Guardian 27646

The puzzle is here.

I'll write just a few notes about clues that puzzled me, mostly in the northwest corner.

The whole thing has now been blogged here.

ACROSS

1 Great scholar of arithmetic is retiring (7)
ERASMUS - SUMS ARE = 'arithmetic is', rev. ('retiring')

5 Nietzsche reticently welcoming dissident (7)
HERETIC - incl. in NietzscHE RETICently

9 Stigmas and timeless indignity attached to homelessness, ultimately (7)
SAFFRON - (homelessnes)S + AFFRON(t) - the stigmas are part of the spice plant crocus sativus [the plural of 'stigma' in Greek is 'stigmata', btw]

10 Slightly wet, Maureen is figure on the left (7)
MOISTEN - MO is a pet name for Maureen + IS + TEN, which is the number of the clue, so is over there on the left side thereof

11 It's only just light and RAF is on manoeuvres (5,4)
FAIR'S FAIR - the first FAIR is 'light', the rest is from (raf is)* - clever clue

DOWN

1 Articulate letters from unfaithful lover initially bringing comfort (7)
EASEFUL - EASE is a homophone for Es (more than one letter E) + first letters

2 Nothing stops ardent romance (7)
AFFAIRE - FA (Fanny Adams or fuck all) is inside AFIRE

3 Ways of life further south (5)
MORE,S - it's the Latin word for 'manners', as in the phrase 'O tempora O mores!' - Oh the times, the manners!', as uttered by Cicero

4 Bernie shortly hosting function in Atlantic City (9)
SANTANDER - TAN(gent) - a function in trigonometry (I dimly recall) inside [Bernie] SANDER(s) losing his last letter; Atlantic City is in Noo Joisey; Santander is a city in Spain that's on the Atlantic

KEY

to abbreviations/terms/symbols which may have been used

(raga man)* = anagram of 'anagram'
cd = cryptic definition
dd = double definition
incl. = inclusive (hidden word)
def. = definition (synonym, literal)
rev. = reversed
anagind = anagram indicator
homophind = homophone indicator
surface - the apparent meaning of the clue, disguising what's really going on
&lit. - a clue in which the whole clue is the 'definition'
COD = clue of the day (imo); FOI, LOI, first/last one written in

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Garry Gillard | New: 22 October, 2018 | Now: 22 October, 2018