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My third crossword has a theme!
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Theme: It's a crossword about Reading, Berkshire, UK including READING, ABBEY, HUNTLEY AND PALMERS, SIMONDS, GAOL, HENRY I and SUTTON SEEDS.
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| Clue | Answer | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boy takes to heart a noise shown on instrument (7) | READING | REG [boy] with A DIN [a noise] inside it for something shown on an instrument. Also the town in Berkshire that is the theme of this puzzle |
| 5 | Blackfly and greenfly, say, put skin inside caps with no head (7) | APHIDES | HIDE [skin] inside cAPS [caps without its first letter] |
| 9 | After dark get beat here? (9) | NIGHTCLUB | NIGHT [after dark] CLUB [beat] and an &lit definition |
| 10 | Console about obese organs (5) | NOSES | NES [Nintendo Entertainment System] around OS [outsize; obese] |
| 11 | Oils mixed in grain store (4) | SILO | (OILS)* An anagram of OILS [mixed] |
| 12 | Rating left inside on bike fit for another purpose (10) | RECYCLABLE | RE [on] CYCLE [bike] with AB [able seaman; rating] L [left] inside it |
| 14 | Tuts about side of borough in London (6) | SUTTON | (TUTS)* An anagram [about] of TUTS with ON [side; a cricket thing - don't ask me] |
| 15 | Note catch following clear, coy bird on 22 (6) | CYGNET | G [a note] NET [catch] all following CY [CoY cleared of its middle letter]. There are lots of swans and cygnets on the ISIS (22) or Thames. |
| 16 | Quietly expert runs empty old trains (6) | PACERS | P [quietly] ACE [expert] RS [RunS emptied]. Pacer trains |
| 18 | He built province around railway and was buried in 1a, 5d (5,1) | HENRY I | HE NI [province] around RY [railway]. Henry I gave lots of money to Reading Abbey and was buried there. |
| 20 | Actress confuses canal borough (10) | LANCASHIRE | (CANAL)* An anagram of canal [confuses] with SHIRE [borough]. The most excellent Sarah Lancashire |
| 22 | Flower repeatedly exists (4) | ISIS | IS [exists] repeated. Not a flower (daisy) a flower (river)! The Thames that passes through Reading is known as the ISIS further upstream. |
| 25 | Mushroom back in eastern surrounding: “Adequate” (5) | ENOKI | IN E [Eastern] all back for ENI surrounding OK [adequate] |
| 26 | National dish I eat outside dwindles (9) | TAIWANESE | (I EAT)* An anagram of I eat around WANES [dwindles] |
| 27 | This man clears drays at old brewery in 1a (7) | SIMONDS | SIMON [this man; your setter is called Simon] DS [clears DrayS] for Simonds Brewery |
| 28 | Operating system causes problem with air loss (7) | SOLARIS | (AIR LOSS)* An anagram [causes problem] of air loss for an old operating system |
| 1 | Scrapes top away leaving hard edges (5) | RINDS | gRINDS [first letter off grinds for rinds] |
| 2 | Is poet divine being or French? (7) | ANGELOU | ANGEL [divine being] OU [or in French] |
| 3 | Kinky? Not I! Just interested in it (4) | INTO | (NOT I)* An anagram [kinky] of Not I! |
| 4 | No Spanish article on delay bringing up old boat (7) | GALLEON | NO EL [spanish article] LAG all backwars [up] |
| 5 | Babe confused by unknown place of worship (5) | ABBEY | (BABE)* An anagram of Babe by Y [unknown variable in maths]. Reading abbey fits the theme and is mentioned in 18. |
| 6, 16 | Let man handle syrup to become biscuit producer (7,3,7) | HUNTLEY AND PALMERS | (LET MAN HANDLE SYRUP)* An anagram [to become] of let man handle syrup for Reading's most famous biscuit maker |
| 7 | Cacophony about getting bust out! It’s a trashy place (7) | DUSTBIN | DIN [cacophony] around (BUST)* An anagram of bust. |
| 8 | Good person taking in American muscle is wanted man (7) | SUSPECT | ST [saint; good person] around AM [american] PEC [muscle] |
| 13 | A-list tax for icon not caught in hunger (10) | STARVATION | STAR VAT [a-list tax] ION [IcON without C caught] |
| 17 | Comply with petition after tied council up (7) | CONFORM | FORM [petition] after NOC [no overall control - often found in UK council elections for a tie] |
| 18 | A shiner turns into protrusions (7) | HERNIAS | (A SHINER))* An anagram [turns] of a shiner. |
| 19 | Best thing to say for an easy life? (3,4) | YES DEAR | (not very) Cryptic definition |
| 21 | African group shelter American (5) | HUTUS | HUT [shelter] US [American] |
| 23 | 14 sold, 500 to go in supermarket “eggcellent” Easter sale initially (5) | SEEDS | D [500 in roman numerals] to go inside Supermarket Eggcellent Easter Sale [initially]. The seeds of Sutton's seeds another old Reading business. |
| 24 | Unlikely to find Oscar in young woman here in 1a? (4) | GAOL | GAL [young woman] with O [Oscar] and an &lit-tish allusion to Oscar Wilde's time in Reading Gaol. |