Quite a tough workout from Poins this week, I found.
There were several points (Tom Mix, for example) where my general knowledge fell short, and plenty of new terms to learn. That said, one enjoys a challenge from time to time, and the cleverly misleading wordplay in e.g. 13 across and 19 down was particularly pleasing.
I hope I’ve explained everything, but do let me know if not.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CLAMMY | Moist fine-grained earth in small measure – just the opposite (6) |
| MM in CLAY | ||
| 4 | PROFFER | Tender prince removed from queen (7) |
| PR + OFF + ER | ||
| 9 | TRENCHANT | Cutting about new song by tenor (9) |
| R + RE + N + CHANT | ||
| 10 | AXIOM | Nothing to stop silent movie star coming back after initially agreeing in principle (5) |
| A[greeing] + (0 in Tom MIX)<. Tom Mix was unknown to me, but he seems to have been very well known in his day. | ||
| 11 | AFTER | Mother, miles away, taking in fellow’s behind (5) |
| F in [m]ATER | ||
| 12 | CERVANTES | Worker absorbed in revolutionary verse by Cuba’s top writer (9) |
| C[uba] + (ANT in SERVE<). Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, of course. | ||
| 13 | KNOCK UP | Buffet at college is put together hurriedly (5,2) |
| KNOCK + UP. Think “buffet” with a non-silent T. | ||
| 15 | PRISON | Nick finds Penny omitting opening of prayer (6) |
| P + [o]RISON | ||
| 17 | SPIRIT | Runs around embracing current enthusiasm (6) |
| I in TRIPS< | ||
| 19 | CHICKEN | Girl starts to embroider name in yellow (7) |
| CHICK + E[mbroider] + N[ame] | ||
| 22 | ATROCIOUS | Awful for co-star worried about debt (9) |
| IOU in CO–STAR* | ||
| 24 | ALARM | Soldiers endlessly going around city warning of danger (5) |
| LA in ARM[y] | ||
| 26 | AMUSE | Entertain with new masque after queen leaves (5) |
| MAS[q]UE* | ||
| 27 | BILLIARDS | Head of Leweston having trouble getting back in time before school’s first game (9) |
| (L[eweston] + AIL<) in (BIRD + S[chool]) | ||
| 28 | THEATRE | Mata essentially seen inside in that position where Finney played (7) |
| AT in THERE. Reference to Albert Finney, rather than the late Tom, as we’re initially led to believe. | ||
| 29 | GNOSIS | Carol rings in due course about discovering spiritual knowledge (6) |
| (SO in SING)< | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CUTBACK | Reduce support after snub (3,4) |
| CUT + BACK | ||
| 2 | ALERT | Fellow not born sharp-witted (5) |
| AL[b]ERT | ||
| 3 | MUCKRAKER | John Pilger’s one friend possesses interminable spirit (9) |
RAK[i] in MUCKER. Raki is a barely drinkable aniseed-flavoured spirit from Turkey, while John Pilger is a journalist and strong critic of American, Australian and British foreign policy. |
||
| 4 | PITPROP | Supporter‘s depression to stop suddenly (7) |
| PIT + PROP. This was my last one in, not least because it’s a new one for me, while “prop” as in “to stop suddenly”, specifically of a horse, was also unknown. | ||
| 5 | OBAMA | Politician oddly okay over hoax (5) |
| BAM in O[k]A[y]. Again, BAM was new, but the politician is far from obscure and it would have been hard not to spot him from the checking letters. | ||
| 6 | FLINTLOCK | Gun wounds are dressed with it during flight (9) |
| LINT in FLOCK | ||
| 7 | REMISS | Engineers need to avoid being careless (6) |
| RE + MISS | ||
| 8 | MADCAP | Mother getting better after bit of detergent causes rash (6) |
| MA + D[etergent] + CAP | ||
| 14 | OPPORTUNE | Convenient for a country girl off to the Newcastle area after work (9) |
| OP + PORTU[gal] + NE | ||
| 16 | IMITATION | Oddly neglected film misrepresenting Titian over forgery (9) |
| [f]I[l]M + (TITIAN + O)* | ||
| 18 | TROUBLE | Time to face money problems (7) |
| T + ROUBLE | ||
| 19 | CASTLE | Keep outlaw’s heart enclosed in box (6) |
| [ou]TL[aw] in CASE | ||
| 20 | NEMESIS | One needing no introduction is after my French goddess (7) |
| [o]NE + MES + IS | ||
| 21 | SAVANT | Girl’s turning against conservationists in authority (6) |
| AVA‘S< + NT | ||
| 23 | CHEST | A body part from the man is exhibited in court (5) |
| HE‘S in CT | ||
| 25 | APRES | 11 French letters belonging to Maria presumably (5) |
| [mari]A PRES[umably] | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition
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