CROSSHARE
1D
Sappy young leader retired, developed thick skin. (4) 1. letter deletion, synonym 2. Sappy = corny
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Horizontales
  1. 8A
    To leave Ghana, westward. (4) 1. Double definition 2. "Westward" isn't a wordplay indicator.
  2. 9A
    You were in, and now you're out. You started that early - or vice-versa. (5) 1. letter selection, reversal 2. "You were in and now you're out" is the definition - and I'm absolutely certain you were once in here.
  3. 12A
    Gnu isn't a French 9. (4) 1. translation, abbreviation 2. 9 definitely isn't French - it's in Italy's oldest language.
  4. 13A
    Declaimed "To be", included most Elizabethan tragedies' other orations' first parts. (2,3) 1. letter selection 2. Yes, just letter selection. "Declaimed", "included", "most", and "other" aren't here as indicators.
  5. 14A
    No peace for bottomless income: it pitiably broke down. (15) 1. Letter deletion, anagram, charades 2. Although it's an across word, "income" still has a bottom.
  6. 17A
    Modern light showed the way. (3) 1. double definition 2. I don't think I can make it easier than that, to be honest, without just telling you the answer.
  7. 18A
    A spurned king dresses a headless hero in Pierre's good shift. (6) 1. Letter deletion, insertion, translation. 2. Pierre is French, what's the French "good"?
  8. 21A
    Keep it secure, say, in this. (6) 1. homophone, synonym. 2. A pining plot device.
  9. 25A
    Tailor says so. (3) 1. Homophone 2. "Tailor" can be a verb.
  10. 26A
    Jacinda Ardern and Indira Ghandi for two, had this condition. (3) 1. Double definition 2. Jacinda and Indira have at least two things in common beyond the last letter of their first names.
  11. 28A
    No back and forth! (3) 1. &lit, palindrome 2. I considered adding Pierre to this clue too, but I don't think he's necessary - but he would help if you were having trouble. How? Frenchly shrugs.
  12. 29A
    Submissive fish doesn't have time. (4) 1. Letter deletion, abbreviation 2. The particular fish is a betta
  13. 30A
    Life force reported in recently-militarised city. (5) 1. homophone 2. Korea was recently placed under martial law, for about eight hours.
  14. 31A
    Right after that girl's master, for Dietrich! (4) 1. Abbreviation, synonym 2. The definition is "master, for Dietrich"
  15. 32A
    Tolkienic orc's forebear has no original self. (3) 1. Letter deletion 2. Saruman: Do you know how the orcs first came into being?
  16. 34A
    Dane plays catch, mostly urban play. (3) 1. Letter selection, anag. 2. "Dane play" is Hamlet. What's Hamlet's catch?
  17. 35A
    Minister's yes damages pirate's. (3) 1. Anag. 2. A minister is a politician as well as a religious leader.
  18. 36A
    Marked in winter, medically. (6) 1. hidden word 2. A mark is a specific name for something.
  19. 37A
    Fool two Peruvian pads. (6) 1. Charades, synonym, translation 2. Peruvians speak Spanish.
  20. 38A
    Brickhead sounds buzzer. (3) 1. Letter selection, homophone 2. "Brickhead" is both fodder and indicator.
  21. 40A
    Battle has blades whirling around mum's hat - upcycled felt. HOW am I supposed to read this clue‽ (4,4,2,5) 1. synonym, insertion, letter selection 2. the hardest part of this is to remember that blades whirling is how to describe a helicopter's... what?
  22. 47A
    Five Jackson locks broken so far. (5) 1. Anag. 2. The five Jacksons had particular locks, when they went by that name.
  23. 48A
    Eight-nothing owed to Cannes' starting backs. (4) 1. Abbreviation, letter selection 2. Only the middle three words are fodder for "starting backs"
  24. 49A
    Blue River's creator secretly meets an aqueduct. (5) 1. Hidden word 2. Blue river = blue Nile
  25. 50A
    Without being started, block lifts junk. (4) 1. letter deletion 2. A junk is a type of boat.
