Across
1. Old PM, bluff character from Wuthering Heights (10)
HEATHCLIFF. The old PM is Ted HEATH. CLIFF=bluff. Gypsy foundling, played by Laurence Olivier in the 1930s movie, who becomes the soulmate of Cathy Earnshaw. I do occasionally re-read Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, but I’ve never felt inclined to revisit Emily’s WH.
8. Char caught missing old fat? (7)
CLEANER. C[aught]. LEANER=missing old fat.
9. Be sparing with power to move slowly (5)
PINCH. P[ower]. INCH=to move slowly.
10. Average chap consumes Ecstasy (4)
MEAN. MAN=chap containing (consumes) E=ecstasy. The drug of choice for setters, although you do occasionally see H for “heroin” or “horse”.
11. Second printing of book brings incitement to disorder (8)
SEDITION. S[econd]. EDITION=printing of book.
13. Share address, but not a ring at the start (6)
RATION. [o]RATION=address, dropping the O (not a ring) from the start.
14. Weak charge leaked away, mostly (6)
FEEBLE. FEE=charge. BLE[d]=leaked away leaving off the D (mostly).
17. Lion’s out, running for way out? (8)
SOLUTION. Anagram (running) of LION’S OUT. Slighty tricky because “running” isn’t a run-of-the-mill anagram indicator, and “way-out” is nicely misleading in that what is needed is not an exit per se but the way out of a difficulty.
19. Shopping centre entirely chasing millions (4)
MALL. ALL=entirely following (chasing) M[illions].
21. Old, in what’s not quite a record, run off to marry (5)
ELOPE. A long-playing record (how that does date some of us!, although I hear vinyl is coming back into style) is usually called an LP in crosswords and elsewhere. But here, if I’m correct, the setter has been more creative and it is an EL PEE, phonetically as it were. Has anyone seen this device before? So we have not quite a record – ELPE [e] containing O[ld].
22. Sacked elder MD who is always interfering (7)
MEDDLER. Anagram (sacked) of ELDER MD. Rather nice.
23. Girlfriend, perhaps, knitted the sweater (10)
SWEETHEART. Anagram (knitted) of THE SWEATER. I liked the note of uncertainty with the “perhaps”.
Down
2. Note limb on insect is graceful (7)
ELEGANT. E=note. LEG=limb. ANT=insect.
3. Bleep, perhaps from time unit (4)
TONE. T=time. ONE=unit.
4. Bent or put right round top of vase (6)
CURVED. CURED=put right around V[ase].
5. I’ve a partner that’s disabled (8)
IMPAIRED. I’M=I’ve. PAIRED=having a partner.
6. Truffles? There’s great pleasure to be had with good one (5)
FUNGI. FUN=great pleasure. G[ood]. I=one.
7. Opportunity to wind up university head (10)
CHANCELLOR. CHANCE=opportunity. ROLL=wind, reversed (up).
8. Company urged to keep motorway contracted (10)
COMPRESSED. CO=company. PRESSED=urged. Containing (keep) M=motorway.
12. Re-rope it after damaging door curtain (8)
PORTIERE. Anagram (damaging) of RE-ROPE IT. Not perhaps a word in daily use but clear from the wordplay.
15. Street fighter runs into one shouting (7)
BRAWLER. BAWLER=one shouting, containing R[uns].
16. Design benefitting rug (6)
FORMAT. FOR=benefitting. MAT=rug. Nice succinct clue.
18. Appearances in bordello ok, somehow (5)
LOOKS. Containment clue [bordelLO OK S[omehow]. Amusingly distracting.
20. Margin shown centrally in ledger (4)
EDGE. And another containment clue (shown centrally). [l]EDGE[r]. Easy but neatly done.
PORTIERE from wordplay only. “Elpee” was news to me too but it’s in whichever dictionary first came to hand and I didn’t check the others.
Edited at 2016-03-17 06:22 am (UTC)
Brian
Rita
‘Elpee’ is scratching some long defunct memory cells from my Grauniad solving days, possibly a device of Paul or Bunthorne or one of their equally devilish co-setters.
GeoffH
St. Patrick’s Day falls on a weekday this year so it’s been a lot quieter than it sometimes is on the UES of NYC where the parade is held. Some years ago I had a favourite short belted denim coat in a subtle shade and as I was about to walk out the door for work on March 17th my husband said – Are you absolutely crazy going out like that? It was orange…
It wasn’t all easy and there were some nice clues. I had to guess at Portiere and could only see Elope as the answer for 21a but couldn’t parse it -so thank you Olivia. LOI was 5d. David