Related Clues:

• Muffle, as sound
• Make numb, deprive of feeling
• Muffle, make muted
• Blunt, numb
• Muffle, deprive of feeling
• Dull for 22 down at last
• If the editor turns up in the Middle East, keep it quiet
• An inclusion indeed would make one much less lively
• Kill, as pain
• Make weaker or quieter
• Dull as last character leaving cul-de-sac?
• Writer makes a comeback with A Place to Kill
• Damp down; make less sensitive
• Make insensitive
• Check cul-de-sac - key missing