Ah, yes. I have gotten 9A wrong. Ah well. I'm still delighted with this performance. I particularly liked 25A. Let's break down the clues.
1A - Right off I have to get the dictionary - what does colonnaded mean? Tree lined? okay...Can Doctor be DR? Can court be CT? Hey - "priestly in" has 9 letters let's run that through the anagram program...PERISTYLE? Ah look in thesaurus and, "colonnade" is a synonym! Whew - feels like I dodged a bullet there.
7A - Double definition for "Book size" VOLUME
8A - Thesaurus check "wooden" and LIGNEOUS stands out so how to make that fit? Lets manage "Nigel" and add "love" which in cryptics is O and add the US" and we get our LIGNEOUS.
9A - a dreaded ? clue. I had no idea even after getting all the down clues. I guessed CONFERS but the answer is CONFIRM.
10A - I had a few downs for this. I think it's supposed to be "Test" is TRIAL and "out" is mixed up and put into TRIAL for TUTORIAL. I got it from the definition "Seminar"
11A - I had to get some down answers first. "Legacy" is the definition. "Master" is BEST and we are to put half of "Quebec" QUE in BEST to get BEQUEST.
12A - I honestly didn't get the answer from the clue. I figured out that "Still battling" could be NOT OUT and lightly penciled that in. I was just lucky it fit.
13A - definition is "Using sparingly" and I thought the words seemed odd. No real direction, no obvious signpost so I wondered if it was a container clue. There it was hiding in "weEK IN Gilbourn" EKING.
16A - Definition is "major award" and what's that, honor? merit? ugh - too many options. "Ring" could be an O and there's the Oscars. Could "Nick" be a synonym for SCAR? yes it is.
19A - I had an epiphany moment hours after I'd given up. I'd first got my head stuck on Anthony Perkins and kept making Psycho guesses. Then I watched an ad for Alexander and thought AH! Mark Antony. Antony, not AnTHony! I'd already guessed the second word was UP so it became MARK UP for "profit"
20A - As you can see from my puzzle this one got erased a few times. Was this royal courts? Was this criminal courts? I'd bounced between BELL BOY and BALL BOY a few times but the Balls won. It truly made the best sense.
21A - I got this one with a google for "poisonous nightshade alkaloid" and honestly didn't even look up the cryptic. I'm glad because that's a tough one to crack for me. Couldn't do it even with the answer. ATROPINE.
22A - "memo" synonym is NOTE back to "Fleming" which was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books, ETONIAN for "English college boy"
23A - Did not get this, not with any of the downs helping not a whisper of hope. Wednesday solution says FILIPINO for "Guy from Manila" oh just slap me. I didn'tunderstand the "head office" part but can see LIP as "cheek"
24A - did not get this either. Solution reads SURETE. That's the French Criminal Investigation Department of the French govt. Thanks Dictionary.com!
1D - I hone in on the word Tossed as a possible anagrind with "a plate in" to give a couple of choices but dictionary says PALATINE is "having royal privilege" which is good enough as a "prerogative"
2D - Another anagram with spoil as the anagrind and "airing to" the fodder to give RIGATONI for "Italian pasta"
3D - Double definition clue? Homonym clue...is that a thing? "Removing fleece" is shearing. There's also a pianist George Shearing so it's safe bet the answer is SHEARING.
4D - I did find the wording confusing. I sensed an anagram "Finally try" gives Y. "Toucan" is weird so is that part of it? The definition is "Unable to tell" and my first instinct was YOU DON'T SAY but there's nothing to give me "Don't" I pencil in "can't" and it turns out right. YOU CAN'T SAY
5D - Cute clue! You have to ask yourself "when are we on out hands and knees?" when we're on ALL FOURS which answers "Every Quartet"
6D - Got this one quick from definition "Food for the gods" AMBROSIA. solved as grand = M little brother = BRO "In the continent" ASIA. Insert MBRO into ASIA.
7D - Definition "Flower" unusual hint to anagram of "loveit to give VIOLET.
11D - "Dollar!" I shouted back BUCK. Then it was a thinking game to solve "Things left to do" BUCKET LIST.
14D - This was a Wikipedia solve where I had the K and then looked at "Sudan City" to find a fit. I got this late as I had "BELLBOY" in place. I didn't understand "Knock back pro" but knew Love = O and "hesitation" was something like UM or ER.
15D - "Little number" is NO the abbreviation for number, left = L and beaten is an anagram indicator to "negro" to give NO LONGER. Found this bordering bad taste.
16D - "Being contrary" is the definition. and I needed the across letter to get this. I knew PO was there somewhere for "post office" but the rest I was unsure of. Guessed OPPOSITE correctly
17D - I got that wrong. I'd guessed with left over letters, it was late. Obviously an "ordinary man" isn't a CAPTAIN that doesn't even have enough letters. Yes I was being lazy. the correct answer was CIVILIAN. I did get the IAN part by googling "Botham" to see Ian Botham was a famous cricketer. Oh yes, cryptics and cricket are strange bedfellows and I'm clueless about both. I'm not interested in learning more about cricket. Scandal, I know! It's in the Australian bloodstream to love cricket. (I'm not Australian)
18D - Problem looked like an anagram indicator so I put "Cate's our" into the internet solver and got RACES OUT to define "leaves the room quickly"
19D - Googled "Esprit de corps" and got MORALE in the definition and it fit its cross letters. I don't see how it fits the clue "spoken with second person about" but I'm not perfect at this yet.
Done! I tell you, that was satisfying. I'm finally making way in this. I'm looking forward to Friday's DA (As a kid a DA was a kind of haircut called a Duck's Ass because the hair was layered and "feathered" on the whole side of the head and met at the back to form a DA)
Now I'm off to decipher this Russian crochet diagram. See - puzzles are everywhere in life!
It took me a while to realise the start is the green circle and this begins as a Granny square. That a new one for me so far as shawls go. Exciting! I'll share pics of how it works up, soon. I'll share Wednesday's puzzle which was...not a good one for me. Not at all. Going to need today's paper to help me out. Roller coaster skill-set.
~CC
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