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20d: Three letter synonym for finished off/digested containing three letter synonym for butt/keg/barrel.

Thanks mathi

Thank you to all who have contributed to the parsing for me, and for filling in my last one (25). If it was just me who did about half of this puzzle by definitions and crossers, I'd think it was just me getting old. But I notice that others too have got answers but have not been able to reverse engineer them to fit the clue. Is such obscure wordplay a mark of a good difficult cryptic puzzle or of a setter losing touch with the solver?

Hi David, ha! I feel your pain. Paul sets for several papers including the Independent as Punk (I think) and also does many of the Guardian quick crosswords. I expect he knows his audience, but the Prize crossword is sure to be the place find the obscure wordplay you talk of!

Oh, I was near Tannersville for a wedding last year! What a beautiful part of the world.

Glad to hear things are going relatively ok for you.

Quote:
> then the rest has tio mean "venus"

Look up a two word phrase with Venus and "the rest" as you put it.

Hi everyone

As usual I'm finding it hard, though I've done about half. I got 17ac, but couldn't parse it for ages, then the penny dropped. Please can I have a hint with 8d Spun thing, as gripped by mercurial spinners,say? (7,6)
I only have ???H??? T?????

You may be amused that I thought the answer to 1ac was planet at first, even though I realised that would be too simple.

I can't get the second word in 4ac; at least not one that I can parse.

Where is Jupiter?

I tried PLANET at 1a too, roof.

8 is an anagram of "thing as" inside a word for "mercurial". I had it in for some time before parsing it!

Second word in 4 just means "ahead" or "winning".

Jupiter is at 11a.

Hi Chris

I was just getting the washing in when I remembered it by jove.

Back in the warm to do some more.

It's no good, I still have five to do in top left. Despite your hints for 1ac and 2d, I'm not sure about them. I may have the wrong word for 2d for which I have the final I. 3d completely eludes me. For 13ac Abstract making leverage to impress European Commission leaders. I have ???C???N?. It doesn't help that I've failed to parse 10ac, so I'm not sure of my answer.

Hints please