I can't think of any wordplay for an -ing word. Of course, not every word clued by "looking (after (family (heirlooms (: it (opens)))))" is an -ing word.
Yeah I can see why it's kinda iffy. It still reflects natural speech, since "the bag that/which I bought" can be shortened to "the bag I bought" and it would still be grammatically correct. But doing the same in a cryptic clue doesn't feel as natural at least for me? "[Looking after family] that/which [heirlooms ... opens] stores all around" would feel clearer (although of course the surface is now ruined)
(To clarify, I know that it should still be grammatically correct even without the that/which, but for some reason it just doesn't feel that way)
In my parenthetical note, I guess I meant cryptically grammatically correct. "X in Y" isn't really a sentence but "X is in Y" is, but "X in Y" as a cryptic clue can be understood to mean that X is hidden in Y.
You refuse to see me as my age.
It's quite odd, and yes, no fun.
Until I was five, you'd just disregard me,
And then you just saw me as one!
When six, you vividly saw me as two,
Following that, thinking me four.
But then at nine, you did announce
That I was inextant once more.
Kinda similar to this – V plus the rest of the wordplay, three V's in the clue, the indicator for V itself having a V, an anagram involved, and that anagram involving a present participle
Is the answer an author (360 was written by this person), a mathematician (Eccentric mathematician), or an &lit/semi-lit? (Eccentric is an anagram, cluephrase is 'MATHEMATICIANLETRHOCOS' or something like that)
A doctor must measure out a precise fraction of a tablet for a young patient. The doctor has an empty 5-ounce vial, an empty 3-ounce vial, a water supply, a sink, and a single water-soluble tablet.
How can the doctor measure out a dose (dissolved in water) of exactly 10% of a tablet?
Attributio...