I found this quite tricky, especially on the left-hand side of the grid. I spent a lot of time trawling Chambers to make progress there.
Thank you AZED.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ASPHETERISM |
Denial of right to private ownership hampers site being developed (11)
(HAMPERS SITE)* anagram=being developed
|
| 11 | COHAB |
Unmarried partner I’m surprised to see ensconced in e.g. Hackney (5)
OH (I’m surprised) in CAB (eg Hackney)
|
| 12 | UNTREAD |
Trace back to Shakespeare time absorbed by illiterate (7)
T (time) in UNREAD (illiterate) – a Shakespearean word
|
| 13 | HULLO |
Greeting port, old (5)
HULL (port) O (old)
|
| 14 | GROPED |
Lasciviously handled work supplanting centre of appetite (6)
OP (opus, work) replacing the middle letter in GReED
|
| 15 | A REBOURS |
One translation of ‘bear’ followed by another, contrarily (8, 2 words)
BEAR* anagram=translation and OURS (bear, French, another translation)
|
| 17 | SCALE |
Weigh up head of Caesar in auction (5)
Caesar (head, first letter of) in SALE (auction)
|
| 18 | SOMONI |
With money deposited directly I’ll get something to spend abroad (6)
M (money) in SOON (directly) with I – currency of Tajikistan
|
| 19 | MOLECH |
Latin mass mostly followed by church, god demanding sacrifices (6)
MOLEs (mass, Latin) unfinished followed by CH (church) –
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| 21 | OPULUS |
Sort of viburnum, very large, containing silky fibre (6)
OS (out-size, very large) containing PULU (silky fibre)
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| 23 | SPATHE |
It may sheathe flower spike, spring article (6)
SPA (spring) THE (article)
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| 25 | NGWEE |
Bit of African money in leaving we exchanged (5)
found inside leaviNG WE Exchanged – Zambian money, 1/100 th of a kwacha
|
| 29 | BRINDLED |
Streaky was oozing round the outside (8)
BLED (was oozing) round RIND (the outside)
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| 30 | TRAINS |
Works out method of transport (6)
double definition
|
| 31 | TROPE |
Exile, heading off, turns back, expression having special meaning (5)
dEPORT (exile, headless) reversed (turns back)
|
| 32 | TARSIER |
Lemuroid tarries in a jungle (7)
TARRIES* anagram=in a jungle
|
| 33 | ACTED |
Played, losing point straight away, tense inside (5)
ACED (losing point straight away, in tennis) with T (tense) inside
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| 34 | HYMENOPTERA |
Tamper with honey, scattering bees, say (11)
anagram (scattering) of TAMPER with HONEY – order of insects including bees
|
| Down | ||
| 2 | SOURSOP |
W. Indian tree: turns a short piece? (7)
SOURS (turns) OP (opus, a piece) short=abbrev
|
| 3 | PHLEUM |
Timothy? This saint shows varied letters for him Paul sent (6)
PHLEUM (this) SAINT gives the letters for (PAUL HIM SENT)* anagram=varied – Timothy Grass
|
| 4 | EBOOK |
Something like a tablet honoured officer put up? Yes (5)
OBE (honoured officer) reversed (put up) OK (yes)
|
| 5 | TUMULI |
Flower priest cut, inhaling ‘eady smell, for burial mounds (6)
TULIp (flower) missing P=priest containing ‘UM (hum, ‘eady smell)
|
| 6 | ENGRAM |
With which you’ll find gen changing memory? (6)
GEN* anagram=changing RAM (memory) – a memory trace. I’m not sure which part of this clue makes up the definition, an &lit?
|
| 7 | IRONCLAD |
Warship in this is fine? (8)
|
| 8 | SEPIA |
Cephalopod creating confusion where it lives (5)
PI (confusion) in the SEA (where it lives) – a cuttlefish
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| 9 | MAERL |
Calcified seaweed in a recipe interspersed with honey (5)
A R (recipe) interspersed in MEL (honey)
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| 10 | ADDLEHEADED |
Did some sums involving the French principal, unable to think straight (11)
ADDED (did sums) containing LE (the French) HEAD (principal)
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| 11 | CHANSONETTE |
From China, one very pure old eastern ditty (11)
CH (Chine) AN (one) SO (very) NETT (pure, old=obs.) E (eastern)
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| 16 | SOLECISM |
A breach of etiquette* (8)
the competition clue
|
| 20 | CHEEPER |
Chick, increasingly vulgar on the ear (7)
sounds like (on the ear) “cheaper” (increaingly vulgar)
|
| 22 | SARSEN |
Block of stone artist carved into head from the bottom up (6)
RA (artist) inside (carved into) NESS (head) reversed
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| 23 | SBIRRO |
Italian cop, very good, NY force installed (6)
SO (very good, interjection) containing BIRR (force, American, in New York)
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| 24 | TYLOTE |
Spongy mass – wash in trough holding large amount (6)
TYE (wash ore in a sloping trough) holding LOT (large amount)
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| 26 | GERAH |
Gram run up – it barely tipped the scales (5)
G (gram) HARE (run) reversed (up) – the smallest unit of weight in the Hebrew system
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| 27 | WEARY |
Tiresome curse for the Scots, suspicious about English (5)
WARY (suspicious) containing E (English) – “weary on you”, may weariness be upon you
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| 28 | ON TAP |
Patent number to be taken up, readily available (5, 2 words)
PAT (patent) NO (number) all reversed (taken up)
|
*anagram
definitions are underlined
definitions are underlined
Not the easiest puzzle, one where I suspect Azed actually memorises Chambers. The only real problem was confirming MAERL which is presumably the one referred to in the rubric, I couldn’t find it in my aging edition.
7d isn’t a double definition, surely. The wordplay says ‘in this is fine’ so ‘in’ IRON-CLAD (i.e. placed within Fe) gives you ‘fine’.
Phi @2 – quite right. I’m on a mobile now but as soon as I get to a real computer I’ll fix it.
I think the rubric refers to MOLECH, which could have been MOLOCH, were it not for the reference to the Latin mass. MAERL is in the 11th edition (2008).