I thought this puzzle was very creative. Several of the definitions were particularly well-hidden or clever, e.g., 14 down.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | SWASHBUCKLER S (“first: steam”) WASH (clean) BUCKLE (fold) R (“second: iron”). Having just praised the puzzle overall, I have to say I wasn’t that fond of this clue, in particular the use of “first:” or “second:” to mean “first letter of” or “second letter of.” |
| 10 | NIRVANA I (one) RV (bible) in NANA (grandma) |
| 11 | MEMENTO MEME (persistent idea) + *(NOT) |
| 12 | ICHOR CHOIR (singers) with I moved to the front |
| 13 | BALSAMIC *(BASIC MALT minus T [for T-bone]) |
| 15 | APPREHENDS dd |
| 16 | AKIN [f]AKIN[g] Kudos to my fourteen-year-old son, who solved this when I could not. |
| 18 | AWRY A (article) WRY (mocking) Another one he got before me. |
| 20 | WIRETAPPER PATER (father) reversed in WIPER (windscreen attachment); the definition is “it bugs” |
| 22 | STURGEON T (little time) in SURGEON (doctor) |
| 24 | DRAFT R (queen) in DAFT (silly) |
| 26 | READ-OUT dd |
| 27 | EMBARGO EM (measure) BAR (prohibit) GO (move). A nice &lit. |
| 28 | BINARY SYSTEM dd |
| Down | |
| 2 | WORSHIP ORS (alternatives) in WHIP (switch) |
| 3 | STARRIER S (southern) TARRIER (one who waits) |
| 4 | BRAD BRA (support) D (down) |
| 5 | COMMANDEER E (drug) in COMMANDER (captain) |
| 6 | LAMPS L (50) AMPS (A) |
| 7 | RUN AMOK reverse hidden in whacKO MAN URged |
| 8 | ANTIMACASSARS ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) in *(MASS TRAIN) |
| 9 | CONCENTRATION dd |
| 14 | HELICOPTER ELI (priest) COPT (Christian) in HER (woman’s). What a great definition: “agent of revolutionary uprising”! |
| 17 | BAD DEBTS ADD (tote), B (Britain) in BETS (wagers) |
| 19 | RHUBARB dd |
| 21 | PRAIRIE odd (“uneven”) letters of PoRtAl Is RaIsEd |
| 23 | GROWN *(WRONG) |
| 25 | LENS LE (“the,” French) + N, S (directions) Lens is a town in France (specifically, Calais), defined in the clue by “here.” |
Came here to check 25d. There does not seem to be a definition in the clue, so the answer could just as well be lees or even less. Am I wrong?
Tony,
The definition in the clue is simply “here,” indicating that the answer is a place name (the town of Lens in France). I’ve updated the blog to make that clear.
Thanks, Agentzero. That’s actually quite clever; I did not even think of the place name.