Inflation, or Now We Are Twelve by Waterloo

Puzzle explanation

Answers affected by inflation are shown in the table below. As indicated in the preamble, the resulting grid entries were usually nonsensical. The subtitle was a reference to Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Answer Explanation
ACROSS
5 RANINE → RAEIGHTEEN HEARING* about TEE
12 INWALL WIN ALL with W moved
14 CONTE (C + ONE) about T(rench)
16 SWEET SIXTEEN → SWEET THIRTY-TWO THE TWISTY TOWER*; film and song title
17 HANTLE HASSLE, S+S changed to NT
19 HALFA → ONEA ONA about (mol)E
21 SIXER → TWELVEER First letters + VEER
25 FIVES → TENS TENS(e)
27 WEYARD WE + YARD
28 JATO JAT before O
29 TWENTY-TWENTY → FORTY-FORTY Homophone (forte, twice)
31 SAW Two definitions
32 BIKER (stic)K in BIER
34 THIEF IF THE*
35 ONER → TWOR WROT(e)*
38 SORBO BR < in S(ome) O(odd) O(penings)
39 COP s(COP)e
40 ROCS Initial letters
41 GEAR MANAGER* – MAN
44 TALA T(abla) + A LA
45 ELIXIR (F)ELIX + (s)IR
46 FORTY-FIVE → NINETY IN TYNE*
47 PESO (PEON – N) about S
48 OUST DOUBLE BURST* – D – RUBBLE*
49 TWOCCER → FOURCCER 4cc + (th)E + (olde)R
Down
1 DISHONEST → DISHTWOST DISH + TOT about (W, S)
2 UNWAGED UNASSWAGED – ASS
3 ELEVEN-PLUS → TWENTY-TWO-PLUS (SULTRY + T’ + NEWT – R(eputation)) < about WOP; expression “drunk as a newt”
4 HAET HET about A (it)
6 ALT SALT – S
7 ECHO Hidden
8 GORE GO + RE
9 TOYS TOGS with Y for G (ends of GallerY)
10 ENTREAT ENTRECHAT – CH
11 NEON NEOCON – CO; the abbreviated form “neocon” only appears in Chambers in the 2006 edn: we apologise for the oversight
13 FORTY-NINER → NINETY-EIGHTR (HR + TYING + NE(w) + TIE)*
15 TENEBRISM → TWENTYEBRISM (S(onnet) + WRITTEN BY ME)*
18 ELDRITCH EL + R in DITCH
20 ARGOT GOT after AR: baffled as in “I got him with that puzzle”
22 WAFER WAY ALFRED* – LADY*
23 VAT Middle letters: (dri)V(ing) (cav)A(lry) + ’T
24 ENFREE EN + FEE about R
26 SOFTWOOD → SOFFOUROD SOUR + (g)OD about OFF
30 RHO Hidden: capital Greek letter rho is P
33 KISLEU UNLIKE*, S for N
36 WOAD WORD, A for R(evolting)
37 MOTIF TOM < + IF
38 SALIC L(ad) in SAIC
39 CONE → CTWO Hidden
40 RANT (g)RANT
42 RIPE (t)RIPE
43 OXER OVER with V (5) becoming X (10)
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