I found this a very enjoyable puzzle. Thanks Alberich.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CATION |
One’s charged, but start of court procedings is delayed (6)
ACTION (court proceedings) with C (the start) is not in place yet (is delayed) – or something like that, I can’t quite work it out ACTION (court proceedings) with the starting letter A (moved back) delayed – thanks to peterj and newmarketsausage |
| 4 | SCATHING |
Bill’s back after second affair? That’s hurtful (8)
AC (account, bill) reversed (back) after S (second) then THING (affair) |
| 10 | CAESURA |
Flying saucer’s given academician pause (7)
SAUCER* anagram=flying with A (academician) |
| 11 | STROPHE |
What makes keen fellow produce part of poem? (7)
STROP (what makes keen, a sharpener) with HE (a fellow) – a section of a lyric poem |
| 12 | STOA |
Colonnade leads to a house (4)
found inside (housed by) leadS TO A |
| 13 | MOTIONLESS |
Still having nothing to put forward at meeting? (10)
a motion is a propsal one putd forward at a meeting |
| 16 | ROADIE |
Could be Radiohead had dismissed one of their helpers? (6)
RADIOhEad* missing (dismissed) HAD, anagram=could be |
| 17 | FORESEE |
Anticipate charge to import minerals (7)
FEE (charge) containing (to import) ORE (minerals) |
| 20 | ALL TOLD |
Nobody kept the secret, on the whole (3,4)
double definition |
| 21 | BLITHE |
Coward’s spirit is kindled by British hero? Not half! (6)
LIT (kindled) by (next to) B (British) then HEro (not half) – Blithe Spirit is a play by Noel Coward |
| 24 | HORROR FILM |
Hydrogen from oil works engulfing car? That’s something scary (6,4)
H (hydrogen) with FROM OIL* anagram=works containing (engulfing) RR (Rolls Royce, car) |
| 25 | RING |
Band’s drummer having nothing to lose (4)
RINGo (Ringo Starr, drummer) missing O (nothing) |
| 27 | LA SCALA |
One’s enthralled by Callas performing here? (2,5)
A (one) inside (enthralled by) CALLAS* anagram=performing |
| 29 | SOLDIER |
Perhaps private detective takes on something fishy? Right (7)
DI (detective) insdie (takes on, puts on like clothes?) SOLE (something fishy) then R (right) |
| 30 | MORAY EEL |
Swimmer in Scottish region sheltered revolutionary (5,3)
MORAY (Scottish region) LEE (sheltered) reversed (revolutionary) |
| 31 | SPONGE |
Wipe bum (6)
double definition |
| Down | ||
| 1 | COCKSURE |
To turn up with petition around middle of afternoon is arrogant (8)
COCK (to turn up) with SUE (petition) containing (around) afteRnoon (middle of) |
| 2 | TEETOTALLER |
One is more unlikely to imbibe dram after endless beer? (11)
TALLER (more unlikely) containing (to imbibe) TOT (dram) after bEEr (endless) – definition is a sort of &lit |
| 3 | ONUS |
Responsibility some students duck at first (4)
NUS (students) with O (duck, zero runs in cricket) |
| 5 | CAST-IRON |
After college moving on will be hard (4-4)
ASTIR (moving) ON following (after) C (College) |
| 6 | TARANTELLA |
Making ascent, everyone on mountain wants to sing and dance (10)
ALL (veryone) on ETNA (mountain) with (needs, wants) RAT (to sing) all reversed (making ascent) |
| 7 | IMP |
I am pestilent, primarily (3)
I’M (I am) Pestilent (primarily, first letter of) – definition is &lit |
| 8 | GNEISS |
Rock that’s pleasant to listen to (6)
sounds like (to listen to) nice (pleasant) |
| 9 | BACON |
Scholar has to do a philosopher (5)
BA (scholar) has CON (to do, cheat) – Francis Bacon |
| 14 | ELECTRICIAN |
One chapter in certain English novel keeps close to Muriel Spark (11)
I (one) C (chapter) in anagram (novel) of CERTAIN and E (English) all containing (keeps) murieL (close of) – nickname for an electrician |
| 15 | DICTIONARY |
One book or another will be written about battle America lost (10)
DIARY (…or another sort of book) containing (will be written about) aCTION (battle) missing A (America) |
| 18 | OLD FLAME |
Touring Florida, look up woman, a previous love (3,5)
FL (Florida) inside (with…touring) LO (look) reversed (up) DAME (woman) |
| 19 | KEDGEREE |
Kelvin, north of the border, always brought round some food (8)
K (Kelvin) above (north of, in a down solution) EDGE (the border) then E’ER (always) reversed (brought round) |
| 22 | SHALOM |
Greeting special prince’s an honour (6)
S (special) HAL (Prince, Harry) has OM (Order of Merit, honour) |
| 23 | BLAST |
“Blow” is a mild curse (5)
double definition |
| 26 | BLIP |
Hitch lift for pound and one penny (4)
LB (pound) reversed (lifted) and I (one) P (penny) |
| 28 | SIR |
Teacher’s address in Southern Ireland (3)
S (southern) IR (Ireland) – how a teacher is addressed |
definitions are underlined
On first read I thought I was going to fail on this one – but got there with work and a lot of enjoyment. Thanks Alberich for some lovely involved cluing and a few new words I had to check up on.
Thanks to PeeDee also. Isn’t 1ac simply the C in ACTION “delayed” i.e. moved back or to the left, to make CATION.
peterj – that’s what I think for 1ac too but I can’t explain how the words in the clue indicate that. Can you be more specific?
Thanks, PeeDee. A very nice challenge indeed.
I was defeated by CATION, never having heard of such a thing.
I think the parsing, pace peterj, is the start of ACTION, i.e. A, moved back (delayed).
ACTION being the court proceedings, as you say.
you have it newmarketsausage – I will update the blog
I have just noticed that proceedings is misspelled in the clue for 1 across.
Thanks PeeDee and Alberich.
I too thought for a while that I wouldn’t finish. And thought for a while that my paper copy would be ruined by the sweat dripping off the tip of my nose – standing on a crowded commuter train in this infernal weather.
Much to enjoy here. I thought that ‘cocksure’ was terrific.
But still needed your help in parsing blithe and soldier.
Thanks for that and keep it up!
Thanks Alberich and PeeDee
A backlog puzzle which was finished much quicker than normal for this setter. Trademark variety of clues throughout and particularly liked 16a (with Radiohead key to the answer), 27a (with Callas as key to the answer) and 14d (with Spark used as a misdirection) – where the subject people of the surface were used cleverly.
Finished in the NE corner with STROPHE (a new word), GNEISS and SCATHING the last few in.