A puzzle for readers of the Times for the Times blog. Mr Magoo says that this and his other bonus puzzle were written in response to challenges I made to setters in the old single-handed version of the blog. In this case, you'll have to guess what the challenge might have been about. I will say that one clue makes a reference that blog readers should understand, and that one of the Times crossword house rules is broken.
| 1 | Author taking refuge in Acton? (4,6) |
| 6 | Novel with work by 23 (4) |
| 10 | Second old woman, not married (5) |
| 11 | Can Julia set out with shoe? (9) |
| 12 | Writer's mixed metaphors (3,6) |
| 13 | Can he inspire love and devotion originally? (5) |
| 14 | What would be distinct, with a minimal initial key-change, is indistinct (5) |
| 16 | Flower that's purple and gold, I bear it in distress (9) |
| 19 | What may happen if your wife has a 13 that applies to everything? (3,4,2) |
| 21 | Writer brought home by a supporter (5) |
| 22 | Setter loses heart to very experienced solver (5) |
| 23 | Author writes about Jock's own ball (4,5) |
| 25 | Hesitant relative hasn't left time to be slightly delayed in train (9) |
| 26 | Hopeless case, eventual suicide one left to disappear (5) |
| 27 | Weaken work of 12 (4) |
| 28 | Writer being devil by holding something on his head (4,6) |
| 1 | Breakdown of reason could give work by 28? (5,1,3) |
| 2 | Human being resorted to book (5) |
| 3 | Frankfurter maybe sounds like fast food (7) |
| 4 | Scold Hawkeye's mate entering where we admit people? (9) |
| 5 | Trump lead with diamonds, perhaps, now and again (5) |
| 7 | I cure this sick method of teaching people how to learn things (9) |
| 8 | This might be used for suit modified with loss of ace and king (5) |
| 9 | Affected the result of Ajax's double-cross? (6) |
| 15 | Briefly furnish lyric of doubtful meaning (9) |
| 17 | Chess champion on TV in pieces, one captured by black king (9) |
| 18 | Gas replaced with energy supplied by 1 ac (5,4) |
| 20 | Total absence of English required to make this dawn of a Euro era (6) |
| 21 | Sailor breaks bachelor party up in one-piece suit (7) |
| 22 | With this one attached to brave civil rights leader would get protesting (5) |
| 23 | I take a security device, say, like the Thief of Baghdad? (5) |
| 24 | Material names divided by binary characters (5) |