Very gentle. Thanks, Magwitch.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ABSTINENCE |
Doing without money during time away (10)
TIM (crosswordese for money – does anyone ever use the term in real life?) inserted into ABSENCE (during indicates the insertion) |
| 7 | HOWL |
Cry is first sign of humming bird (4)
H, the first letter (sign) of humming, plus OWL |
| 9 | ESPY |
Watch sleepy criminal abandoned by the French (4)
An anagram (criminal is the indicator) of sleepy with le (the in French) removed |
| 10 | COMPULSORY |
Company representative sticks by extremely untruthful account without thinking initially being required (10)
CO (compamy) plus MP (representative, or at least they’re supposed to be) plus UL, the outermost (extreme) letters of untruthful plus SORY (story, or account, minus T, the first letter (initially) of thinking |
| 11 | DIRECT |
Order back to deliver shocking treatment (6)
DIR (a reversal of rid, or deliver) plus ECT, an acronym for electroconvulsive therapy |
| 12 | NEPOTISM |
I stop men improperly showing preference for family (8)
An anagram (improperly) of I stop men |
| 13 | PLUMMETS |
Falls of fruit experienced at start of spring (8)
PLUM is the fruit, plus MET (experienced) plus S, the first letter (start) of spring |
| 15 | TOYS |
Wise reportedly to pre-set trifles (4)
YS (as in plural of Y), which sounds like wise, prefixed by TO |
| 17 | DRUM |
Half-murdered in return for pound (4)
The first four letters of murdered, reversed |
| 19 | NEARSIDE |
The left in Britain almost dies after reorganisation (8)
NEAR (almost) plus an anagram (after reorganisation is the indicator) of dies. The nearside or passenger side of a car is the left in Britain. |
| 22 | ASCRIBES |
Attributes of first-rate writers (8)
A, first class, plus SCRIBES, or writers |
| 23 | THRIVE |
Half of them turn up without introduction and get on (6)
TH, the first half of the word them, plus RIVE (arrive minus its introductory letters) |
| 25 | JUMBLE SALE |
Cake auction is a means of making money (6,4)
JUMBLE, a type of cake, plus SALE, of which an auction is one type |
| 26 | HOLY |
Said to be completely perfect (4)
A homophone of wholly, or completely |
| 27 | EDGE |
Some mutated genes give an advantage (4)
Contained in (some is the indicator) the second and third words of the clue |
| 28 | TIDE TABLES |
They mark the highs and lows of time I’d met Beatles on tour (4,6)
An anagram (on tour is the indicator) of T for time plus ID plus Beatles |
| Down | ||
| 2 | BESTIAL |
It’s able to turn savage (7)
An anagram (to turn is the indicator) of its able |
| 3 | THYME |
It can cure your old illness (5)
THY (archaic your) plus ME (myalgic encephalopathy) an illness. Thyme is a herbal remedy used to treat several conditions |
| 4 | NICETIES |
Observing these creates good relationships (8)
If one observes the niceties, one creates nice (good) ties (relationships). There’s no doubt a phrase for this type of clue for those who care about such things. |
| 5 | NO MAN IS AN ISLAND |
We’re all in it together – Cuba for example supports Northern Arab country over Islamic State (2,3,2,2,6)
AN ISLAND (which, for example, Cuba is) underneath (supports) N for northern OMAN, an Arab country followed by IS for Islamic State, a term we aren’t supposed to use. |
| 6 | EQUIPS |
Prepares to make jokes online? (6)
E (electronic, or online) QUIPS (jokes) |
| 7 | HESITATES |
Is reluctant to break up his estate (9)
An anagram (break up is the indicator) of his estate |
| 8 | WORK SHY |
Avoiding effort at factory through injury ultimately (4-3)
WORKS (factory) plus H Y, the final letters (ultimately) of through and injury |
| 14 | MEMORABLE |
Blame me for topless dancing being unforgettable (9)
An anagram (dancing is the inficator) of blame, me and or (for without its first letter, ie topless) |
| 16 | MALTREAT |
Man lost the energy to deal with abuse (8)
MAL (male without E for energy) plus TREAT (deal with) |
| 18 | RESCUED |
Prompt signal by soldiers led to diamonds being recovered (7)
RES (Royal Engineers, part of the British army) plus CUE (prompt signal in a play) plus D for diamonds |
| 20 | DIVULGE |
Reveal lump without beginning to go after divorce (7)
DIV for divorce followed by ULGE (bulge, or lump, without its first letter, or beginning) |
| 21 | ABJECT |
Mean to express disapproval with fresh approach (6)
Object, to express disapproval, with its first letter (approach) changed from o to a |
| 24 | REHAB |
Dispense a herb to restore health (5)
An anagram (dispense is the indicator) of A HERB |
I agree that this was a gentle offering but most enjoyable nonetheless, with some lovely surface readings and neat misdirection. I liked 12ac with ‘improperly’ doing double duty, 19ac, and 4d especially. 6d made me chuckle although this use of ‘e’ for electronic is now something of a chestnut. Thanks Magwitch and bloggers.
Hi Steven I think the purist would say that improperly is only the anagram indicator because if the definition were “improperly showing preference for family” the answer would have to be “nepotistic”, but I see where you’re coming from.
An enjoyable solve. Puzzles don’t always have to be super tough to give solving pleasure.
I think 12a works exactly as per the blog. You can look at “improperly showing” either as an extension to a valid definition (which excuses it from the charge of double duty) or simply as an extra layer of meaning in the surface – but that doesn’t conflict with the fundamental mechanism of the wordplay.
Thanks to S&B.
re 18d
I wasn’t quite happy with RES clued as soldiers when RE on its own is an abbreviation for Royal Engineers (in the plural).
Thanks Magwitch and D&L
Nice easy catch up to do on a lazy start to Saturday. Noted a lot of clues that involved extracting letters from the start, end and one from the middle of words as part of the construction of the answer.
Hadn’t heard of the JUMBLE cake previously, so that was new learning.
Thanks Magwitch and D&L.
I share ernie’s qualms about RES for soldiers but the answer was obvious so can’t complain really.
Oddly, in 3dn, not only is THYME a cure, but TIME is also (indeed it’s the greatest healer).