(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) An enjoyable one from Raich, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Function from better area, urban one (8)
CAPACITY : CAP(to better;to top) + A(abbrev. for “area”) + CITY(an urban area).
Defn: …, or the position one fills, as in “in his function as manager”.
5 Bird heads for islands beyond Ionian Sea (4)
IBIS : The 1st letter of(heads for) “islands beyond Ionian Sea“.
10 Odd stone cooker (7)
STRANGE : ST(abbrev. for “stone”, equivalent to 14 lbs in the Imperial system of weights) + RANGE(what you cook on in the kitchen).
11 Refer too often to retired vicar dipping in river? (7)
OVERUSE : Reversal of(retired) REV(short for “Reverend”, title for a vicar) contained in(dipping in) OUSE(a river in England, the most well-known is in Yorkshire).
12 Steal cruelly connoisseur’s classic work (8,6)
ROBINSON CRUSOE : ROB(to steal) + anagram of(cruelly) CONNOISSEUR.
13 Continue after all others (4)
LAST : Double defn.
14 He’s tearful as trader holds back French wine (9)
SNIVELLER : SELLER(a trader) containing(holds) reversal of(back) VIN(French for “wine”).
16 Scent from Faro mat is exquisite (9)
AROMATISE : Hidden in(from) “Faro mat is exquisite “.
Defn: …, as a verb.
18 Wife remains for rinse maybe (4)
WASH : W(abbrev. for “wife”) + ASH(remains after burning).
19 Too great a toll? (7,7)
HIGHWAY ROBBERY : Cryptic defn: Refering to highways with toll charges on one hand, and, on the other hand, overcharging, which term is derived from robbery by highwaymen formerly.
22 Noticed in arena, Mourinho’s charm? (7)
ENAMOUR : Hidden in(Noticed in) “arena, Mourinho“. Nice ironic surface.
Defn: …, as a verb.
23 Perfectly cooked toast, not small, next to pot (2,1,4)
TO A TURN : “toast” minus(not) “s”(abbrev. for “small”) plus(next to) URN(a pot).
24 Orderly Nationalist conserving energy (4)
NEAT : NAT(abbrev. for “Nationalist”) containing(conserving) E(symbol for “energy” in physics).
25 Abandon unfinished dock – one’s no backing (8)
JETTISON : “jetty”(where you dock a boat) minus its last letter(unfinished …) + I(Roman numeral for “one”)‘S + reversal of(… backing) NO.
Down
1 Container – it’s used by grammar expert (4)
CASE : Double defn: 2nd: In grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective indicating its relationship to other words in a sentence.
2 One unwelcome rant on parsonage – nasty (7,3,5)
PERSONA NON GRATA : Anagram of(… – nasty) RANT ON PARSONAGE.
3 Inmate hostile to old Queen? Not half (7)
CONVICT : CON(hostile to;against) + “Victoria”(former English Queen) minus its last 4 letters(Not half).
4 Lock star re-uses regularly (5)
TRESS : Every other letter, starting from the 2nd, of(… regularly) “star re-uses “.
Defn: … of hair.
6 Greens at outset backing new surplus stores, first of series (8,7)
BRUSSELS SPROUTS : The 1st letter of(at outset) “backing” + anagram of(new) SURPLUS STORES + the 1st letter of(first of) “series“.
7 Be impressed by hair-remover for mammals (3-5)
SHE-BEARS : BE contained in(impressed by) SHEARS(instrument for cutting;removing hair).
8 Agree inside reportedly to support business (8)
COINCIDE : Homophone of(… reportedly) “inside” placed below(to support, in a down clue) CO(abbrev. for “company”, a business organization).
9 Judgment of French served on native American (6)
DECREE : DE(French for the preposition “of”) placed above(served on, in a down clue) CREE(a member of one of the native American tribes).
14 Shy pair nervous on date at first – this may help float their boat? (8)
SHIPYARD : Anagram of(… nervous) SHY PAIR placed above(on, in a down clue) the 1st letter of(… at first) “date“.
15 Girl eager to claim unusual hat left behind (8)
KATHLEEN : KEEN(eager;gung ho) containing(to claim) [ anagram of(unusual) HAT placed above(… behind) L(abbrev. for “left”) ].
17 Duo love getting involved in publicity for writer (6)
ATWOOD : [ TWO(duo;a pair) + O(letter indicating 0;love in tennis scores) ]contained in(getting involved in) AD(short for “advertisement”;publicity).
Answer: Margaret, Canadian writer.
18 Feature of Internet – our group, British actors (7)
WEBCAST : WE(our group;ourselves) + B(abbrev. for “British”) + CAST(the group of actors in a particular play or film).
20 Unconventional route first to be dropped (5)
OUTRE : ROUTE with its 1st letter(first) moved down 3 positions(to be dropped, in a down clue).
21 Article appearing shortly (4)
ANON : AN(an article in grammar) + ON(appearing, as in, say, “who’s on tonight at the Palladium?”).
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks for the blog, scchua.
Pleasing puzzle from Raich in the traditional Sindy accessible style. I liked the cd in HIGHWAY ROBBERY (this setter doesn’t do many of them) and I thought the anagram in PERSONA NON GRATA was a good spot.
And I’ve been spelling BRUSSEL SPROUTS wrong all these years.
Yes, a nice puzzle of what was typical IoS difficulty level, i.e. not too taxing for after lunch. The NW corner held me up, though, mainly because I was convinced the ‘old queen’ had to be Anne, and the answer ended in -AN. Too many good clues to nominate a CoD.
Thanks, Raich and scchua.
Many thanks scchua for the excellent blog and also to commenters.