-Y or -ISH 3

Without November in the arena it could be any district (4)

Astonish English soccer team (5)

Topes terribly in bar (and both "topes" and the answer are words I have only ever seen in crosswords - sorry!) (5)

Boy not mad taking heroin (5)

Gives handy greeting - makes your hair curl (5)

Celtic people like anger (5)

It's a D for The Police at the mouth of the Nile or the Mississippi, for example (5)

A member of The Eagles? (5)

Rearrange pea for gibbon (3)

Word endings can often be helpful in crosswords (if the clue ends in -S or -ED or -NESS, you know there's a fair chance you can guess what the answer ends in), but sometimes word endings are deliberately used to confuse. -ISH and -Y have various meanings in English, including (but not limited to) A BIT LIKE, CONTAINING OR COVERED IN, LIABLE TO or OF THE NATION OF. If a FISHY smell is a smell a bit like FISH, and a MEATY texture is a texture a bit like MEAT, why isn't a FAIRY a bit like a FUNFAIR? And if a SHEEPISH person behaves a bit like a SHEEP, why isn't a comedy sketch SKITTISH and a massage RUBBISH? In cryptic crosswords, they absolutely could be! Cue any number of terrible puns, because I'm PUNISH (but not CORNY - that's what tortilla chips are) . If you enjoy my crosswords, you'll LOVE the Cryptic Mystic's fantastic YouTube channel, which has been kind enough to feature a couple of my crosswords and is THE best resource for cryptic beginners: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Cryptic_Mystic

Great stuff! 1a took me a while, even after seeing the answer, but I like it!

Thank you. I was relying on the fact that the down answers would almost literally spell it out, as it's really not obvious

I only got the football one by default. I still don't know why it is what it is, though.

If someone from Spain is Spanish, then someone from Aston in Birmingham must be Astonish. Therefore, Aston Villa Football Club, popularly known as Villa, must be an Astonish soccer team

Retriever 4:38 · 4 days ago

Melanie Branton constructor · 2 days ago
Thank you. I was relying on the fact that the down answers would almost literally spell it out, as it's really not obvious

Shark 🤓4:30 · 3 days ago

Thanks!

Melanie Branton constructor · 2 days ago
Thank you x

Sally 🤓2:00 · 3 days ago

Melanie Branton constructor · 2 days ago
If someone from Spain is Spanish, then someone from Aston in Birmingham must be Astonish. Therefore, Aston Villa Football Club, popularly known as Villa, must be an Astonish soccer team

-Y or -ISH 3

Comments