SP – 007

Special Puzzle – 007

Birthday Bash by Windsurfer

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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

Anniversary Crossword by Prolixic is available as NTSPP – 468.

A review by crypticsue

Windsurfer provided a crossword with a message relating to the special day that even I spotted! If you haven’t seen it yet, rows 6, 8 and 10 of the grid spell it out

Across

1 Workers’ collective is at last affable (5)
SWARM The last letter of is and a synonym for affable

4 Wet exploits theatre work (7)
MILKSOP Another way of saying exploits and an abbreviated ‘work’ in a hospital theatre

9 One doctor limits biopsies – they are not practicable (15)
IMPOSSIBILITIES I (one) followed by an anagram (doctor) of LIMITS BIOPSIES

10 Make nervous and get done up unfortunately (3,2,4)
PUT ON EDGE An anagram (unfortunately) of GET DONE UP

11 Passage leads to airy interior supporting lovely environment (5)
AISLE The ‘leads’ to Airy Interior Supporting Lovely Environment

13 Dutch pines found in deserts (7)
DITCHES The abbreviation for Dutch and a synonym for pines in the sense of longs for

14 Rogue offered goods (3,3)
BAD EGG A fairly archaic way of saying offered and two lots of the abbreviation for Good (goods plural)

17 Call that person who’s on the phone (3-3)
YOO-HOO Homophones (on the phone) of ‘that person’ and ‘who’

18 One issuing note, received by character needing no introduction (7)
EMITTER A musical note inserted into a character without its first letter (needing no introduction)

20 Bent bit (5)
TASTE Double definition

21 Bearing second opinions (9)
ATTITUDES A bearing and the abbreviation for second

22 The entire crew of novel about … (4,9,2)
WITH REFERENCE TO An anagram (novel) of THE ENTIRE CREW OF

25 … gypsy I excluded from delightful affair (7)
ROMANCE A gypsy with I removed (excluded) from a synonym for delightful

26 Eastern banks’ appeal to follow (5)
ENSUE The ‘banks’ or outside letters of EasterN followed by a verb meaning to appeal

Down

1 Rolled on and passed quickly over border (7,2)
SLIPPED BY Another way of saying passed quickly put over a border or edge

2 No disrespect in the morning debates leading to separations (11)
AMPUTATIONS The abbreviated way of referring to a time in the morning followed by some debates from which the letters DIS have been removed (no disrespect)

3 Male guy perhaps embracing fallen saint, hard to be a cynic (11)
MISANTHROPE The abbreviation for Male, a guy (not a man!) ’embracing’ an anagram (fallen) of SAINT and the abbreviation for Hard

4 First Lady (6)
MAIDEN A double definition – I did spend a while trying to fit Eve in somewhere before the penny dropped

5 Raleigh essentially making money (3)
LEI The essential letters of raLEIgh give us the plural of the currency used in Romania

6/24 Special one in Paris drinks aperitif – it’s slid down rapidly (3 3)
SKI RUN The abbreviation for special and the French word for one (as used in Paris) ‘drinks’ an aperitif made from cassis and white wine

7 Fix piano for beginner in 20a (5)
PASTE Take your solution for 20a and change the first letter (beginner) to a P (piano)

8 Send criminal clothes pins to be most obliging (7)
KINDEST An anagram (criminal) of SEND inserted into (pins) clothes and personal effects

11 A little bit before island viewpoint is far away (2,1,8)
AT A DISTANCE A (from the clue), little bit (3), an abbreviation for island and a viewpoint

12 Society robe that old PM might have worn as drag? (6,5)
SHEATH DRESS Insert the surname of an old Prime Minister between the abbreviation for Society and another word for robe

15 One that circulates a lot copes with orgy easily (9)
GYROSCOPE An anagram (easily) of COPES with ORGY

16 ` Fires executives at first, those who dislike sandwiches (7)
HEATERS The first letter of Executives sandwiched by those who dislikes

19 Frustrate lottery with introduction of bug for computer’s terminal (6)
BAFFLE Take a word meaning lottery and replace the ‘introduction’ of Bug for the letter that is the terminal or end of computer

20 Drag queen might be superior (5)
TOWER A synonym for drag goes over the regnal cipher of our current Queen

23 Mother half upset cat (3)
TOM A reversal (upset) of the first half of MOTher

24 See 6

 

This are just a few of the members of my creche (people who send me crosswords to test solve), Windsurfer being one of them. The group was originally called the creche as when I first started test solving, I was old enough to be the mum or possibly granny of some of them!

Radler, Windsufer, Vigo, Me, Kelotoph, Dill (who came all the way from France specially for the bash), Silvanus and Prolixic

Encota and Gazza missed the original call for a creche photo so here they are now:

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