Hi everybody. Despite a good start this took me two minutes over average time, so I clearly had to think a bit. I didn’t know the Wyoming city and had to trust the wordplay, but have no other issues to report. My COD is 15a. I could imagine someone of that name procrastinating by doing this crossword and their reaction on reading that clue. Thanks Izetti!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 7a | Servicemen take bits off part of ship (5) |
| ORLOP — OR (other ranks: servicemen) + LOP (take bits off) | |
| 8a | Not how to run a business? One’s perplexed (2,1,4) |
| AT A LOSS — Two definitions. I’m not quite sure how to explain the “one’s” though | |
| 10a | Most weird street by English lake (7) |
| EERIEST — ST (street) next to (by) E (English) and ERIE (lake) | |
| 11a | Weapon knight protected in fine material (5) |
| LANCE — N (knight; chess abbreviation) surrounded by (protected in) LACE (fine material) | |
| 12a | People up a sort of tree (9) |
| ANCESTORS — A cryptic definition: the tree is a family tree | |
| 14a | Slushy stuff, mostly fine (3) |
| GOO — All but the last letter of (mostly) GOOd (fine) | |
| 15a | Henry, stop wasting time! (3) |
| HAL — HAL[t] (stop) removing (wasting) T (time) | |
| 16a | House with new steamer for food some won’t eat? (9) |
| HORSEMEAT — HO (house) + an anagram of (new) STEAMER | |
| 18a | Magnificent drink knocked back (5) |
| REGAL — LAGER (drink) removed (knocked back) | |
| 20a | Story about a sheep in Wyoming city (7) |
| LARAMIE — LIE (story) around (about) A RAM (a sheep) | |
| 22a | Most profound river, something proving to be a nuisance (7) |
| DEEPEST — DEE (river) + PEST (something proving to be a nuisance) | |
| 23a | Army officer briefly getting round a port (5) |
| GENOA — GEN (army officer), with briefly indicating that an abbreviation is used, followed by O (round) and A | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Hereafter, God somehow could be met (12) |
| FOREGATHERED — An anagram of (… somehow) HEREAFTER, GOD | |
| 2d | Like office job associated with the vicar? (8) |
| CLERICAL — A double definition | |
| 3d | Sword carried by the peer (4) |
| EPEE — It’s inside (carried by) thE PEEr | |
| 4d | Design military event? (6) |
| TATTOO — Another double definition | |
| 5d | Man perhaps getting under vehicle left in city (8) |
| CARLISLE — ISLE (Man perhaps) after (getting under, in a down entry) CAR (vehicle) and L (left) | |
| 6d | Something hairy: like this answer! (4) |
| DOWN — Our final pair of definitions | |
| 9d | He stops a gent — mad rush (4,2,3,3) |
| STEP ON THE GAS — An anagram of (… mad) HE STOPS A GENT | |
| 13d | Riches’ll upset German author (8) |
| SCHILLER — RICHES‘LL anagrammed (upset) | |
| 14d | In gambling the Parisian appears bright (8) |
| GLEAMING — In GAMING (gambling) LE (the Parisian) is found, or appears | |
| 17d | Report soldiers behind schedule (6) |
| RELATE — RE (soldiers) + LATE (behind schedule) | |
| 19d | Information about lake in valley (4) |
| GLEN — GEN (information) around (about) L (lake) | |
| 21d | Anger — last thing needed by older generation (4) |
| RAGE — The last letter of (last thing needed by) oldeR + AGE (generation) | |
Actually I did enjoy this one and finished it without aids – eventually.