Colgan's Cryptic Crossword
Across
1. Engineer is constricted by extra expenses (8,5)
8. Agitated thief, 13, makes admission of depression (4,2,3,4)
9. Aces found in 11 (4)
10. Skited about limits of the data store (8)
12. Championship held in large enclosed area? Well, at least for a day or two
(7,6)
13. PT remains without compassion (8)
14. Stated aim of member of religion (4)
17. Manoeuvre has sailor go overboard and drift about (9,4)
18. Mauls soccer players following abuse (13)
Down
1. One encounters mostly darkness in dome-shaped structure (5)
2. How investigators of change distinguish themselves (13)
3. Hurl abuse at bird (4)
4. Swaggering over a narrow strip of land is likely to cause hurt (7,1,5)
5. Investigates if king's under threat (6,2)
6. Double vision after falling in shower (8,5)
7. Sally, entirely not with it, holds up operational processes (7)
11. Half fool around, and criticise small Australian carry-all (5-3)
12. Disagrees with sittings after work (7)
15. Tramps concerned with price rises (5)
16. Dutch town buried the hatchet (4)
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Solution
Explanations
(C = cryptic part of clue + S = straight part of clue;
or S + S = clue holding answer twice with two different straight meanings;
or POW = play on words.)
Note that joining words may or may not be an integral part of the clue.
Punctuation and capital letters are irrelevant.
The art of the setter is to make it non-obvious how and where to split the clue,
and to mislead the solver along an irrelevant path.
Across
1. C: engineer is constricted (anagram of ‘is constricted’)
S: extra expenses = indirect costs
8. C: agitated thief, 13 (anagram of ‘thief pitiless’)
S: admission of depression = life is the pits
9 C: found in 11 (ones)
S: aces = ones
10. C: skited about (anagram giving ‘disket’) limits of the (t,e)
S: data store = diskette
12. C: championship (open) in (in) large enclosed area (grounds)
S: at least for a day or two = opening rounds
13. C: PT remains (pit, I less)
S: without compassion = pitiless
14. C: stated aim (spoken ‘seek’)
S: member of religion = sikh
17. C: sailor (tar) go overboard (before ‘board’) drift about (‘stack ‘ (snow)
around the outside)
S: manoeuvre = starboard tack
18. C: soccer players (Hammers (= West Ham)) following abuse (after ‘sledge’)
S: mauls = sledgehammers
Down
1. C: one (I) mostly darkness (nearly ‘gloom’)
S: domed-shaped structure = igloo
2. POW: investigators of change differentiate (in mathematics)
& distinguish themselves (differentiate)
3. S: hurl abuse at = rail
S: bird = rail
4. C: over a narrow strip of land (above ‘a swath’) is likely to cause hurt
(‘cutting’, as a remark)
S: swaggering = cutting a swath
5. C: king’s under threat (check’s on)
S: investigates = checks on
6. C: vision (image) after falling in shower (after ‘spitting’)
S: double = spitting image
7. C: sally, entirely not with it (sally, without ‘all’) holds up (stems)
S: operational processes = systems
11. C: half fool around (half of ‘dilly-dally’) criticise (bag)
S: small Australian carry-all = dilly-bag
12. C: sittings after work (‘poses’ after ‘op’)
S: disagrees with = opposes
15. S: tramps = hikes
S: price rises = hikes
16. C: buried the hatchet (made up)
S: Dutch town = Edam