It seems 15-down caused a few of you some issues. It’s no wonder, really, as the last thing you would expect is a complete reversal clue with a 15-letter answer. In all the time that I’ve written cryptics, I’ve never seen a reversal that long, but I’ll have to admit that was the furthest thing from my mind when I started writing the clue. The STRESSED/DESSERTS association has been used countless times in cryptic circles, so when I saw DESSERTS I wondered straight away whether I could use reverse STRESSED somehow. Imagine my delight when I realised the remaining part of the answer, POONS, was itself a reversed word! More, SNOOP, can be a noun or a verb, so plently to work with. I think reversals, like hiddens and sounds-like clues, tend to be the most obvious clue types due to a relatively limited set of acceptable indicators available, but luckily there are a couple of reversal indicators that are common words (like ABOUT, AROUND and OVER) with multiple cryptic uses and ABOUT suited perfectly in this case. The more natural the clue in flow, the easier it is for the solver to miss elements of the wordplay. Trickiness isn’t necessary when simplicity is available.
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MAGISTRATE | |
| Publication is first to truly appraise judge (10) | MAG + IS + (T)RULY + RATE | |
| 6 | WAND | |
| Staff pale and sickly died (4) | WAN + D | |
| 9 | DEATH | |
| Departure date changed by hospital (5) | Anagram of DATE + H | |
| 10 | SALAD DAYS | |
| Youth speaks about schoolboy lawyer in the US (5,4) | SAYS outside (LAD + DA) | |
| 12 | EXTROVERT | |
| Newspaper edition ignoring a public figure who is not retiring (9) | (EXTRA minus A) + OVERT | |
| 13 | SHELL | |
| Hard structure to attack with bullets (5) | Double Definition | |
| 14 | RAMP | |
| Drive hard down last bit of steep slope (4) | RAM + STEE(P) | |
| 15 | FORENSIC | |
| Thief’s offsider corrupted cronies connected with courts of law? (8) | THIE(F) + anagram of CRONIES | |
| 18 | OVERSEAS | |
| Exotic introduction to odes and poetry, for instance (8) | (O)DES + VERSE + AS | |
| 20 | STUB | |
| Worn-out writer, perhaps, backed objections (4) | BUTS reversed | |
| 24 | TOILE | |
| Ladies, say, trimmed transparent fabric (5) | (TOILE)T | |
| 25 | SHARPENER | |
| Distributor accepting stockholder’s steel, for instance? (9) | SHARER outside PEN | |
| 26 | TIMESHARE | |
| Drain containing mesh adjoining a jointly owned property (9) | TIRE outside (MESH + A) | |
| 27 | OVARY | |
| Ring to change egg supplier (5) | O + VARY | |
| 28 | PASS | |
| I have pulled out of non-violent sanction (4) | PASSIVE minus IVE | |
| 29 | RECONSIDER | |
| Take another look at equestrian going around scattered cones (10) | RIDER outside anagram of CONES | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MIDGET | |
| Slow up to pick up small person (6) | DIM reversed + GET | |
| 2 | GO AFTER | |
| Words from screaming oaf terrified dog (2,5) | screaminG OAF TERrified | |
| 3 | SCHOOLMASTERS | |
| Teachers rearranged the classrooms (13) | Anagram of THE CLASSROOMS | |
| 4 | RUSHER | |
| River guide is one in a hurry (6) | R + USHER | |
| 5 | TELETHON | |
| Interrupted service fixed up on the broadcast fund raiser (8) | LET reversed + anagram of ON THE | |
| 7 | AMADEUS | |
| Biopic of a composer produced in a foreign country (7) | MADE inside (A + US) | |
| 8 | DISPLACE | |
| Shift clasp badly wedged in sink (8) | Anagram of CLASP inside DIE | |
| 11 | DESSERTSPOONS | |
| Busybody highly strung about consumer products (13) | (SNOOP + STRESSED) reversed | |
| 16 | FOOTSTEP | |
| Fine favourites extremely upset with pace (8) | F + (PETS + TOO) reversed | |
| 17 | NAUSEATE | |
| A union’s leader in Senate stirred up revolt (8) | [A + (U)NION] inside anagram of SENATE | |
| 19 | ENIGMAS | |
| Puzzling problems developed in games (7) | Anagram of IN GAMES | |
| 21 | BANDAID | |
| Plaster and adhesive originally included in tender (7) | [AND + (A)DHESIVE] inside BID | |
| 22 | GAZEBO | |
| Watch boat docked at summerhouse (6) | Gaze + (BOAT minus AT) | |
| 23 | PRAYER | |
| Petition got yanked away from drunken partygoer (6) | Anagram of PARTYGOER minus GOT |
Hence – my “Pick of the Week”……………..
Loved this one, took me all week to solve it, but I got there in the end, thanks, Richard and Arthur.
Consumer products had me way off beam. So I totally overlooked the indicator. Acheck of the clue hints after solving set my mind at rest.
Thoroughly enjoyed looking for a worn out writer and the play with non-violent.
Apparently Richard is an early riser. I was in NSW but still rose later than that.
Weeks of humid restless nights Arthur.
Toowoomba is approx. 700m above sea level – not supposed to happen.
Remnants of Debbie arriving now, hopefully will fix it.
Glad we could assist Wendy.
Love this ongoing dialogue, prolongs Stickler & all David’s great work.