A typically solid and enjoyable puzzle from Orense today. Nothing too problematic, but several stand-out clues and a few novel and ingenious mechanisms – so thank-you, Orense.
ACROSS
1. SUPINE Reversal of US [American] + pine [deal, wood]
4. NUTSHELL NUT’s [National Union of Teachers’] + hell [nightmare]
10. MISCREANT Cr [credit] within anagram of inmates
11. ACIDS CID [police department] within as [when]
12. RIDE Rid [free] + (fre)e
13. MONUMENTAL Mon [Monday, day] + u [university] + mental [in mind]
15. RETREAT R(ar)e + treat [delicacy]
16. HERESY Here’s [look, it’s…] + Y [sounds like why]
19. ADHERE Anagram of head + re [on, about]
21. BUFFALO Buff [enthusiast] + a + lo [look!]
23. UNDERCOVER Un + der [(definite) articles in French and German (‘abroad’)] + cover [protection]
25. MINE Mite [little child] with n [name] replacing t [time]
27. EPOCH C [century] within anagram of hope
28. INSURANCE Anagram of sun in race
29. ALLERGEN (C)aller [visitor] + gen [information]
30. REGRET (Summe)r + egret [heron]
DOWN
1. SOMBRERO Sombre [grave] + r(obber) + O [zero, love]
2. POSTDATED Post [letters] + date [arrangement to meet] + d [daughter]
3. NARK Double definition
5. UNTRUTH Un [‘A’ in French (and thus in Nancy)] + t(eam) + Ruth [baseball player Babe]
6. STAGECRAFT Anagram of cast get far, and a lovely &lit
7. EXIST S(cotland) within exit [way out]
8. LASTLY Anagram of Salt + l [lake] + (cit)y
9. LAYOUT Layabout [idler] minus AB [sailor]
14. RESEARCHER Anagram of her careers
17. STATIONER Station [such as King’s Cross] + reversal of re [on, about]
18. MOVEMENT VE [Victory in Europe] within moment [importance]
20. EMOTIVE E(nergy) + motive [rationale]
21. BREAST R [river] within beast [animal]
22. EUREKA E [European] + RE [Royal Engineers, soldiers] within UK [country] + a
24. DROOL Dr [doctor] + reversal of loo [ladies’ – the missing apostrophe seems unfair]
26. BRAE Brave [courageous] minus v [very]
Thanks Ringo and Orense. Re 24d, I had always understood that punctuation (apart from capitalisation) was an entirely movable feast in crossword land (unlike greengrocers’!). An enjoyable puzzle with a nice range of devices.
Thanks Mike. I’d agree that in the cryptic element of the clue punctuation is something of a free-for-all, but I think the punctuation of the definition should be accurate – “ladies” without the apostrophe simply doesn’t constitute a fair definition of “loo”.
Hi everyone
With regard to 24dn, Chambers 2008 gives ladies n a public lavatory for women. Note that there is no apostrophe.
Ah, I stand corrected. Thank-you, Pelham, for the clarification.
In 5d I was caught out by ‘Nancy’s a’= un (not for the first time and probably not the last).
Thanks to Ringo and to Orense for an enjoyable puzzle.