| Across 1 Its charm’s obscure to 9 6 across (9) 6 See 9 Down 10 Metal boyfriend? On the contrary, I’m holding uranium (9) 12/23 Drink, and French police turn cold on trouserless Scot and actress (7,8) 13 Love rural town dropping the limits (5) 14 Add cash to crash? (5) 15 Past like to pot and going, going? (6) 16 Constellation of the Timeless Grape? (5) 19 The Doctor’s Doctor? (4,3) 20 Teed off about 10, easing the tension (7) 22 Wet-on-wet painting defacing a rail lamp (4,5) 27 Drink tea to obtain happiness (almost) (7) 28 Pacify with fresh sausage (7) 29 A song of praise to motor lubricant? You can leave me out (5) 31 Old knight is brought back by Isis (6) 33 Cash boy with directions to follow? (5) 34 Hound game, and how it may lie (5) 37 “The best bang since the Big One” ? (3-4) 38 12/23’s character assassination of tawny foal (3,2,4) 39 Finished with girl in Ireland (7) 40 Spooner described what this insect does (9) |
Down 1 City of superheroes? (4,4) 2 Organise Oriental congress (8) 3 A 40 may imitate Ouroboros? (11) 4 Dunedin suburb reverses a McCahon statement (4) 5 Wrestler, 14-love (4) 6 Epic tale of climbing Swedish cookers (4) 7 What Bill de Blasio currently does like a fluid (5) 8 Retiring yet sociable? (8) 9/6A A 1 across 29’s producer of sour humbugs (8,7) 11 Do your duties, holding tongue (4) 16 We object after Bonnie, for example, caught without a backbone (7) 17 A 40 jumping (though not ship, presumably) (7) 18 A 40 of higher rank than the last one (7) 21 Fastener used to hold ref back from payment to switch teams (8,3) 23 See 12 Across 24 A 40 who escaped Devil’s Island (8) 25 Prince’s companion, female, a Pole, about 50 (8) 26 Being representative of French heritage (8) 30 Revelry of Oliver Gray after vacation (4) 32 I’m tuneful, they say, over cakes (5) 34 Hollow l-light raised (4) 35 Lump of earth? Not quite (4) 36 Trying to solve a problem operating computers (2,2) |
The VERVE CROSSWORD 