Into the New Year that should see No 1000 in this series. Solving time, 17 mins, if I have solved it – some doubts that I’ll know for sure about only when solution appears next Sunday. (Many thanks to Andrew and Quixote himself below for explaining the clues I did not understand)
* = anagram < = reversed
ACROSS
1 PER SUADE rep< “swayed”
9 CHAMP Double definition – the second was easy but the first new to me, dicts confirm it, originating in NI apparently
10 ST (EVE D) ORE
11 DISTEMPER Double definition
12 EM(A)IL The Emil in question is from book and film ‘Emil and the Detectives’ from Germany in the Weimar years – author: Kastner
13 RO (DI) N “One to show man embracing woman” The sculptor, I think, though not 100% sure – had a quick look in dicts etc to see if clue suggested a particular work of his, but nothing obvious appeared.
14 OSTEO (PAT) H (soothe)* Pat is a name for either a male or female
16 DECADE N(i)CE
18 URGES Hidden
20 N (EG) US
22 MAINBRACE (cinema bar)*
23 LABYRINT H (Brainy lot)* less o = ‘heart’ of lot h = hard
24 A GAPE
25 TH (I EVER) Y
DOWN
1 PI CAD OR
2 RHAPSODI C (parish do)*
3 UMPTEEN My most doubtful one “Lots following umpire according to the book!” Definition may be ‘lots’ and ‘ump’ a usage for umpire but I do not see the rest – maybe refers to some book.
4 DI (SAP) P OINTMENT
5 HE N (RY THE EIGHTH) (hey the girth)* &lit
6 TERE DO (tree)* a type of worm
7 YOG A goy<
8 WEALTH (the law)* &lit
15 AGGRAVATE (gag at rave)*
16 DANG(L)E(r)
17 DE SIRE Ed< father = vb
18 U MB RAGE
19 SCENERY cryptic definition
21 GOB I (I bog)<
Presumably the Rodin reference is to his sculpture “The Kiss”.
The book is a dictionary, Niall!