Independent 8,942 / Phi

JACK (=sailor) + AL<l> (“most of” means last letter dropped); as a scavenger, a jackal is “one late to the feast”

MAR (=damage) + I (=one) + A (=area); “maria” is the plural of “mare”, the Latin for “sea”; Maria is Tony’s girlfriend and Bernardo’s sister in 7

[R L (=both sides, i.e. right and left) + I] in STAKE (=bet); the stars in a film are its leading players, actors

*(IS SEEN); “in sea” is anagram indicator; Nessie is an affectionate way of referring to the Loch Ness Monster

<f>ACTION (=group; “heading off” means first letter dropped)

T (=tenor) + S (=second) + [N (=Northern) in ARIAS (=songs)]

TON (NOT=never; “taken aback” indicates reversal) + Y (=unknown, e.g. in algebra)

T<eam> (“opener” means first letter only) in [SLIPS (=fielders, in cricket) + ITCH (=longing)]; in a slip stitch only a few threads of material are caught up by the needle for each stitch, hence “one offers little in the way of ‘catching’ material”

*(THIS PLEASE); “can you make” is anagram indicator

RA-ID (=attack); “that’s half-repulsed” means two of the four letters are reversed, hence RA- becomes AR-

STRUM (=to play idly) + PET (=favourite person)

X (=cross, e.g. on ballot paper) in SET ON (=to attack)

<carriage>E (“rear of” means last letter only) in [A + GIST (=key point)]; an ageist policy discriminates against older people, hence is “overlooking those getting on”

DON (=academic) in [REAL (=sincere) + Y (=variable, e.g. in algebra)]

REEV (VEER=to change in attitude; “retreating” indicates reversal) + <cas>E (“end of” means last letter only)

AS (=when) in UKES (=stringed instruments, i.e. ukuleles)

JET<sam> (=marine debris); “not including missile (=SAM, surface-to-air missile)” means the letters “sam” are dropped; the Jets are one of the two opposing gangs featured in 7

R-E-C-TIFY (=guarantee); “swapping Nos. 1 (=R) and 3 (=C) in order” means letters R and C swap places

LIE (=location of golfball) in AN (=article, in grammar)

N (=new) in [METAL (=possibly lead, i.e. Pb) + SET (=group)]; a mental set is a mindset

INCISOR (=nipper, i.e. sharp tooth); “dropping contralto (=C)” means letter “c” is dropped; “embracing soprano (=S)” mean letter “s” is gained; “up-pity” indicates vertical reversal; the reference is to Italian opera composer Giaochino Rossini (1792-1868)

Hidden (“embraced by”) in “ItaliAN ITAlian” (=two Italians); Anita is Bernardo’s girlfriend in 7

*(WORDIEST STY<l>ES); “left (=L) out” means the letter “l” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “redrafting”; the reference is to the 1957 American musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; the plot deals with gang warfare in the Upper West Side of New York in the mid-1950s; characters from the play appear as other grid entries

LOT (=group) in CH (=church, e.g. on map); & lit.; men of the cloth are the clergy

*(STEEL PART); “buckled” is anagram indicator

Hidden (“some”) in “ranCH IN Oregon”; chino is a strong cloth of twilled cotton

PA (=old man) + U (=university) + LINE (=approach); Pauline is an adjective referring to the writings of St Paul; Pauline is a girlfriend of one of the Jets in 7

XI (=soccer team, i.e. 11 players) in [A + NOUS (=sense)]

G (=good) in [TIERS (=rows, lines) + H (=hard) + ARK (=vessel, as in Noah’s Ark)]; Tiger is one of the Jets in 7, while the Sharks are the rival gang to the Jets

LI<e>S (=stories); “giving away English (=E)” means letter “e” is dropped; a fleur-de-lis often symbolises royalty in heraldry