The pattern for me recently seems to be to make a good start and then get really, really stuck on the last couple of clues. This again happened here, with the NE corner proving particularly troublesome. Still, Beelzebub is always solvable given enough patience. 18ac was solved from the definition, and the wordplay still lacks an explanation.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CARIAMAS – AIR< in CAMAS. |
| 6 | ZORB – Z + BRO<. |
| 9 | COFFEE ROOM – (E in COFFER) + OOM. |
| 11 | MATZO – MAT + OZ<. |
| 12 | MORAT – A in MORT. |
| 13 | PRODUCTS – PRO DUCTS. |
| 16 | GREGE – EG in GRE[y]. |
| 17 | LOGODAEDALUS – (A DODO + SEAGULL)*. |
| 18 | UNQUANTIFIED – I can’t explain this one: One’s about to punt, not specifying the amount. |
| 19 | VARNA – V + (AN RA)<. |
| 23 | BICUSPID – ((Cu in IS) + P) in BID. |
| 25 | OCREA – O + CREA[tion]. |
| 26 | BLITE – BLit + E. |
| 27 | STAVESACRE – STAVE’S + ACRE. |
| 28 | EASY – E + AS + Y[emen]. |
| 29 | TREE FERN – REEFER in TEN. |
| Down | |
| 1 | CAMP – M in CAP. |
| 2 | ROTOR – OR< + TOR. |
| 3 | AFOUL – FOU in AL. |
| 4 | MERCHANDISER – HAND IS in MERCER. |
| 5 | AESTHETICISE – (I + C[ulture]) in (THE EASIEST)*. |
| 6 | ZOOGRAFT – Z + (G in (FAR TOO)*). |
| 7 | OORIE – 0 + 0 + RI[d]E. |
| 8 | BETHESDA – BE + DEATHS*. |
| 9 | CARBON ARCS – (R in CAB) + ON + CARS*. |
| 10 | MARGUERITE – M + ARGUE + RITE. |
| 14 | PLUVIOSE – (LOVE IS UP)*. |
| 15 | DOUNREAY – (YEAR-[r]OUND)*. |
| 20 | RORTS – R in ROTS. |
| 21 | TUBAE – BET< + AE. |
| 22 | SPIRE – SP + IRE. |
| 24 | DERN – [acto]R in DEN. |
Hi Simon
I didn’t do this puzzle but 18ac is UNIFIED [one] around QUANT [punt].