Woohoo – the script is working again! We can bulk reproduce crossword clues with abandon.
I had a hard time with the last few fiddly bits of this puzzle. Most of the long answers were easy to get at with wordplay, and a quick spotting of the potential for the pun at the top to be STAKE A CLAIM helped me out tremendously. There’s still a few wordplays I’m a little up in the air about, maybe those will sort themselves up as I type this out.
Definitions are underlined
Away we go…
Across | |
1 | Right to assess wood cut for BBQ, perhaps (5) |
STEAK – |
|
5 | Liberal point on according rave review (7) |
ACCLAIM – L(liberal), AIM(point) next to ACC(aacording) | |
10 | Dependable sort returning dress, fairly upset about daughter (10, two words) |
GIRLFRIDAY – RIG(dress) reversed then an anagram of FAIRLY around D | |
11 | Try hard to plough in historic fashion (4) |
HEAR – H(hard), EAR(plough) | |
12 | “Relax” — song to dominate utterly (7) |
LIEDOWN – LIED (German song), OWN(dominate utterly) | |
14 | Holm is historically obstructed (5) |
ISLET – IS, LET(obstructed) | |
16 | Tuning peg inserted in fixed musical instrument (6) |
SPINET – PIN(tuning peg) in SET(fixed) | |
17 | Exodus finally seen in choice festival of liberation (6) |
PESACH – |
|
18 | Protected animal is disturbed in a brook beside duck (9) |
ARMADILLO – MAD(disturbed) in A RILL(brook), O(duck) | |
21 | Fancy term for paratactically set and in continuance (9) |
ASYNDETON – I think I have this right – an anagram of (practicall)Y,SET,AND then ON(in continuance) with the whole being the definition | |
24 | What stands in front of hearth in a study? (6) |
ASHCAN – H |
|
26 | Flipping arrogant gasp with respect to following departure (6) |
HOPOFF – POH(arrogant gasp) reversed, then OF(with respect to), F(following) | |
28 | Zulu guzzles out of tin holders (5) |
ZARFS – Z(zulu, NATO alphabet) then SNARFS(guzzles) missing SN(tin) | |
29 | Eliot bemused by translator’s poem (7) |
TRIOLET – anagram of ELIOT with TR(translator) | |
30 | Cross with one starting to complain about animals (4) |
ZOIC – ZO(cross, hybrid animal) then I, C |
|
31 | I ran with tailor fittingly making what looks long short (10) |
IRRATIONAL – anagram of I,RAN,TAILOR | |
32 | Paradigm of western dress? Don’t change it, sunshine (7) |
STETSON – STET(don’t change it), SON(sunshine) | |
33 | Sound argument from which ma’ll break free mug (5) |
GOLEM – another one I’m trying to wrap my head around – Sound has to indicate GO, but I’m not sure how. The rest is LEMMA(argument) missing MA. As pointed out in comments, GO can mean to sound a bell or a gun to start a race, so that was my bad. |
Down | |
1 | School teaching year shows difference in pitch (7) |
SCHISMA – SCH(school), ISM(teaching), A(year) | |
2 | She crosses a line in Parisienne’s very old hat, right? (10) |
TRESPASSER – TRES(very), PASSE(old hat), R | |
3 | Fairness would be sovereignty without right (7) |
EGALITY – REGALITY missing R | |
4 | Soak vessel upside-down in large bowl (6) |
KRATER – RET ARK all reversed | |
5 | Wholly excessive people will dig in here? (9) |
ALLOTMENT – ALL(wholly), OTT(excessive) containing MEN(people) | |
6 | Worked on a boat unprepared to be heard (6) |
CREWED – sounds like CRUDE(unprepared) | |
7 | These beaches could be packed solid (5) |
LIDOS – anagram of SOLID | |
8 | Fusses about spinning fail for Sturgeon (4) |
ADOS – A(about), then a reverse of SOD(fail in Scots is a turf or sod) | |
9 | Gosh! Chinese people turned up mimic (5) |
MYNAH – MY(gosh) then HAN(Chinese people) reversed | |
13 | Lollard with fabulous felicity gaining frequency (10) |
WYCLIFFITE – W(with) and an anagram of FELICITY containing F(frequency) | |
15 | Near indifference over anonymous fashion in poet’s sobriquet (9) |
APATHATON – APATH |
|
19 | Paper which is not read can curl (7, two words) |
LOOROLL – LOO(can), ROLL(curl) | |
20 | Fellow in shifting focus on mobile refuse (7) |
OFFSCUM – F(fellow) inside an anagram of FOCUS, then M(mobile) | |
22 | Ultimate in rearing previously earnest foster-kids from Fife (6) |
DAULTS – ULT(ultimate) inside SAD(earnest) reversed | |
23 | Bleeding “Circle of Life” (6) |
OOZING – O(crircle) O(of), ZING(life) | |
24 | We resist Article 50 being overlooked from upcoming opening (5) |
ANTIS – AN(article) then L(50) removed from SLIT(opening) reversed | |
25 | European run out aboard Geordie coaler (5) |
CROAT – RO(run out) inside CAT(coaler) | |
27 | Shocking manager losing the second half (4) |
DIRE – DIRE |
I didn’t find this particularly hard, although it required a fair bit of checking in Chambers.
I thought 21ac (which I read in the same way) was amazingly clever.
Edited at 2018-02-11 11:08 am (UTC)