ACROSS
1 Advance across delta by small boat (9)
OVERDRAFT – OVER D by RAFT
6 Maybe US criminals had briefly to be imprisoned (7)
PERHAPS – PERPS, “imprisoning” HA{d}
10 To start with alibi for example is a defence (5)
AEGIS – A{libi} E.G. IS
13 Distance often affected a proclamation from the French (5,2,6)
EDICT OF NANTES – (DISTANCE OFTEN*). Paris vaut bien une messe, n’est-ce pas?
14 Uncomfortable with allies failing to eat meal (3,2,4)
ILL AT EASE – (ALLIES*), “eating” TEA
15 Glass changing hands in this checkout cart (7)
TUMBREL – take a TUMBLER, and swap its L and R (hands). “Checkout” as a euphemism for death, here!
16 Working twenty-four hours? At first no — twelve (7)
NOONDAY – ON DAY [working | 24 hours], with NO at first
17 Put down duke, a powerful ruler, to be unmarried (7)
DEPRESS – D + E{m}PRESS
18 Relaxed, one’s agent finally very adequate (12)
SATISFACTORY – SAT [relaxed] + I’S FACTOR {ver}Y
20 Wickedness in dog suggested? (10)
WRONGDOING – reverse cryptic, wrong doing = (DOING*) = IN DOG
23 He gambles debtor is concealing reserve (5)
DICER – DR “conceals” ICE
24 Leap to one’s feet and refuse to move (5,4)
STAND FAST – idiomatically, “stand fast” is to refuse to budge; literalistically, it might be to stand up quickly
25 Old woman’s herbal therapy? (7)
MASSAGE – or MA’S SAGE
26 Bill tends to cry, in comprehensive victory (1,5,5)
A CLEAN SWEEP – AC LEANS WEEP [bill | tends | to cry]
28 Unwise to fail to fill in old exercise books (11)
INEXPEDIENT – DIE [to fail] “filling” IN EX P.E. NT [in | old | exercise | (Biblical) books]
30 Being August, start to sweat on US borders (11)
STATELINESS – S{weat}, on STATE LINES
32 Thoroughly learn something for party that is of top quality (11)
MASTERPIECE – or else to MASTER your party PIECE
34 Each group of diners wants food so (7)
EATABLE – EA TABLE, semi-&lit
36 Brave daughter, relatively short? (9)
DAUNTLESS – D + AUNT-LESS
38 Busy giving the pot this? (5)
ASTIR – and one could be busy giving the pot A STIR
39 Judge member of cast going through lines uncooperative (10)
REFRACTORY – REF + ACTOR “going through” RY
41 Before Mailer, nothing American is unbelievable (12)
PREPOSTEROUS – PRE [before] + POSTER [mailer, as in one who mails (a letter)] + O US
45 In defence, good for the French to drink wine (7)
BASTION – BON “drinking” ASTI
46 Reveller losing head: he’s waking others? (7)
AROUSER – {c}AROUSER
47 Farm workers ending in embarrassment, colouring (7)
PIGMENT – PIGMEN + {embarrassmen}T
49 Unworldly, one union trapped in cycle of decline? (9)
SPIRITUAL – I T.U. “trapped” in SPIRAL
50 See lecturer in swimming pool here? (7,6)
LEISURE CENTRE – (SEE LECTURER IN*)
52 Departs school, coming back famous (5)
NOTED – reversed D ETON
53 Compel men for cell to be stripped (7)
ENFORCE – hidden in {m}EN FOR CE{ll}
54 Oliver’s horse has smooth flanks (9)
IRONSIDES – IRON [smooth] + SIDES [flanks]. Cromwellian cavalry units
DOWN
1 Greek character and others one’s assumed nameless (7)
ORESTES – REST [others], “assumed” by O{n}E’S
2 Magician left without female contrived to be mystifying (11)
ENIGMATICAL – (MAGICIAN LE{f}T*)
3 Put off find (not mine) (5)
DETER – DETER{mine}
4 Two equal parts? Not hard at all, with a fodder plant (7)
