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25 across) Manufacture ducks? Do it! (4:4) *A*E*O*E

I have MAKE LOVE, but why would "ducks" be pluralised?

20 down) A file containing news supplement (6) *N*E*E

ANNEXE possibly but how would that parse?


Yet again, in my opinion, some very poor clueing in the ST. I had too many niggles today to go into.

My friend from Stoke calls people Ducks, love.

20 Might be computer stuff - is Exe. EXE a file? If so, An Exe, a file, with N, news, inserted.

Spot on, Malone. My wife was at Uni in Staffordshire many years ago and confirms the "ducks". I worked in IT and should have recognised the abbreviation for an execution file. They basically tell programme files what to do.

Thanks, Bobbycollins.

I had a vague recollection of seeing EXE/exe on my computer occasionally. Like everything techie, it gets ignored!

I wasn’t happy with (I assume) ST for Sunday Times in 26 across. It’s fine as an abbreviation on a site like this but has no lexicographical support. I rate DM highly as a setter - his technique is usually impeccable - but this one struck me as being from the bottom drawer.

As always I am behind with the weekend crosswords. 2 down (Female giving support to portly cloth rep? 6) has me scratching my head. There are 2 possibilities for the second part (female) of the wordplay but I can't find anything to fit the definition. A nudge in the right direction would be appreciated. EV this afternoon (and beyond). Ifor is always my Nemesis.

Hi Ap,

the definition is "cloth rep" (in a spiritual sense)

This week's EV is excellent, as we've come to expect from Ifor:-)

Thanks for that Brendan. I suspect I will be having a good read through the EV thread before the end of the afternoon.

Thanks AP, I got in a real state over a couple of points but, thankfully, Malone was on hand to calm me down:-)

I got Make Love but I thought it was because a duck (or ducks) is nil in cricket and love is nil in tennis.