I very much enjoyed the Shakespearean miscreant knowledge required for this one (bastardly Edgar and roguish Nim) which sat well with a slightly elevated flavour throughout. Thanks to the setter! 13dn is almost as ridiculous as the ALMA-ATA clue the other day, though it does have the advantage that you can just fill it in from the crossers without any idea at all what it’s going on about.
Hope you liked it too, and just remember, to paraphrase Heidi Klum on Project Runway, one day you’re an inspector, and the next day you’re an out-spector!
ACROSS
1 Name — a girl’s, by the sound of it (7)
MONIKER – homophone of MONICA
5 Flyer produced by petulant Head (9)
CROSSBILL – a bird that is the sum of CROSS [petulant] + BILL [head]
10 Sword Europeans found outside gym (4)
EPEE – E E found outside PE
14 Rugby players — 75% of them? (5-8)
THREE-QUARTERS – this must be a position in rugby I guess?
15 Picking up little brat going walkabout (9)
IMPROVING – or IMP ROVING
16 Back soldiers at start of this temporary transfer (10)
SECONDMENT – SECOND MEN [back | soldiers] + T{his}
17 Terence, Leo and I contrived to campaign politically (11)
ELECTIONEER – (TERENCE + LEO + I*) [“contrived”]
18 Boy — head of class, as it happens (5)
CLIVE – C{lass} + LIVE [as it happens]
19 Army corps’s pressing need largely beginning to expedite rebirth (10)
RESURGENCE – RE’S URGENC{y} + E{xpedite}
21 A new aim holding back a SW African state (6)
ANGOLA – A N GOAL, holding A back till the end
23 Policy declaration of teams in turmoil (9)
MANIFESTO – (OF TEAMS IN*)
25 Western poem originally naming Anglo-Saxon god (5)
WODEN – W ODE N{aming}
26 Failed to find “glove” in dictionary (7)
OMITTED – MITT in OED
28 Gloucester’s son’s directions accepted by noble poet (6,7)
EDMUND SPENSER – EDMUND’S [Gloucester’s son in King Lear] + N S “accepted by” PEER
31 Deal with prime disturbance of the cuticle (9)
EPIDERMAL – (DEAL + PRIME*)
33 Secret flight bound to disturb fellows in film (9)
ELOPEMENT – LOPE [bound] + MEN [fellows] in E.T. [film], not quite sure where the “disturb” comes in. Probably just another containment indicator.
35 Making little impact where security may be found around tiller (13)
UNDERWHELMING – UNDER WING [where security may be found] around HELM
37 Implement he recognised in Paris after decades with university (7)
UTENSIL – IL [he, in French] after TENS [decades] with U
38 A sorcerer may practice it, partly to be a hardman (5)
OBEAH – hidden in {t}O BE A H{ardman}
40 Like delicious drink only initially imbibed by random centaurs (9)
NECTAROUS – O{nly} “imbibed by” (CENTAURS*)
42 Lasciviousness originally rare at East Sheen? (6)
LUSTRE – LUST + R{are} + E
44 Part of army finally serving in Europe, perhaps (10)
CONTINGENT – {servin}G in CONTINENT
46 Extol Labour leader feeding black horse? (5)
BLESS – L{abour} “feeding” BESS [Dick Turpin’s sooty mare]
48 The writer’s one shedding tears about small naval vessel (11)
MINESWEEPER – MINE WEEPER [the writer’s | one shedding tears] about S
50 Dishonest activity practised by carpenters? (10)
CHISELLING – double def
52 Fruit can deteriorate ultimately, inspiring rage (9)
TANGERINE – TIN {deteriorat}E, “inspiring” ANGER
53 Examine attorney more protractedly about male spreader of gossip (13)
SCANDALMONGER – SCAN D.A. LONGER, about M
54 1950s youth going over English millennium building (4)
DOME – reversed MOD + E
55 Onlooker volunteers to feed unpopular police officer? (9)
SPECTATOR – T.A. [volunteers] to feed {in}SPECTOR – if he’s unpopular he’s not IN. Bit libertarian maybe…
56 Private room in hospital used by leader of city corporation (7)
SANCTUM – SAN + C{ity} + TUM
DOWN
1 A widow’s gift could possibly — so to speak (4)
MITE – homophone of MIGHT
2 One overwhelmed by new organ composition, like Grieg (9)
NORWEGIAN – I “overwhelmed by” (NEW ORGAN*)
3 Hope for success, but ruin one’s piano recital? (4,4,7,7)
KEEP ONE’S FINGERS CROSSED – humorous overliteral reading
4 Canon upset about contribution to team’s score (7)
ROUNDER – ROUND [canon] + reversed RE [about]
5 Basis of cereal a person formerly consumed (11)
CORNERSTONE – CORN ONE [cereal | a person], with ERST [formerly] “consumed”
6 Public argument about Hutton’s first poor return? (9)
OVERTHROW – OVERT ROW about H{utton}
7 Soiree regularly gatecrashed by American girl (5)
SUSIE – S{o}I{r}E{e}, “gatecrashed by” U.S.
