Cryptic crossword No 2,868
Wed 19 Nov 2025, set byIrusan
4
Special Instructions: This is my first attempt at a (UK) Times style cryptic. I'd appreciate any feedback you can give.
Across
- Red King uses inferior shortening of queen's first name (7)
- Starting to wildly incant charms can create singular witches (7)
- Fertilizer King had after new relations (7)
- Winds now drift, gathering wintery mass (9)
- Tankies corrupted waves of new recruits (7)
- Pastor broke with God to find escargot in France perhaps (9)
- Record on front of slate in Latin regarding Homer's E (7)
- Score after half of Cricket game (6)
- Rooting horizontals in zhe'ergen often multiply exponentially to start with (7)
- Take courage! Run into the warmth with a short measure (7)
- Musical alien for Saturn perhaps? (6)
- Calm down with simple big cat (4,5)
- Rambling back, journalist had contorted grin after dark (9)
- Brief joy after room in pub leads to hugging closely (7)
Down
- Shooter genuflects after ball from wing to box (8)
- Total increase (3)
- Tar a large African killer (6)
- Common woman took hearts from woodland bird (7)
- Smart Alec is a shrewd man (4,3)
- Indication of trouble ahead when clouds break? (8,4,3)
- Solution to sadness found when Panda enters and sits comically (15)
- Announce hidden and confidential Government knowledge (5,6)
- What shouldn't happen to the wheel in particular? (11)
- Digital identification from oddly ensuing number of reduced rings (1-7)
- A shortened hotel or a Roman canteen? (7)
- "Queen!" one exclaimed in surprise, after Prince reached nearest point (7)
- Skulls found inverted inside taverna in Arcadia (6)
- Combatant in Australian war? (3)
Irusan has provided annotated solutions for this crossword.
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