Mild imprecations are celebrated in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues
In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links to an interview with him or her, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.
1a A king amid excited fans at palace quite unruffled (4,2,1,7)
[ wordplay: A (‘A’) + K (‘king’) inside (‘amid’) anagram of FANSATPALACE ]
[ definition: quite unruffled ]
… for FLAT AS A PANCAKE; likewise Pangakupu’s clue …
18a Insulting the powerful? Not exactly seemly to include a joke (4,7)
[ wordplay: anagram of (‘not exactly’) SEEMLY, containing (to include) synonym for ‘a joke’ ]
[ LESEMY containing A JEST ]
[ definition: insulting the powerful ]
8dEndlessly slow, turning up? Blast! (4)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘slow’ without last letter (‘endlessly’), then reversed (‘turning up’) ]
[ TARDY – Y, backwards ]
[ definition: Blast! ]
Recently Ambridge has become so eco-trendy, with transition initiatives and anaerobic digesters and electronic simulators, it makes your teeth peel. God rot the lot of them! A remark that at least has the merit of being Anglo Saxon and, come to think of it, biodegradable.
17ac 20 possibly even less sensitive (6)
[ double definition ]