Hello. It took around an hour to reach my last three, but I then had to use help to unscramble the horse (22d). The final checker was enough for me to get the intersecting 31a, LOVE KNOT, but I reverted to electronic aid for my last in, MARSHALSEA at 38d. No complaints though. Thanks setter.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Discretionary supplement in tax rate, 50 per cent of loophole being abused (8,5) |
| OPTIONAL EXTRA — IN TAX RATE and 50 per cent of LOOPhole anagrammed (being abused) | |
| 8a | Look closely to develop spending with commoners of a sort? (4,5) |
| PEER GROUP — PEER (look closely) + GRO[w] UP (to develop) shedding (spending) W (with) | |
| 13a | Republican bound by idiotic plan (5) |
| DRAFT — R (Republican) inside (bound by) DAFT (idiotic) | |
| 14a | Square sail made from short garden tool behind shower curtains (9) |
| MOONRAKER — Without the last letter (short) RAKe (garden tool), which MOONER (behind shower) encloses (curtains) | |
| 15a | Cleanse rubbish tip checked by centre of operations (7) |
| BAPTISE — An anagram of (rubbish) TIP inside (checked by) BASE (centre of operations) | |
| 16a | Instrument features including echo primarily engaged before jam (7,5) |
| CHINESE BLOCK — CHINS (features) including E (echo) + the first letter of (primarily) Engaged before BLOCK (jam) | |
| 17a | Decline agreement involving key battle following regular losses (2-8) |
| DE-ESCALATE — DEAL (agreement) involving ESC (key) + bAtTlE on removal of regular letters (following regular losses) | |
| 18a | Old people embracing leader’s first message from God (6) |
| ORACLE — O (old) + RACE (people) around (embracing) Leader’s first letter | |
| 19a | Piece of pork fat on crust in eg foil container? (8) |
| SCABBARD — BARD (piece of pork fat) on SCAB (crust) | |
| 21a | Cycling imp shows wit (6) |
| ESPRIT — Cycling SPRITE (imp) | |
| 24a | City financial backer fails to maintain houses (3,7) |
| LOS ANGELES — ANGEL (financial backer), which LOSES (fails to maintain) contains (houses) | |
| 26a | Famous sidekick Tonto’s done with coward (6,6) |
| DOCTOR WATSON — TONTO’S anagrammed (done) with COWARD | |
| 29a | Supporting female academic (4) |
| PROF — PRO (supporting) + F (female) | |
| 30a | Prone to confront (4,4) |
| FACE DOWN — Two definitions | |
| 31a | Token bow from cook hosting king among collection of people (4,4) |
| LOVE KNOT — OVEN (cook) hosting K (king) among LOT (collection of people) | |
| 34a | Conclude with return of eg Louis XIV’s subordinate (8) |
| INFERIOR — INFER (conclude) + reversal of (return of) ROI (French for king, eg Louis XIV) | |
| 35a | Leading male in diocese I don’t know (6,2) |
| SEARCH ME — ARCH (leading) and M (male) in SEE (diocese) | |
| 36a | Female’s lunch perhaps sent round (4) |
| ENID — DINE (lunch perhaps) reversed (sent round) | |
| 39a | Vigorously honk greeting when entertaining completely exhausted Austrian delegation (5,3,4) |
| TOOTH AND NAIL — TOOT (honk) + HAIL (greeting) when taking in (entertaining) AustriaN DelegatioN both with all inner letters removed (completely exhausted …) | |
| 40a | Uncertain of surroundings when John’s back inside (10) |
| AMBIVALENT — AMBIENT (of surroundings) when LAV (John)’s reversed (back) inside it | |
| 43a | Some adoration for Hungarian-born composer (6) |
| DORATI — Some aDORATIon | |
| 44a | Quietly peeks periodically into thing on which one might draw (4-4) |
| PIPE-STEM — P (quietly) + PeEkS periodically going into ITEM (thing) | |
| 45a | Regarding work in a slanting manner (6) |
| ASTOOP — AS TO (regarding) + OP (work) | |
| 49a | Free call about quote blocked by secretary (10) |
| EMANCIPATE — NAME (call) backwards (about) + CITE (quote) containing (blocked by) PA (secretary) | |
| 51a | Off and on, malmsey left one with speech improvement (12) |
