I didn’t find anything too hard in here and finished inside 9 minutes. A few got me looking the wrong way – especially LOI 23ac and, with a sprinkling of double definitions, this was a fun QC. Thanks to Oink who t(r)ottered into the puzzle personally at 4dn.
Definitions are underlined.
| Across | |
| 1 | Doctor had scrap for emergency shelter (5,3) |
| CRASH PAD – anagram (doctor) of HAD SCRAP. | |
| 6 | Every fruit quietly disappearing (4) |
| EACH – fruit p(EACH) with quietly – p – disappearing. | |
| 8 | Man perhaps insulted from time to time (4) |
| ISLE – (I)n(S)u(L)t(E)d. The answer Isle of Man would, perhaps, have been challenged by John Donne. His work ‘Devotions Upon Emergent Occaisons, and several steps in my Sickness’ of 1624 made it clear that he was quite adamant that no Man is an island. | |
| 9 | Become calm in court? (2,6) |
| GO STEADY – double definition. | |
| 10 | Dislike Methodist as teacher to an extent (8) |
| DISTASTE – in Metho(DIST AS TE)acher. | |
| 12 | Paradise for PM once (4) |
| EDEN – double definition. | |
| 13 | Nothing much for pudding? (6) |
| TRIFLE – double definition. | |
| 15 | Express disapproval of Egyptian king repeatedly (3-3) |
| TUT-TUT – Tutankhamun – or King Tut to his mates – repeated – TUT-TUT. | |
| 17 | Victor is a little treacherous (4) |
| HERO – in treac(HERO)us. | |
| 19 | Second person falling for cabaret performer (8) |
| STRIPPER – second (S), person falling (TRIPPER). | |
| 21 | What you might need to go beyond Dover? (8) |
| PASSPORT – cryptic definition including the pun of go beyond – pass – a port such as Dover. | |
| 23 | State of a reactionary priest (4) |
| AVER – a (A), priest – rev – backwards (reactionary) – REV. I mulled over many US states before the required meaning of ‘state’ came to mind. | |
| 24 | Group of policemen surrounding area to the west (4) |
| TEAM – policemen (MET) surrrounding area (A) all to the west – backwards. | |
| 25 | Jobs for the boys — as postmen, I suspect (8) |
| NEPOTISM – anagram (suspect) of POSTMEN I. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Runs one sportsman finds more dangerous (7) |
| RISKIER – runs (R), one (I), sportsman (SKIER). | |
| 3 | Perfume despatched, did you say? (5) |
| SCENT – homophone (did you say?) of dispatched-sent. | |
| 4 | Creature emerging occasionally in spring (3) |
| PIG – occaisionally in s(P)r(I)n(G). Hi Oink! | |
| 5 | One protesting when residents moved (9) |
| DISSENTER – anagram (moved) of RESIDENTS. | |
| 6 | Mountain sees First Lady taking breather (7) |
| EVEREST – first lady (EVE), breather (REST). | |
| 7 | Worry about daughter in revolutionary group (5) |
| CADRE – worry (CARE) about daughter (D). Cadre can be any group of professionals or a group of revolutionaries. | |
| 11 | Resigns in stages, unhappy (5,4) |
| STEPS DOWN – stages (STEPS), unhappy (DOWN). | |
| 14 | Force almost destroyed? That’s rubbish (7) |
| FLOTSAM – force (F), anagram (destroyed) of ALMOST. | |
| 16 | Futile advice for a drug addict? (7) |
| USELESS – the advice to a drug user would be to use less. | |
| 18 | Get rid of king? No difficulty about that (5) |
| ERASE – king (R) with no difficulty (EASE) around. | |
| 20 | Factory spy (5) |
| PLANT – double definition, | |
| 22 | Finest cannabis from the south (3) |
| TOP – cannabis – pot – from the south – up/backwards. | |
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