Across
1 Releases soccer team goals (12)
MANUMISSIONS; MANU-MISSIONS;
9 Real loss surprisingly makes you happy! (8, two words)
ALL,ROSES; (real loss)*;
10 Wee children finally repelled by vegetable in Scotland (4)
NEEP; PEE-(children)N reversed; a turnip, with a dram or three the usual accompaniment to haggis;
11 High-up person perhaps goes white in state requiring aid endlessly (8)
NEPALESE; NE(PALES)E(d);
13 Shoe tie coming from side street going west (6)
T-STRAP; PART-ST reversed;
15 Part of motor turns around, expending energy (6)
STATOR; ROTAT(e)S reversed;
18 Walk pompously in support (5)
STRUT; two meanings;
19 Mix of ingredients still perhaps in smart room (8)
SALPICON; SAL(PIC)ON;
21 See friend behind pub with cocaine and sort of acid (8)
CINNAMIC; C-INN-AMI-C; see=C; cocaine=C;
22 Old-fashioned praise surrounds new King (5)
HENRY; HE(N)RY; old fashioned praise=HERY;
25 What is hard in a salad? (6)
RADISH; (is hard)*;
26 Religious teachers in pub nearby, half-cut (6)
BARBES; BAR-BES(ide);
27 A payment covers one cordial drink (8)
PERSICOT; PER-S(I)COT;
29 Place devoted to the Virgin Mary is forgotten (4)
MART; MAR(is)T;
30 Standard rent mentioned for theatre pit (8)
PARTERRE; PAR-sounds like “tear”;
31 Expert went by old lady screening sun (12, two words)
PASSED, MASTER; PASSED-MA(S)TER;
Down
1 Crustacean mum cooked isn’t a tiny one (12, two words)
MANTIS,SHRIMP; MA-(isn’t)*-SHRIMP;
2 Smart person caught out in festival (3)
ALE; ALE(c);
3 Source of poison mostly unusual for number in college (5)
URARI; college=uni then change “n”=number to “rar” from “rare”
4 Two seconds to net the French fish (5)
MOLAS; MO-LA-S;
5 US composer is hearing soprano (8)
SESSIONS; SESSION-S; soprano=S;
6 Blacken associate overlooking most of the former Zulu movement (7)
INKATHA; INK-A-TH(e)-A;
7 Gadflies odd in set so fixed (8)
OESTRUMS; (set so)* surrounds RUM;
8 Spectator first to report the boundaries of Stokes? Possibly (12)
SPORTSCASTER; (spectator + r + ss)*;
12 Rake around greens daily (7)
ROUTINE; ROU(TIN)E; money=greens=TIN;
14 Brown surrounding President’s seal (7, two words)
SEA,BEAR; SE(ABE)AR;
16 Moll with tarts? Refuse to go up inside (8)
FLANDERS; FLANS surrounds RED reversed;
17 One police boss is a user (8)
ACIDHEAD; A-CID-HEAD;
20 Stirs up trouble for pedants (7)
PURISTS; (stirs up)*;
23 Rural Dean ignored by unpleasant person: that’s enough for Will (5)
BASTA; BASTA(rd); Waggle-dagger word for “enough”;
24 Sign that’s found in Roman art (5)
ARIES; AR(IE)S; Latin for “art”=ARS;
28 Pole said to be in a tangle (3)
ORE; sounds like “oar”;
Mephisto 2972 – Tim Moorey
A very fast solve that gave no problems and needed no recourse to Chambers; 2D and 28D solved without even reading the clues! In the blog the definition in the clue is underlined and followed by the answer; the parsing;
http://languagehat.com/pastpassed-master/
‘Passed master’ is probably more correct for someone who has become an official expert by passing an exam or other test.
I was thinking about whether or not ‘pass muster’ would be involved in this somewhere, and hey presto.