This one was not too bad, although I gave up after an hour and went to bed. I finished it off pretty quickly the next morning.
There were a couple I couldn’t parse while solving, so I had to research them for the blog. I think my explanations are now fairly correct – let me know if you think otherwise.
Across | |
1 | Bird running wasn’t emu (8, two words) |
MUTE SWAN – Anagram of WASN’T EMU. | |
7 | Begs to remove a valuation that’s out of date (4) |
PRYS – PR[a]YS, some Spenser for you. | |
10 | Box of pills at home has run out (4) |
INRO – IN + R + O, a Japanese box of pills often found in US puzzles. | |
11 | Old embroidery, thoroughly elaborate (6, two words) |
WORK UP – WORK + UP. Yes, UP meaning thoroughly is in Chambers. | |
13 | One strange idea placing bird within lizard family (9) |
IGUANIDAE – I (GUAN) anagram of IDEA. | |
14 | In revolt in South Africa, new village head (5) |
ZUPAN – Z(UP)A + N. | |
17 | Like a horse fool did shoe badly (11) |
SOLID-HOOFED – Anagram of FOOL DID SHOE. | |
18 | One of the starlings, some millions wheeling (4) |
MYNA – ANY M backwards. | |
19 | Stop broadcasting right after signal (7, two words) |
SIGN OFF – SIGN + OFF, as in the off side of the field in cricket, which is the right side for a right-handed batter. | |
21 | Mushroom bloomed … it must have sun (7) |
BLEWITS – BLEW + IT + S. | |
22 | Regularly query Dutch language (4) |
URDU – [q]U[e]R[Y] + DU. | |
24 | Take away armoured fighting vehicles to break up? (11) |
UNMECHANIZE – Literalist cryptic hint for the meaning of disorganize. | |
28 | Moon’s age at New Year, something agreed on by earth (5) |
EPACT – E + PACT. | |
30 | Have briefly to interrupt oddly distant millenarian (9) |
ADVENTIST – Anagram of DISTANT around ‘VE, as used in I’ve and we’ve. | |
31 | Some feline pet adores this? (6) |
NEPETA – Hidden in [feli]NE PET A[dores]. Catnip, apparently. | |
32 | Recurrent fuss about English concert halls (4) |
ODEA – ADO backwards around E. | |
33 | Mountain goat territory involves height (4) |
TEHR – TE(H)R. | |
34 | Watches county game’s beginning (8, two words) |
EYES DOWN – EYES + DOWN, an Irish county. |
Down | |
1 | Wretched driver missing last couple (4) |
MIZZ – MIZZ[en]…..I think. | |
2 | One local detective, not fully employed (6) |
UNBUSY – UN BUSY. | |
3 | Bacterium on the rise: conclude flourishing is without oxygen (9) |
TREPONEMA – AMEN (O) PERT upside-down. | |
4 | Facing sit-in, desperately symbolic (11) |
SIGNIFICANT – Anagram of FACING SIT-IN. | |
5 | Weak old northern Scotch thistle heads — something like wilt? (7) |
WOULDST – W + OULD + S[cotch] T[histle]. | |
6 | A deviation off course arising continuously (4) |
AWAY – A + YAW upside-down. I don’t see AWAY as continuously, but it’s one of the first definitions in Chambers. | |
7 | I am brought in for first part (5) |
PRIMO – PR(I’M)O. | |
8 | Chinese ready denial over hiding uranium (4) |
YUAN – NAY backwards containing U. | |
9 | Rapid drug treatment for flu (8) |
SPEEDFUL – SPEED + anagram of FLU. | |
12 | Tumour formation goes on since receiving treatment (11) |
ONCOGENESIS – Anagram of GOES ON SINCE. | |
15 | Forced change editor might make in agonizing on ad changes (9) |
SFORZANDO – S FOR Z + anagram ON AD, a cryptic echoing some recent TfTT discussions on spelling. | |
16 | Before noon, tense doctor enters hall walking (8) |
AMBULANT – A(MB)ULA + N + T. | |
20 | Dye product that is protecting silk (7) |
ISATINE – I.(SATIN)E. | |
23 | Enticed outside the City, the old make less (6) |
DECREW – D(E.C.)REW, ye olde poste code. | |
25 | Title for ruler, old uncle to the late queen (5) |
EMEER – EME + E.R. | |
26 | Plan of Paris: in the centre, Seine river (4) |
IDEE – [Se]I[ne] + DEE. | |
27 | Remain isolated, losing heart (4) |
STAY – ST[r]AY, as in a stray idea. | |
29 | A canned vegetable dish (4) |
TIAN – TI(A)N. |
6a: AWAY =CONTINUOUSLY, as in “He prattled away for the best part of an hour.”
Didn’t have a clue about UNMECHANIZE, though it couldn’t be anything else, but I now see on checking that MECHANIZE is defined as “to provide with armoured armed vehicles.”
I managed to fat-finger WUULDST, so one pink square, but this was a lot of fun. UNMECHANIZE required a deeper dive into Chambers, as did finding MIZZEN as a driver on a sail.