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This was a very quick solve, but the usual smooth concise clues from Armonie. I thought 11 down and 20 down were particularly good.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LONG SHOT dd |
| 5 | SCARCE SCAR (deface) CE (the church) |
| 9 | MAVERICK AVER (swear) in MICK (Jagger) |
| 10 | ON EDGE ON (working) EDGE (creep) |
| 12 | DIRTY R[omeo] + [model] T in DIY (amateur work) |
| 13 | AMUSEMENT A M[aiden] + ME in USEN’T (was not accustomed to) |
| 14 | BIASED I (Indian capital) in BASED (located) |
| 16 | TADPOLE TA (thanks) D (key) POLE (staff) |
| 19 | REDOUBT RE (soldier) DOUBT (question) |
| 21 | THREAT *(HATTER) |
| 23 | LECHEROUS *(OH E’S CRUEL) |
| 25 | KNEAD homophone of NEED (requirement) |
| 26 | MINING MINI (small car) NG (no good) |
| 27 | SABOTAGE *(BOATS) + AGE (time) |
| 28 | SANEST SA (South American) NEST (breeding ground) |
| 29 | RECKLESS K[uala] L[umpur] in RECESS (holiday) |
| Down | |
| 1 | LAMBDA MB (doctor) in LADA (car) |
| 2 | NEVER MIND VERMIN (rats, etc.) in NED (Kelly) |
| 3 | STRAY R (Reading) in STAY (settle) |
| 4 | ORCHARD OR CHARD (veg) |
| 6 | CONTENDER CON (trick) TENDER (nurse) |
| 7 | RIDGE [part]RIDGE |
| 8 | EVEN THEN EVENT (game) HEN (bird) |
| 11 | SUIT d&cd |
| 15 | SAUTERNES *(A NURSE SET) |
| 17 | ON AVERAGE *(NERO GAVE A) |
| 18 | ARC LAMPS RA (artist) reversed + CLAMPS (brackets) |
| 20 | TROY O (love) in TRY (attempt). Not an &lit, exactly, but a very nice clue in which the wordplay contributes to the definition |
| 21 | TESTATE TEST (examine) A TE (note). “Willing” as in “leaving a will.” |
| 22 | ADDERS [Snakes and] LADDERS minus the initial L |
| 24 | CANON C (many) ANON (unidentified writer) |
| 25 | KNOCK dd |
completed this in four quarters, bottom left, top right, bottom right and then top left. Smiled at 22 enjoyable.
Simple bedtime solve for me. Nothing too taxing and at about 10 mins means I have almost time for another. Enjoyable though. I liked 1ac and 2dn.
Thanks, Agentzero, for your efforts.
As always with Armonie a lot of anagrams, insertions and straightforward charades – no tricks, not treats either.
Having said that, it was an enjoyable solve.
Undemanding – it didn’t take that much longer than two cups of Morning Coffee.
NEVER MIND (2d) was nice, as were EVEN THEN (8d) and ADDERS (22d).
And I did need the blog, to understand AMUSEMENT (13ac).
Never seen KL for Kuala Lumpur before, but it had to be that.
One of the clues you thought stood out, was 11d (SUIT).
Even after asking my PinC, I still don’t get it (fully).
Maybe you, or somebody else, can ‘help’ me?
Hi Sil
Re 11dn, to ‘press one’s suit’ is to engage in courtship and if you ‘press your suit’ you would be smartly dressed.
Well, Gaufrid, idiom is my weak point (once again).
Wonder why my PinC didn’t know ‘press one’s suit’ …… 🙂
Now I’ve come to understand that it means ‘to propose’ or ‘to ask for someone’s hand’ [which isn’t there in any of the online sources – Collins, Oxford nor Chambers, etc], please forgive me when I still don’t like this clue – mainly because of ‘admirer’.
But I did learn something today, so thanks for that!
Thanks Agentzero.
Fairly easy,uncontroversial puzzle from Armonie,but very enjoyable nontheless.
Top clues for me EVEN THEN,ADDERS and the super NEVERMIND(we’re in total agreement on this one Sil)
Re.SUIT I think the “propose” definition of “press one’s suit” is rarely used today.