There were a few traps laid here, at 1 across 7 down and 21 down in particular where there are two obvious (or less than obvious words that kind of fit the clue). I knew the long anagram at 9 across which gave me a good start across the top, and I had read a short story by an Argentinian writer with almost the same last name as the plant at 15 down. It was the bottom left side that was the last to fall.
Grid watch: 12 by 12, 180 degree symmetry but lots of crossing between quadrants. Rather nice grid I thought.
The first definition is underlined – all definitions are confirmed by checking the entry in Chambers.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Prohibition has young hooligan stuck in outhouse (6) |
| BARNED – BAR(prohibition) and NED(young hooligan) | |
| 5 | Gift to hospital — holy book (6) |
| GRANTH – GRANT(gift) next to H(hosptial) | |
| 9 | Flea perhaps coming to grief in Erica’s teapot (12) |
| ECTOPARASITE – anagram of ERICA’S TEAPOT | |
| 10 | Nocturnal animal may be food to a snake (7) |
| NAGAPIE – the snake may eat a NAGA PIE | |
| 13 | Leading Greek character said to be a grass (4) |
| ALFA – sounds like ALPHA(Greek character) | |
| 14 | Maybe an old bird perches finally on beast of burden (6) |
|
SCAMEL – |
|
| 16 | Creature from outer space children design (4) |
| ETCH – ET(extra terrestrial), CH(children) | |
| 17 | Scripture that may be rendered in a chant (6) |
| TANACH – anagram of A,CHANT | |
| 18 | Dung and fibre kept in tin (6) |
| SHAIRN – HAIR(fibre) in SN(chemical symbol for tin) | |
| 22 | Robber making return, getting cut short, one captured (6) |
| REIVER – REVERT(return) shortened, with I inside | |
| 23 | Anxious and cross when one deemed good displaces king (6) |
| ANGSTY – ANGRY(cross) with ST(saint, one deemed good) instead of R(King) | |
| 24 | Snow yet to return (4) |
| NEVE – EVEN(yet) reversed | |
| 27 | Show fear, weeping — no yen, little energy (6) |
| CRINGE – CRYING(weeping) with no Y(yen), then E(energy) | |
| 28 | Senior not all trainees wanted (4) |
| AINE – hidden in trAINEes | |
| 29 | Darling husband taken into a shop (7) |
| ASTHORE – H(husband) in A, STORE(shop) | |
| 30 | Troubled ass — indicator reveals disease caused by worms (12) |
| DRACONTIASIS – anagram of ASS,INDICATOR | |
| 31 | Municipal officer beginning to cheer in call for round of drinks (6) |
|
SCHOUT – C |
|
| 32 | Something that cat sat on tot sits on (6) |
| SUMMAT – the cat sat on the MAT, with SUM(tot) first | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Plant with insect gathering prime bit of nectar repeatedly (5) |
|
BENNE – BEE(insect) containing N |
|
| 2 | A container, yours, decorated with a prickly plant (9) |
| ACANTHINE – A CAN(container), THINE(yours) | |
| 3 | Limited number with a skill in the time of the Flood (7) |
| NOACHIC – NO(number), A, CHIC(skill) | |
| 4 | Jock’s occasional place of retreat with interior design (6) |
| DAIMEN – DEN(place of retreat) containing AIM(design) | |
| 5 | Being received inadequately, weep as of old (6) |
| GREETE – remove the last letter from GREETED(received) | |
| 6 | When a river makes more than one bank (4) |
| ASAR – AS(when), A, R(river) – for those of you new to barred puzzles, get used to ASARS, ESKERS and ESKARS | |
| 7 | Antelope, one seen in Netherlands and part of Germany once (6) |
| NILGAU – I(one) in NL(Netherlands), and GAU(germam territorial district) | |
| 8 | Shrub no longer easy for the female to accommodate (7) |
| HEATHER – EATH(easy) inside HER(the female) | |
| 11 | Hunger after salmon in a traditional Scottish dish (8) |
| PARRITCH – ITCH(hunger) after PARR(salmon) | |
| 12 | Chance going round avenue you’ll see insect captured (8, two words) |
| SLAVE ANT – SLANT(chance) containing AVE(avenue). SLANT = CHANCE(slang) is in Chambers, don’t think I’ve seen or heard it used that way | |
| 15 | Plant I found in cave here unexpectedly (9) |
| ECHEVERIA – I inside an anagram of CAVE,HERE | |
| 18 | Old deer springs, keeping time, jumping up (7) |
| SPAYADS – SPAS(springs) containing DAY reversed | |
| 19 | Material old-fashioned company’s given to poor actor (7) |
| GINGHAM – GING(company), HAM(poor actor) | |
| 20 | This unfortunate woman, getting red, is harangued terribly (6) |
| AGUNAH – anagram of HARANGUED minus RED | |
| 21 | Heartless bloke to show great anger spinning round (6) |
|
GYRANT – G |
|
| 22 | Unruly sort around island behaves rowdily (6) |
| ROISTS – anagram of SORT aorund IS(island) | |
| 25 | Sheep on street close by in Scotland (5) |
| EWEST – EWE(sheep) on ST | |
| 26 | After a brief time duck becomes dry (4) |
| SECO – SEC(brief time), O(duck, score of zero in cricket) | |
COD SUMMAT, for reminding me of Beacon Readers Book 1 some 65 years ago, and for also reminding me of my Gran’s admonition that “if you get summat for nowt it’ll not be owt worth ‘aving”. I suppose it was a Yorkshire antithesis to not looking a gift horse in the mouth.