This one took me 48 minutes. I found it quite tricky with a number of rather intricate parsings. For some reason my LOI (19ac) took for ever to parse but I had stopped the clock long before then.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | One wise guy on paper reversed view (6,5) |
| MIRROR IMAGE - MIRROR (paper), I (one), MAGE (wise guy). There's a very clever clue to something similar still under wraps at the moment. | |
| 7 | At last go with mass as a physical unit (3) |
| OHM - {g}O {wit}H [at last], M (mass) | |
| 9 | Bill entertains washing solution for suitable material? (9) |
| POLYESTER - POSTER (bill) contains [entertains] LYE (washing solution). 'Suitable material' as in a material from which suits can be made. LYE is a word I know only from crosswords. | |
| 10 | Insect you might catch: it has leaves to chew (5) |
| BETEL - Sounds like [you might catch] "beetle" (insect) | |
| 11 | Maybe phrase misprinted on page (7) |
| PERHAPS - P (page), anagram [misprinted] of PHRASE | |
| 12 | Why / reprimand? (4,3) |
| WHAT FOR - Two meanings. To give someone 'what for' is to reprimand them. | |
| 13 | Bird’s colourful — that is, on reflection (5) |
| EIDER - RED (colourful) + IE (that is) reversed [on reflection] | |
| 15 | Genuine article found in a new tunic (9) |
| AUTHENTIC - THE (article) contained by [found in] A + anagram [new] of TUNIC | |
| 17 | Swear sheep and lamb are interchangeable (9) |
| BLASPHEME - Anagram [interchangeable] of SHEEP LAMB | |
| 19 | Student, not acceptable, rejected by one painter (5) |
| LIPPI - P{u}PIL (student) [not acceptable - U] reversed [rejected], I (one). Take your pick from Filippo, Filippino or Lorenzo | |
| 20 | Scruffy barrister, not old, died (7) |
| RUMPLED - RUMP{o}LE (barrister) [not old], D (died) | |
| 22 | Appealing, are not always successful? (7) |
| WINSOME - WIN SOME / lose some (not always successful?) | |
| 24 | Area for new part of stage (5) |
| APRON - A (area), PRO (for), N (new) | |
| 25 | Prisoners taken for a ride, reportedly squeeze up (9) |
| CONSTRICT - CONS (prisoners), TRICT sounds like [reportedly] "tricked" (taken for a ride) | |
| 27 | Transporter of livestock avoiding a drama (3) |
| NOH - NO{a}H (transporter of livestock) [avoiding a] | |
| 28 | Visiting some ladies, noticed daughter idle (2,1,5,3) |
| AT A LOOSE END - AT A LOO (visiting some ladies), SEEN (noticed), D (daughter) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Sweet child removing pet hair that’s untidy (3) |
| MOP - MOP{pet} (sweet child) [removing pet] | |
| 2 | Despot perhaps that should go straight (5) |
| RULER - A straight definition and a cryptic hint with reference to the instrument used for measuring and drawing straight lines. | |
| 3 | Outside broadcast led by Frank (4-3) |
| OPEN-AIR - OPEN (frank), AIR (broadcast) | |
| 4 | Unwilling, run out of road in America (9) |
| INTESTATE - INTE{r}STATE (road in America) [run out of] | |
| 5 | School’s head confiscated weapon (5) |
| ARROW - {h}ARROW (school) [head confiscated]. My old school shared the Hill, many facilities and a school motto with this lot, known to Etonians as 'the dump on the lump'. Stet Fortuna Domus. | |
| 6 | Putting me up, couple give affectionate greeting (7) |
| EMBRACE - ME (reversed) [up], BRACE (couple) | |
| 7 | How one might find pest at odds with others (3,2,4) |
| OUT OF STEP - One of those self-referencing anagrams with 'out' in the answer as the anagrind and PEST in the clue as the anagrist | |
| 8 | Negligent work’s bad impact clear (11) |
| MALPRACTICE - Anagram [bad] of IMPACT CLEAR | |
| 11 | Lawyers benefit after halving enjoyable legal discussion (4-7) |
| PLEA-BARGAIN - PLEA{sing} (enjoyable) [halving], BAR (lawyers), GAIN (benefit) | |
| 14 | Finished army exercise, getting serious strains (4,5) |
| DEAD MARCH - DEAD (finished), MARCH (army exercise) | |
| 16 | Martial activity destroys a Kent wood (3,4,2) |
| TAE KWON DO - Anagram [destroys] of A KENT WOOD | |
| 18 | Heading for administration after banker advanced dough (7) |
| POLENTA - PO (banker), LENT (advanced), A{dministration} [heading] | |
| 19 | Medicine workers organised in county (7) |
| LINCTUS - US (workers organised - Trades Union) in LINCS (county - Lincolnshire) | |
| 21 | Country house hotel accepted by half the university community for erection (5) |
| DACHA - H (hotel - NATO alphabet) in [accepted by] ACAD{emia} (university community) [half] reversed [for erection] | |
| 23 | Everything horrid not to be furthered? (2,3) |
| ON ICE - If everything is horryd nothing (0) is NICE | |
| 26 | A little bit of information shortly picked up (3) |
| TAD - DAT{a} (information) [shortly] reversed [picked up] | |