Greetings, barred-grid fans.
I didn’t have too much trouble with this one, though as seems to happen with Mephisto I got clues near the bottom of the grid and worked my way up, which means the pun in the top row was not of much assistance.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Stranger to Scots nearly abandoned steam (6) |
| UNCOOL – UNCO(stranger, Scots) and OLD(abandoned) minus the last letter. In Chambers, one of the definitions for STEAM is outdated, old-fashioned | |
| 5 | Comparatively dissolute sort off the grub (6) |
| FASTER – double definition | |
| 10 | Dramatic wizard beside me, royally rolling in it (10) |
| PROSPEROUS – PROSPERO(the wizard in The Tempest), then US(me, royally) | |
| 12 | Old self-service where each gets covered in batter (8) |
| BEAUFFET – EA(each) inside BUFFET(batter) | |
| 13 | Go off one’s parathas (5) |
| ROTIS – ROT(go off), I’S(one’s) | |
| 14 | Discontinued senior officer’s club of a certain sort (5) |
| DISCO – DIS(discontinued), CO(senior officer) | |
| 15 | Source of info from dancer not available ahead of compliance (7) |
| ALMANAC – ALMA(dancer), NA(not available) then C (compliance). Hat tip to MunroMaiden who caught my wordplay fluff. | |
| 17 | Barrow boy is quiet at dawn (6) |
| PEARLY – P(quiet), EARLY(at dawn). In Chamers, PEARLY can mean a costermonger | |
| 19 | Informed study backing block of, say, ninety-nine shares (6, two words) |
| ODD LOT – TOLD(informed) and DO(study) all reversed | |
| 20 | Hacker’s high point of gaff involving personnel dept? (6) |
| PHREAK – PEAK(high point of the gaff in a sail) containing HR(personnel department) | |
| 22 | Absent and shipwrecked hero’s on terra firma (6) |
| ASHORE – A(absent) and an anagram of HERO’S | |
| 25 | Particularly profound American not after girl from the east (7) |
| ABYSSAL – A(American), BY(not after), then LASS(girl) reversed | |
| 27 | Apartment block in Rome wanting tip from scrap plant (5) |
| INULA – INSULA(apartment block in Rome) minus the first letter in Scrap | |
| 28 | Freeman’s possibly tethered, though not embarrassed (5) |
| THETE – anagram of TETHERED minus RED(embarrassed) | |
| 29 | Streaked in pompous outfit (8) |
| STRIGATE – STATE(pompous) containing RIG(outfit) | |
| 30 | Nice inn with all canned legumes (10) |
| CANNELLINI – anagram of NICE,INN and ALL | |
| 31 | Are frogs full of English spiders? (6) |
| ARANEA – A(are), RANA(frogs) containing E(English) | |
| 32 | Fellow native is an idler, Compo for instance (6) |
| DONNAT – DON(fellow), NAT(native) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Fold completely over women’s high praise (6) |
| UPWRAP – UP(completely over), W(women’s), RAP(high praise – fifth definition in Chambers) | |
| 2 | Damage and impair variable flavour of ale (8) |
| COSTMARY – COST(damage), MAR(impair), Y(variable) | |
| 3 | For musicians or fabulous bard (not Norse) (5) |
| OSSIA – OSSIAN(fabulous bard) minus N(Norse) | |
| 4 | Open country means room to move (6) |
| LEEWAY – LEE(open country), WAY(means) | |
| 5 | Civil war general’s frequently with acting staff sergeant, say (6) |
| FRANCO – FR(frequently), A(acting), NCO(staff sergeant, say) | |
| 6 | Parent’s holding up nothing in gold sheep (7) |
| AOUDADS – DAD’S(parent’s) under O(nothing) inside AU(gold) | |
| 7 | So, about university female becoming ascetic? (5) |
| SUFIC – SIC(so), surrounding U(univeristy), F(female) | |
| 8 | European lecturer to harangue voters (10) |
| ELECTORATE – E(European), LECT(lecturer), ORATE(harangue) | |
| 9 | Fuss about what’s at the heart of creating shop (6, two words) |
| RAT OUT -ROUT(fuss) surrounding the middle of creATing | |
| 11 | One such as Smiley let home run down (10, two words) |
| MOLE HUNTER – anagram of LET,HOME,RUN. Reference to the character in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | |
| 16 | Conclude racket is squeezed (8) |
| CLOSED-IN -CLOSE(conclude), DIN(racket) | |
| 18 | Spinach in prescribed course such as tratt serves (7) |
| LASAGNE – SAG(Indian spinach) inside LANE(prescribed course) | |
| 20 | Ha’penny I accepted with a bit of loose change in Dhaka (6) |
| POISHA – POSH(a small amount of money, a ha’penny) containing I, then A | |
| 21 | Tanka composed about sword (6) |
| KATANA – anagram of TANKA, then A(about) | |
| 22 | Garment put out to dry fell (6) |
| ABATED – ABA(garment), TED(put out to dry) | |
| 23 | Society removed from poet’s old writ (6) |
| ELEGIT – remove S(society) from ELEGIST(poet) | |
| 24 | Teacher of the Old Testament, an imitator of English essayist (5) |
| ELIAN – ELI(OT teacher), AN | |
| 26 | Sabbath and oddly hourly opening for Netanya’s synagogues (5) |
| SHULN – S(sabbath), then alternating letters in HoUrLy, and the first letter in Netanya | |
I solved this one pretty easily, going a good bit of the distance without cracking Chambers. I was a bit annoyed by shuln, which fits the cryptic and has the Germanic -n plural ending, but I couldn’t find it attested anywhere. I knew Ossian, but for some reason couldn’t call him to mind for the longest time, which was most annoying. Words like strigate, costmary, katana, and thete went in on instinct, as they seemed vaguely familiar. I didn’t bother to parse some of the answers, but I would have done so if it were my blog.
SHULN is in Chambers.
This was a pleasing puzzle. No too difficult, helped by knowing some of the more obscure words. I’m sure we’ve had DONNAT recently. UNCOOL and FASTER weren’t entered until late on, the latter before the former. Thus the pun didn’t help me either, but raised a smile.
Small comment on parsing of 15ac: C is the symbol for compliance in physics (according to Chambers), rather than the first letter (which would require you to take “ahead” as an indication for initial letter, which I think is a bit strained).
I liked the use of Compo in 32ac as an indication of a Yorkshire word.
Ta – I remember looking that up when I solved, but had a brain fade in writing up the blog. Well spotted!
I liked 32ac as well. Reference to “Last of the Summer Wine” I assume.
Not too difficult, but I put UNCOIL at 1ac for some reason.