Club Monthly 20198 March 2017 – Harder than your average crossword..

I found this difficult, more so than the past several months. It appears from the Forum that I was not the only one, though the two Usual Suspects both managed it in under 30 minutes, dammit. I on the other hand took several days, as is my wont, doing a few clues here and there as and when time permitted. Must have been nearer two hours than one in total though, by the time I finished.

Lots of nice clues as always, though I did especially like 23ac, 4dn and 6dn. Oh, and 22dn

Dictionaries: The Club Monthly uses several dictionaries. The main ones are the Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD), Collins, and Chambers. I use Chambers, the online Collins dictionary, and the ODO. I use the online Oxford English Dictionary occasionally too (OED), for background.
If I have not explained an answer fully enough, do please ask…

I remind club members (“Offal,” this means you) that the closing date for this crossword is midnight on the last Thursday of the month ..

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

Across
1. One playing music live breaking into Gipsy Kings’ The Mountain (6)
djebel – DJ (one playing music) + BE (live) in EL, Spanish for “the.” The Gipsy Kings reference was lost on me until I looked it up
5. Anoraks go wrong with us and leak (8)
kagoules – *(GO + US + LEAK)
9. Did as one urging horse maybe has done, taking chestnut for canter, finally (8)
tchicked – TRICKED (done, ie conned) with the R altered to CH(estnut). I have never tchicked. But horses are a closed book to me.
10. Movements in Hungary and America female fronts (6)
lassus – LASS (female) + US
11. See the other side in case involving graduate, current holder of particular world view (10)
ptolemaist – PTO (see other sise) + MA (graduate) + I (current) in LEST (in case).
13. Order from Balmoral enacted again, I must depart (4)
redd – REDID, with no I. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh…
14. Kind old lady will ask niece to leave tips (4)
ylke – last letters of ladY wilL asK niecE
15. Responsibility ultimately rests on church, in trouble about prayers (10)
lychnapsia – (responsibilit)Y + CH(urch) + NAPS (rests), all in AIL (trouble) rev.
18. Second serious physical injury’s stopped by one with posh daggers (5-5)
sgian-dubhs – S, + I AND U (one with posh) in GBH’S (serious assault’s). You have to wonder about who on earth ever thought that “sgian-dubh” was a sensible way to spell a word
20. So prudish, oddly concealed sources from history (4)
ords – even letters of sO pRuDiSh
21. Knight the last character to reflect ancient curse (4)
zbud – DUB (knight, a la Queen Liz) + Z, rev.
23. Drug received corrupted young prince (5,5)
upper roger – UPPER (drug) + ROGER (over & out). The corruption of course being the word itself, originally Hindi “Yuva-rajd”, rather than (in most cases) the princes themselves. It doesn’t appear in Collins or the OED but it is in Chambers.
25. Cricketer holding firm, mostly, for India (6)
bharat – HAR(d) (firm) in BAT (cricketer)
26. With swelling around sole trousers are annoying (8)
convexly – C (around, circa) + VEX (are annoying) in ONLY (sole)
28. Breathers help at home, with the rest having withdrawn (8)
ctenidia – AID (help) + IN (at home) + ETC (the rest), all rev.
29. Brotherhood ducks out of supporting a Conservative (6)
fratry – FOR A TORY, with the Os removed

Down
2. Knife with sort of strap, note, attached to limb (9)
jockteleg – JOCK (as in jockstrap, as in: “Chinese wrestler’s jockstrap, cooked in chip fat, on a greasy day..” google it, if the phrase is unfamiliar 🙂
+ TE (a note, a drink with jam and bread..) + LEG. The word means a large clasp knife, etymology unclear
3. The Bar having position for magistrate, historically (7)
baillie – BAIL (bar) + LIE (position)
4. Where grouse are ostentatious, moose buries head (3)
lek – I spent ages looking for a four letter word *lek, before finally twigging that it is just ELK with the E buried.. in any other crossword the def. would be Albanian currency, but no, what we have here is “A patch of ground used by groups of birds of certain species, during the breeding season, as a setting for the males’ display and their meeting with the females..” (OED). A great surface reading to this clue!
5. Plug in kettle at first, smashing pot (5)
kadai – AD (plug) in K(ettle) + AI (smashing)
6. Series of upcoming features: in it a legendary glue maker (11)
gelatiniser – hidden, rather wonderfully, rev. in featuRES IN IT A LEGendary ..
7. In some places, peel off turnips scattered (7)
unstrip – *(TURNIPS). so, unstrip = strip. Strange, like flammable = inflammable
8. A pony, perhaps, or one nearly two thirds spent? (5)
equid – a pony is slang for £25, and so I think this must be (twentyfiv)EQUID
12. Disturbed youth simply overwhelmed by crooked dame (11)
maladjusted – LAD + JUST in *(DAME)
16. Caught a whiff of someone climbing mount (3)
cob – C (caught) + BO rev.
17. Resident lifted blue nickel tablet in each hand (9)
indweller – all rev: E (tablet) in L & R, + LEWD (blue) + NI ( ie Ni, nickel)
19. Log supporter’s offer to East London club (7)
andiron – the Cockney offer I suppose is (h)AND, and IRON is a club
20. Float having nothing to tie it (7)
oropesa – O + ROPE + SA (sex appeal, or “it”)
22. Right away, bra shed to reveal chest (5)
bahut – B(r)A + HUT (shed). Simple clue but very neat
24. Image by artist that would start a movement? (5)
picra – PIC (image) + RA (Royal Academician, ie artist)
27. Some number of letters between DG and church body once (3)
nef – N (some number) + (d)EF(g)