This took me twelve minutes on a tablet (the Android Times keyboard is working now), but it wasn’t a straight top-to-bottom write-in, I had to go back or wait for checkers a few times. Definitely harder than Wednesday’s, for which I was panned for sending people to the naughty step if they weren’t seeing the most obvious answers. So apologies for that! No Greek in this today but a few French-derived words and some French geography.
Across |
1 |
PLAYLET – P (power) LAY (not clerical) LET (authorised), def. ‘drama’. Logical, but not obvious. |
7 |
UNROLLS – UN (United Nations) and ROLLS = bread supply, def. ‘becomes visible?’. This was my last in, before I had the checkers I was thinking about money for ‘bread supply’ and a closer synonym for ‘becomes visible’, but the ? in the clue indicates it’s not a straight definition. |
9 |
STARTER – S = south, TARTER = more caustic, def. ‘race official’. |
10 |
BOASTER – Straw hat = BOATER, ‘wearing’ the S (society), def. ‘Bigmouth’. |
11 |
POMP – Musical work = OP, recalled makes it PO, add MP = politician, def. ‘Splendour’. Pomp and splendour often come together, so presumably they’re not the same thing, exactly. |
12 |
CANDIDATE – Def. ‘election hopeful’, from CAN D.I. DATE? Date meaning ‘to go out with’. |
14 |
ENTOURAGE – ‘Changes’ indicates the anagram (EURO AGENT)*, def. ‘attendants’. |
16 |
DEAL – A Double def., DEAL = a sort of timber, DEAL = agreement. |
17 |
EMBRACE – E = English, MB = doctor (Bachelor of Medicine, in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), RACE = contest, def. ‘hug’. |
20 |
REUNION – A double def., Reunion = coming together again, Réunion is a part of France in the Indian Ocean. |
21 |
TARGETS – Seaman = TAR (not AB for once), succeeds = GETS, def. ‘objectives’. |
22 |
EXTREME – ‘Part of’ tells you it’s a hidden word clue, T(EXT REME)MBERED, def. ‘immoderate’. |
Down |
1 |
POSTPONEMENT – (OPPONENTS MET)*, anagram indicated by ‘in revised arrangement’, and a revised arrangement could be a postponement, an elegant clue. |
2 |
ALARMIST – Gangster in crossword-land often means AL (as in Capone), provide with piece (i.e. gun) = ARM, first = Ist, def. someone who sees danger. |
3 |
LATE – L (Liberal), ATE, (dined), def. ‘after expected time’. |
4 |
TURBAN – T (trend initially) URBAN (associated with city), def. ‘headwear’. At first, I wanted there to be a city called RILBY, but there isn’t one. |
5 |
CREATIVE – (CAVE RITE)*, anagram indicator ‘unusual’, def. ‘showing impagination’. |
6 |
FLAT – Well, lustreless can mean ‘flat’ as in flat white paint, and a flat has rooms, as in ‘he took rooms in Chiswick’… so it’s a double def. |
8 |
SURVEILLANCE – SUR(E) = ‘almost’ certain, VEIL = cover, LANCE = weapon, assemble all for the def. ‘close observation’. |
12 |
CRUSADER – ‘To reform’ indicates (CARD USER)*, def. ‘one campaigning’. |
13 |
APPETITE – Primate = APE, install PET (favourite) IT (computers), AP(PET IT)E, def. ‘desire’. |
15 |
AVERSE – Def. ‘opposed’, A (introduction of arcane), with VERSE (poetry). |
18 |
BARE – Pub = BAR, European = E, def. ‘without elaboration’, e.g. ‘the bare facts’. |
19 |
DUET – Fitting = DUE, time = T, def. ‘activity by pair’. |
Particularly like Can DI date.
Edited at 2014-05-30 12:39 pm (UTC)
I agree, UN-ROLLS for source of bread was not impressive and reluctantly written in as my last clue.
Edited at 2014-05-30 04:38 pm (UTC)
Congratulations to pip on the threesome. Perhaps chrisw91 impagioned only 2?