Club Monthly 20202 July 2017 – Best one yet?

Solving Time: Perhaps an hour and a half, in two leisurely sessions. I didn’t find this particularly hard, but I was struck by the high quality cluing and some lovely surface readings. Some solvers say they never notice surfaces, I understand where they are coming from but it seems a great shame as it is such an important part of the setter’s art. The Club Monthly never disappoints, but this month’s offering seems a particularly good example.

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…

Please note that the closing date for entries for this prize crossword is the last Thursday of each month, ie yesterday …

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

Across
1. What has a Kefalonian’s face partly obscured? (8)
kalyptra – *(A + K(efalonian) + PARTLY). A Greek veil, so an &lit clue
5. Monsieur is rewarded with hugs for plans again (6)
remaps – M(onsieur) in REAPS (is rewarded with)
8. Object when holiday is cut short (3)
res – RES(t). Latin, as in “Res ipsa loquitur,” the thing speaks for itself..
9. Woodcutting axes see to rodent, mostly (10)
xylotomous – XY (axes) + LO (see) + TO MOUS(e). A death watch beetle is xylotomous
10. Low point in meeting recalled that’ll take some beating (8)
mridanga – NADIR (low point) in AGM (meeting), all rev.
11. Decline to block money for Albanian timber producer (6)
lebbek – EBB (decline) in LEK (Albanian money)
12. In work, I zealously reflected devotion (4)
zikr – hidden, rev. in woRK I Zealously. A Muslim prayer in the OED but not Collins or Chambers
14. Dated dull succession of characters into French pop (10)
perstringe – STRING (succession of characters) in PERE (French father)
17. Charming excursion, making time by going east of Swiss canton (10)
vaudouxing – VAUD (Swiss canton, cap. Lausanne) + OUTING (excursion) with the T made into X (by)
20. Crosses help us to follow directions initially (4)
dsos – D(irections) + SOS (help us). A dso is one of a large family of cattle/yak crosses with numerous variant spellings. This one (in Chambers under Zho) is a male yak crossed with a cow. I’ve seen it a number of times .. but only in crosswords
23. Here, once, the large gut infected: what precedes BSE? (6)
Utgard – *(GUT) + ARD, which in a sense precedes BSE, geddit? The def. refers to it being the abode of the giants, in Norse mythology
24. Callowness I found in Nancy and, at first, Jessica Mitford? (8)
jejunity – JE (I in Nancy, and France generally) + J(essica) + UNITY (Mitford, perhaps). Very clever clue needing some serious lifting and separating
25. Early Liberal government in that year, governing in extremis with a king (10)
Whiggarchy –  G(overnin)G + A R, in WHICH Y(ear). Happy days, when Liberals had an unbeatable parliamentary majority…
26. Contracted, rarely used tongue muscle (3)
lat – presumably LAT(in). The muscle in question being the latissimus dorsi
27. Rubber ring rarely animated dog when picked up (6)
gromet – sounds like Gromit, one of the great comic creations, by that genius of animation, Nick Park. What will they do, now Peter Sallis is no longer with us?
28. Native Americans getting advice about chief are indebted to hosts (8)
otchipwe – CH(ief) in TIP (advice) in OWE (are indebted to). Another very slick construction for a tricky word

Down
1. Australia: a flag raised welcoming a very Russian literary family (9)
Karamazov – OZ (Australia) + A in MARK, all rev., + V(ery). My first one in, as I only know a very small number of Russian literary families..
2. Odd bits of loud criticism no longer healthy (7)
lustick – L(o)U(d) + STICK (criticism). An obsolete form of “lusty.”
3. Blows from rugby forwards to our ears and neck tendon (6)
paxwax – sounds like “pack’s whacks”
4. Ex I confused with uglier brother (9)
religieux – *(EX I + UGLIER)
5. Grub served on Tube, at the outset small underground branch (7)
rootlet – ROOTLE + T(ube). I think we all enjoy a rootle from time to time, don’t we? I know I do..
6. Second leg tie — outside left local’s poorly sighted (9)
moonblind – MO (second) + ON (leg) + L(eft) in BIND (tie)
7. Superstitious nonsense affecting devotion: woman defending error (7)
pisheog – PI (affecting devotion) + SHE (woman) + OG (defending error, an own goal). Anything to do with superstition is utter nonsense by definition, but shh! don’t let on ..
13. Bureaucrats’ business trips made complicated (3-6)
red-tapism – *(TRIPS MADE).
15. Do a number worry about District Commissioner? He’s better than he seems (6,3)
singed cat – SING (do a number) + DC in EAT (worry). A phrase that I felt I should know.. but didn’t.
16. Minor composition of French art: eg back-to-back films (9)
essayette – ES (French art, as in “Tu es”) + SAY (eg) + ET and TE, back-to-back films..
18. Want air to fly like a dove (7)
antiwar – *(WANT AIR)
19. Poet’s plain German and English missing from four couplets? (7)
undight – UND (German and) + (e)IGHT. It means unadorned, but I doubt if anyone has used the word since Shelley died
21. Cool drink after singular boarding arrangement (7)
shiplap – S(ingular) + HIP (cool) + LAP (drink). My summerhouse uses shiplap boards
22. Simple native dwelling of grass, cosy, not small, erected (6)
gunyah – HAY (grass) + (s)NUG (cosy), both rev.