Independent on Sunday 1341 Hypnos

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Across

1 Place in dive restricted pianist (6)

JOPLIN : PL(abbrev. for “place”, as in a mailing address) contained in(in) “joint”(a dive, a disreputable nightclub, say) minus its last letter(restricted).

Answer: Scott, African-American pianist and composer, the King of Ragtime Writers.

4 Peer against one small feature of boxing (8)

VISCOUNT : V(abbrev. for for “versus”;against, as in a competition) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + COUNT(a feature of boxing, viz. the counting of 10 seconds to see if a knocked down boxer has lost the bout).

9 Discharge some court action (6)

VOLLEY : Double defn: 1st: Simultaneous discharge of an array of firearms; and 2nd: A stroke in tennis where the ball is hit before it touches the ground.

10 Look mostly in state for source of firepower (8)

MAGAZINE : “gaze”(to look) minus its last letter(mostly) contained in(in) MAINE(the state on the eastern coast of the US).

Defn: … in a firearm.

12 Man on board discussed time for retirement (5)

NIGHT : Homophone of(… discussed) “knight”(a man;a piece on a chessboard).

Defn: …, at the end of the day.

13 Advocate green measure amid split (9)

RECOMMEND : [ ECO(synonymous with things “green” or environmentalism) + MM(abbrev. for “millimetre”, a unit measure of length) ] contained in(amid) REND(to split;to tear).

14 Millions see fantastic footballer (6,5)

LIONEL MESSI : Anagram of(… fantastic) MILLIONS SEE.

Defn: …, and a fantastic one.

18 Telling number inspired by giant sci-fi works (11)

SIGNIFICANT : N(abbrev. for “number”) contained in(inspired by) anagram of(… works) GIANT SCI-FI. 

21 Imperious scholar worries about university lecturer (9)

MASTERFUL : MA(abbrev. for “Master of Arts”, a scholar) + reversal of(… about) FRETS(worries;is anxious) + U(abbrev. for “university”) + L(abbrev. for “lecturer”).

23 News in continental group, source of infinite boredom (5)

ENNUI : N,N(abbrev. for “new” x 2) contained in(in) [ EU(abbrev. for the European Union, the continental political group) + the 1st letter of(source of) “infinite ” ].

24 Croatian is dressed in a waterproof (8)

RAINCOAT : Anagram of(… is dressed) CROATIAN.

25 Rash figure from chart about a part of the US (6)

MADCAP : MAP(a chart) containing(about) [A + DC(abbrev. for the District of Columbia, the part of the US in which Washington is located) ].

26 Theatrical star finally appearing in version of Cats? Yes (8)

ACTRESSY : The last letter of(… finally) “star ” contained in(appearing in) anagram of(version of) CATS? YES.

27 Secretive type, one in bed (6)

OYSTER : Double defn: 1st: A close-mouthed person; and 2nd: …, a place where it breeds or is cultivated.

Down

1 Person in a minority? (8)

JUVENILE : Cryptic defn: One who hasn’t reached legal adulthood;a minor.

2 Old college group embracing good skilled linguist (8)

POLYGLOT : POLY(short for “polytechnic”, any of former tertiary institutions of learning in the UK which became universities in 1992) + LOT(a group;a set of things or persons) containing(embracing) G(abbrev. for “good”).

3 Pint’s seen to be spilt? It’s clumsy behaviour (9)

INEPTNESS : Anagram of(… to be spilt) PINT’S SEEN.

5 Basic silence after commotion beyond reach (12)

INACCESSIBLE : Anagram of(… after commotion) BASIC SILENCE.

6 Trinket companion put on part of body (5)

CHARM : CH(post-nominals for a recipient of the “Order of the Companions of Honour”, a British title) + ARM(an upper limb or forelimb, a part of the body).

7 Some sun is expected, in indiscriminate fashion? (6)

UNISEX : Hidden in(Some) “sun is expected “.

Defn: Descriptive of fashion that is equally for either sex.

8 Fashionable Republican aim within limits of tolerability (6)

TRENDY : [ R(abbrev. for “Republican”, a member of the political party) + END(an aim;an objective) ] contained in(within) the 1st and last letters of(limits of) “tolerability “.

11 For ages, a firm manufactured a dairy product (7,5)

FROMAGE FRAIS : Anagram of(… manufactured) FOR AGES, A FIRM.

Defn: …, viz. a low-fat soft cheese.

15 Getting round in time, I examine critically planned route (9)

ITINERARY : [IN + ERA(a long period of time) ] contained in(Getting round …) [I + TRY(to test;to examine critically to evaluate quality, worth, etc.) ].

16 Oak panelling popular within West Berkshire town (8)

WAINSCOT : IN(popular;fashionable) contained in(within) [ W(abbrev. for “west”) + ASCOT(Berkshire town, famous for horse racing) ].

17 Sunday excursionist, one giving up habit (8)

STRIPPER : S(abbrev. for Sunday) + TRIPPER(one on an excursion).

Defn: One giving up;discarding habit;clothes.

19 Part of England not cold? It’s part of Italy (6)

UMBRIA : “Cumbria”(a county of NW England) minus(not) “c”(abbrev. for “cold”).

Defn: A mountainous region in central Italy.

20 Second musician forgoing introduction (6)

ASSIST : “bassist”(a player of the double bass, especially in jazz) minus its 1st letter(forgoing introduction).

Defn: To act as a second attending to a boxer or duelist.

22 Host representing outsiders in music? (5)

EMCEE : Pronunciation of(representing) the 1st and last letters of(outsiders in) “music “.

Defn: Term for the host of a show, say, derived from “master of ceremonies”.

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