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Whilst I’d hesitate to ever use the word “easy” about a Beelzebub puzzle, this one certainly seemed to reside at the more tractable end of the spectrum. I managed to finish unaided in a single session, which is a first, though there were one or two leaps of faith that required checking in Chambers later.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 2 | PYROLYSIS – (YR in POLY) + SIS. |
| 10 | ARCO – RE + CO. |
| 12 | RUN OFF – NO in RUFF. Nothing to do with the pontiff: a “ruff” is a fish, another name for which is “pope”. |
| 13 | DUFF – dd. |
| 15 | GLEEFUL – (FEEL in LUG)<. |
| 17 | UMPIRE – UMP + IRE. I’m not sure which *UMP word means “justice”, but I’m sure there’s one there somewhere. |
| 19 | STAGE MANAGER – (A NAME)< in STAGGER. |
| 20 | VITUPERATIVE – V + I + TU + [o]PERATIVE. |
| 23 | ACCESS – C in (ACE + SS. |
| 25 | CLEARED – C + LEADER*. |
| 27 | TURN – T + URN. |
| 28 | AILETTE – [g]ILET in ATE. |
| 29 | ODIOUS – OD + IO + US. |
| 30 | LOAN – hom. of “lone”. |
| 31 | DISTEMPER – DIS + TEMPER. |
| Down | |
| 1 | RADIUS VECTOR – (ADI[e]US + V) in RECTOR. |
| 2 | PRISM – PR + ISM. |
| 3 | ROUT – dd. |
| 4 | OBSTREPOROUS – (BOOSTER SUPER)*. |
| 5 | LIEGEMEN – LIE + GEM + EN. |
| 6 | SUPERNACULUM – (UP + UNCLEAR*) in SUM. |
| 7 | INDEX – [f]IND EX[ploration]. |
| 8 | EFFUSE – F in [r]EFUSE. |
| 9 | EFFLORESCENT – (FEEL FOR)* + SCENT. |
| 14 | SPATHE – SPAT + HE. |
| 16 | FOGIES – GI in FOES. |
| 18 | PARADISE – IS in PARADE. |
| 21 | ILLUDE – DULL< in IE. |
| 22 | HANOI – HAN + OI. |
| 24 | SITAR – I in STAR. |
| 26 | HELP – L in HEP. |
17ac, I had it as JUMP meaning “start” less J for justice.