Club Monthly 20173 February 2015

Some good stuff here though and I enjoyed sloving it. I especially liked the two long down clues, 3 & 9dn.

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(–), homophones indicated in “”

ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online, OED = Oxford English Dictionary, etc.

If a parsing is unclear or too terse, please do ask, & I will respond

Across
1. Lines by playwright with narrative development written about wild flower (10)
cranesbill – LL (lines) + IBSEN (playwright) + ARC (narrative development) all rev. The latter def. was not one that occurred to me initially. But ODO says: “arc – (In a novel, play, or film) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme: his transformation provides the emotional arc of the story”
6. American’s unsolicited opinion perhaps appropriate in Grand Theft Auto? (4)
twoc – dd: two cents’ worth, and car theft – short for “Taken without the owner’s consent.” Fortunately I have met this before (in crosswordland, I hasten to add), could be a tricky clue otherwise
10. Prime dinner hour all over Roman province (7)
Rhaetia – AI (prime) + TEA (dinner) + HR (hour), all rev. What meals are called varies quite a lot.. I was brought up to have lunch, tea and supper so a dinner would only ever be a formal event involving evening dress. Others differ, but it is hard to see how tea and dinner can be synonyms. Collins however does include: Tea: the main evening meal.
11. Mate gets hold of a judge’s address, living in Slough? (7)
paludal – A LUD (judge’s address) in PAL (mate). Cue ancient joke: the accused: “I did do it, but I was as drunk as a judge.” judge: “My good fellow, I think you meant ‘as drunk as a lord.'” the accused: “Yes, m y lord.” Paludal means relating to marshes, so a slough as in the slough of despond. As such there should be no capital S. Inserting one to help the surface is cheating I think, though others beg to differ. Ximenes said it could be done “At a pinch” but even he clearly felt guilty about it
12. Place incorporating poor-quality gateway, oddly missing important ones (9)
propylaea – ROPY (poor-quality) in PL (place) + GATEWAY
13. Pollen’s effect held back in uncertain extent (5)
xenia – hidden, rev., in uncertAIN EXtent
14. Scots worry research gets Liberal turning to English (5)
deeve – DELVE (research), with the L becoming E
15. Unfinished slabs laid by facilities causing problem for horses’ legs (3,6)
bog spavin – BOGS (facilities, ie lavatories) + PAVIN(G). A joint inflammation, with no obvious connection to bogs..
17. Music producer or mogul going round pub swallowing cheer (9)
vibraharp – RAH (cheer) in BAR (pub) in VIP (mogul): VI(B(RAH)AR)P
20. Growth hormone that’s artificial, not initially popular (5)
auxin – ( F )AUX (artificial) + IN (popular)
21. Crosses off curse, to cancel bad Muslim spirit (5)
jinni – JIN(X) (curse) + NI(X) (to cancel) with “crosses off.”
23. Wallaby that’s staggering died in refusal to jump backwards (9)
padymelon – MY (staggering) + D(ied), in NO (refusal) + LEAP (to jump), all rev. And not pademelon, which is what I put, an alternative and in fact more common spelling of the wallaby in question – but which unfortunately fails to parse properly.
25. Scrooge almost becoming tedious after turnaround (7)
niggard – DRAGGIN(G), (becoming tedious) rev.
26. Difficult week in allotment (7)
awkward – WK (week) in AWARD (allotment)
27. Forecast onset of rain in place of clouds (4)
skry – R( AIN ) in SKY (“place of clouds”) – a clever clue
28. Police deny wrenching round end of bone (10)
epicondyle – *(POLICE DENY)

Down
1. Tropical tree top conceals gunners (5)
carap – RA (gunners, the Royal Artillery) in CAP (top)
2. Article and short story are indebted to books in poor state (2,1,3,3)
at a low ebb – A (article) + TAL(E) (short story) + OWE (are indebted to) + BB (books)
3. European calamint grows wild around related herb based on incomplete premises (14)
enthymematical – THYME (related herb) in *(E + CALAMINT). look up the genus calamintha to see how thyme is “related”
4. Arts graduate, like medical one, is a childish creature (3-4)
baa-lamb – BA (arts graduate) + A LA (like) + MB (bachelor of medicine)
5. China raised and praised one of its teas (7)
Lapsang – PAL (china, which is rhyming slang, china plate = mate) rev., + SANG (praised). Sang = praised seems a bit of a stretch to me, but Collins says: “to tell (something) or give praise (to someone), esp in verse   ⇒ “the poet who sings of the Trojan dead””
7. Supreme god by Christian reckoning, in this instant sent up (5)
Wodan – AD (anno domini, christian reckoning) in NOW (this instant), all rev.
8. Vegetarian dish for 19: contains preserve, note (9)
colcannon – CAN (preserve) + N (note) in COLON, ie :   … another tricky clue! A dish of Irish origin, hence the reference to 19dn.
9. Antidote for poison oak, an alternative to cover tiny bright spot over injury (14)
alexipharmakon – PIXEL (tiny bright spot) rev., + HARM (injury), all in *(OAK AN)
14. See joy dissolving among Viking invaders seeing sailors’ bogy (4,5).
Davy Jones – V (see, as in qv) + *(JOY) in DANES, your Viking invaders. The origins of “Davy Jones’ Locker” remain very obscure, despite Bill Nighy in Pirates of the Caribbean.
16. One keeping up standards to annoy ’Imalayan conqueror (9)
vexillary – VEX (annoy) + (H)ILLARY, ie Edmund.
18. Roused mountain lion devours deputy when climbing (5,2)
amped up – DEP(uty) in PUMA, a mountain lion, all rev.
19. Irish man interspersing “1 Down” and “One D” the other way (7)
Padraic – I + D inserted into CARAP (which is 1dn), all rev.
22. Men following clapped-out horse and antelope in Africa (5)
nagor – NAG (clapped-out horse) + OR (other ranks, = men)
24. Naked jog where one’s on show for good (5)
nudie – NUDGE (jog) with the G replaced by an I