My first Midi Contest entry! I really enjoy writing gimmicked cryptic clues, hopefully it’s not wildly unsolvable!
Nudge 1: The surface of the correct readings will not usually make grammatical sense, only cryptical sense.
Nudge 2: Rereadings do not involve adding, removing or changing any letters.
Across hint: look back at the across clues; are there common clueing phrases presented non-standardly?
Bigger across hint: no, really, look back at the across clues.
Down hint: these seem to mostly work, but there’s often a word that seems out of place. Focus on how you might transform that word so the clue makes total cryptical sense.
Across clues were to be read IN REVERSE order, keeping all words otherwise the same.
Down clues contained one word which was to have its letters reversed.
1A: (INTENT+WIRE)*
7A: Acrostic: Ensealed Quartermaster Uranium In Put; def: “supply with”
8A: LOSE(“Place last”) taking O (abbr. for over)
9A: /I see/; homophone (“in lecture”) of I see (“expression of realisation”)
10A: hidden in tuB EEL IN Entering; def: “direct route”
11A: CHAIR* + (-ga)VE
13A: PO (aabr. for Petty Officer) surrounding R (abbr. for rule); def: “in support”
14A LAVA (“hot stuff”) containing “(eating”) R (“supper at last”)
15A: double definition: “bar”; “used one’s mouth for words”
16A: CONTENT (“satisfied”) containing (“keeping”) SIS (“sister”)
2D: TRY (“attempt”) contains (“spans”) U[tensi]L
3D: RE (“on”) + PUBLICANS (“bar owners”)
4D: IDLES BEST WE*; def: “gnus”)
5D: IN MAO* (anagrind: “Edit”)
6D: BEEN* + V[i]OLENT (“violent leaving out one”)
12D: C[herry] (“tip of cherry”) + ARGO (“famous Greek vessel”
13D: PE (“sports”) containing (“around”) R[o]O[m]S (“rooms, oddly”)