Independent on Sunday 1330/Lohengrin

I think we have a debut puzzle here from Lohengrin.  There seem to have been a few new setters in the Indy of late, so well done to the Ed for encouraging new talent.

On the whole I liked this one, but I have a couple of niggles and don’t understand one or two either.  So I’ll reserve full judgement till I’ve seen another couple of offerings from this setter.  I often find with a new compiler that it takes a bit of time to tune in to the wavelength they are on.  Which is only fair.  You wouldn’t go for a full-on snog and declaration of undying love on a first date, would you?  Peck on the cheek and a promise to go out again is what’s required.

Abbreviations
cd  cryptic definition
dd  double definiton
(xxxx)*  anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x]  letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1  Oily excretion around sore toe, possibly
CREOSOTE
A charade of C for ‘around’ and (SORE TOE)*

5  Plunder silver during house party
RAVAGE
An insertion of AG in RAVE.  Our new setter is getting down with the kids.  When I was young it was just a party.

9  Banter concerning involvement with drugs
REPARTEE
House party?  Drugs?  A charade of RE, PART and EE for two shots of Ecstasy.

10  Cell willing to exterminate leaders
GAMETE
Now some sex, to go with the drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and we’re only into the fourth across clue.  A charade of GAME and TE for the first letters of ‘to’ and ‘exterminate’.  GAMETES are sex cells – sperm and eggs – which in our case only contain 23 chromosomes rather than the 46 which the rest of our cells carry.  Due to a process called meiosis, this allows us to make love and to make babies without worrying.  Except when they grow up and become bloody teenagers.

12  Best clothing from limited company
TROOP
Hard clue for an IoS puzzle.  It’s RO for the inside letters (‘limited’) of fROm inserted into TOP for ‘best’.  The insertion indicator is ‘clothing’.

13  Against talent concealing one’s likelihood of success
VIABILITY
An insertion of I in V (‘against’) and ABILITY.

14  Terminate construction breaks following working unrest
FERMENTATION
Goodness me, it took me ages to see this. ‘Unrest’ for FERMENTATION is fair, but perhaps not in what’s supposed to be an accessible prize puzzle.  It’s an insertion of (TERMINATE)* in  F for ‘following’ and ON for ‘working’.  The anagrind is ‘construction’ and the insertion indicator is ‘breaks’.

18  Water’s way of helping in spa treatment?
SHIPPING LANE
(HELPING IN SPA)*

21  Student chasing alternatives to free drink
REFRESHER
The setter is asking you to take the second and fourth letters of ‘free’ and put FRESHER afterwards.  A fresher is one type of student, I suppose.  I seldom suggest improvements to clues, because I’d be crap at setting, but wouldn’t ‘new student’ have been better?  You need to read ‘chasing’ as ‘coming after’.

23  Interest of old uranium plant
USAGE
This looks like a charade of U and SAGE, but I don’t really understand it.

24  Sets out to collect fashionable mugs
STEINS
An insertion of IN for ‘fashionable’ in (SETS)* with ‘out’ as the anagrind.

25  Staff positioned behind train driver
COACHMAN
A charade of COACH and MAN.

26  Establish insomnia (drowsiness has returned)
ORDAIN
Hidden reversed in insomNIA DROwsiness.

27  Cut off sergeant manoeuvres
ESTRANGE
(SERGEANT)*

Down

1  Look after Snitch caught by Potter?
CURATE
You can’t say it’s not contemporary.  If you are one of the few people on the planet who haven’t read/seen Harry Potter … Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I’ll begin.  It’s RAT for ‘snitch’ in CUE.  CUE as ‘potter’?  Maybe, but it is a good surface reading.  For those who are still in the dark (arts) then I will explain that the ‘Snitch’ was the spherical metal object that Harry Potter tried to catch using his Nimbus 2000 during the games of Quidditch.  Still confused?  Then move on.

2  Use them over carry on bags
EMPLOY
A charade of ‘EM for ‘them’ and O for the cricket ‘over’ in PLY for ‘carry on’ (a trade).  Hmmm.

3  A run down car, perhaps, abandoned here
SCRAPHEAP
(CA[R]PERHAPS)*  I fancy that this is an &lit.

4  New TV show let me broadcast for a year
TWELVE MONTHS
(N TV SHOW LET ME)*

6  Adding beans analogue calculators improved initially
ABACI
It’s the first letters of the first five words of the clue.  How the surface gets us to the solution, I don’t know.

7  Appetiser raising passion in attractive assistant
APÉRITIF
Since it’s a down clue, it’s IRE reversed in FIT PA.  For me, an APÉRITIF is a pre-dinner drink; an ‘appetiser’ is something you give me to eat.  It could be that I’m just a bit old-fashioned and our new setter is half my age.

8  Mobile network features really relating to the masses
EVERYONE
More contemporary stuff.  EE is a (recently introduced) ‘mobile network’ and you need to insert VERY ON into that.

11  Boastful in log about many embraces
VAINGLORIOUS‘
An insertion of (IN LOG)* in VARIOUS.  Does VARIOUS mean ‘many’?  You tell me.

15  Radio station employee can run one off
ANNOUNCER
(CAN RUN ONE)*

16  Kind of shot English Sunday papers love
ESPRESSO
A charade of E, S, PRESS and O.  Don’t ever, ever, spell or pronounce this with an X as the second letter.  Ever.

17  Where to take off apron and strip?
AIRFIELD
A cd cum dd.

19  Bullets hidden in case of German meat
GAMMON
AMMO inserted in GN, which are the outside letters of ‘German’.

20  Session with medium amount of drink after skipping round?
SEANCE
Not sure about this one: I’ll have a stab at SEA for ‘amount of drink’ and [O]NCE but will be happy to be corrected.

22  Weariness seen in pupil now and again
ENNUI
The second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth letters of sEeN iN pUpIl.

Many thanks to our Wagnerian setter for this one.  Looking forward to the next.