A very entertaining puzzle this week, I thought. There were plenty of unfamiliar terms and spellings, though they were all well signposted, meaning that while a fair bit of confirmation was needed from Chambers, I managed this in one sitting.
I’m not entirely certain I’ve identified the correct fish/grain combination at 16 down, so I’ve reproduced the clue in case readers have a better suggestion.
*=anagram, []=dropped, <=reversed.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | DANTIST – (ANTI + S) in (D + S. |
| 6 | THETA – THE TA. |
| 11 | INCENTRE – INCENT[ive] + RE. |
| 12 | PARTHIAN SHOT – (THRASH A POINT)*. |
| 14 | TISRI – IS in TRI[p]. The seventh month in the Jewish calendar. |
| 15 | ADIPATE – A DIP + ATE. |
| 18 | ONYX – ON + Y + A. |
| 19 | ARCTIC CIRCLE – A + RC + TIC + CLERIC*. |
| 21 | PLAY THE FIELD – (FLIP HEATEDLY)*. |
| 23 | LIMB – [c]LIMB. |
| 26 | IN BLOOD – BLO[c] in I NOD. |
| 28 | GAMIC – GAM[e] + I + C. |
| 29 | SELENOLOGIST – (GOES IN TO SELL)*. |
| 30 | ESPUMOSO – (SOME SOUP)*. |
| 31 | ERROR – (R[ock] times two) in (E + (R times two)). |
| 32 | ESSAYER – E + SSAYER, which is from Dorothy L. Sayers, but with her “Last one first”. |
| Down | |
| 1 | DIP-TRAP – DIPT[e]RA + P. |
| 2 | ANAIS – ANA + IS. |
| 3 | TETRA – T[rawlerman] in ARET<. |
| 4 | INHIBITION – (H + I + BIT) in INION. “Inion” is the external occipital protuberance, apparently, and we all have one. |
| 5 | TRADUCER – (U[p] + C[ustom]) in TRADER. |
| 7 | HASP – HAS + P[arka]. |
| 8 | ENHANCED – (HAN + CE) in END. |
| 9 | TROTYL – TROT + L[ikel]Y<. |
| 10 | ARTEX – AR + TEX[t]. |
| 13 | NIDIFUGOUS – (I FOUND US GI)*. |
| 16 | SCAMBLER – SCAM + [cob]LER. The clue was Scottish freeloader to swindle fish, not grain. |
| 17 | SCHMOOSE – SCH + MOOSE. |
| 20 | EDUCTOR – EDUC[a]TOR. |
| 22 | LINEAR – NE[ws] in LIAR. |
| 23 | LISLE – L + ISLE. “Inch” here is a Scottish term for an island. |
| 24 | MAGMA – G in MAMA. |
| 25 | NISSE – S in N[o]ISE. |
| 27 | LENO – (ONE + L. Nothing to do with the American talk show host. |