8 Shimmering effect encountered at first in relaxed scenic ride (11)
IRIDESCENCE – E{ncountered} in (SCENIC RIDE*)
9 Literary island identified by a set in Los Angeles? (6)
LAPUTA – A PUT [a | set] in L.A.
11 Instruction book on old card game (7)
PRIMERO – PRIMER on O
12 Decorate artist brought up in part of UK (9)
ENGARLAND – reversed R.A. in ENGLAND. Not to be confused with what Blighty supporters shout at football matches.
13 Bomb eastern warehouse, heavy and lacking buoyancy? (2,4,4,1,4,7)
GO DOWN LIKE A LEAD BALLOON – apparently a GODOWN (Malay gudang) is indeed an “eastern warehouse” in barred-puzzle-vocab-land. But of course like me you just biffed this answer in from the enum, didn’t you?
18 Accomplished Liberal turned out to take part (7)
COMPETE – COMPLETE minus L
20 Put up with outcome, entertaining daughter on river (7)
ENDURED – END, “entertaining” D on URE
22 Early Stone Age hero regularly landed on this once (8)
EOLITHIC – {h}E{r}O + LIT on HIC [this, in Latin]
24 Like nuns, perhaps, knowing about revised rites (8)
SISTERLY – SLY about (RITES*)
27 Characters in steamship meticulous about speeds (5)
TEMPI – hidden reversed in {steamsh}IP MET{iculous}
29 Creature makes lowing sound on top of escarpment (5)
MOOSE – MOOS on E{scarpment}
30 Trainee in breeding establishment overlooking hospital department (7)
STUDENT – STUD overlooking E.N.T.
32 They’re versed in the law, getting poets beheaded (7)
LEGISTS – {e}LEGISTS
34 Atmospheric layer primarily recognised in eccentric peer’s photo (11)
TROPOSPHERE – R{ecognised} in (PEER’S PHOTO*)
36 Camera accessory selection finally sold in more stylish setting (11)
RANGEFINDER – RANGE + {sol}D in FINER
37 Member briefly in football team, not subject to restrictions (9)
UNLIMITED – LIM{b} in UNITED
39 Skill required to fix both taps on floating platform? (9)
HANDCRAFT – H AND C [hot and cold = both taps] on RAFT
41 Top man at Camelot, we hear, throughout a dark period? (9)
OVERNIGHT – homophone of OVER-KNIGHT, I guess!
43 Reported malefactor? Shakespearean corporal? It means the same thing (7)
SYNONYM – homophone of SINNER NIM [Falstaff’s chum in Henry IV]
45 Archer hugging climber at last on island where climbers are trained (7)
TRELLIS – TELL “hugging” {climbe}R, on IS
47 Brainbox principally interested in taxonomic group (6)
GENIUS – I{nterested} in GENUS
49 Exam I entered among others (5)
RESIT – I “entered among” REST
51 Englishman in Oz absorbing start of royal concert (4)
PROM – POM “absorbing” R
Edited at 2020-01-25 10:14 pm (UTC)