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yes, that parses better. I had the first letter as t. But why on the contrary?

The only thing I can think of is that, because the A goes inside 3 letter "floor", it's the opposite of/"on the contrary" where single letter "across" is 'followed' by 3 letter "floor"

I truly don't think this parsing is correct so hopefully someone will be able t give a more accurate one.

I believe I have the right answer which is "xxxx " of sweat. My parsing is A inside three letter word for floor. However, "On the contrary" seems completely redundant to the clue.

Hi Lucertola,

It looks like we have the same answer - and same problem with the parsing 🤔

I read ‘on the contrary’ to mean ‘floor’ goes across the essentially bit, not the other way round as stated.
I haven’t finished so I’ll be back...

Rather good I thought. Got off to a flying start mainly due to the anagrams, but a trickier finish. I wasn’t familiar with the shorter form of 3d and Chambers has both forms hyphenated, but the wordplay is clear. Couldn’t understand 18a until I realised I had the wrong definition which resulted in the wrong last letter, I suspect that might be a common mistake. Favourite 9a.

It’s heartening (if you can call it that) to see everyone wrestling with the same short clues which are eluding me. 13ac looks hopefully settled now, thanks to the insights here, but if anyone can shed any light on the parsing of 18ac and 22d, that would be great.

18ac I have a straightforward enough synonym for “rip” but I can’t work out where “short hem to denim outfit” comes into it, which makes me think I may have the wrong answer.

22d “drink and drugs” I have a synonym for “drink” as a verb but the “drugs” would then be a common crosswording letter for drugs with a three letter word in front of it, which if my answer is right would suggest a clue of “drink and best drugs”. Another similar sounding word also fits which is a synonym for “drugs” - cannabis usually - but I’ve never heard it used for “drink” if that makes sense.

Hi Richard,

18a - Is a 4 letter "rip" minus its last letter/"short" + single letter "hem to denim" - definition is "outfit"

22d - Is a double definition

Hi Richard,
Looks like you did what I did for 18a (see my earlier comment). Look for another definition and you’ll find you need to change your last letter. 22d is a dd and the drink is fizzy. Chambers has it as a registered trademark.

Thanks for the help so far. I've managed to finish with the hints on 16d (thanks geeker), and 18a (thanks jono).

However I'm still struggling to see why the answer to 23a is a "downed one" - am I missing something obvious?

Thanks

minty