sun tel cryptic 2383

[rootshall]

i'm having a nightmare with this

2d tail the animal had got caught in ( 6 ) -h-d--

5d is it pear squash , if it's a drink ( 8 ) -----t--

23d tired, to get fresh air , about to garden ( 7 ) -e---e-

[Christiana]

2d shadow

[Christiana]

5d aperitif

[1955]

5d Aperitif - pear + If + it

[Christiana]

23d wearied weed + air

[rootshall]

thanks all

i wouldn't have got 23 down , could you explain how you got there christiana

[Christiana]

to garden is to 'weed'
so 'we' at the front of the answer and 'ed' at the back.
Then in the middle an anagram of 'air' - signified by the word fresh - in other words the letters AIR in a different order.
Result = tired "wearied"

[rootshall]

thanks ever so much. I'm still trying to get my head round the way some compilers think. occasionally , like tonight , i feel like blowing a fuse

[Christiana]

Aren't we all, rootshall. I find the Sunday Telegraph much harder than the Saturday one, and usually have to struggle with three or four at the end.