Scots, Scots and more Scots. Nonetheless, with help from that well-known Scots dictionary, Chambers, managed the slog. Not the most easy of Azed’s but eventually I think I tamed it.
Thanks to Paul Drury, I now have a pretty, colorized blog!
| Across | ||
| 1 | FLIP,FLOP |
Obama’s policy reversal, over-smart failure (8)
US reversal of policy (thus “Obama’s”). For some reason, I got myself in quite a state parsing the wordplay at first e.g. with things like F,LIP,F,rev(LOP) thinking that LIP=”smart” and F=”failure” and “over”=reversal indicator. Anyway it was a fine mess.
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| 7 | SIPE |
Turning some of the pistons, aid to roadholding (4)
Reverse hidden
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| 10 | R(IM BR)AKE |
I’m joining our old trains in course of slope – it can slow one down (8, 2 words)
BR=British Rails (“our old trains”)
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| 11 | HOAX |
Overacts to audience as a practical joke? (4)
Sounds like “hokes”.
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| 12 | OMBU |
Pampas tree, only partly combustible (4)
hidden in plainsight in combustible
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| 13 | EN BROSSE |
Crew-cut style indicating endless soberness, oddly (8, 2 words)
(sobernes[s])*
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| 14 | GA(R)RE |
Miserly as a Scot protecting right in his cause (5)
Two Scotticisms: gare=cause and garre=miserly
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| 18 | LUST,RUM |
Eagerness to have strong drink? Purification required (9)
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| 20 | PIN,A, COL(A)D,A |
Cocktail, a small drink knocked back, chilled one with dash of Angostura in (10, 2 words)
Rev(a,nip=small drink). Note that A in the answer is clued three different ways: literal “a”, one, A[ngostura].
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| 22 | GRI(PEW)ATER |
I can help to settle infant, git with rear wriggling round seat (10, 2 words)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gripe_water PEW=seat in (git, rear)*
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| 23 | TA(L,I)PED |
Like Byron, say, recorded having left Italy interiorly (7)
Didn’t know this but our friend Byron had a clubfoot=TALIPED.
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| 28 | C(O)COA[T] |
Love wearing tailless j-jacket, light brown (5)
Our j-jacket is a c-coat.
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| 29 | MAN A,LIVE |
Maori prestige to continue? Well I never! (8, 2 words)
Not convinced by MANA=”Maori prestige”. It’s a term from anthropology for “a supernatural power…”.
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| 30 | M(UT)I |
Conductor eliciting two notes of triad, the first enveloping the second? (4)
Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Muti UT=middle C=doh in MI the third note. I guess the relevant triad is ut-mi-sol so wouldn’t that imply MI in UT instead of UT in MI?
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| 31 | ETAT |
Odd bits of entr’acte, with which Louis identified (4)
L’etat c’est lui. odd letters of “entr’acte”
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| 32 | O(P,ENPLA)N |
Like modern office, acceptable if quiet with panel constructed within (8)
ON=acceptable, P=quiet in panel*
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| 33 | R,EKE |
Care for Spenser‘s Queen and what’s likewise dated (4)
REKE=reck=Spenserian care. R=Queen (regina) and EKE=archaic “likewise” thus dated.
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| 34 | W(IREL)E,SS |
Going round neighbouring country and cut off we’ll require ship radio (8)
IREL[and] in WE followed by SS=ship.
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| Down | ||
| 1 | FROG,SPIT |
Protection for larvae ends up under swelling (8)
FROG=swelling following by rev(tips=ends)
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| 2 | L(IM)AX |
Slug loose? I’m caught (5)
A class of slugs.
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| 3 | IMBRANGLE |
Old puzzle gem left brain confused (9)
Archaic “puzzle”. (gem, l, brain)*
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| 4 | FREE,T |
Omen for Scots at liberty, end of pact following (5)
Scots omen.
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| 5 | LAND(LOP)ER |
Vagrant haymaker accepting cut (9)
LANDER=(physical) blow=haymaker
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| 6 | PERT |
Punched useless jackanapes (4)
Remove “use” (useless) from pertuse=punched to get PERT=impudent person=jackanapes (which is singular).
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| 7 | SHORT-DAY |
Dry hosta out like plant requiring less light to flower (8)
(Dry hosta)*. “… will flower only if the daily period of light is shorter than some critical length”
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| 8 | PAST,URE |
Fell, having ended practice earlier (7)
fell=meadow=PASTURE. URE=archaic practice.
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| 9 | EXES |
Dropping aitch spells money to be paid (4)
[h]EXES=expenses.
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| 15 | RULE,D OVER |
Standard atop Channel port dominated? (9, 2 words)
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| 16 | GRATICULE |
Surveyor’s instrument changing agriculture, primitive attachment abandoned (9)
“a ruled grating”. (agricult[ur]e)* where ur=primitive.
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| 17 | C(ARINAT)E |
With extension on the bottom, a train gets tangled entering Church (8)
Keeled. (a train)* in CE=Church (of England)
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| 19 | MURL(AIN)S |
His own packing crumbles in Jock’s baskets (8)
Highly Scots-centric: MURLAINS are Scots baskets. AIN=Scots own. MURLS=Scots crumbles.
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| 21 | IM,A,MATE |
Declaration by one married in a mosque office? (7)
haha.
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| 24 | SCENE |
Seneca played without a dramatic part (5)
(Senec[a])*
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| 25 | R(OT)AS |
Head has to take in major part of scripture courses (5)
OT=Old Testament and Ras=head (as in headland).
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| 26 | OMER |
Saint this way, San the other way? (4)
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| 27 | ALOW |
Scot’s incandescent being in steerage? (4)
Two definitions! thanks to Norman below for clarifying. Scots “ablaze” and “in the lower part of a ship”
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*anagram
27 down is ALOW which has two meanings (see Chambers)
yikes! thanks Norman wrt 27D — I’d forgotten about the missing wordplay. You’re absolutely right!
Failed on the ROTAS MUTI corner. Thanks for explaining MURLAINS and MANALIVE.