Unlike the last Beelzebub that I blogged, I found this one a little tricky (meiosis!) in places, particularly the SE corner which contained my last entries.
The crossing 28ac and 24dn caused a lot of the hold-up because I did not know the French word that was to be reversed, nor the eventual answer, and the opera is one I have not come across before. Still, I like a tough challenge (and learning something new) so this was an enjoyable solve.
Across
1 Nimble about dodging water? (4)
SPRY – SPR[a]Y (about dodging water)
4 Reference author uses negligently, taking nothing from it (9)
THESAURUS – an anagram (negligently) of AUTH[o]R USES
11 Tip from Scotsman securing attention in African shop (3,4)
TEA ROOM – TOOM (tip from Scotsman) around (securing) EAR (attention)
13 Retentiveness, recalling blokes amongst them (5)
MNEME – MEN (blokes) in (amongst) EM (them) reversed (recalling)
14 Stripped-down mint to issue coin (6)
INVENT – [m]IN[t] (stripped-down mint) VENT (issue)
15 News item offering no new titbit (6)
SIPPET – S[n]IPPET (news item offering no new)
17 Shut down clubs and miss opportunity (5,3)
CLOSE OUT – C (clubs) LOSE OUT (miss opportunity)
18 Poet’s to cut section of darker verse (5)
KERVE – hidden in (section of) ‘darKER VErse’
20 Representation of eternal spirit in space between columns (13)
INTERPILASTER – an anagram of (representation of) ETERNAL SPIRIT
23 English author with extra love for womaniser (5)
WOOLF – WOLF (womaniser) with an additional O (with extra love)
25 Upset about device beside National Trust classification (8)
SORTMENT – SORE (upset) around (about) TM (device {trademark}) plus NT (National Trust)
27 Chewing this so leads to calories! (6)
ÉCLAIR – an anagram (chewing) of the answer plus ‘so’ gives ‘calories – with an extended definition – and for those who haven’t seen it previously, Chambers’ definition: “a cake, long in shape but short in duration, with cream filling and usu chocolate icing”
28 Pierre’s reflection when returning in cablecar (6)
TELFER – REFLET (Pierre’s reflection) reversed (when returning)
29 Component of bridge or other game (5)
CHESS – double def.
30 Fortification positioned about right (7)
SALIENT – SAT (positioned) around (about) LIEN (right)
31 The lines will catch river’s mollusc (4,5)
TUSK SHELL – THE LL (the lines) around (will catch) USK’S (river’s)
32 Old Aussie’s good, expressing thanks? Nonsense (4)
BOSH – BOSH[ta] (old Aussie’s good, expressing thanks)
Down
1 Camouflage expert to spurn apostasy? (5,6)
STICK INSECT – STICK IN SECT (spurn apostasy)
2 Evidence of impact provided by writer’s hanging (7)
PENDENT – PEN DENT (evidence of impact provided by writer)
3 State subordinate to King that’s a crackpot (5)
RAVER – AVER (state) under (subordinate to) R (King)
4 Quality school, first to last (4)
TONE – ETON (school) with the E moved to the end (first to last)
5 Effects of boozing no longer animated police (3,7)
HOT COPPERS – HOT (animated) COPPERS (police)
6 Produce suspension in Euro-finance with various elisions (11)
EMULSIONISE – EMU (Euro-finance) plus an anagram (various) of ELISIONS
7 Live away from radiant sectarians (5)
AMISH – [be]AMISH (live away from radiant)
8 Spurn one that’s disgraced (such as me?) (8)
UNPERSON – an anagram (that’s disgraced) of SPURN ONE and another extended definition
9 These are recovered, the rest will be cut down (5)
REPOS – REPOS[e] (the rest will be cut down)
10 One leaving dog to go over river (11)
SETTER-FORTH – SETTER (dog) FORTH (river)
12 I very much got all excited about tense, as marking dialect variation (10)
ISOGLOTTAL – I SO (very much) plus an anagram (excited) of GOT ALL around (about) T (tense)
16 Expect too much of public request (8)
OVERTASK – OVERT (public) ASK (request)
19 Estuarine molluscs being attached to order (7)
TELLENS – TELL (order) ENS (being)
21 Artillery picked up on the French advance locally (5)
ARLES – RA (artillery) reversed (picked up) LES (the French)
22 Do I seem doubly special or odd? (5)
AMISS – AM I (do I seem) SS (doubly special)
24 Opera tenor missing number not half felt old (5)
ORFEO – [ten]OR (tenor missing number) FE[lt] (not half felt) O (old)
26 Unproductive / Scottish island (4)
YELL – double def.
Me too! I got stuck on the bottom right corner also, although I have seen enough staging of Orfeo that I should have got 24dn sooner. I couldn’t parse 19dn, thanks for the explanation, and in the end I guessed 26dn and 32ac and got both wrong. Didn’t know either meaning of 26dn and I couldn’t decide for 32ac between TOSH and BOSH, and guessed wrong.
Did like 1dn. Spent ages thinking it began CLOAKING.
Only one prizewinner? I could not solve it.
Cephas, if you mean the list of prizewinners in today’s magazine, that’s for puzzle 1343, not this one.
I can’t remember anything about that one, but the only comments here were that it was on the easy side for Beelzebub. Maybe it was so easy, nobody could be bothered to send in. 🙂
Only just got round to trying to finish this one, and in fact gave up and came here.
Reassuring to find I wasn’t alone in struggling in that corner.