Very pleasant. Thank you, Magwitch.
| Across | ||
| 1 | VICTIM |
Sacrifice two small boys (6)
Contractions (small) of Victor and Timothy |
| 5 | SIDEKICK |
Team gets a thrill from partner (8)
SIDE (team) plus KICK (thrill). This took me back to the software called Sidekick, from the very early days of the PC |
| 9 | SPARES |
Fights to limit European reserves (6)
SPARS (fights) surrounding E for European |
| 10 | NESTLING |
A safe place to hang about without doubt snuggling up (8)
NEST (a safe place) plus LING(ER) (hang about) without the ER (expression of hesitancy or doubt) |
| 11 | ALIENATE |
Turn off beer with tips of Indian tea mixed in (8)
ALE (beer) with IN (first and last letters of Indian) and TEA mixed into it |
| 12 | RESITS |
Sister screwed up second chances (6)
An anagram (screwed up) of sister |
| 13 | SPOT |
Awkward situation about first son (4)
A reversal (about) of TOP (first in rank) and S for son |
| 15 | HABITUAL |
Husband regularly unable to follow a small part of routine (8)
H for husband, plus UAL (every other letter of unable) following A BIT (a small part) |
| 18 | CREDIBLY |
Clubs are confident about backing bid in a convincing manner (8)
C for clubs followed by RELY (are confident) with DIB, a reversal (backing) of bid inserted |
| 19 | RING |
Extremely right-wing group of people (4)
The outermost (extremely) four letters of right-wing |
| 21 | TEASED |
Ridiculed time to relax before starting degree (6)
T for time pluse EASE (relax) before D, the first letter of degree |
| 23 | ABRASIVE |
A supporter’s unbounded naivety is grating (8)
A BRA’S (a supporter’s) plus IVE (naivety without its four outermost letters) |
| 25 | BEFRIEND |
Get close to a possibly brief death (8)
An anagram (possibly is the indicator)of brief followed by END (death) |
| 26 | GROGGY |
Befuddled with drink provided by heartless bloke (6)
GROG, a slang word for drink (grog was distributed in the British navy) plus GY (guy, or bloke, without its middle letter (heartless)) |
| 27 | KEEP AT IT |
Continue to be up to no good for 14 (4,2,2)
Another word for persevere (the answer to 14 down). KEEP (continue to be) plus AT IT (engaged in an activity, typically a reprehensible one). |
| 28 | TIDIER |
After a fashion I tried to become more presentable (6)
An anagram (after a fashion is the indicator) of I tried |
| Down | ||
| 2 | IMPEL |
Force emperor to go by rail (5)
IMP, a contraction of imperator, the Latin for emperor plus EL, one of the common crosswordese terms for railway, which appears to derive from an elevated railway in Chicago, USA |
| 3 | TORMENTED |
Distressed people involved in unlawful action at England’s borders (9)
MEN (people) inserted into TORT (unlawful action) plus ED, the outermost letters of England |
| 4 | MISHAP |
Being in the A-team is happily an accident (6)
Concealed in teaM IS HAPpily |
| 5 | SINCE THE YEAR DOT |
The doc struggled with eyestrain for a very long time (5,3,4,3)
An anagram (struggled) of the doc eyestrain |
| 6 | DESCRIBE |
Make fun of candidate at the back following report of record recount (8)
DESC (sounds like (hence report of) disc, or record) plus RIB (make fun of) plus E, the final letter (at the back) of candidate |
| 7 | KILLS |
Does away with unoriginal talents (5)
SKILLS without its first (original) letter. Neat. |
| 8 | CONSTRAIN |
Restrict arguments against school (9)
CONS (arguments against, as in pros and cons) plus TRAIN (school) |
| 14 | PERSEVERE |
Go on trying for a split vote on the right (9)
PER (for) plus SEVER (split) plus E therightmost letter of vote |
| 16 | THRESHOLD |
Opening there should collapse without EU (9)
An anagram (collapse) of there and should, after removing the E and the U. |
| 17 | OBEDIENT |
Willing to follow orders initially and be on strange new diet (8)
O, the initial letter of orders, plus BE plus an anagram (strange) of N for new and DIET |
| 20 | BRIGHT |
Clear river flows into a bay (6)
R for river inserted into BIGHT or bay |
| 22 | STRIP |
Take off football kit (5)
Double definition |
| 24 | VAGUE |
Absent-minded doctor gave up but not quietly (5)
Rearrange (doctor) the letters of gave up, excluding the p for piano |
Many thanks D&L for the blog.
I think this crossword deserves at least one comment.
Magwitch (aka Provis, in the Guardian Quiptic series) has rightly become a household name.
Even though she does things that are not completely my cup of tea [but only every now and then] like the device in 19ac (RING) or the use of ‘unbounded’ in 23ac (which, for me, is not specific enough), I have become quite a fan of her crosswords.
Good constructions, no cryptic definitions [if you cannot write them like Rufus, then perhaps you shouldn’t indeed], care for the surface.
Magwitch’s puzzles are characterised by consistency (in the same sense as Colin Gumbrell’s Everyman crosswords, or the puzzles by Peto/Poins)
Good stuff!
Thanks Magwitch and D&L
Another relatively straightforward puzzle from this setter. Don’t know whether it is a product of it being easier, but somehow missed the proper parsing of KEEP AT IT, IMPEL (although would have struggled with IMP. as an abbreviation of imperator) and PERSEVERE.
Finished down in the SW corner with SPOT, PERSEVERE and BEFRIEND the last few in.
Thanks D&L and Magwitch.
Some very curious constructions and definitions here.
I needed your help to properly parse IMPEL – thinking it might have more do do with IMPERIAL minus RAIL but then that didn’t explain the L at the end.
Equally, I didn’t properly parse KEEP AT IT – same as Bruce there (as so often).
It was a while before I eventually parsed PERSEVERE which was the key to the left hand side for me – the RHS having gone in quickly.
I did like the misdirection in 24dn.
So overall, much to like.