Independent 6816/Dac – Fifteensquared

Across
1	BE in (ANIMAL)* – LIMA BEAN.
10	MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD – I can’t decide if this is a cryptic definition or if there’s some aspect of the wordplay that I’m missing because I can’t work out what “long before that” might mean.
11	OZ in ALE,LIME (all reversed) – EMILE ZOLA was the first French writer to spring to mind, which was then confirmed by “Australia” (OZ) in the wordplay.
12	COMBS – I used Reveal to confirm this as I can’t find COMBS for “old-fashioned underwear” in either of the dictionaries I have access to. I expect it’s in the Big C.
13	PHRASE – sounds like “frays”.
15	EP(I)TOME
19	BEET,ON – a reference to Mrs Beeton, author of the Book of Household Management.
21	hidden in “chAP PLEasure” – I liked “a small portion will do” as the indicator.
26	N,(MEASLES)* – I have to say that it surprised me that NAMELESS could mean “too horrific to be described”. Seems like an odd meaning for such an innocuous word.

Down
1	L,UMBER
2	MIDNIGHT EXPRESS – the film directed by Alan Parker. “Sleeper” is a reference to sleeper trains, of which the midnight express might be one.
6	IMP,ACTIVE
7	T in (SOME COAL),(MOVE IT) – STEAM LOCOMOTIVE. Cleverly done; I guess this must be an &lit as there isn’t a direct definition in the clue.
8	OD-[d] in (ITEMS)* – MODISTES was new to me but not too tricky to get from the wordplay.
9	DEB,AT,E – “treat” can mean to negotiate with someone to settle a dispute so I guess that could be the same as DEBATE?
14	GAME,M in ANON
16	SAS in (TRIED)* – DISASTER.
19	BUSH TEA[-m]
20	AMI,[-l]ENS
23	hidden in “BrowNIE CEremony”.

5 comments on “Independent 6816/Dac”