It’s good to have a Don Manley puzzle, because his clues are always very logical and precise. That doesn’t mean, however, they’re particularly easy to solve if you don’t happen to have the necessary knowledge, but once you have solved them you can at least say with great confidence how they work. That was certainly the case with this puzzle, as I struggled with a few of them, and ended up searching Chambers…but not in vain.
Across | |
1 | Husks had energy, raw or cooked (9) |
BRANDERED – BRAN + E + RED. | |
11 | Old money in Brussels by road, look — that’s nice! (7) |
BELGARD – BELGA + RD. The Belga was used from 1925 to 1945. | |
12 | A part of the body that could be chilled or trembling once (6) |
ASPINE – A + SPINE, as in spine-tingling. | |
13 | Bolivians flying, but not through foreign capital (6) |
LISBON – Anagram of BOLVIANS – VIA. | |
14 | To become more efficient in general (4) |
SLIM – General William Joseph Slim, to be exact. I biffed the answer and looked him up. | |
15 | Dancer in topical magazine (4) |
ALMA – Hidden in [topic]AL MA[gazine]. | |
16 | Bird-house firm possessed by the same animal specialist (7) |
DOVECOT – DO + VE(CO)T, where do is an abbreviation for ditto. | |
17 | Scottish pet eating river fish (5) |
TROUT – T(R)OUT, a pet in the sense of a fit of temper. | |
18 | Nurse rushed, full of kindness? (8) |
ENGRACED – E.N.G. + RACED – Enrolled Nurse, General (but not Slim!). | |
23 | Pour out the acrid plant juice (8) |
THRIDACE – Anagram of THE ACRID. | |
25 | Cheats and criminals not caught (5) |
ROOKS – [c]ROOKS, a starter clue. | |
27 | When church needs little girl to show self-discipline (7) |
ASCESIS – AS + C.E. + SIS, as practiced by ascetics, no doubt. | |
29 | Whales and fish endlessly trailing round (4) |
ORCS – SCRO[d], as in the baked stuffed variety served in old-fashioned seaside restaurants. | |
30 | Alluring woman offers the tiniest little kiss (4) |
MINX – MIN[i} + X. Allure is not usually the primary quality of a minx, but definitions vary. | |
32 | Butterfly I had spotted by promenade maybe (6) |
PIERID – PIER + I’D. | |
33 | Hail Mary regularly rendered in holy journey (6) |
ALIYAH – Anagram of HAIL + [m]A[r]Y. | |
34 | Dicky had no gee-gee — losing leader of England totally downcast (7) |
HANGDOG – Anagram of HAD NO G[ee] G[ee], where all instances of E must be removed. | |
35 | Cowslip the female scout leader initially found by rotten tree (9, two words) |
HERB PETER – HER + (B-P) + anagram of TREE. A reference to Baden-Powell. |
Down | |
1 | Slam old leader of Empire — deceitful, considered historically (6) |
BRAIDE – BRAID + E[mpire]. Braid is the same as what you find in upbraid, but braide is a hapax from All’s Well that Ends Well, that could be a typo or an error. It’s in Chambers, but both the meaning and etymology are highly dubious. | |
2 | Parson’s role, I fancy, could be to give description of psalm in church? (12) |
RESPONSORIAL – Anagram of PARSON’S ROLE I. | |
3 | Stinging insects, not primarily poisonous creatures? (4) |
ASPS – [w]ASPS. | |
4 | Place making metal objects — in reality, possibly, it has disappeared (7) |
NAILERY – Anagram of IN REALITY – IT. | |
5 | Head in ice — that in part could be remedy for dizziness? (5) |
DINIC – Hidden in [hea]D IN IC[e]. | |
6 | Bishop, rarely exalted within, is someone with a story (7) |
RELATER – R(ELATE)R – our old friend the Right Reverend, and elate as an adjective. | |
7 | Poet and priest introducing holy scriptures (5) |
ELIOT – ELI + OT. | |
8 | Material with wonderful look given name (6) |
FABLON – FAB + LO + N. | |
9 | Nasty computer said to be in one respect “elephantine”? (12) |
PROMUSCIDATE – Anagram of COMPUTER SAID, giving a word meaning having a trunk like an elephant. | |
10 | What’s new in a fruit with biological attachment? (6) |
ADNATE – A D(N)ATE. | |
19 | Veil had to be put on daughter — expression of surprise about that (7) |
CHADDOR – C(HAD, D)OR. | |
20 | I need an odd biochemical substance (7) |
ADENINE – Anagram of I NEED AN. | |
21 | A new young wife here may be wasting away (6) |
TROPHY – A + TROPHY would be wasting away. | |
22 | Teacher to finish with little money (6) |
DOCENT – DO + CENT, another starter clue. | |
24 | Slough is “foreign” and delightful, not half! (6) |
ESCHAR – ES + CHAR[ming]. | |
26 | Runs off spinner being observed, as of old (5) |
SPIDE – SPIDE[r], giving us more Spenser. | |
28 | Bit of film about one group of professional experts in information (5) |
CILIP – C(I)LIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, of course. | |
31 | Walk in sexy style (4) |
XYST – Hidden in [se]XY ST[yle] – aka xystus in Latin, xystos in Greek, a covered portico. |
ASPINE is an archaic spelling of ASPEN, as in the tree, here used adjectivally, meaning trembling, as apparently the trees are wont to do.