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.