Solving time: 29 minutes
A very enjoyable solve completed within 1 minute of my target half-hour with all clues fully parsed. How did you do?
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 | Bird: irrational figure in coal mine (5) |
| PIPIT | |
| PI (irrational figure) contained by [in] PIT (coal mine) | |
| 4 | Stretch limo shortened it to make deadline (4,5) |
| TIME LIMIT | |
| TIME (stretch – prison sentence), LIM{o} [shortened], IT | |
| 9 | Electronic form in register is a good example (4,5) |
| ROLE MODEL | |
| E (electronic) + MODE (form) contained by [in] ROLL (register) | |
| 10 | Film franchise? I will avoid Scream (5) |
| SHREK | |
| SHR{i}EK ( scream) [I will avoid]. I’ve never seen any of the films but I’ve heard of them. | |
| 11 | Expense from parts of arrangement being switched? (6) |
| OUTLAY | |
| LAYOUT (arrangement) [parts of…being switched] | |
| 12 | Branch bearing a half-Andean vegetable (4,4) |
| LIMA BEAN | |
| LIMB (branch) containing [bearing] A, then {And}EAN [half] | |
| 14 | Agree cops should release head of Roman church (9) |
| ACQUIESCE | |
| ACQUI{r}ES (cops – gets, obtains) [release head of Roman], CE (church) | |
| 16 | Mixture of everything two-thirds of crossword solvers recalled (5) |
| ALLOY | |
| ALL (everything),then YO{u} (crossword solvers) [two-thirds of] reversed [recalled] | |
| 17 | Acceptable area to house South African in Japanese city (5) |
| OSAKA | |
| OK (acceptable) + A (area) containing [to house] SA (South African) | |
| 19 | Cut deal with university after money and drink (9) |
| COINTREAU | |
| COIN (money), TREA{t} (deal) [cut], U (university). Orange flavoured liqueur. | |
| 21 | Composer, German, with quiet success (8) |
| GERSHWIN | |
| GER (German), SH (quiet), WIN (success) | |
| 22 | Just appear pale, in the grip of drink (4,2) |
| SWAN UP | |
| WAN (pale) contained by [in the grip of] SUP (drink). Not to be confused with ‘swan-upping’, SWAN UP means to arrive somewhere casually or gracefully. Of the usual sources I found it only in Chambers. | |
| 25 | A lot of maps moving westward end of water table (5) |
| ALTAR | |
| ATLA{s} (maps) [a lot of…], reversed [moving westward], {wate}R [end of…] | |
| 26 | Italian maestro’s Italian opera: popular, repeatedly returning (9) |
| TOSCANINI | |
| TOSCA (Italian opera) then IN + IN (popular, repeatedly) reversed [returning]. The acclaimed conductor died in 1957 so I imagine many solvers may not know his name although it lives on through his many recordings. | |
| 27 | Cheap tyre burst, for example (9) |
| ARCHETYPE | |
| Anagram [burst] of CHEAP TYRE | |
| 28 | Start of hundred inch garden feature? (5) |
| HEDGE | |
| H{undred} [start of…], EDGE (inch) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | A pregnant soprano losing lead in Puccini having developed unacceptable figure (7,3,5) |
| PERSONA NON GRATA | |
| Anagram [having developed] of A PREGNANT SO{p}RANO [losing lead in Puccini] | |
| 2 | Trial scheme bringing in electric current (5) |
| PILOT | |
| PLOT (scheme) containing [bringing in] I (electric current) | |
| 3 | Tense? My rising alarm shuts out constant sources of drumming (7) |
| TYMPANI | |
| T (tense), then MY reversed [rising], PANI{c} (alarm) [shuts out constant]. Apparently this is an alternative spelling of ‘timpani’ – kettledrums. Since the Y is unchecked this clue may prove to be something of a beartrap for speed solvers who don’t bother to parse everything fully as they go. | |
| 4 | Considerable trouble in darkest Yorkshire at the outset (4) |
| TIDY | |
| T{rouble} + I{n} + D{arkest} + Y{orkshire} [at the outset]. As in a tidy sum of money. | |
| 5 | Obstinate type trimmed US magazine to help rising use of many information outlets (10) |
| MULTIMEDIA | |
| MUL{e} (obstinate type) [trimmed], TIME (US magazine), then AID (help) reversed [rising] | |
| 6 | Scoundrel losing head in American city opera house (2,5) |
| LA SCALA | |
| {r}ASCAL (scoundrel) [losing head] contained by [in] LA (American city). ‘Opera house (2,5)’ would be enough for many solvers to write the answer straight in. | |
| 7 | Man penning newspaper’s last stories about French city (9) |
| MARSEILLE | |
| MALE (man) containing [penning] {newspape}R [’s last] and LIES (stories) reversed [about] | |
| 8 | Astonished and attracted to almost certain start of presidential revolt (5,2,8) |
| TAKEN BY SURPRISE | |
| TAKEN BY (attracted to), SUR{e} (certain) [almost], then P{residential} [start of], RISE (revolt) | |
| 13 | Branch of medicine that could make you stay chirpy (10) |
| PSYCHIATRY | |
| Anagram [could make you] STAY CHIRPY | |
| 15 | Question over description of sea omitting one island in equation (9) |
| QUADRATIC | |
| QU (question), ADR{i}ATIC (description of sea) [omitting one island]. I remember wresting with quadratic equations at school and probably understood them then but I’ve long forgotten everything but their name. Simple and simultaneous were two other types. | |
| 18 | Supply heater’s source of wood (3,4) |
| ASH TREE | |
| Anagram [supply] of HEATERS | |
| 20 | Flaxen fibres gently touch hard walking surface (7) |
| TOWPATH | |
| TOW (flaxen fibres), PAT (gently touch), H (hard). ‘Tow’ is sometimes used to describe very fair hair, as is ‘flaxen’. Debussy wrote a famous piano solo called La fille aux cheveux de lin which is usually translated as The Girl with the Flaxen Hair. | |
| 23 | Radiant, unconfined free spirit (5) |
| NAIAD | |
| Anagram [free] of {r}ADIAN{t} [unconfined] | |
| 24 | I fish, letting nothing escape is key (4) |
| ISLE | |
| I, S{o}LE (fish) [letting nothing escape]. Key is a low island, sandbank, or reef, as in ‘Florida Keys’. | |
WOE, and would have been a personal best at 30 mins but for the NHO TYMPANI. And I’d parsed the rest too!
Just want to say thanks for an enjoyable crossword to setter and blogger.
Never mind Marseille. What happened to the s from Atlas?
It’s deleted as indicated in the blog indicated by [a lot of…]
Thanks! I get it (I think) – atlas = maps, not a lot of maps as I assumed. Doh!