The usual monthly delight of entertaining words from the dark corners of the dictionary and inventive wordplay. I found the top half of this easier and got stuck in the SW corner with 17A/18D being held up by spelling 3D with an S rather than a Z. In all it took me about 1hr 20 minutes. Thank-you clever setter. How did you all get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Pop shortened coat for Teddy-boy investing in a suit? (9) |
| CHAMPERTY – CHAMPER{s} (pop) shortened, outside letters of Teddy-boY. | |
| 6 | Girvan’s tool for measuring grain whiskey authentically (5) |
| WECHT – W (whiskey in the phonetic alphabet) ECHT (authentically). A Scottish word, hence “Girvan’s” | |
| 9 | Language group study not without content before board meeting? (7) |
| SYNTAGM – Outside letters of StudY NoT, AGM (Annual General Meeting; board meeting). A MER at “biard meeting” for AGM, but I guess members of the board would be there alongside “members or shareholders of a club, company, or other organization”. | |
| 10 | Nothing to stop sailor or police chief in India (7) |
| TANADAR – NADA (nothing) in TAR (sailor). | |
| 11 | Regressive look marks blind cave-dweller (3) |
| OLM – LO (look) reversed -> OL, M (mark). | |
| 12 | Military officer collected stories behind discharge for Trump set (5,6) |
| MAJOR ARCANA – MAJOR (military officer), ARC (discharge) ANA (collected stories). | |
| 14 | Broad townscape edited in very unfinished state (6) |
| VEDUTA – ED (edited) in V (very) UTA{h} (state), unfinished. | |
| 15 | Narcotic ring has got off, hence back and forth quicker (3,5) |
| PIU MOSSO – {o}PIUM (narcotic) without the O (ring-like letter), SO (hence) twice, back to back -> OSSO. | |
| 17 | US hacker one’s recalled in Sun’s precursor of underground publication (8) |
| SAMIZDAT – ADZ (US spelling of ADZE, hacker) I’M (one’s) reversed -> MIZDA, in SAT (SATurday, precursor to SUNday). Clever. | |
| 19 | A Chinese dish that could be infragingival? (6) |
| SUBGUM – “Infragingival” is a neologism from “infra” (SUB) and “gingival” ( concerned with GUM). Inventive. | |
| 22 | Silly person at leg and everyone changing position (7,4) |
| GENERAL POST – [Silly] (person at leg)*. From a parlour game. | |
| 23 | Termination of one week’s itching in some parts (3) |
| EWK – Last letter of onE, WK (week). | |
| 25 | Soak, as well said, on a headlong dive? (5-2) |
| STEEP-TO – STEEP (soak), TO sounds like TOO (as well). | |
| 27 | Coat plant with supposedly healthy seed for wooded area in Italy (7) |
| MACCHIA – MAC (coat) CHIA (supposedly healthy seed). | |
| 28 | Origins of the speaker turning in when expected (5) |
| ETYMA – MY (of the speaker) reversed -> YM, in ETA (Expected Time of Arrival; when expected). | |
| 29 | Those acquitting you during crunch targets? (9) |
| ABSOLVERS – SOLVER (you) in ABS (targets of a crunch exercise). I liked “you” for “solver”. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Cargo transport business giving steady income when husband and wife both leave (5) |
| CASCO – CAS{h} CO{w} (giving steady income) without the H (husband) and W (wife). | |
| 2 | Elderly fellow revolved partitions with an extra handle (7) |
| AGNAMED -MAN (fellow) [revolved] -> NAM, in AGED (elderly). | |
| 3 | Attorney-general felt splitting award is superior to right for realist (11) |
| PRAGMATIZER – AG (Attorney General) MAT (felt, the verb) in PRIZE (award), R (right). | |
| 4 | King of France restricts press over letters for Japanese (6) |
| ROMAJI -JAM (press) reversed -> MAJ, in ROI (King in French). | |
| 5 | Cracked battery is losing sulphur compound used in alloys (8) |
| YTTERBIA – (battery i{s})* [cracked], without the S (sulphur). | |
| 6 | Character once seen in anywhere from the south (3) |
| WYN – Reverse hidden in aNYWhere. | |
| 7 | Modelling software organised spades and a stonecutter’s tool (7) |
| CADRANS – CAD (Computer Aided Design; modelling software) RAN (organised) S (spades). | |
| 8 | Set up distant planet, mostly in a limited period, to adjust for life (9) |
| TERRAFORM – FAR (distant) reversed -> RAF , OR{b} (planet) [mostly] in TERM (limited period). | |
| 13 | No longer unruly, with spirit broken, I almost become serene (11) |
| RUMBUSTICAL – RUM (spirit) BUST (broken) I CAL{m} [almost] (serene). | |
| 14 | I’m good at making up travel permit and drift east (9) |
| VISAGISTE – VISA (travel permit) GIST (drift) E (east). | |
| 16 | No Inuit lifted parka with middle covered by endless gore (8) |
| KABLOONA – AN{or}AK (parka) reversed -> KA{or}NA, replacing the middle with all but the last letter of BLOO{d} (gore). | |
| 18 | Currency with old cents including the fourth having two kinds of bits (7) |
| MONOECY – MONEY (currency) with O (old) and C (cents) outside the 4th letter (the E). | |
| 20 | Southern Creole boy with short neck (7) |
| GEECHEE – GEE (boy, as in Oh boy!), CHEE{k} (neck) without the last letter. | |
| 21 | Lord Mayor’s head on American Colonial body (6) |
| CORMUS – COR (Lord!), first letter of Mayor, US (American). | |
| 24 | Sarcastic comment when climbing this steep part of kop? (5) |
| KRANS – SNARK (sarcastic comment) climbing -> KRANS. | |
| 26 | Sick pay that’s spent in Myanmar (3) |
| PYA – [Sick] (pay)*. | |
My experience was very similar to yours. Top half went in almost like a normal cryptic, bottom half much chewier, esp. SW corner.