Eleven unclued answers, but all the clues are normal then four cells to highlight (the missing item that could n’t be kept). A short preamble indeed but is it also a short solve?
All relatively straight forward though I took a lot longer with the 11 unclued answers. For that I blamed my reading of the preamble as it said six LOSERS and it took me a while to realise there were really only 4 (3 of one type) so the losers could span more than one clue. All were characters from nursery rhymes as shown below
- Three (5dn) Blind (25ac) Mice (24ac) lost 30dn Tails
- Little (32ac) + Bo Peep (29dn) lost 45ac (Sheep)
- Lucy (1dn) + Locket (1ac) lost Pocket (6dn)
- Peter Peter (17ac) lost xxxx
The missing thing they couldn’t keep being WIFE hidden in the 4th row from the bottom.
Many thanks March – albeit for a February offering (excuse the poor quality humour).
Key
Rev. reverse, underline = definition; * = anagram; DD Double definition
Across
10 Set free a rural swan (5)
un (a rural) + pen (swan) = UNPEN
11 Crystal I’d discovered in ridge (8)
Id in Rhaphe (ridge) = RHAPHIDE
13 Surface spots circling poles; not realistic interpretations (13)
counter (surface) + sees (spots) around ns (poles) = COUNTERSENSES
15 Stalk of shoot covered by sea, active no longer (5)
tip (shoot) in sea – a (active no longer) = STIPE
16 Cheeky native (5)
DD NATAL
19 Palm tree with medicinal properties is pollarded (3)
dita (tree with medicinal properties) – d (pollarded) = ITA
20 Male and female undergraduate erotic activity? (6)
uni (undegraduate) – sex (erotic activity) = UNISEX
22 Cut in bust undergarment (5)
(cut in)* = TUNIC
27 Briefly express disapproval in front of an Aussie tree-hugger (4)
Tut (express disapproval) – t (briefly) + an = TUAN
31 Meat prepared with stuffing having little for starters (5)
ala (with) in h l (having little for starters) = HALAL
34 Stripped length of sawn timber to propel dinghy (3)
board (length of sawn timber) – bd (stripped) = OAR
35 Surgically remove part of lung, say. Short embolism? Too messy (10)
(embolism – m + too)* = LOBOTOMISE
37 Fare of sanctimonious body of legal people (5)
Pi (sanctimonious) + law (body of legal people) = PILAW
39 Cracks feature centrally in low-lying areas (5)
t (feature centrally) in fens (low-lying areas) = FENTS
42 Unknown captured by aliens fighting battles in delightful places (13, two words)
y in (aliens)* + fileds (battles) = ELYSIAN FIELDS
44 Dancers return chasing these kinky over-enthusiastic art-lovers (8)
Rev. set (dancers) after (these)* = ESTHETES
46 Like power attached to land tenure (6)
P (power) + lease (land tenure) = PLEASE
47 Resembling bedding material in its original state in pigpen (6)
raw (in its original state) in sty (pigpen) = STRAWY
Down
2 Cynic’s response to proposal of marrying pop idol’s widow? (3)
DD O No and Yoko ONO
3 Pole in Glasgow once recognised at a distance (4)
DD KENT
4 Resentment after hospital department stamped envelope (6)
ire (resentment) after ent (hospital department) = ENTIRE
6 Afghani awkwardly haunts northern tip of Pakistan (7)
(haunts + p)* = PASHTUN
7 Cleared collecting number of share offers (7)
opened (cleared) around n (number) = OPEN-END
8 Morag’s chest gently touched, we hear (4)
Homonym of kissed (gently touched) = KIST
9 Cuppas holding special litre units (6)
Teas (cuppas) around s (special) + l (litre) = TESLAS
12 Hated designed curtains (5)
(hated)* = DEATH
14 Some vine fruit giving rise to alcohol (4)
Rev. Hidden vINE Fruit = FENI
15 Hush surrounding habitual response for line of verse (5)
sh (hush) around tic (habitual response) = STICH
18 Personal magnetism involved in right to score at Celtic Park maybe (4)
It (personal magnetism) in Rt (right) = RITT
21 Marine mammal close up (4)
DD SEAL
23 Reap island’s outer layer (5)
Cut (reap) + is (island) = CUTIS
25 Catastrophe that is start of swarming Aussie flies (7)
Blow (catastrophe) + ie (that is) + s (start of swarming) = BLOWIES
26 Behold, Bishop I irritated, being lippy! (7)
La (Behold) + b (bishop) + i + ate (irritated) = LABIATE
28 Alfonso: ancient clown going further (4)
alfonso – fon (ancient clown) = ALSO
33 One loving part of ancient Asia Minor is into rambling (6)
(is into)* = IONIST
36 Old following young again in the past (5, two words)
o(old) + f (following) + new (young) = OF NEW
38 Little local sample of disorderly teds (4)
Hidden disorderLY TEds = LYTE
40 Tibetan butter from the churn now and then (4)
ThE cHuRn = TEHR
41 Spot osprey circling or sadly leaving (4)
(osprey – or)* = ESPY
43 Early freshness not solely amongst olde-worlde women (3)
Hidden olDE-Worlde = DEW