Solving Time: 55 minutes (with assistance on two clues from the wonderful Eric)
Whether it’s because I am off solving barred puzzles at the moment, I can’t say, but this certainly took me a fair amount of time and was definitely a puzzle of two halves, top and bottom!
One or two explanations might be a little shady, but I am happy to be corrected.
ACROSS (*) = Anagram (R) = Reversal
1 VOAR A inside VO (Abbreviation for “verso” – the left page of a book) + R.
9 BACH BA (Scottish for ball – as in ‘fitba’) + CH (Centre Half). The def, I think, refers to what a Welsh team-mate would shout, hence “Gareth”. Not impressed with this clue.
13 AURUM POTABILE U (Universal/fully) + RUM inside AP (printer’s abbreviation for before) + BOIL TEA*. Aurum Potabile was a medicine which allegedly contained a small amount of gold.
14 STOMPER Hidden answer
15 INTRON NT (‘not’ contracted) inside IRON (one robust)
17 WASTEFUL WAS + T = FUEL* Liked this clue.
18 LOUVRE V (number forming quintet) inside LOURE (an old Scots dance tune).
19 NUCLIDE N + EUCLID with first letter moved to end.
22 PETROLAGE PET (Cherished) + ROLAG (ball of wool) + E – Petrolge was a method of treating sheep with the fuel to get rid of mosquitoes.
24 CEASING CE + A + SING
26 OTELLO The first clue I solved. O + TELL + O Again a nice clue.
29 ACCENTOR ACCENT + OR
32 COATEE OAT in CEE (Spring) In Chambers under COAT
33 MAHONIA MANIA around HO (House)
34 INSENSATENESS Although this came to e fairly quickly, I had trouble parsing the clue, so here goes SIN* + ENSATE (Sword-like, hence allusion to Damocles) + NESS (Head).
35 ADES John Milton’s name for the Underworld. (SH)ADES
36 AGHA hidden answer
DOWN
1 VASAL Not sure about this one.
2 OUTDO OU = Dark Blues (Oxford University) + TDO (Taking degree??) Help!
3 RUME RUM (Bizarre) + E . Rume is a Shakesperian form of ‘rheum’ – poetic tears.
4 IMPERTINENT I think what Azed is saying is that one who is an IMP, when added to an anagram of TENNER and IT is IMPERTINENT.
5. SPEWER P inside SEWER A cloaca was, I think, a Roman sewer.
6 TORAN TO (Tax Officer) + RAN (as in bootleg)
7 UTIS (FL)UT(E) [Member of wind section not flat at fringes]
8 WANT CATCHER In Chambers, a want is a mole. Perhaps I’m wrong but I wonder if Azed clued this as ANT (Chap) inside NEW CHART*
10 AIRFIELD Definition is Maybe strip, RIFLE* inside AID.
11 CLOUDY LOUD (obtrusive) replacing RANK in CRANKY (Eccentric)
12 HENLEY HEN + YEL(L) [r]
16 PUPACASE Not sure how this works out.
20 ACACIA AC + A + CIA
21 SECOND Double def
23 LORATE “Strap-hanger” = commuter. OR inside LATE
25 GO MAD MA inside GOD
27 LEISH Hidden answer
28 OMASA Compound anagram OMASA + AT STENCH = A NEAT’S STOMACH
30 TEST Double def
31 ZONA What Azed is asking you to do is “reverse part of a LB, that would give you AN OZ – however here it shows alb therefore the answer should be similarly unsplit to give ZONA.
13 Ac: the wordplay here I think is A (ante = before) + RUM in UP (fully) + anag.
1 Dn: this is VAS(-s)AL
2 Dn: I think this is OU + D in TO (before).
Strange but true: in Eimi’s Independent puzzle two days prior to this one, I noticed the final grid contained BACH running across in the NE corner, and ACACIA running down in the SW corner – as was exactly the case in this puzzle! I know, I should get out more …
… and 16 Dn is UP (rev.) + AS in PACE.
… and 8 Dn works if we assume “chap” to be CAT.
7 down is flaUTISt, I think
It’s a relief to know I wasn’t the only person to register discomfort with two clues: mild in the case of ZONA, rather less mild with BACH, where “Gareth” still seems like a rude and over-specific intrusion (if all it’s doing is giving the clue a Welsh flavour..). I spent two days trying to remember if there was ever a centre-half called Gareth -ach.