Solving time: 20 minutes. One of my faster solving times which also includes full parsing and marking up my print-out in readiness for the blog.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Glaring malevolently, putting support round farm animal (8) |
| SCOWLING | |
| SLING (medical support) containing [round] COW (farm animal) | |
| 5 | Initially some plays only occasionally featured such burlesques (6) |
| SPOOFS | |
| S{ome} + P{lays} + O{nly} + O{ccasionally} + F{eatured} + S{uch} [initially] | |
| 8 | Worry principally about endless evil (3) |
| AIL | |
| A{bout} [principally], IL{l} (evil) [endless]. What ails thee? | |
| 9 | Repulsive new audience accommodation a university installed (10) |
| NAUSEATING | |
| N (new) + SEATING (audience accommodation) with A + U (university) contained [installed] | |
| 10 | Hang about, initially investigating expensive underwear (8) |
| LINGERIE | |
| LINGER (hang about), I{nvestigating + E{xpensive} [initially] | |
| 11 | Crazy, sacrificing last of rhubarb for pineapple! (6) |
| ANANAS | |
| {b}ANANAS (crazy) [sacrificing last of {rhubar}b] | |
| 12 | One of two giants crushing head of reckless spirit? (4) |
| GROG | |
| GOG (one of two giants) containing [crushing] R{eckless} [head of…]. I associate this with sea-farin’ folk. SOED advises it’s an abbreviation of ‘grogram’, originally a nickname of Admiral Vernon (1684–1757), who wore a grogram cloak, but afterwards applied to the mixture he ordered to be served out to sailors instead of neat rum. Gog and Magog are two giants named in The Bible. | |
| 14 | Revolutionary directions: encrust rich tart (10) |
| CHEESECAKE | |
| CHE (revolutionary), E S E (directions), CAKE (encrust) | |
| 17 | Swindle at seat of Irish kings? A harmless lie (10) |
| TARADIDDLE | |
| TARA (the historic seat of Irish kings), DIDDLE (swindle). This has come up a couple of times before, many years ago. I didn’t recognise today’s meaning but having checked the dictionaries I think I knew it as empty talk or waffle. | |
| 20 | Means to reverse large sailing vessel (4) |
| YAWL | |
| WAY (means) reverse(d), L (large) | |
| 23 | Tension revealed by female teacher avoiding motorway (6) |
| STRESS | |
| {M1}STRESS (female teacher) [avoiding motorway] | |
| 24 | Insufficiently cook goulash at first, being of little influence (8) |
| UNDERDOG | |
| UNDERDO (insufficiently cook), G{oulash} [at first] | |
| 25 | Talk with woman, the mistress of the house (10) |
| CHATELAINE | |
| CHAT (talk), ELAINE (woman). The mistress of a castle or country house. | |
| 26 | Bishop attending cricket club (3) |
| BAT | |
| B (bishop), AT (attending) | |
| 27 | Required to be worked like dough, we’re told (6) |
| NEEDED | |
| Aural wordplay [we’re told]: NEEDED / “kneaded” (worked like dough) | |
| 28 | Find out about article made of tanned hide once (8) |
| LEATHERN | |
| LEARN (find out) containing [about] THE (definite article]. An archaic term meaning made of leather. I used to live near a pub called ‘The Leathern Bottle’ but when it was refurbished during the 1960s the ‘n’ was dropped. The redesigned modernistic interior was used in the Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Nameless bird, ultimately with scant illumination (9) |
| STARLIGHT | |
| STARLI{n}G (bird) [naeless], then {wit}H + {scan}T [ultimately] | |
| 2 | Marmalade cat in Florida city? (7) |
| ORLANDO | |
| Two meanings. Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) is the eponymous hero of a series of 19 illustrated children’s books written by Kathleen Hale between 1938 and 1972. | |
| 3 | Singer allowed to entertain pub (6) |
| LINNET | |
| LET (allowed) containing [to entertain] INN (pub) | |
| 4 | Sustained robin finally, one trapped in your and my outhouse (9) |
| NOURISHED | |
| {robi}N [finally], then I (one) contained by [trapped in] OUR (your and my) + SHED (outhouse) | |
| 5 | Extremely sensitive singer consuming a fish (3,4) |
| SEA BASS | |
| S{ensitiv}E [extremely] + BASS (singer) containing [consuming] A | |
| 6 | A coy girl unhappily accepting Heath’s first minority government (9) |
| OLIGARCHY | |
| Anagram [unhappily] of A COY GIRL containing [accepting] H{eath’s} [first] | |
| 7 | Obscure king crossing bar, a hazard at sea (3,4) |
| FOG BANK | |
| FOG (obscure) + K (king) containing [crossing] BAN (bar) | |
| 13 | Gloomy detectives in burial ground (9) |
| GRAVEYARD | |
| GRAVE (gloomy), YARD (detectives – Scotland Yard) | |
| 15 | Eurasian rose, say, worker planted in row (9) |
| EGLANTINE | |
| EG (say), then ANT (worker) contained by [planted in] LINE (row). Also known as ‘sweet briar’. | |
| 16 | Fill in rowing crew about northern lake in French (9) |
| ENLIGHTEN | |
| EIGHT (rowing crew) containing [about] N (northern) + L (lake), then EN (in, French) | |
| 18 | Object in lorry leaving Edinburgh for starters (7) |
| ARTICLE | |
| ARTIC (lorry), L{eaving} + E{dinburgh} [starters] | |
| 19 | Trendy regular sweetheart, not unknown as an alternative (7) |
| INSTEAD | |
| IN (trendy), STEAD{y} (regular sweetheart) [not unknown – y] | |
| 21 | Car British Leyland originally made, ultimately capable of being caught (7) |
| AUDIBLE | |
| AUDI (car), B{ritish} + L{eyland} [originally], then {mad}E [ultimately]. A sad name from the history of the British car industry; the brand became defunct in 1986. | |
| 22 | Change sides? That’s a fault (6) |
| DEFECT | |
| Two meanings | |
Yawn (because of all the things Kevin mentioned and the positively unimaginative cluing, or perhaps I should say, negatively unimaginative cluing). And then came the one clue which ruined it all for me: TARADIDDLE — unfortunately I had TARAFIDDLE with the correct seat of Irish kings vaguely remembered, but the wrong kind of swindle. Of course it is a term I never heard of, so DNF.
31:31. pretty steady solve with no major surprises. maybe a bit young fogeyish of me but I didn’t find LEATHERN that archaic…
This took me longer than most here: had a break and things started moving in the lower half, which had been void before. TARADIDDLE just fell in, helping with the danglers too, and that half done in about ten minutes. Only unknown for me was ANANAS for pineapple (which I felt I should know) In central Melbourne we have an arcade with large sculptures of Gog and Magog at each end ( no idea why). Liked CHATELAINE and AUDIBLE; the car is not defunct in Australia – my son drives one.