I thought 16 ac and 6 dn were the best of the cryptic definitions that are characteristic of Rufus/Dante. Some very good, natural surfaces as well, e.g., 27 ac and 22 dn.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | ALBERT B (“Beachy” head) in ALERT (on watch) |
| 4 | PENCHANT P (quiet) ENCHANT (charm) |
| 9 | ADEPTS A + DEPT’S (small “department’s”) |
| 10 | PECULIAR dd |
| 12 | ARKANSAS A R (right) + KANSAS (another US state) |
| 13 | PLAY ON dd, both senses being from cricket |
| 15 | THOR hidden in myTH OR. Unfortunately, “legend” is extraneous to the cryptic reading of the clue. |
| 16 | DRESS SENSE cd This setter clued the same phrase recently in the Guardian as “attribute of the successful gear selector.” I think this new clue is a bit better |
| 19 | CONFISCATE *(COST IN CAFE) |
| 20 | PUMP d&cd; the shoe is “well-worn,” and a pump may be used with a well |
| 23 | ROTATE *(TO TEAR) |
| 25 | FAIR GAME FAIR (blonde) GAME (birds) |
| 27 | CENOTAPH *(NOT CHEAP) |
| 28 | USAGES SAGE (philosopher) in US (American) |
| 29 | SATIRIST *(ARTIST IS) |
| 30 | DOMAIN DO (party) MAIN (leading) |
| Down | |
| 1 | ADAMANT ADAM (Old Testament character) A NT (New Testament) |
| 2 | BREAKDOWN dd |
| 3 | RATING dd |
| 5 | EVEN dd; a square of any integer will always be an even number Even = square in the sense of the score of a tied game |
| 6 | CLUELESS d&cd |
| 7 | AMITY *(IT MAY) |
| 8 | TERENCE *(ENTER) + CE (the church) |
| 11 | BARRACK It sounds like BARACK. The question mark is merited because they aren’t quite homophones |
| 14 | ASH-TRAY cd |
| 17 | NEURALGIA *(RULE AGAIN) |
| 18 | DICTATOR D (day) + *(RIOT ACT) |
| 19 | CARACAS *(ACCRA) + AS |
| 21 | PRESS ON d&cd |
| 22 | FRESCO *(FORCES) |
| 24 | TENET A chestnut. There was a typo in the pdf; “It” appears as “Itr,” momentarily making me think the abbreviation for “letter” was meant |
| 26 | OPUS O (love) + SUP (drink) reversed |
Thanks, Agentzero, As you say, some characteristically lovely cryptic clues and surfaces.
My favourite clue was 19ac.
[In 1ac, I’m sure you meant to say ‘ALERT [on watch]’. There’s a possible extra cryptic element here, because an albert is a kind of watch chain.]
Re 5D – i’m sure you don’t mean that
Thanks, Eileen. Philth, you’re right. What was I thinking? All I can say is, it was late in my time zone. Corrected above.
Rufus/Dante has that uncanny knack of writing the most elegant of clues.
Eileen, you’re right to highlight 19ac – excellent wordplay.