It is befitting that we have a lovely Bradman puzzle to solve on Don Bradman‘s birthday. Many anagram clues today, some excellent ones like 27a and 17d.
Across
1 DEVILS ADVOCATE (ADVISED LOVE ACT)*
10 TO-DOS TOD (sly person) OS (big i.e. outsize)
11 BARTENDER ART (skill) in BENDER (drunken spree) &lit. It took me some time to solve this; my first instinct had been to look for an anagram of ‘spree’. A brilliant clue!
12 PLASTIC LAST (most unlikely) in PIC (little illustration)
13 CONSOLE CON (study) SOLE (individual)
14 SCOOP SOP (partner?) around CO (firm). A scoop is a haul, as of money. Not sure of the wordplay parsing. // Update: SOP = significant other person (eg a cohabiting partner). Thanks to Gaufrid for the explanation.
16 IMMIGRANT I’M M1 (motorway) GRANT (confess)
19 CARPENTER CARP (fish) ENTER (join in). ‘Chips’ is slang for carpenter.
20 TOTEM TOTE (to carry) M (maiden)
22 NOBLEST NOB (VIP) L (left) EST (short for ‘estate’)
25 ABDOMEN AB (muscle) DO (party) MEN (blokes)
27 RIGHTEOUS (ROGUE THIS)* &lit
28 MOSES dd. The two definitions – the first for Grandma Moses, the second for Moses who took the “tablets” inscribed with the Ten Commandments – come together to form a nicely misleading surface.
29 PREDESTINARIAN (PRESIDENT)* A (IRAN)*
Down
2 ENDEAVOUR (A DUO NEVER)*
3 INSET hidden in ‘pINS ETc’
4 SUBSCRIPT cd. That’s what 2 is, in the chemical formula of water H2O. A clever clue I thought.
5 DIRAC CARD (slang for comical character) reversed, around I (one)
6 OVERNIGHT OVERSIGHT (mistake) with a “single” letter (S) changed
7 AUDIO AUDI (car) O (round). This made me smile.
8 EARNEST dd. I didn’t know the other meaning of the word, Chambers has ‘earnest’ as ‘payment given in token of a bargain made’.
9 STAPES ST (street) APE’S (animal’s). Stapes is a bone in the ear, the smallest bone in the human body.
15 PRESENTEE P[eople] RESENT (feel bad about) E[xtravaganc]E
17 MORTAL SIN (ISNT MORAL)*
18 ARTEMISIA (ITS A MIRE)* A
19 CANTRIP CAN’T (is unable to) RIP (hurry)
21 MONIST ON (cricket side) in MIST (obscure)
23 BUGLE BUG (insect) LEA (meadow) – A
24 TROUT T (time) ROUT (flight)
26 DEMUR DEMUR[e] (prudish, endlessly)
Hi Suchi
In 14ac SOP is an abbreviation for ‘significant other person (eg a cohabiting partner)’.
Thanks, Gaufrid.
Thanks Shuchi. A fun Friday puzzle – I also had 17D as a stand-out.
There seems to be an impish vein running through the clues today, what with ‘wickedness’, ‘sly person’, ‘rogue’ and ‘mischief’ to complement MORTAL SIN.
My only quibble (and only because I probably, unfairly, hold Bradman to a slightly higher standard than others) is at 25A. Isn’t it a touch self-referential, given that the unabbreviated ‘muscle’ is itself the abdominal?
Hi smiffy
Thanks for your perceptive comments. I agree on both counts.
There is also ‘illegal’ to add to the “wicked” list.
AB criticism accepted — amazing what one misses, but I guess I was desperate to avoid a repeat of anag of BAD + OMEN! Thanks for all nice things said.