Verticales
  1. 1D
    Sappy young leader retired, developed thick skin. (4) 1. letter deletion, synonym 2. Sappy = corny
  2. 2D
    One half of mom's whippet. (4) 1. charades, letter selection, abbreviation. 2. "Whippet" is slang for nitrous oxide.
  3. 3D
    Deep mud hides up butt, informally. (4) Hidden word, reversal 2. A nice big butt can be called, informally, a type of truck. This one was fun to clue.
  4. 4D
    Bot's temperature boiled inventor's long-sought goal. (6,9) 1. anag 2. There's a proverb about what all inventors want to make
  5. 5D
    Moron's an old boy, any way you look at it. (4) 1. Palindrome, abbreviation 2. "Old boy" is commonly abbreviated to "OB"
  6. 6D
    Half-bullying lie. (4) 1. letter selection 2. That's bull, and you know it is!
  7. 7D
    Model can be thin. (4) 1. double definition 2. Think about biscuits, and money-hungry little girls...
  8. 10D
    Take home a headless blue duck. (4) 1. Double definition, letter deletion. 2. Yes, two definitions, plus wordplay, who are you to be so lucky? Anyway, if you take something home, there's another verb for that.
  9. 11D
    Can enrage toppled fashion leader. (4) 1. reversal 2. "Can enrage" is the definition.
  10. 15D
    Catty comment from homeowner. (4) 1. hidden word 2. What does a cat say?
  11. 16D
    Insurgents captured New Origins star. (4) 1. letter selection 2. First letters, indicated by "origins"
  12. 18D
    Year-long transit is nothing to trotting Brit. (5) 1. Abbreviation, anag. 2. By definition, what transit always takes a year, no matter what planet you stand upon?
  13. 19D
    Biblical heroine's lost her head for perfumer's oil. (5) 1. Letter deletion 2. The biblical heroine in question married Ahaseurus
  14. 20D
    My head follows non-fantasy domain. (5) 1. Charades, letter selection, synonym 2. If something's not a fantasy, it's ___
  15. 22D
    A songwriter and a baron agree to share chicken duties? (5) 1. Synonyms 2. This one's weird, I know. Definition is "A songwriter and a baron"
  16. 23D
    Sometimes dorks don't flee to a study's work. (4) 1. Letter selection 2. The definition is "work".
  17. 24D
    Twisting pieces of jewellery, Scot holds rook upside-down! (5) 1. Insertion, reversal, abbreviation 2. Think about how a rook is noted in chess notation.
  18. 26D
    Every phobia's beginning - hesitation. (3) 1. letter selection, abbreviation 2. Definition is "every"
  19. 27D
    Beneath an overturned vehicle. (3) 1. Reversal, synonym 2. The vehicle is a bus
  20. 33D
    Loss leader puts an end to fine sense. (4) 1. letter selection, synonym 2. "fine" is not an adjective".
  21. 35D
    Thy talk of yore (4) 1. Homophone 2. Definition is "thy"
  22. 38D
    True bros sometimes become lifelong sufferances (4) 1. Letter selection 2. Think in eights.
  23. 39D
    Fancy town's revolutionary tone. (4) 1. Letter switching 2. Roll the word tone without changing the order - just move first to last, first to last, first to last...
  24. 41D
    Sexy car flipped your lid. (4). 1. Reversal, abbreviation 2. "Sexy" is the definition"
  25. 42D
    Feeling doom recede. (4) 1. Reversal 2. "Feeling" is the definition.
  26. 43D
    "Devours" is a common indicator word in cryptic crosswords for container-type wordplay. (4) 1. Double definition 2. Yes, I'm very cheeky. Alternate wordplay: cycle seat.
  27. 44D
    Oscar doesn't accept "approximately" for frozen ridge. (4) 1. Abbreviation, letter deletion 2. It's a difficult word, not in most people's vocabulary, but if you remember that "approximately" is equal to "circa", which is often appended to dates as "c. 1900" you'll get it.
  28. 45D
    I'll talk about dead rest. (4) 1. Homophone, abbreviation, insertion 2. "Rest" is the definition
  29. 46D
    Slash's bandmate is a terrible writer. (4) 1. Double definition 2. Stop thinking about Guns n Roses.
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