Well done with The Sweeney I was nowhere near it.

Rosemary

I think that you are right with snake pit as the pit is from pithe helmet.

Rosemary

But how does the 'snake' bit fit in.

You rattle a tin and there is a rattle snake is the best I can do for that bit.

Rosemary

If we get this one it will help

Land in lake upside-down. (4)

***e

Snake Pit is surely right.

sn = tin
kepi = a kind of hat

Nearly there...

I wish that I drank because then there would be an excuse for my stupid answers.

Skye, please do not ask why unless it happens to be correct.

Rosemary

Agree we're getting there.But as you know that leaves a&t unaccounted for.

But why the word 'viciously'?

What! you don't drink.

I thought of 'isle' but don't get the upside-down part

The not drinking is not because I am against it or anything like that I just do not like the taste apart from cava which I love.

Maybe I am on the right track then because I immediately thought of Skye.

I think that it was the upside down bit that made me think of it.

Rosemary

Hi Rosemary, I have been thinking about 'skye' but can't just seem to make it fit. It still has something to do with upside.

I have taken it as upside-down which to me means that the sky is not up but down. I told you that my reasoning was strange.

Rosemary

Anybody fancy a go at these three.

1) Solar Flares? Answer: there's no place for them. (4-4)

***O-*A**
2) Architect tries to sell space towards the roof (9)
H*w*s****
Apart from it beginning maybe with hawks, I haven't any idea

3) Part way encircling, say, soldiers (7)
S*G****

All ideas/answers gratefully received

1) One of the words may be "halo"
2) No idea
3) No idea really but words such as Signets/signals fit the number of letters

Stumped

Rosemary

Me too, I thought perhaps the first word in the first clue was 'zero'.

I'm pretty sure that the answer to 3 is 'segment'