1 Across was the seed for this cryptic. For those who aren’t baseball fans, “de la Cruz” in 5 Down refers to a young superstar for the Cincinnati Reds. Explanations below the photo.
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Explanations:
1A: No longer = ex + thoughtful = pensive —> expensive (dear)
6A: Anagram of “realities”
7A: Double definition
8A: “H” inside spy agency (CIA) —> chia (seed)
10A: “Within” signals a letter string
11A: Queen of Sheba’s = Leda’s + platter = tray —> led astray
1D: Anagram of copies + synonym for mate
2D: “I hear” signals homonym; incomplete (part) + bookworm (nerd) —> partnered (joined with)
3D: Trotsky backs into = Noel (reverse of Leon), a synonym for carol
4D: Begin —> first letter of each word + cold one (beer), with Harp repeated as the definition
5D: de la Cruz (Elly) cradles (contains) e.g. (for example), ant (tiny crawler) —> el+eg+ant+ly
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