[Chalky] Here is the explanation: Person bound to learn=PRENTICE. Sacrifice pawn (P) and rook (R) to leave ENTICE. To offer temptation=ENTICE (straight def). There you go.

Ah - many thanks, kind sir. Didn't realise that PRENTICE was aphetic for APPRENTICE and if I hadn't been so lazy a quick peek in the dictionary would have told me that.

This crossword pretty much did itself last night, but I don't fully understand two of them. (Answers in square brackets).

• Archer's thing? Yes, with or without dash (12) [BULLSHITTING]
• US would-be persuaders of the continuing need for persuaders (3,5) [GUN LOBBY]

The former has an obvious main definition - I don't get the device. The latter looks like a single definition, but I just don't get it.

Meanwhile the same puzzle includes (8) (Geddit?) which should be obvious in the light of our recent discussions.

[rab] Re-archer: I assume the idea is that it is a double definition. With a dash (hyphen), it can be read as bulls-hitting, which is what archers do. Without, it is what Jeff does. And I've seen "clueless" done that way before, more or less.

[CdM] Thanks - I've got so used to reading 'without' as the opposite of 'within' I forget it can also mean the opposite of 'with'. Also I should have realised this: Cyclops has clued this word in this kind of way before.

I think that clue would be improved by being simply Archer's thing. Like the bust down reason example, it makes the entire clue simultaneously the definition and the cryptic indication.

Well, since BULLS-HITTING isn't a common phrase as far as I'm aware (unlike BULLSHITTING) you'd probably need to write it as Archer's thing? with a question mark.