Independent on Sunday 1266/Hypnos

[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here

I think I have pinned this all down, but there are a couple where I’d be happy to be corrected.

 

Every setter has his or her particular style, and I don’t think Hypnos is going to win any prizes for concision of cluing.  I don’t mind that, if the surface merits it; but while there were some decent surfaces, there were also some that didn’t make much sense, to me at least.  And there wasn’t a huge variety in the cluing: by my count, of the 28 clues, 15 involved an insertion device in one way or another.  So not my favourite ever puzzle from this setter, but what did you think?

Abbreviations

cd  cryptic definition
dd  double definitiion
(xxxx)*  anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x]  letters removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1  Deprive of cheer fellow leading US sect
FAMISH
A charade of F for ‘fellow’ and AMISH for ‘US sect’.  I’m not entirely sure they would appreciate being called a ‘sect’, although yes, I know, dictionaries give this meaning.  ‘Community’, perhaps.

4  Ornamental lacework I developed largely in office feature?
FILIGREE
An insertion of I GRE[W] in FILE.  Not a great surface, imho.

9  Follow directions around university
ENSUE
An insertion of U in ENSE, which are all points of the compass or ‘directions’.

10  High-ranking woman acting around doubly tense film star
MATT DAMON
An insertion of TT (double T, for the grammatical ‘tense’) in MADAM for ‘high-ranking woman’ (in a brothel, presumably?) and ON for ‘acting’.  ‘She’s on in the West End at the moment.’

11  Exercises in part of castle, one featuring in paper
KEEP FIT
A charade of KEEP and I inserted in FT for the pink’un.

12  Bring excitement to English actor around 50
ENLIVEN
An insertion of L for 50 in E and NIVEN, referring to David NIVEN.

13  Make known suddenly backing for top salad ingredient
SPRING ONION
A charade of SPRING ON and a reversal of NO 1 for ‘top’.  I do like a spring onion.

17  College ceases to have grounds right away in inactive period
CLOSE SEASON
A charade of C, LOSES and [R]EASON.

20  Ramshackle train entering middle of poor province
ONTARIO
The middle of ‘poor’ is OO; an insertion of (TRAIN)* in that gives you the Canadian province.

21  New element in trap producing admission by spy?
IMPLANT
Well, I’m guessing that the setter is alluding to the fact that if you went to the dentist for an IMPLANT, then you’d have a ‘new element’ in your ‘trap’ or mouth.  And that if a spy was giving the game away, he’d say I’M [a] PLANT.  In which case, it’s a dd.  But you may have a better explanation.

23  Surprised expression about renovated tiling – factor in altering mine?
GELIGNITE
An insertion of (TILING)* in GEE!  The surface is not painting a picture in my head.

24  Saying of the modern era?
ADAGE
We are living in the AD (Anno Domini) AGE.

25  Staid set upset showing repugnance
DISTASTE
(STAID SET)*

26  Chap, say, associated with a wine shop
BODEGA
A charade of BOD for ‘chap’, EG for ‘say’ and A.

Down

1  Very unusual angle taken about holiday?  Not initially
FREAKISH
An insertion of [B]REAK in FISH.

2  Think about knight with endeavour getting old weapons
MUSKETRY
A charade of K inserted in MUSE, and TRY.

3  Writer about hospital board
SHELF
An insertion of H in SELF for ‘writer’.

5  Awaiting consideration like a certain tobacco policy?
IN THE PIPELINE
A cd cum dd.

6  Star skirting new change, avoiding pressure, not doing much
INDOLENCE
An insertion of N in IDOL followed by [P]ENCE.

7  Take away class in school
REMOVE
I’ll have a stab at this and say that it’s an attempt at an &lit, where if you were studying RE (a ‘class’ or subject) and you had to be ‘taken away’, then it would be an RE MOVE.  And REMOVE is to ‘take away’.  But that’s most likely pants.  Edit: it is indeed complete and utter pants.  See comments one and two.

8  Weather phenomenon represented online
EL NIÑO
(ONLINE)*

10  Fish, perhaps, tiresome lot to go off
METEOROLOGIST
(TIRESOME LOT TO GO)* with ‘off’ as the anagrind.  Referring to Michael FISH, the METEOROLOGIST and BBC weather forecaster who famously said of the Great Storm of 1987 that there wasn’t going to be a hurricane.  He was right; it wasn’t a hurricane.  But it still did a lot of damage.  Can fish be tiresome?

14  Start to contrast in swirling rain a Pacific Island that’s cut off and Latin country
NICARAGUA
An insertion of C for the first letter of ‘contrast’ in (RAIN)* followed by A and GUA[M].

15  Increase about to be seen in European list of candidates
ESCALATE
An insertion of CA for circa or ‘about’ in E SLATE.

16  Song interrupted by amateur, a target of hate
ANATHEMA
Yet another insertion, of A for ‘amateur’ in ANTHEM, which is all followed by A.

18  Counterfeit gold, gold that’s not obsolete in foreign bank
FORGED
And another: of OR and G[OLD] in FED for the abbreviation for the US bank.

19  Filthy place left by American for needle
STYLUS
A charade of STY, L and US.

22  Advertising a party in gallery abroad
PRADO
A charade of PR for ‘public relations’ and A DO for the gallery in Madrid.  Other setters do this as well, but I wish they’d stop.  I have a background in Marketing, and Public Relations is not synonymous with advertising.

Thank you to the setter for this Sunday’s puzzle.