (6) 22 See 22 Across 24 See 24 Across

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No.74 Heavenly bodies

Across 7 Short sort of diagram you and I added to home of women, supposedly (5) 8 Slave leader’s role: account for America? (9) 10 Oddly sick, turn blue? Change data view (6,4) 11 Appropriate an outfit (4) 12 Writers holding agent with last bit of malice aforethought (8) 14 1, for example, is hot stuff (6) 16 Power lunch leads to a 17 9 (5) 17 Defence force initially holds war to be small (5) 22 Verily, a 17 9 is without time (6) 24 Is object to fail at first after a measure of acidity, thereby gaining information furtively? (8) 25 28 after I replaced a bustle (4) 27 28’s intro ruined by part-time conductor (10) 29 Made wordplay about king – beheaded for being ignorant (9) 30 Lead added for safety of our 9 (5)

Down 1 Curious leaders imprisoned by jovial 9 (7) 2 Australia taking on leaders of American transport (4) 3 Don a ladle? (7) 4 You ran using extract from a 9 (6) 5 Men are almost second at their home, supposedly (4) 6 Deity of tree gets hell after dropping a wee dram (7) 9 A world of exercise engulfs Lois (6) 13 Type of light, see, in the stone? (5) 15 The direction to come from Hackthorn? (5) 18 Males in Wyoming have a fanciful idea (6) 19 Cage’s elevated music for a deity (7) 20 Dictator of 28’s intro – one taking a sly glance, say (7) 21 Travelling unto ‘ere? (2,5) 23 Placed container by deity (6) 26 Brook no leader’s smack (4) 28 Virtuoso s-sailor (4)

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