1

Sad old dear, pleased when put in recess (7, 2 words)

GLAD (pleased) contained in (put in) BAY (recess)

BA (G LAD) Y

BAG LADY (homeless woman who carries her possessions, accumulated scavengings, etc around with her in a carrier bag; sad old dear)

7

Go mad following kiss (4)

F (following) + LIP (kiss)

FLIP (go mad)

11

What’ll get you aloft? None, I agree if out of order (10)

Anagram of (out of order) NONE I AGREE

AEROENGINE*

AEROENGINE (aircraft engine which will get the plane [and you as a passenger] aloft)

13

Is this tree with ripe nuts kauri-pine?  Yes and no (5)

NIKAU (KAURI-PINE is an anagram [is this … with] of RIPE and NIKAU) so in terms of word play NIKAU with RIPE can be made into KAURI-PINE [Yes]

NIKAU (Maori name for the palm tree Rhopalostylis sapida, native to New Zealand.  A NIKAU will therefore have ripe palm nuts)  The KAURI-PINE is a tall coniferous forest-tree of New Zealand (Agathis australis), source of kauri gum, a resin used in making varnish; The KAURI-PINE will have pine cones not nuts [No]

14

Not quite sober, causing objection (5)

DEMURE (sober) excluding the last letter (not quite) E

DEMUR (objection)

15

Yiddish musicians producing gay moment in reverse of gloom (9)

(LEZ [lesbian {homosexual (gay) woman}] + MO [moment]) contained in (in) MIRK (variant spelling of MURK [darkness; gloom]) reversed [reverse of]

K (LEZ MO) RIM<

KLEZMORIM (players of traditional E European Yiddish music)

17

Glandular products?  Dry, then soak one (7)

SEC ([of wines] dry) + RET (soak) + A (one)

SECRETA (products of secretion; possible glandular products)

18

Ridge plotted on chart except for outer limits (5)

GRAPHED (plotted on a chart) excluding (except for) G and D (first and last letters [outer limits])

RAPHE (a botanical term describing the ridge on the side of an anatropous ovule continuing the funicle to the chalaza – no I don’t understand it either, but the joy of crosswords is that you don’t have to understand every word you enter as long as you can deduce it from the word play)

20

Clothed in carmine, a tender red (6)

NEATEN (hidden word in [clothed in] CARMINE A TENDER)

NEATEN (RED is a variant spelling of REDD one of whose meanings is ‘put in order’ as does NEATEN)

23

Old rose bush, stripped including its flower heartlessly (6)

BARE (stripped) containing (including) RE (letters remaining in ROSE [the flower of the clued bush] when it has no central letters [heartlessly] OS)

B (RE) ARE

BREARE (Spenserian [old] word for BRIER [wild rose bush])

24

Magistrate losing half rest and vitality (5)

JUSTICE (magistrate) excluding (losing) ST (half of the letters of REST)

JUICE (vitality)

25

Get up to date with university plot going round college (7)

(U [university] + PATCH [plot of ground]) containing (going round) C (college)

U P (C) ATCH

UPCATCH (catch up; get up-to-date)

30

I color, ailing, in bed.  Bitter herb prescribed for my gut ache? (9)

Anagram of (ailing) I COLOR contained in (in) COT (bed)

CO (LICROO*) T

or

C (OLICRO*) OT

COLICROOT (North American bitter herb (Aletris farinosa) of the lily family and its root, formerly used to cure colic [gut ache])

The word ‘my’ appears to be italicised in the printed clue.  I’m not sure why.  In fact I’m not sure what role the word ‘my’ is playing in the clue at all.

31

Replaced currency unit – take plenty back (5)

(R [recipe [Latin]; take] + A LOT [plenty]) all reversed (back)

(TOL A R)<

TOLAR (formerly the standard monetary unit of Slovenia, now replaced by the Euro)

32

Hanging, something that stops lives (5)

TAP (stopper [stop] in a barrel) + IS (lives)

TAPIS (covering, hanging, etc of tapestry or the like)

33

Medicinal sweet, one wrapped in crushed peel and mace (10)

AN (one) contained in (wrapped in) (an anagram of [crushed] PEEL and MACE)

ELECAMP (AN) E*

ELECAMPANE (a sweet flavoured with an extract from the root of the same name)

34

Dry bed is modified by this fish nest (4)

REDD (I think this relates to DRY BED being an anagram of [modified] REDD and BY)

REDD (place on a river bed excavated by a salmon for nesting – a different meaning from the one referenced at 20 across)

35

American composite assailed, just after being put in (7)

