This is a very easy puzzle that can be 90% solved without recourse to Chambers (C).
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | OFFS – OFF-S; OFF=officer; S=special; ices; |
| 4 | DITTY,BAG – DITTY-B-AG; B=book; AG=silver; salt=sailor; a sailor’s kit bag; |
| 10 | PROLETARIES – P(ROLE)T-A-(rise)*; PT=port; hopeless=anagrind; the Roman poor whose contribution to society was their progeny. These days they go under a different name; |
| 12 | BASILDON – BASIL-DON; originally an Essex village that in 1948 was combined with other local villages to form a New Town to take London overspill. Stand in the middle and you could be in Basingstoke, Slough, Stevenage, etc. Famous as a general election barometer; |
| 13 | AMABEL – AM-ABE-L; AM=American; ABE=President Lincoln; L=left; almost extinct girl’s name, now more usually Mabel or Belle; |
| 14 | SAMFOO – SAM(e)-FOO(d); Cantonese trouser suit; |
| 15 | TALUK – TAL(U)K; a hereditary estate such as North and South Bangalore; (C); |
| 19 | MEATBALLS – M-EAT-BALLS; M=millions; EAT=put away; gammon=nonsense=BALLS; faggots; |
| 21 | COMMINUTE – COMM(I-N)UTE; N=naira; COMMUTE=exchange; to pulverize; (C); |
| 25 | FROME – FROM-E; hilly, historic Somerset market town with narrow cobbled streets not far from where I’m writing this; |
| 26 | ATTACH – ATT-A-CH; ATT=attorney; A=advanced; CH=check; |
| 27 | HOT,WAR – (“for what” with “f=force” removed)*; drill=anagrind; worse than warm war and the opposite of cold war; |
| 29 | FAITOURS – FA-I-TOURS; FA=note (music); impostors (see “faitor” in (C)); |
| 30 | WAG-‘N-BIETJIE – (a wet Beijing)*; out=anagring; see wait-a-bit in (C); |
| 31 | RUSEDSKI – (risk)* surrounds USED; high=anagrind; tackle=seize; reference Greg RUSEDSKI tennis player born in Montreal (where my father came from) to a British mother which enabled him to play for England, much to Canada’s annoyance; |
| 32 | HAST – two meanings; 1=acronym for Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time; 2= old word for “have”; (C); |
| Down | |
| 1 | OPIATE – O-P(I)ATE; PATE=crown of the head; opium based drug or religion for Marxists; |
| 2 | FROM,A,TO,Z – (of Mozart)*; allegro=brisk movement=anagrind; |
| 3 | SLOB – BOLS reversed. Lucas BOLS are Dutch liqueur manufacturers; sludgy floating Canadian ice; (C); |
| 5 | ITALIAN – (“nationality” with “Tony” removed)*; |
| 6 | TASSE – T(ickle)-ASS-E(ventually); armour plated skirt that protects one from wag-‘n-bietjie; |
| 7 | TRIAD – (dirt)* surrounds A=all in Glasgow; the Hong Kong Mafia; |
| 8 | BEDFELLOWS – BED(FELLOW)S; BEDS=Bedfordshire; colleagues; |
| 9 | GENOAS – GEN-O-A(t)-S; A=”at” half; OS=Operating System; Jibs=sails=definition; |
| 11 | GALIMATIAS – GAL(IT-AMI all reversed)AS; rhubarb=definition=slang for how many would describe Alastair-in-Wonderland’s claims to economic competence; (C); |
| 16 | UMMA – reversed hidden word (st)UM MA(mi); the community of Muslim believers; |
| 17 | LAER – reversed REAL; shoot=dart back=reversal indicator; a laager; |
| 18 | CLEMATIS – (climates)*; versatile climbing shrub with varieties that flower in every season; |
| 20 | TUGHRIK – (uk right)*; Mongolian moolah; (C); |
| 21 | CHAFER – CHA(FE)R; FE=iron; a type of beetle; |
| 22 | VERVET – VERVE-T; T=tons; an African monkey; |
| 23 | YCOND – hidden word (disorderl)Y COND(uct); old word for shown; |
| 24 | CHUBS – C-HUBS; C=contralto; fish (the black bass perhaps); |
| 28 | TATH – (that)*; neat=cattle; a Jersey calling card; (C); |
At 30ac, I could see it was an anagram, but I remembered that as a child I read some stories about Africa which referred to “wait-a-bit” thorns, which looked as if it would fit the bill nicely. Fortunately it is listed in Chambers with the Afikaans name, which saved the trouble of a tricky anagram!
Is Greg Rusedski still playing – haven’t heard of him for a while?