ALFALFA – {h}ALF + {h}ALF + A
5 Drop of water shortly for plant (3)
TEA – TEA{r}
6 City in revolution at first pretty backward, rejecting both sides (9)
PETROGRAD – P{retty} + {r}ETROGRAD{e}. Better known today as St Petersburg, though it’s been Leningrad too
7 Live on the edge (6)
RESIDE – RE: SIDE
8 First Murderer’s speech: I make peers sick, drinking my soup — and the monarch (2,1,2,8,6)
AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER – (I MAKE PEERS*), “drinking” MY BROTH, + E.R. [HM the queen]. Not the First Murderer from Macbeth, but the one from the Bible, disavowing knowledge of the whereabouts of Abel
9 Shame about horrible noise in tank (7)
SALADIN – reversed ALAS + DIN. Looks like the Alvis Saladin was a six-wheeled armoured car designed in the 50s
10 Coming across page, not fond of Shelley? The exact opposite (9)
ANTIPODES – coming “across” P, ANTI-ODES
11 Serious wizard in Tyrone, say, worshipped figure (6,5)
GRAVEN IMAGE – or GRAVE N.I. MAGE
12 Maybe young member of family has not got on flight (5)
STEPS – STEPS{on}
16 Fail to understand why coin toss doesn’t produce result? (3,4,4,2,4,2)
NOT MAKE HEAD OR TAIL OF – and a whimsical scenario wherein the headness or tailness of an actual coin toss cannot be determined
19 Regain consciousness, nearly safe following powerful shot? (7)
SURFACE – SUR{e} + F + ACE
21 Spooner’s finest clothes not regularly seen at the bar (5,4)
GUEST BEER – Spoonerism of BEST GEAR
22 One is taken in by a most peculiar philosophy (6)
TAOISM – I “taken in by” (A MOST*)
23 Tug on left side circling southern approaches (5,4)
DRAWS NEAR – DRAW [tug on] + NEAR [left side], “circling” S
24 Sort of wave, going round one way in chapel (7)
SISTINE – SINE, “going round” I ST
25 Trees start off sale, unplanned? (7)
MAPLESS – MAPLES + S{ale}
27 Creature pouched in the afternoon biting us, very upset (6)
POSSUM – P.M. [in the afternoon] “biting” reversed US, SO
29 Corrupt sheriff’s assistant half-cut at wild party (7)
DEPRAVE – DEP{uty} at RAVE
31 Probable left-winger’s broadcast is fantastic (11)
ANTIFASCIST – (IS FANTASTIC*). Of course, as some right-wing commentators are at pains to tell us, perhaps it’s the people who hate fascism the most who are the real fascists? (Spoiler: they’re not.)
33 Turned out and applied to keep most of treasure (11)
EXTROVERTED – EXERTED “keeping” TROV{e}
35 Made happy to have meal, if I must be in the garden (9)
BEATIFIED – EAT IF I, (must be) in BED [the garden]
37 Act with elegance on radio, one admits (9)
TURNSTILE – TURN [act] + homophone of STYLE
40 Large amount, definitely brother’s cut (7)
TONSURE – TON + SURE
42 Drink more extravagantly as commander (7)
SUPREMO – SUP + (MORE*)
43 Subjects for painting that shouldn’t be dropped (7)
SITTERS – double def: a sitter is a very easy catch
44 Monkey’s mistake (6)
HOWLER – double def
45 Perhaps Higgs’ two children, one missing a sex chromosome (5)
BOSON – BO{y} + SON
48 Assume visitors are short of time (5)
GUESS – GUES{t}S
51 Someone other than me, as it were, educated here? (3)
UNI – or, the opposite of I, the UN-I
I completed the puzzle leaving no queries and minimal workings in the margins so I conclude I must have found it quite easy.
Edited at 2021-02-05 06:47 pm (UTC)