ON (just after) contained in (being put in) BESET (assailed)

B (ON) ESET

BONESET (North American species of hemp agrimony [a composite, plant of the Compositae])

1

It can pierce solid rock or roll part of pavement stone in rue damaged (12, 2 words)

BUN (roll) + KERB (part of pavement) + (ST [stone] contained in [in] an anagram of [damaged] RUE)

BUN KER B U (ST) ER*

BUNKER BUSTER (thermobaric bomb designed to penetrate thick layers of rock)

2

Eastern agent, a benign Arab (7)

A + MILD (benign) + AR (Arab)

AMILDAR (factor or manager in India; Eastern agent)

3

Local pasture formed by sediment, we hear (5)

LEAZE (sounds like [we hear] LEES [sediment that forms during the fermentation or aging of an alcoholic liquor])

LEAZE (dialect [local] word for pasture)  The crossing letter Z determines whether the entry is  LEAZE or LEASE as either word means pasture

4

Martial arts venues thrash one taking the mickey – not her (5)

DO (party; thrash) + JOSHER (one taking the mickey) excluding (not) HER

DOJOS (places where judo or karate, etc are taught or practised; martial arts venues)

5

Pair changing places, longed for e.g. Christmas time (7)

YEARNED (longed for) with two letters (pair) NE changing places in the word

YEAR–END

YEAR-END (the YEAR-END is around [a week after] Christmastime)

6

Language group included in Mandarin dictionary (5)

INDIC (hidden word in [included in] MANDARIN DICTIONARY)

INDIC (the languages that form the Indian branch of Indo-European languages)

8

Freshwater catch among 1,152 wriggling (8)

NET (catch) contained in (among) an anagram of (wriggling) MCLII (roman numerals for 1,152)

LIM (NET) IC*

LIMNETIC (living in fresh water)

9

Like an old brand belonging to American neat’s rear (5)

IN (belonging to) US (United States; America) + T (last letter of [rear] NEAT

INUST (burned in; like an old brand)

10

Chap caught by steep rent renovated what remains of distorted structure (12, 2 words)

MAN (chap) contained in (caught by) and anagram of (renovated) STEEP RENT

PER (MAN) ENT SET*

PERMANENT SET (an engineering term for the distortion or extension of a structure, etc, which remains after the elastic limit has been exceeded by stress, load, etc. – this one I do understand)

12

Supporter of old parliament, strange person (6)

RUM (strange) + PER (person)

RUMPER (a member or supporter of the remnant of the Long Parliament, after Pride’s expulsion (1648) of about a hundred Presbyterian royalist members)

16

Spotted, e.g. Gregory in drag (8)

PECK (reference Gregory PECK [1916 – 2003], American actor) contained in (in) SLED (drag or wheelless structure for conveying goods)

S (PECK) LED

SPECKLED (spotted)

19

Mount again messed up race losing a leg? (8)

Anagram of (messed up) RACE excluding (losing) A + LIMB (a leg is a LIMB)

REC* LIMB

RECLIMB (mount again)

21

Most — could be dumped jetsam etc and nothing more (6)

EJECTA (MOST and EJECTA [the entry] can form the anagram [dumped]  JETSAM ETC plus the letter O [nothing more])

EJECTA (matter thrown out [e.g. JETSAM] but especially thrown out by volcanoes)

22

Repeat ‘Love Lives’ featured in supplement formerly (7)

(O [zero; love score in tennis] + IS [lives]) contained in (in) ECHE (Shakespearean [old; formerly] word for augment [supplement])

ECH (O IS) E

ECHOISE (repeat)

26

Pawn’s function as member of the lowest class (5)

P (pawn) + ROLE (function)

PROLE (PROLEtarian [member of the poorest class])

27

One’s taken in rent as swag? (5)

A (one) contained in (taken in) TORN (rent)

TOR (A) N

TORAN (garland of flowers or leaves hung between two points; SWAG can be defined as a festoon so the two words are synonymous)

28

Old bishop’s place – one famously at home in mud surrounding! (5)

HIPPO (reference St Augustine of HIPPO [354 – 430] early Christian bishop and theologian)

HIPPO (reference the HIPPOpotamus song by Flanders & Swann with its chorus:

Mud, mud, glorious mud
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood
So follow me, follow / down to the hollow
And there let us wallow in glorious mud
 

29

Queen entering Malacca?  Try to get a better view (5)

R (Regina; queen) contained in (entering) CANE (reference Malacca CANE [brown walking-stick made from the stem of a rattan.])

C (R) ANE

CRANE (to stretch out the neck, usually in order to see better.)