33:32
No pushover – I had several bits of answers entered in the grid on first pass (SCAR- of 4dn, CREAM- of 11dn, -ING of 17ac, etc.), but had to eek out the rest of those clues and a couple of unknowns. I really enjoyed it though – witty in parts, I liked the original clueing of 7ac and 13ac, and all the animals.
Definitions underlined.
| Across | |
| 1 | Blooming angry expression during riparian activity (11) |
| FLOURISHING – LOUR (angry (facial) expression) inside FISHING (riparian (riverside) activity). | |
| 7 | Elements making water good to keep for oneself (3) |
| HOG – H + O (hydrogen and oxygen, elements making water) + G (good). | |
| 9 | Bet on clubs without experience, then left pools activity? (4-5) |
| BACK-CRAWL – BACK (bet on) + C (clubs) + RAW (without experience) + L (left). Is this the same as back-stroke? | |
| 10 | Certain Muslims hosting very revered Hindu (5) |
| SHIVA – SHIA (certain Muslims) containing V (very). | |
| 11 | A little craft roughly shown by French composer (7) |
| CARAVEL – CA (roughly) + RAVEL (French composer). I did not know this small boat, but the wordplay was helpful. | |
| 12 | Women’s accessory model shows item I can’t name (7) |
| WHATSIT – W (women’s) + HAT (accessory) + SIT (model). | |
| 13 | Eastern translation of the inspiring 1 Down producer (5) |
| EIDER – E (eastern) + DER ((German) translation of ‘the’), containing I (one). | |
| 15 | A bum intro, playing French folk music (9) |
| TAMBOURIN – anagram of (playing) A BUM INTRO. NHO | |
| 17 | Producing plans, relative captures pawn before more valuable piece (9) |
| MAPMAKING – MAMA (relative) containing P (pawn) before KING (more valuable piece). | |
| 19 | Furry animal, shy, with a lead twisted round (5) |
| COYPU – COY (shy), then a reversal of (twisted round) UP (with a lead). | |
| 20 | Possibly go and haunt this place? (4-3) |
| HANG-OUT – |
|
| 22 | Ashes holder punching Aussie bounder in tour (7) |
| JOURNEY – URN (ashes holder) inside JOEY (Aussie bounder). | |
| 24 | Tree resin extracted from lime leaning to the west (5) |
| ELEMI – reverse (to the west) hidden (extracted from) in lIME LEaning. | |
| 25 | Spooner’s inhabited part of Western Europe’s land (5,4) |
| TOUCH DOWN – sounds like a Spoonerised “Dutch Town”. | |
| 27 | Perhaps stuff Scot’s to put back (3) |
| EAT – TAE (Scot’s ‘to’) reversed. | |
| 28 | Thesp and France’s main female novelist getting Oscar for musicals (11) |
| HAMMERSTEIN – HAM (thesp) + MER (France’s main, or sea) + STEIN (Gertrude, female novelist). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Keep a watch on this uprising from Benin’s capital (3) |
| FOB – reversal of OF (from) + Benin’s first. | |
| 2 | Take place of officer knocked over by bounder (5) |
| OCCUR – CO (Commanding Officer) reversed + CUR (bounder). | |
| 3 | Dog around London area shows what retriever does? (7) |
| RECOVER – ROVER (dog) containing EC (London area). | |
| 4 | Mark and I keeping lots of coffee for Italian who worked in bars (9) |
| SCARLATTI – SCAR (mark) + I, containing almost all of LATTe (coffee). Domenico, composer. | |
| 5 | Where many films are made with family member (2-3) |
| IN-LAW – IN LA (Los Angeles, where many films are made) + W (with). | |
| 6 | Terrifying force once affected stoppage with power cut (7) |
| GESTAPO – anagram of STOPpAGE with one ‘p’ (power) removed. | |
| 7 | Husband shows Sue a way to control shock? (9) |
| HAIRSPRAY – H (husband) + AIRS (shows) + PRAY (sue). | |
| 8 | Rival of Reading close to losing final, playing Inter (11) |
| GLASTONBURY – last letter of losinG + LAST (final) + ON (playing) + BURY (inter). A music festival that occurs at the same time as the one in Reading. | |
| 11 | Fare initially cheap on paper that’s said to raise a smile? (5,6) |
| CREAM CHEESE – first of Cheap + REAM (paper) + CHEESE (that’s said to raise a smile, before a photo). | |
| 14 | Child, say, in part of pool with lower energy, not disheartened (9) |
| DEPENDENT – DEEP END (part of pool) with ‘E’ (energy moved to a lower position in the grid, then NoT (missing its central letter (disheartened). | |
| 16 | Lifted a jewel with another picked up — it’s a lot of work (9) |
| MEGAJOULE – A GEM (a jewel) reversed, then a homophone of “jewel” (another one). At least, it is for me. | |
| 18 | A slip crossing over large ditch (7) |
| ABOLISH – A + BISH (slip) containing O (over) and L (large). | |
| 19 | Speed and ecstasy’s under a hundred pounds (7) |
| CRUSHES – RUSH (speed) and E’S (ecstasy’s), beneath C (a hundred). | |
| 21 | Revolutionary women’s movement with time for old, symbolic item (5) |
| TOTEM – ME TOo (women’s movement) reversed, with T (time) replacing an ‘o’ (old). | |
| 23 | This person, breaking funny bone, petrified mother (5) |
| NIOBE – I (this person) contained by an anagram of BONE. Greek myth, DNK. | |
| 26 | Perhaps novice‘s news, entertaining for all (3) |
| NUN – N + N (news) containing U (universal, as a film certificate, for all (to see)). | |
Much enjoyed! But a few unknowns held me back from completion: CARAVEL (even though I had ??RAVEL!), BACK CRAWL ( is that even possible?), and WHATSIT. Did remember TAMBOURIN from somewhere, and NIOBE (“all tears” according to Hamlet); but never worked out FOB nor HAMMERSTEIN .