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It's been a while and I've meant to set one but not got around to it. This has a theme too
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| Clue | Answer | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | More fulfilling to listen to river flow around Ascot, say. (8) | HEARTIER | HEAR [listen] R [river] around TIE [Ascot can be a tie] |
| 9 | Birds without top reasoning rue seconds (6) | EGRETS | (R)EGRET [rue] without the R [the first letter of reasoning] with S [seconds] |
| 10 | Idiot in pedalo oneself! (4) | LOON | Hidden answer [in] pedalo oneself |
| 12 | Bird takes guacamole ingredient without trouble on film (6) | AVOCET | AVOC(ADO) [guacamole ingredient] without ADO [trouble] with the classic crossword film ET |
| 14 | Some birds need these to roll in the air! (8) | AILERONS | Cryptic definition. They are the flaps on an airplane (bird) |
| 15 | Bunting is twisted right with tool by topless man (7) | ORTOLAN | Anagram [twisted] of (R [right] TOOL)* with (M)AN [topless man] |
| 17,11 | Bird all of a flutter: scoter left patchy top of duckpond (7,10) | SPOTTED FLYCATCHER | Anagram [all of a flutter] of (SCOTER LEFT PATCHY D [top of duckpond])* |
| 20 | Supports trouble one turned over in this city (8) | BRASILIA | BRAS [supports] (AIL [trouble] I [one])< all backwards [turned over] |
| 22 | Wader is dry without litre over top of wellington (6) | CURLEW | CURE [dry] around L [litre] with W [top of wellington] |
| 23 | Splitting up and feeling something (6,4) | COMING AWAY | Double definition. Second as in coming away confused. |
| 25 | German cake was heartlessly taken! (6) | STOLEN | STO(L)LEN without its middle letter [hearlessly]. The classic pun! |
| 26 | Pries around luggage finding picnic containers for horses (8) | NOSEBAGS | NOSES [pries] around BAG [luggage] |
| 1 | Turntable is elaborate in fancy car (8) | REVOLVER | EVOLVE [ELABORATE as a verb] in RR [Rolls Royce, a fancy car] |
| 2 | Leftmost elevator removed from newer building for architect (4) | WREN | Anagram [building] of NEW(E)R with E [leftmost elevator] removed. Christopher Wren is an architect but a wren is also a cute little bird. |
| 3 | Pretty young lady overheard oddball (6) | MISFIT | Miss Fit might be a pretty young lady you might hear |
| 4, 24a | Old football partner with backside is pretty bird (4,7) | GREY WAGTAIL | GREY [old] WAG [wife and girlfriend; football partner] TAIL [backside] |
| 5 | "Fear plot!" confused at the speed of computer (8) | TERAFLOP | Anagram [confused] of (FEAR PLOT)* for a unit of floating point operations per second |
| 6 | Scottish prosecutor for museum official (10) | PROCURATOR | PRO [for] CURATOR [museum official]. Scottish prosecutors are procurators fiscal |
| 7 | Scattered 25a replaced backing band with half reward. (6) | STREWN | STOLEN (from 25a) without ELO backwards [backing band replaced] with REW instead [half of reward] |
| 13 | Birds angry with Gates and Clinton? (10) | CROSSBILLS | CROSS [angry] BILLS [Bill Gates and Bill Clinton] |
| 16 | Claiming to be gal mixed up with stand up guy (8) | ALLEGING | Anagram [mixed up] of (GAL)* around LEGIN [Nigel backwards, guy standing up in this down clue] |
| 18 | Design Venn central circle late in the days (8) | EVENINGS | Anagram [circle] (ESIGN VEN)* [the central letters of design venn] |
| 19 | Air squadrons increase in size first: it's a rarity! (7) | WAXWING | WAX [increase like the moon does first] WING [a term for multiple air squadrons] for the rare (in the UK) bird |
| 21 | Roots mixed up with second houses (6) | ROOSTS | Anagram [mixed up] of (ROOTS S [second])* |
| 22 | Most simpering coyotes lost without love (6) | COYEST | Anagram [lost] of (COY(O)TES)* without O [love in tennis] |
| 24 | Shortarse turned upside down on constant way to work (4) | TUBE | BUT(T) [arse without the last letter i.e. short] backwards [upside down in this down clue] on E [mathematical constant] |