Here’s the solution to this week’s Janus Words puzzle, with the parsing of each clue explained and the completed puzzle below, with the themed solutions highlighted. This week’s puzzle’s theme was Janus Words and their tricksy little opposite meanings.
Definitions are italicized, “clue-type” indicators are shown in parentheses, and anagram indicators are additionally marked with an *.
Feel free to comment or reach out if you liked something, didn’t get something, or spotted an error!
Across
6 Heartless Rebecca and I confused by rock used for sculpture (7)
BRECCIA
An anagram (confused*) of REB_CCA (heartless Rebecca, i.e., with the central letter removed) + I. Breccia is a sedimentary rock commonly used in sculpture.
7 Put on article inside 3 to fend off a storm. A storm! (7)
WEATHER
An envelope with THE (article) inside (inside) WEAR (put on). Weather is a Janus Word that means “to endure” and “to fade.”
9 Ghost, for instance, losing second child minder (5)
CARER
A subtraction with SCARER (ghost, for instance) minus S (second, abbreviation).
10 Nice unicorn with no eyes going berserk at lack of interest (9)
UNCONCERN
An anagram (going berserk*) of NCEUNCORN (nice unicorn without the i’s).
11 Yearn for sign of obedience and Medieval weapon (7)
LONGBOW
A charade of LONG (yearn for) + BOW (sign of obedience).
13 Roughly abandon 3 stick that's also split (6)
CLEAVE
A charade of C (roughly, as in the abbreviation for circa) + LEAVE (abandon). Cleave is a Janus Word that means “cut apart” and “adhere to.”
15 Not particularly agile but canoed round it anyway (13)
UNCOORDINATED
An anagram (anyway*) of CANOED ROUND IT.
19 Hide or show 3 (6)
SCREEN
Double definition. Screen is a Janus Word that can mean “to hide from view” and “to show, as a movie.”
20 Kristy and Claudia accomplished this by a broth with bats (7)
BABYSAT
An anagram (broth*) of BY A and (with) BATS. Kristy and Claudia were founding members of The Baby-sitters Club.
23 Extravagant mustache for servant at the French pub (9)
HANDLEBAR
A charade of HAND (servant) + LE (the French — “the” in French) + BAR (pub).
24 Peter, for one, loses foot to teacher (5)
RABBI
A subtraction (loses) with RABBIT (Peter, for one) minus T (loses foot, i.e., the final letter).
26 Incredible frightening 3 that's cute, electrifying at first, and very Jack (7)
AWESOME
A charade of AW (that’s cute) + E (electrifying at first) + SO ME (very Jack). Awesome is a Janus Word that can mean “incredible” and (somewhat more archaically) “frightening.”
27 Lincoln orbiting Sun with velocity to spare! (7)
ABSOLVE
A container clue with ABE (Lincoln) around (orbiting) SOL (Sun) + V (velocity, abbreviation.)
Down
1 How ear comprehends 3 to deteriorate and endure? (4)
WEAR
A hidden clue (comprehends) in hoW EAR. Wear is a Janus Word that can mean both “erode” and “last.”
2 Block cooler up with small beetle (6)
SCARAB
A charade of BAR + AC reversed (up) after (with) S (small, abbreviation).
3 First month with brand after university term that could go either way (5,4)
JANUS WORD
A charade of JAN (first month) + SWORD (brand, a literary word for sword) after (after) U (university, abbreviation).
4 Distress coming back after tropical fruit, twisted inside, produces blossom (8)
MAGNOLIA
A reversal (coming back) of AIL (distress) after MAGNO (tropical fruit, twisted inside — i.e., with the inside letters of MANGO jumbled up).
5 They might cobble together some Shaker rum (10)
SHOEMAKERS
A cryptic definition (shoemakers who shared a shop might cobble together) with an anagram (rum* — in its sense meaning “strange”) of SOME SHAKER.
6 3 to collapse but hold on (6)
BUCKLE
A double definition. Buckle is a Janus Word that can mean “to collapse” and “to hold together, as a belt.”
7 Mop up after screen assassin (4)
WICK
Double definition. Wick means “to mop up” and is also a screen assassin played by Keanu Reeves in John Wick.
8 Call the hospital for an alarm clock, maybe? (6)
RINGER
A charade of RING (call) + E.R. (the hospital).
12 Nothing right about booze for this person! (10)
NONDRINKER
An &lit. definition that is a charade of NONE (nothing) + R (right, abbreviation) around (about) DRINK (booze).
14 Cook possibly live-streamed over a minute for a chopper (9)
TIMBERMAN
A charade of TIM (Cook, possibly, as in the CEO of Apple) + BE (live) + RAN (streamed) around (over) M (minute, abbreviation).
16 How one might clue ~kool~ 3 - watch, Miss! (8)
OVERLOOK
This is a rare sort of clue that I don’t believe I’ve discussed before. It’s basically asking you to imagine a common reversal clue for the word “Kool” (how one might clue kool) which is “look” reversed (over).
17 Nothing odd in varsity hymnal causing breathing problems (6)
ASTHMA
A letter selection clue with all the even letters (nothing odd) of vArSiTy HyMnAl.
18 3 that's hit and miss in baseball (6)
STRIKE
A double definition. Strike is a Janus Word that can mean “to hit” and “to miss in baseball.”
21 Breast let loose. Most naked! (6)
BAREST
An anagram (let loose*) of BREAST.
22 Strong Christian maybe drops head a bit (4)
ABLE
A letter rearrangement clue with BALE (Christian maybe) dropping the B below the A (drops head a bit).
25 Hold fast and run away, 3! (4)
BOLT
A double definition. Bolt is a Janus Word that can mean both “hold fast, as a door” and “run away.”
I must have missed the purpose of the '3' - why is that in some clues?
Toughie!