FT 12,906 Set by Falcon. October 23, 2008

A day late (Blame the uploaders!) Quite a pleasant puzzle but I personally would prefer fewer Proper nouns.
Late in the morning – blame me.  I typed it all and then managed to lose it, and had to re-type!

ACROSS

1.   FACE CARD – (cd. term for cards with person depicted, e.g. King, Queen. To lose face its to lose
                                   respect and a ‘card’ is an eccentric)
6    EFFECT – (dd, but this one worried me, as influence is surely ‘affect’ ?)
9.   DOMINO – ( tile in game of the same name, with spots, and ‘mask’)
10. NICKNAME – ( cd. ‘nick’ for ‘prison’ and ‘name for ‘term’.  Name given to the famous
                                   Victorian murderer of prostitutes)
11.  BASH – (b-ash.  ‘Have a bash for ‘make an attempt.’)
12. ALLEGIANCE – ( all-eg-iance)
14. ESCALLOP – ( <pose enclosing’call’.  Usually spelt ‘escalope’ but this spelling shows
                                      in some definitions)
16. & 18 OVERTAKE – ( as in a car, or ‘overtrump’ an excessive move in card game)
19. ENABLING – ( ena- bling.  Given in Chambers as ‘bling-bling’ for conspicuous jewellery, but usually
                                used in the singular today.)
21. EARLY RISER – (*is rarely <re)
22. HOLD – (h-OUSEHOLD-old)
24. GERSHWIN -(* swing he.  George Gershwin, or even his brother Ira, his lyricist)
26. TRUDIE – (‘true’ around DI’)
27. GRAMME – (hidden in DIA gram-meTRICAL)
28. EYE LEVEL – ( ‘eye’ for ‘organ’, ‘level’ for ‘even’.  The signature tune for the Van der Valk
                                 TV programme, which became a hit in its own right.)

DOWN

2.   AROMA -(‘mo’ within ‘a RA’.  A wine’s bouquet is its aroma)
3.   EDITH CAVELL – ( * chalet lived.  First World War nurse, born in Norfolk, executed in Belgium
                                       for helping hundreds of Allied soldiers to escape)
4.   ADORABLE – ( a-dora-bUY-le)
5.  DONALD PLEASANCE – (* penned a so called – English actor , who died in 1995. Most
                                                     prolific film actor of his time, mainly playing villains and madmen.
                                                     Appeared in Bond films)
6.  ENCAGE -(e-n-cage.  John Milton Cage , influential, and experimental American composer)
7.  FAN (f-an)
8.  COME CLEAN – dd.
13. A DOLL’S HOUSE – (‘house’ as in people in a theatre. 1879 play by Henrik Ibsen, which caused a furore in
                                             its day as it questioned the  marriage norms of its time.
15. SHAMATEUR  – ( * ru team has – term coined to indicate a player claiming to be amateur, but
                                        receiving illicit payment)
17. MAGRITTE – ‘grit’ within ‘mate’.  Most famous of Belgian painters, died 1967)
23. LOIRE  –  ( ‘i’ within ‘lore’.)
25, 20 SAM BROWNE – ( ‘brown’ within ‘same’.  The leather belt and shoulder strap worn by British
                                              army officers.  Said to have been invented by an officer serving in India, who 

                                              lost an arm and needed a way to support his weapon.)