A laudable theme. Thanks to the setter.
The Salvation Army was founded 150 years ago today. A Christian organisation putting Christian values into practice.
Soldiers in the clues refers to members of the Salvation Army.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ABSTINENCE |
Lack of embracing can be requirement of soldiers (10)
ABSENCE (lack of) surroundind TIN (can). Abstinence from alcohol is one of the Salvation Army’s principles |
| 6, 21 down | SOUP KITCHEN |
Soldiers catering for damage to pouches carrying equipment on end (4,7)
An anagram (damage) of POUCHES, with KIT (equipment) inserted and N (the end of “on”) |
| 10 | MELEE |
Fighting among cameleers (5)
Included in caMELEErs |
| 11 | BRASS BAND |
Officers strip playing soldiers, maybe (5,4)
BRASS is a familiar term for officers (as in top brass). Strip and band are synonymous. |
| 12 | PASTRAMI |
Imparts a refinement to cured meat (8)
An anagram (refinement) of IMPARTS A |
| 13 | TRESS |
Lock doors last thing out of nervousness (5)
STRESS (nervousness) with a letter S (the last letter of doors) removed (out) |
| 15 | IMITATE |
Upset separatists with notes in duplicate (7)
ETA are the (Basque) separatists, TI and MI are two of the notes used in solmization. Reverse (upset) the letters. |
| 17 | YIELDER |
Young ingenue tops more senior producer (7)
Y and I, the first letters (tops) of young ingenue, followed by ELDER (more senior – isn’t the more redundant?) |
| 19, 28 | GENERAL BOOTH |
Soldiers founder but get honorable characters (7,5)
An anagram of GET HONORABLE |
| 21 | KAMPALA |
Current replacement for love in cute Australian capital (7)
The cute Australian is a KOALA. Replace the O (love, or zero) with AMP (the unit of current) |
| 22 | LEHAR |
Composer King is an addict (5)
The answer is clear from the intersecting letters. The best explanation we could come up with is that it’s LEAR, the Shakesperan king, with H, used as a slang term for heroin, in the middle. Is that really it? |
| 24 | MUTATING |
Changing fashionable junk into porcelain (8)
U for fashionable plus TAT (junk) inserted into MING, a form of porcelain. We weren’t impressed by the use of U for fashionable. U and non-U refer to social class. |
| 27 | NEWS FLASH |
Fresh cut around fighter’s head results in quick dispatch (4,5)
NEW (fresh) plus SLASH (cut) with the letter F (first letter or head of “fighter”) |
| 28 | BOOTH |
See 19
|
| 29 | SHOP |
See 5
|
| 30 | DOWN MARKET |
Inferior feathers stall (4-6)
DOWN is the feathers and DOWN MARKET is the stall from which you might buy them. |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ARMY |
See 2
|
| 2, 1 | SALVATION |
Soldiers fancy mains lavatory (9,4)
An anagram (fancy) of mains lawatory |
| 3 | INEPT |
International leaders hold record for being useless (5)
The first three letters (leaders) of international, with EP (extended play, a format between a single and an LP in the days of vinyl records) inserted |
| 4 | EMBRACE |
Accept it’s Gaff’s turn to strut (7)
ME (Gaff, the setter) reversed (turn) plus BRACE, a strut or support |
| 5, 29 | CHARITY SHOP |
How psychiatry tails off, ineffectively providing soldiers’ outlet, maybe (7,4)
An anagram (ineffectively) of how and psychiatry, each with the final letter removed (tails off) |
| 7 | ORATE |
No number needed in glitzy address (5)
Ornate for glitzy, minus N for number |
| 8 | PEDESTRIAN |
Desperately pants with desire for rambler? (10)
An anagram of pant and desire. So why pants rather than pant? |
| 9 | ISOTHERM |
Through which people with the same degrees are connected (8)
A cryptic definition. Degrees refers to temperature. |
| 14 | SING ALONGS |
Vocals for soldiers, maybe who look in wrong squads (4-6)
SIN (wrong) GANGS (squads) with LO (look!) inserted |
| 16 | AIRCRAFT |
Maybe jet setter is captivated by rainbow a lot (8)
ARC is the rainbow, with I (the setter) inserted plus RAFT (a lot) |
| 18 | DRAINCOCK |
Tap dancing Rick can do (9)
An anagram (dancing) of Rick can do |
| 20 | LUMBAGO |
Will rock album turn back pain? (7)
An anagram (will rock) of ALBUM plus GO for turn (as in it’s your go). |
| 21 | KITCHEN |
See 6
|
| 23 | HOW DO |
At first, haulage operators wouldn’t deliver, offered shortened address (3,2)
The first letters (at first) of Haulage Operators Wouldn’t Deliver Offered |
| 25 | TIBIA |
I bat badly getting single with shank in the middle (5)
Anagram (badly) of I bat and I (single) |
| 26 | WHIT |
A bit of a holiday (4)
Double definition |
Nice one. I originally though the soldiers referred to the Somme, till the penny dropped with the anagram at 2d and 1d.
I think 22a ‘Lehar’ should be understood as the King, ‘Lear’ habitually consumes, or takes in, heroin ie. ‘H’.
I had taken a different approach for 8D.
I had thought it was anagram of desperately as indicated by “pants”, but could not work a way to change “ely” to “in”
Steven @1 that was our reading too, but if we’re right it seems a very weak clue.
Thanks Gaff and D&L
Nice to see two quick appearances of Gaff and his themes following his ‘mid summer’ one last week. Only got to this one yesterday (6th) and it took the train trip and some of lunch time to get through it.
Got on to the theme quite early on – had started down in the SE corner and so GENERAL BOOTH presented.
Found quite a few clues, including most of the long answers, where I got the answer and then had to justify the cryptic bit. This included KAMPALA in which the ‘koala’ stayed hidden for quite some time. (Nice to see it sans ‘bear’ for a change!). Didn’t actually parse ABSTINENCE, SOUP KITCHEN nor LEHAR.
Liked the construction of quite a few here, especially CHARITY SHOP, IMITATE (one of the most original clues I’ve seen for a word that appears a lot) and KAMPALA.
Thanks D&L.
Definitely a Hmmph puzzle this one.
I started out confidently putting Detachment in at 1ac before the obvious (but clever) anagram for 2 & 1 dn immediately told me I’d got it wrong.
I suppose that fuelled a little resentment and I was looking for things I didn’t like.
Not sure whether pants rather than pant in 8dn is a setter or editorial fault.
Otherwise, on reflection, everything seems fairly clued and passes the Hamish test – if at the end of the day the answer can be only one thing and demonstrably so, then it must be a fair puzzle.
So thanks Gaff. I’ll take back my resentment and forgive 8dn.