| AMELIORATION — Alternate letters of (off and on) mAlMsEy + L (left) + I (one) + ORATION (speech) | |
| 53a | Adopt evacuee at last with partner (7) |
| ESPOUSE — The final letter of (… at last) evacueE + SPOUSE (partner) | |
| 54a | Move men on board east of recently introduced port (9) |
| NEWCASTLE — CASTLE (move men on board) to the right of (east of) NEW (recently introduced) | |
| 55a | Section of flight from prison circling entrance to Alcatraz (5) |
| STAIR — STIR (prison) going around (circling) the first letter of (entrance to) Alcatraz | |
| 56a | Consequently present warning, of course on time (9) |
| THEREFORE — HERE (present) and FORE (warning, of course) by (on) T (time) | |
| 57a | Conjecture made by temp actor before 24 drink bottles (13) |
| EXTRAPOLATION — EXTRA (temp actor) before LA (24 – LOS ANGELES, answer to 24a), which POTION (drink) holds (bottles) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Traditional metal tipped second chain on toilet mounting (3-6) |
| OLD-SCHOOL — Without the first letter (… tipped) gOLD (metal) + S (second) + CH (chain) on LOO (toilet) going upwards (mounting) | |
| 2d | Stuck-up worker maybe packs eastern dress for empress (7) |
| TSARINA — Reversed (stuck-up) ANT (worker maybe) contains (packs) SARI (eastern dress) | |
| 3d | Malfunctioning boron connector underneath working article (2,3,5) |
| ON THE BLINK — B (boron) and LINK (connector) underneath ON (working) and THE (article) | |
| 4d | Band’s tour’s ending in small village, starting late (6) |
| ARMLET — TouR’s last letter (ending) in hAMLET (small village) without the first letter (starting late) | |
| 5d | East Flanders woman, cold in English landscape, softening (12) |
| EMOLLESCENCE — E (east) + MOLL (Flanders woman) + C (cold) in E (English) plus SCENE (landscape) | |
| 6d | Act to cover renegade (8) |
| TURNCOAT — TURN (act) + COAT (to cover) | |
| 7d | Lush Valkyr in the altogether? (4) |
| ALKY — Without outer letters (… in the altogether?), vALKYr | |
| 8d | Perform for every favourite, adding value (10) |
| PERPETRATE — PER (for every) + PET (favourite) + RATE (value) | |
| 9d | Raise relief in Epsom’s banks supported by manager (6) |
| EMBOSS — EpsoM’s outer letters (banks) above (supported by) BOSS (manager) | |
| 10d | “Become hippy?” gasped Oprah, casually taking ecstasy (2,4-6) |
| GO PEAR-SHAPED — An anagram of (… casually) GASPED OPRAH taking E (ecstasy) | |
| 11d | Board agreements from EU neighbours (5) |
| OUIJA — OUI and JA (agreements from EU neighbours) | |
| 12d | Chatted about paradise welcoming St Ignatius, initially ordained earlier (13) |
| PREDESTINATED — PRATED (chatted) around (about) EDEN (paradise), in turn taking in (welcoming) ST and Ignatius, initially | |
| 20d | For whom boring literature is a way of life? (8) |
| BOOKWORM — A cryptic definition, one which could define either meaning of bookworm | |
| 22d | Train one’s knackered old horse (9) |
| ROSINANTE — TRAIN ONE’S anagrammed (knackered) | |
| 23d | Sons flew abroad, dispersed without anyone’s agency? (4-4) |
| SELF-SOWN — An anagram of (… abroad) SONS FLEW | |
| 25d | Workers betray defeat (4,5) |
| SHOP FLOOR — SHOP (betray) + FLOOR (defeat) | |
| 27d | One-time colony is overthrown when Greek character, almost late, provides cover (8) |
| RHODESIA — IS backwards (overthrown) when RHO (Greek character) and almost DEAd (late) surrounds it (provides cover) | |
| 28d | Tenacious, that man is opening a seedy bar (8) |
| ADHESIVE — HE’S (that man is) inserted into (opening) A DIVE (a seedy bar) | |
| 29d | 12 remade Badlands in Arizona (7,6) |
| PAINTED DESERT — PREDESTINATED (12 – answer to 12d) anagrammed (remade) | |
| 32d | Buildings together in crescent, say, given cutting-edge quartet of features? (12) |
| ARCHITECTURE — ARC (crescent, say) + HI–TECH (cutting-edge) + four letters of (quartet of) feaTUREs | |
