I found this a very tricky puzzle, one answer I still can’t fathom. Thanks Monk for keeping the grey cells active.
| Across | ||
| 1 | TRAPPIST | Brother’s reportedly drunk on gin (8) |
| PIST sounds like “pissed” (drunk) in TRAP (gin), a brother is a monk | ||
| 5 | ORNATE | Fancy man ultimately stopping harangue (6) |
| N in ORATE (harangue) | ||
| 10 | INCIDENTAL MUSIC | Striking folk, for example, that may be arranged to back up action (10,5) |
| INCIDENTAL (striking) FOLK (type of music) – background music for a play or film | ||
| 11 | FENESTRATE | Net geek endlessly farts about with Windows (10) |
| anagram (about, moving about) of NET gEEk (endlessly) and FARTS – definition is ‘with windows’ | ||
| 12 | ANNA | Girl, last one on earth, found in seconds?(4) |
| lAst oNe oNe eArth (second letters) | ||
| 14 | CHEERIO | See you neck briefy with short funny guy (7) |
| CHEEk (neck, briefly) with RIOt (funny guy, short) – definition is ‘see you’ | ||
| 16 | ANTWERP | Port/schnapps essentially passed to the left by idiot (7) |
| schNApps (essentially, centre of) reversed (passed to the left) by TWERP (idiot) | ||
| 18 | UPSTAGE | Top actors essentially get moved away from the audience (7) |
| UP (top) STAGE (actors) – definition is ‘moved away from the audience’. I am not sure about ‘essentially’ here. Possibly the ‘up stage’ is where the top actors play (so they can face the audience). This is basically the same meaning as ‘upstage’, just changed form noun to verb, not far enough away for a cryptic clue IMO. | ||
| 19 | SEAGULL | Flapper associated with the proms? (7) |
| cryptic definition – a prom is a sea-front walk | ||
| 21 | EVEN | Nearly exact (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 23 | REGISTRANT | Reserve I put forward to secure good entry on record? (10) |
| RESTRAINT with the I moved towars the front containing (securing) G (good) – definition is either ‘entry on record’ or just ‘on record’. Chambers gives ‘a person who registers, or has registered’ which doesn’t quite fit either deinition. | ||
| 26 | STIGMATOPHILIST | One with a liking for ink might also spit it out (15) |
| (MIGHT ALSO SPIT IT)* anagram=out – a person with a liking for tattoos | ||
| 27 | LATHER | Do not start gossip that causes agitation (6) |
| bLATHER (gossip) not starting | ||
| 28 | ENTRANTS | Announced opening competitors (8) |
| sounds like (announced) “entrance” (opening) – not an exact homophone | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TRIFFIC | Brilliant out-of-this-world plant died off with cold (7) |
| TRIFFId (alien plant from sci-fi novel) with C (cold) | ||
| 2 | ASCENDERS | We climb the odd bits of Tibet, for example (9) |
| double definition – ascenders are the upper parts of letters such as t and b, i an e do not have ascenders | ||
| 3 | PEDESTRIAN | Churned out repeats in D flat (10) |
| (REPEATS IN D)* |
||
| 4 | SONAR | Means of detecting nitrogen in fly (5) |
| N (nitrogen) in SOAR (fly) | ||
| 6 | RUMP | Behind topless dowdy woman (4) |
| fRUMP (dowdy woman) topless | ||
| 7 | ARSON | Burning desire (5) |
| cryptic definition. First I entered FLAME, then changed it to TORCH before finally arriving at ARSON | ||
| 8 | ENCLASP | Lock lens cap after snapping (7) |
| (LENS CAP)* snapping=anagram | ||
| 9 | MANTRAPS | Individual parts stirred by these? (8) |
| MAN (individual) PARTS* anagram=stirred – a mantrap (predatory woman) could stir up your parts (genitalia) | ||
| 13 | STEALTHIER | More secret theft pinned on burglar – almost right (10) |
| STEAL (theft, as a noun) with (pinned on) THIEf (burglar, almost) R (right) | ||
| 15 | OPERETTA | Work that’s noted to be light? (8) |
| cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | EDUCATION | Drilling area protected by exhaust (9) |
| A (area) in EDUCTION (exhaust) – definition is ‘drilling’ | ||
| 18 | UTENSIL | Bend with short stretching tool (7) |
| U (bend) with TENSILe (stretching, short) | ||
| 20 | LITOTES | Child captivated by stories in which not a little is a lot? (7) |
| TOT (child) in LIES (stories) – litotes means understatement | ||
| 22 | EXIST | Live or die without son (5) |
| EXIT (die) containing (without, outside) S (son) | ||
| 24 | IPPON | Championship ponies bag a winning score (5) |
| found in (bagged by) champiionshIP PONies – a winning score in sumo wrestling | ||
| 25 | AMIE | Became half-cut, grabbing one’s mistress (4) |
| becAME (half cut) containing I (one) – definition is ‘mistress’ | ||
*anagram
Thanks PeeDee – I agree that this was a tricky one (as I expect from Monk).
In 2d I think the ASCENDERS are the letters themselves rather than their upper parts in the strict typographical sense: Chambers gives “(the upper part of) a letter such as b, d, h, k”, so i think that’s justifiable, though I don’t think it really applies to the upper-case T.
I wasn’t happy with 7d, as ARSON isn’t the “desire” but the action. I think your TORCH is actually a better solution to the clue.
HI PeeDee
In 3dn, is not “flat” the definition and “Churned out” the anagram indicator?
Thanks Pelham, I failed to spot that!
Sorry, Monk, you’re always welcome and looked forward to, but this floored me. I managed the NW corner and then returned to earning my living (with thanks to PeeDee for all his work). Hope to see you on Sheffield Station to call you to account.