Some difficult wordplays to decode (e.g. 15A, 22D) with a typical rate of Big Red Book consultations. About medium for an Azed I’d say. Still would like some enlightenment below. Enlightenment provided by Norman and Sidey (thanks!)

Across | ||
1 | ASTRINGENTLY |
Trains given a bashing, by George, on TV, i.e. severely (12)
ASTRIN*=trains,GENTLY – somehow ref George on TV? but why? |
10 | PARANOIA |
Intense fear as norm I found in wild ox (8)
PAR,ANO(I)A – as any skoolboy no ANOA is a wild ox. |
12 | STROMATA |
Supporting frameworks right inside anatomical openings (8)
ST(R)OMATA – Supporting frameworks (of connecting tissues) and stomata are our openings. |
13 | BRUNCH |
Morning meal’s starter discarded – it’s wild and peppery (5)
[b]RUNCH – It’s a wild radish in Scots — so “wild and peppery” I suppose. |
14 | DEBITS |
Entries in account? One coming out of it (6)
Rather clever clue: DEB=one coming out (debutante) and “of it”=ITS. |
15 | JASHER |
G. Scarfe’s partner lost book (6)
Turns out that J. Asher (she of P. McCartney fame) is G. Scarfe’s wife. And JASHER is a lost book of the bible. |
17 | FILET |
Charge deposit, we hear, for lace embroidery (5)
Sounds like FEE=charge,LAY=deposit for FILET which is a type of embroidery. Norman clarifies: ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_George_Gently |
18 | EYECANDY |
Detective, any DC, cracking a corker (8, 2 words)
EYE=private eye,CANDY=(any DC)* |
21 | NIELLIST |
Engraver fashioned stein, badly turned inside (8)
rev(ill) in stein* – nielli is an engraving method. |
24 | KALPA |
Very long day, grand one taking in high-altitude grassland (5)
A day of Brahma – roughly 4 billion years. K(ALP)A – grand=K. |
27 | CHATTA |
Brolly, to be fastened, children at the back brought to the fore (6)
Take “attach” and move CH=children to the front. It’s an umbrella. |
28 | INLAWS |
Part of wider family in Luxembourg was dispersed (6)
IN,L,AWS* – L=Luxembourg. |
29 | ATTIC |
They taught classes in Athens, their leaders unusually refined (5)
Jumbled first letters of “They taught classes in Athens”. |
31 | TOILETRY |
Cosmetic blue, one to allow interiorly (8)
TO(I,LET)RY – incidentally Brit blue=Tory, Brit red=Labour but US blue=left-wing (ish) and US red=right-wing (flyover) states. |
32 | MISPROUD |
Our PM is shifting dimension, no longer too arrogant (8)
(our PM is)*,D – obs. o’erweening. |
33 | CANTILEVERED |
Fluttering eastern veil a hundred rings bracketed in a way (12)
Don’t see the wordplay. Yet. Sidey below explains: (E,VEIL)* in cantred=a hundred. |
Down | ||
2 | SAOUARI |
Timber tree one found in wilderness of USA or Italy (7)
I in (USA or I=Italy)* – an American tree so not quite an &lit. |
3 | TRIN |
Short term in set of three? (4)
abbre(TRIN) – term at Cambridge (?) and also a triplet. |
4 | RASCHEL |
Fabric of loosely knitted wool is seen in name indicating sheep (7)
RA(‘S)CHEL – where our friend Rachel’s name is related to ewe. Didn’t know! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel |
5 | NOTARY |
One issuing certificates, seal appearing below name (6)
N,OTARY – turns out otary is a seal (you know, the cute kind). |
6 | GIRDLE |
Daughter in female fin-de-siècle corset (6)
GIR(D)L,E – where fin-de-siecle generates the final E. |
7 | NIMBI |
Shower providers? I book short time – and it’s up (5)
The rain cloud type of providers. rev(I,B,MIN[ute]) |
8 | TRAILNET |
Damaged rattline – it may be cast overboard by fishing boat (8)
rattline* – a trawler’s fishing net. |
9 | LATTE |
Modern, taking runs? One’s often skinny (5)
LATTE[r] – ref. caffe latte (reminds me of the time I ordered a latte at the Milan airport and was asked whether I wanted it hot or cold, “hot of course”, and in return got a glass of steaming hot milk — ah, tourists). |
10 | PERJINKITY |
A bit of finesse, a sudden quick turn and it enters a yard (10)
A nicety=”a bit of finessse. PER(JINK,IT)Y – where PER=”a” |
11 | PASTYFACED |
Unhealthy-looking pie eaten before food’s brought in (10)
PASTY,F(AC)ED – struggled a bit with this until I worked out that AC=abbrev(ante cibum=before food) as well as air-conditioning. |
16 | STELLION |
Lizard cat’s after suffers, being flipped (8)
rev(lets=suffers),LION – and it’s a lizard (E. Med). |
19 | ABATURE |
Help in tracking deer, one a brute butchered (7)
A,(a brute)* – “butchered” is the anagrind (etymologically related to abattoir?). Means “the trail through underwood beaten down by a stag”. |
20 | DETINUE |
Single dwelling going up with damn fencing, property being wrongly withheld (7)
rev(unit) in dee=damn euphemistically. |
22 | INSTIL |
I love receiving next-door neighbours (literally) – drop in (6)
Bit of a mystery until I realized that NIL=love and ST are literally neighbours in the alphabet, so I,N(ST)IL |
23 | SCORSE |
No longer chase runs, last pair changing places (6)
Obs. chase and wordplay is exchange the last two letters of scores=runs (incidentally, scorse also means exchange). |
25 | ANONA |
Genus of fruit-bearing plants soon covering acre (5)
A not unknown visitor to crossword plants. ANON,A |
26 | PALET |
Leaf scale, etiolated over time (5)
Palea – “membranous inner bract…”. PALE,T |
30 | THOR |
Valuable element missing from writer for The Thunderer (4)
[au]THOR |
33a Cantred (A hundred; a district containing a hundred townships.) round EVEIL*.
1a. Inspector George Gently, police series set in Newcastle in the 60s.