(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) I made things difficult for myself, by missing the theme until I had finished it, and then saw it staring at me in the across answers.
The Sunday this puzzle appeared was of course the day of the FIFA World Cup Final 2014. The city, and 5 other cities and 1 county, where this and the previous 6 finals took place are in the grid. Thanks to Raich for including the theme. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 New rejoinder (comical) oddly ignored here in Brazil (3,2,7)
RIO DE JANEIRO : Anagram of(New) [REJOINDER + “comical” minus its 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th letters(oddly ignored) ].
8 Fresh in power, cagy if restoring order (9)
PACIFYING : Anagram of(Fresh) [IN + P(abbrev. for “power” in physics) + CAGY IF].
9 Dad recalled teacher naming Helen’s abductor (5)
PARIS : PA(dad;informal term for one’s father) + reversal of(recalled) SIR(term of address for one’s teacher).
Defn: …, a Trojan prince.
11 City briefly featuring in play (3,7)
LOS ANGELES : Defn: … whose abbrev.( briefly) are the 2 inner letters of(featuring in) “play“.
13 Error that you pointed out first of all (4)
TYPO : The respective 1st letters of(… first of all) “that you pointed out“.
15 Describing ring fisherman quietly leaves: it’s seized by New York (8)
ETERNITY : “Peter”(the biblical apostle, originally a fisherman) minus(… leaves) “p”(abbrev. for “piano”, musical instruction of play quietly) + [ IT contained in(…’s seized by) NY(abbrev. for New York) ].
Defn: … given by husband to wife, on a significant occasion, to symbolise never-ending love.
17 Store small tool handle (6)
SHELVE : S(abbrev. for “small”) + HELVE(a tool handle, eg. of a hammer).
Defn: …, perhaps literally on a shelf.
19 On reflection, nothing about British in Isaiah, say? (6)
BERLIN : Reversal of(On reflection) [ NIL(nothing;zero) + RE(about;with reference to) + B(abbrev. for “British”) ].
Defn: One;say, whose first name was Isaiah.
Answer: Russo-British philosopher.
20 Lennon partner’s joint, one here in Asia (8)
YOKOHAMA : YOKO(Ono, John Lennon’s partner) plus(…’s, contraction of “has”) HAM(a joint of meat) + A(one;singular indefinite article).
23 Soldiers accept award in capital (4)
ROME : RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers of the British military) containing(accept) OM(abbrev. for the Order of Merit, an honour awarded by a government, dynastic house, sovereign or organization to an individual).
24 Black insect near Fitzgerald perhaps making one dance (10)
TARANTELLA : TAR(to make black, with tar) + ANT(a social insect) plus(near) ELLA(Fitzergerald, American jazz vocalist).
27 Legal right to stock new fabric (5)
LINEN : LIEN(a legal right to property) containing(to stock) N(abbrev. for “new”).
28 Guide American in this place back to base after motorbike racing (9)
USHERETTE : US(abbrev. for things American) + HERE(in this, not that, place) + [ the last letter of(back to) “base” placed after(after) TT(abbrev. for Tourist Trophy, motorbike races held annually on the Isle of Man) ].
30 City where Jack began onrush unexpectedly (12)
JOHANNESBURG : J(abbrev. for Jack, the playing card, in bridge notation) + anagram of(… unexpectedly) BEGAN ONRUSH.
Down
1 Rudely reject limitless free beans maybe? (7)
REPULSE : “… free” minus its 1st and last letters(limitless) + PULSE(the edible seeds of any of several leguminous plants, an example of which;maybe, are beans].
2 Old Roman Catholic Tolkein’s creation (3)
ORC : O,RC(the respective abbrevs. for “old”, “Roman Catholic”).
Defn: Fictional monster from J.R.R. Tolkein’s novels.
3 The Spanish female at home, small and charming (5)
ELFIN : EL(Spanish for “the”) + F(abbrev. for “female”) + IN(at home).
4 A compiler from Antrim not finishing drink? (8)
ANISETTE : A + “N.I. setter”(a crossword compiler from Northern Ireland, perhaps from the town of Antrim) minus its last letter(not finishing).
Defn: …, a liqueur made from aniseed.
5 English silver service that’s not right for young flier? (6)
EAGLET : E(abbrev. for “English”) + AG(chemical symbol for the element, silver) + LET(a service in tennis that is invalid, and has got to be replayed).
6 Absorbed artist overlooks point (4)
RAPT : RA(post-nominal letters for an artist who is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts) placed above(overlooks, in a down clue) PT(abbrev. for “point”, in place names).
7 A quiet mineral back in port? (6)
ASHORE : A + SH!(an interjection to demand quiet) + ORE(mineral as mined from the ground).
10 Morally wrong to suppress excellent box provider? (5,4)
ROYAL MAIL : Anagram of(… wrong) MORALLY containing(to suppress) AI(the characters that look like A1;excellent;first class) .
Defn: Cryptic, the organisation in the UK that provides post boxes.
12 One at helm, smart, seen relaxing (9)
STEERSMAN : Anagram of(… relaxing) SMART, SEEN.
14 Second husband loves encouragement to leave (4)
SHOO : S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation) + H(abbrev. for “husband”) + 2 x O(the letter representing zero, love in tennis scores).
Defn: An interjection, as an encouragement, to put it mildly, to leave.
16 Expose slow-mover (not initially) (4)
NAIL : “snail”(the proverbial slow-moving animal) minus its 1st letter(not initially).
Defn: To detect and expose, as in “to nail the politician in a lie”.
18 In Irish county complain about scold beginning to henpeck (8)
MONAGHAN : MOAN(to complain, often used with “and groan”) containing(about) [ NAG(to scold;to keep on at) + 1st letter of(beginning to) “henpeck ” ].
Defn: A town in the Irish county of the same name. If one excludes “In ” from the defn., then it’s the county itself.
19 Cathedral city supporting pub? Not quite (6)
BARELY : ELY(cathedral city in E. England) placed below(supporting, in a down clue) BAR(a pub;a drinking establishment).
21 Unpleasant guy from area ordered horse (1,3,3)
A BAD EGG : A(abbrev. for “area”) + BADE(ordered to do something) + GG(alternative to “gee-gee”, a children’s word, sometimes used by adults too, for a horse).
22 Lilac (unattractive) has something missing (6)
LACUNA : Hidden in(… has) “Lilac (unattractive) “.
Defn: …, or a gap in space.
25 Story rewritten for beginners (5)
TYROS : Anagram of(… rewritten) STORY.
26 Popular for endlessly supplying data (4)
INFO : IN(popular;trendy) + “for” minus its last letter(endlessly).
29 Workers’ representatives bring in a letter (3)
TAU : TU(abbrev. for a trade union;workers’ representatives) containing(bring in) A.
Defn: The 19th letter in the Greek alphabet.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Well, I totally missed the theme! 🙂
Also couldn’t parse 17ac, so thanks for that. I see “helve” is in Chambers but it just never occurred to me.
An enjoyable puzzle. I missed the theme completely but it didn’t hold me up in the slightest, although I was glad to find out post-solve that there really was such a thing as a “helve” for SHELVE, my LOI. Before that the YOKOHAMA/MONAGHAN crossers had held me up slightly.
Thanks, Scchua, for the excellent blog and also thanks to commenters. Yes, the theme of the puzzle was the World Cup final with the venues of the 2014 final and the previous six World Cups featuring as across answers. Where the actual final game was played with the puzzle appearing on World Cup Final day.