I didn’t find this too bad, but had to give up and leave a few until the next morning. I filled in the bottom readily enough, but the top half was a little more challenging until I had a sudden breakthrough with the fear and the centre of excellence.
It was helpful that many of the answers were not unknown to me, so I was able to confidently put in mesne, strewth, ebriose, snathes, and xerarch. However, there are a few where the cryptic is hard to put your finger on, although the answer is quite evident. Comments welcome!
| Across | |
| 1 | Feel fine holding a small butterfly (5) |
| ELFIN – Hidden in [fe]EL FIN[e] – a hidden I was very slow to spot. | |
| 5 | This fear in flying could be frightfully prescient (7) |
| SPECTRE – Anagram of PRESCIENT – IN, which flies off. | |
| 11 | Centre of excellence’s head is holding firm and calm about Henry (12, two words) |
| BEACON SCHOOL – BEA(CO)N’S + C(H)OOL. We don’t see bean for head very often. | |
| 12 | Driving force turns on this rare portmanteau storyteller used contrarily (8, two words) |
| RACK RAIL – RACK + LIAR backwards. A portmanteau can be a rack for hanging clothes. | |
| 13 | Superlatively light Latin that is about Latin (6) |
| IDLEST – ID (L) EST, where idle is one of the many possible meanings of light as an adjective. | |
| 14 | Completely off, you bet — in Scotland a little way off (6) |
| OUTBYE – Anagram of YOU BET. | |
| 16 | Last character scoffs, binning tin holders for hot cups (5) |
| ZARFS – Z + [sn]ARFS, where binning is a removal indicator. | |
| 17 | Rab C’s cursing is blether but boasting as before (5) |
| SNASH – I believe this is just a triple definition, but maybe there’s something else going on here. | |
| 18 | Account for what was once simple but isn’t now? (7) |
| EXPLAIN – EX-PLAIN, of course. | |
| 21 | Shroud, for example, with good condition (7, two words) |
| EGG CASE – E.G + G + CASE. | |
| 23 | Rumpole’s intermediary married old domestic drudge (5) |
| MESNE – M + ESNE. | |
| 25 | Round and round ground medleys (5) |
| OLIOS – O + SOIL backwards. | |
| 28 | Twice male succeeded making a few faux pas (6) |
| BISHES – BIS + HE + S. | |
| 29 | Closing word about jerks forming missing link? (6) |
| APEMEN – A(PE)MEN, presumably physical jerks, an ambiguity that Elvis Costello made hay with. | |
| 30 | Fellow who once fenced? Yep, perp’s inside (8) |
| SCRIMURE – S(CRIM)URE. He made fences rather than engaging in mock-combat. | |
| 31 | For regions of rapid swing in temperature rally men’s clothier (12) |
| THERMOCLINES – Anagram of MEN’S CLOTHIER. | |
| 32 | Oath is strong English with ripping bit of invective (7) |
| STREWTH – STR + E + W[i]TH, where the first letter of invective is removed. | |
| 33 | Groups dependent on background check’s core blurbs (5) |
| ECADS – [ch]EC[k’s] + ADS. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Well, one back into bottled beer could become ____ (7) |
| EBRIOSE – SO,I backwards inside an anagram of BEER – I’ve never seen bottled as an anagram indicator before. | |
| 2 | Most prominent person could be small and charming here? (12, two words) |
| LEADING LIGHT – Cryptic hint, I believe: if LIGHT was placed in front of something, it might be either small or charming. Other interpretations invited. | |
| 3 | Loosen knots in what uptight soul gets in a twist for Scots ears (6) |
| ICKERS – [kn]ICKERS. I was very slow on this obvious cryptic. | |
| 4 | Old Scandi wanting a reason to go large? (5) |
| NORSE -Anagram of RE[a]SON, with another novel anagram indicator. | |
| 5 | Shafts nationalist for it in Times (7) |
| SNATHES – S(-it,+NAT)HES….I think. | |
| 6 | Nothing in random spin identifies particle (5) |
| PSION – Anagram of SPIN around O. | |
| 7 | Spotted deer’s calibre bordering on surprising success (6) |
| CHITAL – C(HIT)AL. Easy cryptic, hard word. | |
| 8 | Those leading the way blow away on pro piccolo trumpet? (8, two words) |
| TOP BRASS – A cryptic hint, I think, since those blowing away on a piccolo trumpet would be the highest-pitched brass. | |
| 9 | Blooming sold down the river for a poetic depiction of sunup (12) |
| ROSYFINGERED – ROSY + FINGERED, i.e. betrayed, where the answer is a straight English rendering of Homer’s ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς | |
| 10 | Being baleful little folk there’s no quiet at the front of terraces (5) |
| ELVES – [sh]ELVES. Paging the bureaucrat! | |
| 15 | I’m involved with Greats in translation? (8) |
| MAGISTER – Anagram of I’M + GREAT, an &LIT. | |
| 19 | Starting from dry land a rabbit rose rolling in it? One’s liberated (7) |
| XERARCH – A REX upside down + R[i]CH. | |
| 20 | Originality in novel with point (7) |
| NEWNESS – NEW + NESS, very simple for Mephisto, so probably baffling. | |
| 22 | In Plautus this is sent up — couple’s end over bind (6) |
| COHERE – HOC upside-down + [coupl]E + RE. | |
| 24 | Fine grasping measure of space of The Waste Land? (6) |
| EREMIC – ER(EM)IC. | |
| 25 | Notices of passing round roles (5) |
| OBITS – O BITS, another simple one. | |
| 26 | Winding coast is a well-known place to race (5) |
| ASCOT – Anagram of COAST. | |
| 27 | Stake could be small fortune (5) |
| SPILE – S + PILE. | |
Thanks for the blog.
I feel there must be something more to 2d – but can’t see it myself. I think 8d has 2 definitions (one whimsical) surrounding wordplay – “Those leading the way” – TOP (blow away ie kill) BRASS (pro ie prostitute) – “piccolo trumpet?” (top/high pitched brass instrument)
Re 2D, a light is an answer in a crossword grid, so the LEADING LIGHT is the first answer in the grid, i.e. ELFIN, i.e. “small and charming”.
Aha! Thanks, I’d never have got that in a million years.
Excellent! I’m sure that’s what’s meant and very clever too. I couldn’t fathom it at all though it was obviously right, but will give it COD now
Mid-level puzzle.
17 ac is S (is), NASH
gabwhere NASHGAB is prattle (blether) and GAB is an old word for boasting.Like shikasta I feel sure there must be something more going on with 2dn but can’t see it.
I agree with the comments on TOP BRASS and LEADING LIGHT. Good job by Keroithe, I biffed SNASH with some head scratching