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It is an anagram- mote

Turast, I was certainly expecting a variation of the latter somewhere.

Don't think that there is a silent M elsewhere?

You deserve a mention from the Editor when the result is published.

BTW I noticed that two clued entries are also thematic.

I'm with you Turast; for no particular reason I opted for mnemonics - I suppose they're more useful to me than gnomonics.

Vinsculler

I'd be more than happy if somebody could point me in the direction of a stray silent M or G, but I couldn't find one. I went with the "M" word, but I think, in all fairness, both should be permitted.

This is the second recent Spectator puzzle to contain an impossible ambiguity in an unclued entry - cf 5a in 2411.

35d could also be KNIVE.

Thanks for that reminder, KT17. Doc set this week's crossword - he should have donned his Crossword Editor's hat and checked for any ambiguities (especially after having had the same issue only a few weeks ago).

Malone, I should have listened more to my late father - his job was to write important things.

One thing I did learn from him was never to proof-read one's own writing - his theorem was that if you made a mistake in the first place, you might easily miss it in a rereading.

I do wonder what steps these august setters, who normally do such sterling work, take to ensure their puzzles pass muster.

KT17, I think the setters should solve and go over each other's puzzles with a fine tooth comb, to make sure no errors or ambiguities appear.

PS I agree with your father but only partly. Writers should never be the only ones to proof-read their stuff, but they surely have a responsibility to ensure that what is typeset is what they said and meant. The editor, sub, copy-editor might not realise how crucial a certain word, phrase or semi-colon is!

Thank you for that djawhufc. That is what I thought it would be but I couldn't find the definition.