| 33d | Medicinal drink shortly comes with Thai meal when ordered (9,3) |
| CHAMOMILE TEA — Missing the last letter (shortly), COMEs with THAI MEAL when anagrammed (ordered) | |
| 37d | Assertion from church after nun briefly enters pub (10) |
| INSISTENCE — CE (church) after SISTEr (nun) briefly goes into (enters) INN (pub) | |
| 38d | Reported mother will pay visit to abandoned prison (10) |
| MARSHALSEA — Sounds like (reported) MA SHALL SEE (mother will pay visit to) | |
| 41d | Form of cricket pad in turn damaged (3,3,3) |
| TIP AND RUN — PAD IN TURN anagrammed (damaged) | |
| 42d | Former parliamentary law agreement underpinning masses in uprising (5,3) |
| STAMP ACT — PACT (agreement) underneath (underpinning) MATS (masses) going upwards (in uprising) | |
| 46d | Wherein paperwork is sorted by folders (7) |
| ORIGAMI — A cryptic definition | |
| 47d | Profound backing indeed surrounds instrument on display? (6) |
| SPEEDO — DEEP (profound) which a reversed (backing) SO (indeed) surrounds | |
| 48d | Fruit that stinks when filled with honey (6) |
| POMELO — POO (that stinks) when filled with MEL (honey) | |
| 50d | IT corporation’s software licence voided (5) |
| APPLE — APP (software) + LicencE with inner letters removed (voided) | |
| 52d | What’s ultimately quaint and small, for some? (4) |
| TWEE — The last letter of (ultimately) quainT + WEE (small, for some) | |
DNK BARD. I didn’t parse 17ac and 21ac. LOI PIPE-STEM. I liked ‘behind shower’ and ‘foil container’.
DNF, defeated by ROSINANTE, ENID (I guessed ROSANTINE for the former, which in turn scuppered the latter) and POMELO (I bunged in BOLERO).
– Relied on wordplay to get the unknown CHINESE BLOCK
– Hadn’t heard of DORATI the composer
– Not familiar with the PAINTED DESERT, but it fitted the checkers and sounded plausible
– Didn’t know there was a specific STAMP ACT, but again it sounded likely
Thanks Kitty and setter.
COD Go pear-shaped
I noted that I became bored with this one and used aids quite liberally towards the end just to get the grid completed.
I was a little surprised by OVEN (31ac) as a verb meaning to cook, but I found it in Collins.
I knew Antal DORATI (43ac) but felt he was clued unfairly as a composer. In his lifetime he was ubiquitous as a conductor and made literally hundreds of recordings in that capacity. Even as a follower of so-called ‘classical’ music I have never knowingly heard a single note that he composed.
Done. NHO
NJO EMOLLESCENCE, but liked the Moll Flanders reference, very clever when I eventually got it.
Couldn’t parse SCABBARD as NHO BARD=pork
I’ve been to the PAINTED DESERT in Arizona, so that went in OK.
POMELO, not BOMELO, which I had with BOO(that stinks)
NHO ASTOOP, but guessed from Askance, Askew etc.
Only vaguely heard of Marshalsea, but knew of Winchelsea.
For AMBIVALENT struggled with LAV
NHO DORATI
I’m bad with sails, not being a fan of Master and Commander, with all that TopGallants and Futtocks. But figured MOONRAKER was probably one.
COD GO PEAR-SHAPED
{and no Err 500 on this new site, bliss]
Thank you for the explanations.
NHO: Chinese block, bard meaning pork fat, oven as a verb, Dorati, Rosinante, pomelo, emollescence, and tenacious to mean adhesive seems iffy.
Didn’t get amelioration, Marshalsea, origami (I see what the setter is trying to do, but origami isn’t really ‘sorting paper’).
Favourite: 11d.
Worst: toss up between Dorati and that one with bard meaning pork fat.
We liked this one, even though there were a few tough spots. Didn’t know Rosinante offhand, but easy to work out once we had the intersecting words.
Took me ages to work out why “gold tipped” equals “old”. Obvious, once the penny dropped!
I liked Moonraker (even though it brought back awful memories of the worst Bond movie).
My very favourite was Go Pear Shaped.