Special Instructions: Populating the grid will reveal a bonus ball which might be clued, "French man twice hands in basic cheese omelette – funny, they often go wrong" (3,4,4,7,1,4,2,3)
Across
Boy claims introduction of legal limit on age can be relaxed (7)
Record breaking chefs avoid stuffing mushrooms (4)
Tiger for instance trapped by Pakistani males (6)
Eastern European man is upset by Georgia joining “no sex from the back” direction (10)
Star worked without end after entry to elite (6)
Abusive phrase comes back very loudly from football spectator (4,3)
Print of Tony Meo going nuts, having secured championship at last (8)
Prime bits of Dalek seen on Area 51 compound (6)
Legal principle set out by revolutionary pope, Leo the First (8)
Orange-y colour is Trump’s readiest identifiable characteristic at first glance (6)
Husband and general flipping bounder! (4)
Originally train operator’s regular tickets included two-pound adult flat fare (8)
Simpleton student omitted to cook peppers (8)
New settlers discovered a small bit of honeycomb and hives (6,4)
Down
Note contained wisdom, possibly broken down into smaller pieces (7)
Elite club accepts Labour- and Liberals' leaders? No, I got that wrong! (4,1,3)
For instance, Jonathan Thomas turned out short programmes (7)
Go too far in French train, catching first glimpse of Rhine (8)
Asian gentleman recalled “If” by Kipling's contents, surprisingly, with love (8)
Greeting old Communist dictator very strongly, make an immediate alliance (3,2,3)
Drumming in time with finale of “Africa” (Toto’s hit) (6)
In Scotland, a lot of dirt is seen on cut field (6)
Prayer that is chanted in two notes ascending (5,3)
Sentence for a serious criminal in the future? (4,4)
In 2000, leaderless Irish county embraced a form of Communism (6)
Down about personnel issues? See a psychiatrist! (6)
Useless piece of shite, so it obviously gets sent back! (6)
You promised more and you definitely delivered! Hilarious (and clever) strap line, and a great crossword with good mix of devices and creative surfaces. Faves included 12a, 13a(this trick always gets me!), 1d, 2d, 6d, 15d, 19d, and 23d(2nd time this week! Check out Drumcraft 10a). For desserts…
Thanks Podger. A shot in the dark, I filled in the 'bonus ball' from the definition and its enumeration which helped enormously. I was only held up by 4d despite the NHO 25a and vaguely familiar 24d but a few resisted my lazy attempts to parse satisfactorily. Favourites are 27a, 9a, 2d, 5d, 23d. Off to look at annotations and Fez's spoilers.
A fun workout! I always enjoy your left field definitions and clever surfaces. Especially liked 11a,12a,25a,1d,5d,16d,23d, although this list omits many bangers!
15 comments