Special Instructions: A modern malady has entered the grid and swept through my country, how about yours? (for additional, extra-special instructions, please see the first comment below)
Across
Purposeful tpg certain to scrap clues in the end (8)
First ever males accepting help (6)
Exhausted Rothko rebuffed the German salon's initial requests (6)
Free spirits drained Limoncello and Newcastle w/ pitted olive special (4,6)
Losing cocaine in sofa, Earl and Sierra yelped interjections (6)
Defiant fire destroyed property (11)
Returned bundle of letters found in old-school Soviet city (4)
Two-piece band's opening number follows head-scratching tiki islander's intro (6)
They carry soup in Portugal's heartland with revolutionary scorn (7)
Observe and put up with Eton eccentric (4,4)
Whistleblowers take walk to find a place far, far away (5,5)
Annoy with question in conversation (4)
Dreamer in Utah quietly cycling (7)
Down
Money raised for Goldfinger's home? (4)
Books openings for vasectomy or lobotomy - undecided - maybe either’s sufficient? (7)
Caught unawares, uncovered wasp, bled and wept (6)
Competition calls for two priests wearing glasses to sit on belly of lions (10)
Losing time, wanting third revised script? (11)
Sounds like you are going through boyfriend's desk (6)
Heard Billy, the one dancing with himself, is unemployed (4)
Vintage doll regularly wakened twerp's sister (6)
Three mines blowing up break into small fragments (10)
Bypassing channel, quickly left anonymous note on detective's train (4,4)
Altogether iconic sandwiches - heavenly! (7)
Superfan, concealing a slippery character, married Superman? (8)
Rubber head cut from Lynch film (6)
tpgrammar has made 2 changes since publishing this crossword.
Such wonderful fun for a Monday morning! I love how 10a & 16d turned out! Other faves: 11a (nice hidden), 12a, 14a, 23a is gorgeous, 25a, 2d amused me greatly, 4d, 9d. Didn't see the Nina til the end but it's fun. Thanks TPG.
Hi tpgrammar - at first sight (and after listening to the first bit of the YouTube) I thought this was going to be really tough but actually turned out to very approachable despite a few nho terms. Best surfaces for me were 6a, 14a, 17d and 18d.
15 comments