FT No. 12,912, Set by Sleuth, October 30, 2008.

Plenty to think about today.  The answers came fairly quickly but not always the explanations. 30a misled
me for a few minutes – I trust I now have it right.  Likewise 31a. No obvious theme but there is a fair amount of Eastern promise and a couple of animals.

ACROSS

1.     LOCUST – (‘lust’ around ‘oRDINARY.cITY’ – locusts formed one of the plagues of Egypt.).
4.     KEYBOARD – (‘key’ [vital -‘ board’ Thanks to Geoff for this correction from ‘Pegboard’.  Silly me!))
9.     ISRAEL – ( * i learNs – ‘n’ removed as end of TRADITIOn)
10.   NAGASAKI – (cd – nag a Saki.  SAKI was the pen name of Hector Hugh Monroe, a master
                             of short story writing at turn of the 19/20th century.)
12.   BRUSH OFF – (bISHOP-rush off.  if you give someone the brush-off you dismiss them)
13.   UPSHOT  – ( up-shot.  If you appear before a magistrate you are ‘up’ before the bench.
                               a motion picture is ‘shot’ or ‘filmed’.)
15.   CHAD – (‘hOT’ within ‘cad’)
16.  GAZELLE – ( gaze-ll-eNGLISH)
20.  QUALITY – ( ‘quay’ around ‘lit’ as in ‘The butterfly lit on a rose.’)
21.  TOFU – (first letters of tHING oRIENTAL fOODIES uSE)
25.  OCCUPY – (o-c-cup-y)
26.  PROLIFIC -(prolE-if-i-c.  ‘Prole’ is a term for worker or member of the working class)
28.  BOUNDARY – ( the inevitable cricket clue.  A boundary counts for four runs)
29.  INJURE – ( in -jurY-CASe)
30.  TRESPASS – (Tres- p- as-s.  ‘Tres'[with grave accent]- French (spoken in Nancy, Lorraine) for very –
                                 ‘ p’ for quiet – as [when] -sECOND.  This held me up for a while as I pursued
                                  ladies called Nancy and effeminate gentlemen!)
31.  RANDOM – ( Again I tried ‘romany’ and ‘nomad’ but believe it is simply ‘an – d’ within ‘rom’.)

DOWN

1.    LAID BACK – (‘ l-aid- ‘back’ – football position.)
2.    CAROUSAL – ( ‘usa’ within ‘carol’ .  ‘carousal’ definition: ‘a noisy revel, drinking bout.’
3.    SEETHE -(‘ see-t-h-IS eXCELLENCY’. Not too happy about ‘see’ for ‘escort’ although an usher
                             sees someone to a seat.)
5.    EVAN  – (L-evan-T.  The place where the sun rises,i.e. The East, as well as the Mediterranean area
                                        given this name)
6.    BEANPOLE – ( *open lab-eUROPEAN)
7.    APATHY – ( a-pat-hOSTELRy)
8.    DAINTY – ( da-in-Sty.  fastidiously neat)
11.  AFFABLE – (a-ff-able)
14.  TEXTURE- (text-ure (Text as now used for writing message on mobile phone + river in Yorkshire.
                                The feel of a fabric etc.)
17.   PUMPED UP -( pp [Public prosecutor] around u-mp-*due)
18.   CONFOUND – ( co-n-f-o-und)
19.   SUN CREAM – (* cruise man- without ‘i’)
22.   WOMBAT- (‘womb-<TA’ – Womb where life is created, TA – territorial army.
                             a wombat is a short-legged marsupial)
23.   SCOUSE – ( s-c-ouse.  Pickle as in soused herring.  Amusing after yesterday’s
                               discussion of regional accents!!!
24.   GLINKA- (g-link-a – Mikhael Glinka,influential Russian composer.  There is a music prize named after

       him. Past winners have included Boridin and Rimsky-Korsakov.) 

27. EROS – (hidden in Hero=sHUNNING. Greek love-God)