Independent 6488 / Punk No-balls prize!

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Solving Time: 23 mins
  

A nice puzzle for a Thursday from Punk.  I really liked the big clue at 8/12 several of the
other answers.  Fairly large smattering of cryptic defs today as well, plus the usual clues that make you laugh out loud, 21 across especially!.
ACROSS  * = anagram    CD  –  Cryptic def  r =reversal    
1  MUGGINS  MUG + GINS
5  SATSUMA  AT MUST AS (r)
9  DEEPSPACE  SPEED (r) + RACE
10 ARENA  N inside AREA
11 MANDINGO  MAN + DINGO
12 sEE 8
15 BAGS   Double def
16 ARCHETYPAL  EACH PARTLY*
18 THE GUNNERS  T H + EG = (R)UNNERS
19 ROAN   RAN about O
21 EUNUCH  I think I’ll leave it to your imagination!
22 METEORIC  E + O inside METRIC
24 FARSI  FAR + S + I
26 GUTCH BARN  DUTCH (rhyming slang for WIFE) +BA(I)RN
27 YAOUNDE
28 NEW DEAL  NUDE EEL (Homophone)

DOWN
2 GRETNA GREEN  TEENAGER + RNG*
3 INSTIL  SIN* + TIL = Lit up = illuminated!  Hmmmm!
4 STAGGERING  cd
5 SUET   SUE + T (LAST LETTER IN DIET)
6 TEA PARTY  EA + P inSIde TARTY
7 USE   U.S. + E
8 /12 A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL, PANAMA   One of the most famous of palindromes with a delightful   cryptic definition.  All about Ferdinand de Lesseps’ magnum opus.
13 APPROPRIATE  Two definitions
14 CHARLESTON  CHARL (TON H)ESTON  Very clever!
17 FUNCTION  Double definition
22 ADZE   Homophone for ADDS
23 ROO  Bit baffled by this one – the floor is open.

3 comments on “Independent 6488 / Punk No-balls prize!”

  2. That was my reading of ROO also – thanks, Tilsit, for explaining CHARLESTON – it was v clever. I knew the answer had to be right and thought Charles Laughton might have something to do with it.

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