Another monthly feast of interesting words and clever wordplay and it is a pangram to boot. It took me about the usual time of a little over an hour. ZEBRULA was my last to parse, EKPWELE my word of the month and ROSTOCK and DYSLEXIA my favourite clues. Thank-you clever setter.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Bar set back by another’s growth? (8) |
| BUPLEVER – PUB (bar) [set back] -> BUP + LEVER (another bar). The plant “hare’s ear”. | |
| 5 | Using diamond, shaped groove in underlying surface (6) |
| BRUTED – RUT (groove) in BED (underlying surface). | |
| 10 | Pens glossy rubbish about visual collection that excludes John (8,7) |
| SYNOPTIC GOSPELS – (pens glossy)* [rubbish] about OPTIC (visual). | |
| 11 | Pole agreed to stop destruction after losing face (7) |
| RYEPECK – YEP (agreed) inside [to stop] {w}RECK (destruction) without the first letter [after losing face]. | |
| 12 | Salt, take note, destroyed satellite boards (7) |
| NIOBATE – IO (satellite of Jupiter) in, [boards], N.B. (take note) + ATE (destroyed). | |
| 13 | Heading off two ways to outdo Scottish crawler? (8) |
| ETTERCAP – {b}ETTER (way to outdo) + CAP (way to outdo) without the first letter, [heading off]. | |
| 15 | Reportedly spiteful unit from SE Asia (5) |
| KATTI – Sounds like [reportedly] CATTY (spiteful). | |
| 18 | Birds like a pasty’s filling (5) |
| ORNIS – All but the outside letters [filling] of {c}ORNIS{h} (like a pasty). | |
| 20 | Illustration of river, place shrouded in silence (8) |
| EXEMPLUM – EXE (river in Devon) + PL (place) surrounded by [shrouded in] MUM (silence). | |
| 23 | Cross president heading for Zaire about endless government rifts (7) |
| ZEBRULA – ABE (Abraham Lincoln; president) + first letter [heading for] Zaire reversed -> ZEBA, split by [endless] RUL{e} (government) [rifts]. | |
| 25 | Caught somebody crushing iodine into poisonous alkaloid (7) |
| CONIINE – C (caught) + ONE (somebody) including [crushing] I (chemical synbol of iodine) + IN (into). | |
| 26 | Dance record arranged with eg excessively engaging energy (5,2,8) |
| ROGER DE COVERLEY – (record eg)* [arranged] + OVERLY (excessively) including [engaging] E (energy). I’d heard of this, but wouldn’t have a clue how to dance it. | |
| 27 | Anything but horny creatures back from orgy wearing slippers (6) |
| MULEYS – Last letter [back from] orgY in [wearing] MULES (slippers). | |
| 28 | Indian provincial flexible over hosting majority of sport (8) |
| MOFUSSIL – LISSOM (flexible) [over] -> MOSSIL including [hosting] [majority of] FU{n} (sport). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Will’s to fit gold optimal frames (6) |
| BESORT – OR (gold) in BEST (optimal). A Shakespearean word, hence “Will’s”. | |
| 2 | Detective from radical school casing Republican (9) |
| PINKERTON – R (Republican) in PINK (radical) + ETON (school). | |
| 3 | With wife at heart, finally gave back football legend’s lost money (7) |
| EKPWELE – Last letters, [finally], of gavE bacK + PELE (football legend) including [with… at heart] W (wife). Unlikely looking and hence word of the month. | |
| 4 | Rating income capacity initially cuts fine owed to victim’s family (5) |
| ERICK – ERK (RAF rating) includes first letters [initially] of Income Capacity. I knew of this word spelt without the K. | |
| 6 | Port of Spain, primarily capital of Trinidad and Tobago, set in stone (7) |
| ROSTOCK – Of Spain [primarily] + capital of Trinidad (and Tobago) (but we only need it once) [set in] ROCK (stone). Very neat. Port of Spain is, of course, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago! Great clue! | |
| 7 | Star team off and on given top-grade mark for pronunciation (5) |
| TREMA – Alternate letters, [off and on], of sTaR tEaM + A (top-grade mark). | |
| 8 | What might cause Lydia’s ex to suggest daily sex? (8) |
| DYSLEXIA – Cryptic definition. If you are dyslexic you might read “Lydia’s ex” as “Daily sex” – the same letters but in a different order. A clever way to clue an anagram. Nice one! | |
| 9 | Poetic inspiration once more delaying international university course (8) |
| AGANIPPE – AGAIN (once more) delaying the I (international) -> AGANI + PPE (Philosphy, Politics and Economics; university course) | |
| 14 | Bridge in Swiss Cottage blocked by gutted overturned vehicle (8) |
| CHEVALET – CHALET (Swiss cottage) outside [blocked by] all but the outside letters [gutted] V{ehicl}E [overtuirned] -> EV. More entertaining than just using EV for electric vehicle. | |
| 16 | Incense burners one day placed on unopened scripture books (9) |
| THURIBLES – THUR (Thursday; one day) + {b}IBLES (scripture books) [unopened]. | |
| 17 | Illegitimate kids bog down unknown US parent from the south (8) |
| MOMZERIM – MIRE (bog down) + Z (unknown in an equation) + MOM (US parent) all going upwards [from the south]. | |
| 19 | Wriggling insignificant sort mostly turned out miserly (7) |
| SQUIRMY – SQUIR{t} (insignificant sort) [mostly] + outside letters [turned out] of M{iserl}Y. | |
| 21 | Scarlet dye formerly found in Pyrenean city (7) |
| PONCEAU – ONCE (formerly) in PAU (Pyrenean city). | |
| 22 | Landscape gardener the other side of Hyde? (6) |
| JEKYLL – Double definition. | |
| 24 | Court whitewash starts to become apparent before one side turned up (5) |
| BAGEL – Initial letters of [starts to] Become Apparent + LEG (one cricket side) [turned up] -> GEL. Winning a set by a score of 6-0. | |
| 25 | Check fine old tropical fruit on vine (5) |
| CHOKO – CH (check) + OK (fine) + O (old). | |