Fun puzzle with a good mix of clues.
I made fairly even progress through this well-pitched QC, coming in at 6.54, despite being held up briefly at the end in the NE. I needed a bit of a pause to decipher the something-ABLE anagram at 6d, and to realise that the “case” of WhiskeY wasn’t fittable into 7d.
That just left 11ac, the sort of thing that can strike fear if you’re in the habit of stumbling on the last clue: when faced with _ N _ E _ A _ _ (as it stood before I got the final checker from 7d), it looks like there should be a ton of possibilities. Nope. There are maybe six that would appear in the QC or the 15×15 (antedate, interact, kneecaps, kneepads, underact, underarm). Whenever I check this sort of thing, I’m always surprised by how few options there are.
Anyway, much enjoyed – many thanks to Joker!
| Across | |
| 1 | Upset concerning monarch’s seat, we hear (10) |
| OVERTHROWN – OVER/on/about/concerning are all synonyms, and THROWN “we hear” the same as THRONE (monarch’s seat) | |
| 8 | Being physically fit, filled with energy in the meantime (7) |
| INTERIM – IN TRIM (in good trim = being physically fit) filled with E(nergy) | |
| 9 | Older person dismissing one Spanish fellow (5) |
| SENOR -SENiOR (older person( dismissing I (one). Edit: as spotted by Merlin in the comments, the ñ in señor actually appears in the anagrist for UÑMANAGEABLE that crosses with this clue. Great stuff from Joker! | |
| 10 | Horrific travel by railway (4) |
| GORY – GO (travel) by RY (railway) | |
| 11 | Be closely involved in short treatise about English (8) |
| INTERACT – IN, TRACT (short treatise) about E(nglish) | |
| 13 | Nation, say (5) |
| STATE – double definition | |
| 14 | Unwilling promise by left (5) |
| LOATH – OATH (promise) by L(eft) | |
| 16 | Caliban upset about new man-eater? (8) |
| CANNIBAL – anagram (upset) of CALIBAN about N(ew) | |
| 17 | Runs engine very swiftly when starting? (4) |
| REVS – &lit, with the whole clue being both definition and wordplay, provided here by the starting letters of the first four words. | |
| 20 | Musical form with runs about note (5) |
| RONDO – R(uns) ON (about – see 1ac) DO (note, as in do-re-mi) | |
| 21 | Room in church with a yellow light (7) |
| CHAMBER – CH(urch) with AMBER (yellow light) | |
| 22 | End Ptolemy’s shifting movement of eg troops (10) |
| DEPLOYMENT – anagram (is shifting) of END PTOLEMY | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Planting seeds without last of seeds due (5) |
| OWING – SOWING = planting seeds, without last (or indeed the first) of seedS. | |
| 2 | Start on instruction, right away causing amusement (12) |
| ENTERTAINING – ENTER (start) on TrAINING (instruction), with the “R” away | |
| 3 | Go with one leaving Italian city (4) |
| TURN – I (one) leaving TURiN (Italian city) | |
| 4 | Friends regularly hiding chap put in custody (6) |
| REMAND – f R i E n D s “regularly” hiding MAN (chap) | |
| 5 | Wind with one in the opposite direction missing area (8) |
| WESTERLY – W(ith) EASTERLY (wind with the opposite direction to the answer) missing A(rea) | |
| 6 | Malagueña Ben dancing is too demanding (12) |
| UNMANAGEABLE – anagram (dancing) of MALAGUENA BEN | |
| 7 | Sad case of whiskey leading to vomit (6) |
| WRETCH – W(hiskey) leading to RETCH (vomit) | |
| 12 | English National Opera dates raised in interval (8) |
| SEMITONE – ENO (English National Opera) TIMES (dates) “raised” = reversed | |
| 13 | Showing confidence about city firm (6) |
| SECURE – SURE (showing confidence) about EC (city) | |
| 15 | Right place set out for package (6) |
| PARCEL – anagram (set out) of R(ight) PLACE | |
| 18 | Brace of small fish, not old (5) |
| STRUT – S(mall) TRoUT (fish), not O(ld) | |
| 19 | Quick profit involving cocaine (4) |
| PACY – PAY (profit) involving C(ocaine) | |
I’m with those in the “30 minutes and 5 unsolved” camp. Certainly didn’t have a clue about RONDO and did want SPRAT (with PR for brace).