This was an enojyable Sunday solve, just about the right level of difficulty to fill a 45 minute gap waiting for the football to start in the pub. There’s a good mixture of clue types, including some very nice anagrams (21A being my favourite).
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | WAFER – (A FEW)* + [-dinne]R |
| 4 | CAPRICCIO – C(hannel) I(slands) in CAPRI + CO(mpany) |
| 9 | INTENSE – TEN in INSE[-t(ime)] |
| 10 | WELFARE – WE + L(eft) + FARE (do) |
| 11 | KIN – Hidden in smokestacK INdustry |
| 12 | FORGET-ME-NOT – FORGE + MEN in TOT |
| 14 | MASON – SO in MAN |
| 16 | ENTERTAIN – (TREAT)* in NINE rev. |
| 19 | COMPENDIA – (MAP IN CODE)* |
| 20 | DIGIT – DIG IT! |
| 21 | IN THE GROOVE – (GIVEN TO HERO)* |
| 23 | GNU – G[-enerous] + NU |
| 24 | THOUGHT – THOUGH (allowing) + T[-herapy] |
| 26 | APPAREL – R(eligious) E(ducation) in APPAL |
| 27 | ROSINANTE – (I)S in ROI + NANTE[-s] |
| 28 | REACT – (TRACE)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | WHISKY MAC – SKY in WHIM + AC(count) |
| 2 | FUTON – Cryptic def. |
| 3 | RING FENCE – RING (call) + FENCE (criminal) |
| 4 | CHEERLEADER – CHE + E(nglish) + L(ecturer) in READER |
| 5 | PEW – P[-h(ard)]EW |
| 6 | ISLAM – S(ociety) in MALI rev. |
| 7 | CHAIN GANG – C(onservative) + HAIN + N(orthern) in GAG |
| 8 | OVERT – R(iver) in OVET[-t] |
| 13 | EXTRAPOLATE – [-astr]O[-logy] in EXTRA PLATE |
| 15 | SUMPTUOUS – SUM + OUT in PUS rev. |
| 17 | RED PEPPER – PEP in RED + PER |
| 18 | NUT CUTLET – N.U.T (teachers) + CUT (ignored) + LET (poor service) |
| 21 | INTER – Double def, ref. INTER (Milan) |
| 22 | ELGIN – G(rand) in NILE rev. |
| 23 | GARDA – Hidden in reGARD Abroad |
| 25 | TAN – Double def. |
Yes, I agree – IN THE GROOVE was my favourite too – also esp liked DIGIT. Tks, Ali and Hypnos.