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Hi HAPPY NEW YEAR
40ac "Hard at work but not for the civil service" (2,8)
?N?U?I?E?S
I know this has been debated elsewhere BUT
1. Work=Business what does the rest of the clue signify?
2. Is it In Business or On Business And why one and not the other?

Cheers all round Thea

I already explained my take on this one, I had hoped convincingly:
"IN business" means not only "hard at work" but "active in the private business world" ("Business " so to speak) as opposed to in the Civil Service ( where people are said to be lazy)---------------
----------------whereas "ON business" defines the purpose of a journey, for instance, but is not the contrary of "Civil Service."
Do you not agree with this distinction?
With only the 2 alternatives I see no other possible justification for the one rather than the other. Not a very good clue anyway in my opinion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.H.M.S.

Thanks GK and Rambler
I too think the clue is somewhat loose but your analysis, GK , does bring it down one way.
Thanks again Now the days are getting longer HaHa
All the best Thea