I was half expecting to see Dante today with his customary double/cryptic definitions and anagrams but instead we have Crux with much of the same. A gentle start to the week with plenty of easy ‘starter’ clues from which to make inroads into the grid.
Across
1,10 Hard to plan wider tour abroad (1,4,6,3,5)
A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD – an anagram (abroad) of HARD TO PLAN WIDER TOUR – &lit
11 It’s painfully obvious, digitally (4,5)
SORE THUMB – cryptic def.
12 Rarefied gases – a repository for lost property? (4,3)
THIN AIR – double/cryptic def.
13 Female put “yes” for manufacturing drug (7)
STUPEFY – an anagram (for manufacturing) of F PUT YES
14 They copied even bits of a small bone (5)
HYOID – alternate letters (even bits) of [t]H[e]Y [c]O[p]I[e]D
16 S. American shows disdain for what conspirators are (2,7)
IN CAHOOTS – INCA (S. American) HOOTS (shows disdain)
19 Boxer starts to let you win easily during bout (9)
FLYWEIGHT – L[et] Y[ou] W[in] E[asily] (starts to let you win easily) in (during) FIGHT (bout)
20 Fletcher’s score needed when shooting (5)
NOTCH – cryptic def. referring to archery
22 Find out about employment, as 27 did (7)
INFUSED – an anagram (out) of FIND around (about) USE (employment)
25 Modern music lover and keen geologist (4,3)
ROCK FAN – double def.
27 Not initially breathable, oddly, yet it’s refreshing (6,3)
HERBAL TEA – an anagram (oddly) of [b]REATHABLE
28 Who, for example, takes whiskey in a tumbler? (5)
DRYER – DR (Who, for example) around (takes) RYE (whiskey)
29 The Longest Day, season’s costliest (short!) production (6,8)
SUMMER SOLSTICE – SUMMER (season) plus an anagram (production) of COSTLIES[t]
Down
2 Area that’s over 50% awfully right-wing (9)
TERRITORY – TERRI[bly] (over 50% awfully) TORY (right-wing)
3 Help Ulster set up a republic (5)
INDIA – AID (help) NI (Ulster) reversed (set up)
4 Eating in can be most entertaining (9)
ABSORBING – double def.
5 Iris’s old car fails to start (5)
ORRIS – [m]ORRIS (old car fails to start)
6 Little worth seeing – though scantily clad! (3,4,2)
NOT MUCH ON – double def.
7 First RU celebrity to make peace between the sides (5)
TRUCE – hidden in (between the sides) ‘firsT RU CElebrity’ – I assume that ‘between the sides is doing double-duty otherwise there is no containment indicator or the definition is in the middle of the clue (verboten).
8 Some get upset about British railway’s germs (7)
EMBRYOS – SOME reversed (get upset) around (about) B (British) RY (railway)
9 Involuntary move made by Mother Shipton eg in Yorkshire? (6)
TWITCH – T’ WITCH (Mother Shipton eg in Yorkshire?)
15 Mysterious room even devoid of 12 (4,5)
DEEP SPACE – DEEP (mysterious) SPACE (room)
17 Tom joins Queen on wall, say, to howl unpleasantly (9)
CATERWAUL – CAT (tom) ER (Queen) plus a homophone (say) of ‘wall’
18 Where clean or waste water goes, we hear – not together (3,2,4)
OUT OF SYNC – a homophone (we hear) of ‘out of sink’ (where clean or waste water goes)
19 Escapes from horrors by changing direction (7)
FLIGHTS – FrIGHTS (horrors) with the r changed to L (changing direction)
21 Empty country lacks one (6)
HUNGRY – HUNG[a]RY (country lacks one)
23 Place to meet people from university perhaps (5)
FORUM – an anagram (perhaps) of FROM U
24 Fruit / appearing on most coins (5)
DATES – double/cryptic def.
26 Trainee accountant with overdraft loses job, finally (5)
CADET – CA (accountant) DE[b]T (overdraft loses job, finally)
Fairly easy for a prize puzzle and quite enjoyable.
I must say, I’m always surprised when a saying such as “in cahoots” is used on both sides of the pond!
Thanks to both.