I don’t normally solve the IoS (I’ve only done so today because the scheduled blogger is away) so cannot say how this one compares with others in the series or with previous Hypnos cryptics.
I will therefore leave it to others to provide any commentary, I will just say that I wasn’t too happy with some of the synonyms (eg 24ac) and with one part of the clue for 21ac.
Across
1 Strongly attack idiot (4)
GOAT – GO AT (strongly attack)
3 Dessert in bowl and a dry old container put back (5,5)
PANNA COTTA – PAN (bowl) plus A TT (dry) O (old) CAN (container) reversed (put back)
10 Marine before time first out in a yard, site for weapons? (7)
ARMOURY – RM (marine) [h]OUR (time first out) in A Y (a yard)
11 French writer about river supported by estuary (7)
GIRONDE – GIDE (French writer) around (about) R (river) ON (supported by)
12 Ideal padre, a militarist in part (5)
DREAM – hidden in (in part) ‘paDRE A Militarist’
13 Asian food found in East End residence not served (3,2,3)
OUT OF USE – TOFU (Asian food) in (found in) [h]OUSE (East End residence)
16 Characterising one with significant conviction? (6)
INSIDE – cryptic def. referring to someone in gaol
17 With no end to hullabaloo, leave out a corrupt judge (8)
EVALUATE – an anagram (corrupt) of LEAVE [o]UT A
19 Foundation perhaps / given to superficial improvement (8)
COSMETIC – double def.
21 Stupid company exercise introduced by leader in office (6)
OBTUSE – O[ffice] (leader in office) BT (company) USE (exercise) – I don’t like the company=BT
24 Fashion designer with dubious, half-hearted measure (8)
QUANTIFY – QUANT (fashion designer) IF[f]Y (dubious, half-hearted)
25 Pass place for animals in outskirts of Sheffield (5)
SPEND – PEN (place for animals) in S[heffiel]D (outskirts of Sheffield)
27 Leading US composer, endless source of historical material (7)
ARCHIVE – ARCH (leading) IVE[s] (US composer, endless)
29 Patron maybe notes untidy headwear (7)
STETSON – ST (patron maybe) plus an anagram (untidy) of NOTES
30 Tired men in break, period near end of day? (6-4)
DINNER-TIME – an anagram (break) of TIRED MEN IN
31 Manoeuvre in old technical college with internal switch (4)
PLOY – POLY (old technical college) with the middle letters swapped (with internal switch)
Down
1 Relative exalted French resort, we hear (5-5)
GRAND-NIECE – GRAND (exalted) plus a homophone (we hear) of ‘Nice’ (French resort)
2 Unfocussed lot leaving books in top dining area (7)
AIMLESS – L[ot] (lot leaving books) in A1 (top) MESS (dining area)
4 Loads appear covering their heads carelessly (6)
ANYHOW – [m]ANY [s]HOW (loads appear covering their heads)
5 Move vintage European with a pessimistic outlook? (8)
NEGATIVE – an anagram (move) of VINTAGE E (European)
6 Estate, say, starts to contact all residents (3)
CAR – initial letters of (starts to) C[ontact] A[ll] R[esidents]
7 College is set up among volunteers in country (7)
TUNISIA – UNI (college) IS reversed (set up) in TA (volunteers)
8 Incite a punt (4)
ABET – A BET (punt)
9 Low type with slander to prosper heartlessly – churlish figure (10)
CURMUDGEON – CUR (low type) MUD (slander) GE[t] ON (prosper heartlessly)
14 Liberal in tailored suit with brief to cause obstruction (10)
FILIBUSTER – L (Liberal) in an anagram (tailored) of SUIT BRIEF
15 What’s shown by drug users in Jersey, possibly (10)
DEPENDENCY – double def.
18 Inspector, 51, chap that’s civilised and industrious (8)
DILIGENT – DI (inspector) LI (51) GENT (chap that’s civilised)
20 Small coupon devised for tiny amount (7)
SOUPCON – an anagram (devised) of S COUPON
22 Refined figure with endless inclination to lift knife in exemplary way (7)
UTENSIL – U (refined) TEN (figure) LIS[t] (endless inclination) reversed (to lift)
23 Face worn by man of intelligence turning up mineral (6)
GYPSUM – MUG (face) around (worn by) SPY (man of intelligence) reversed (turning up)
26 Musical group prohibited on radio (4)
BAND – sounds like (on radio) ‘banned’ (prohibited)
28 Enthusiasm fellow exuded – or resentment (3)
IRE – [f]IRE (enthusiasm fellow exuded)
Thanks for stepping in Gaufrid. Hypnos really knows how to put a Sunday puzzle together, and this is an example of a good one. My cavils are not the same as yours, though. I really struggled to make sense of the clue at 16, even though the answer was obvious.
‘Quantify’ IMO is a (slightly stretchable) term for measure, so I didn’t object.
As for BT, (which might baffle overseas solvers), it comes into the category of “is ‘company’ generic or specific?”, and I don’t think we can reasonably mind which it is. ‘Old company’ in the word play for example might lead to either ‘oco’ or ‘ici’
Just my $0.02 worth.
I thought the definition of COSMETIC was a bit ‘iffy’. It seems to apply to a person and one wouldn’t say that, eg, a quick-fix designer was ‘cosmetic’. Oh, and ‘dinner time’ is about one o’clock round round here, always allowing less civilised parts of the country their own, charmingly mistaken idioms.
But BT for ‘company’ was fair enough, I thought – there aren’t that many two-letter corporate giants about – and similarly QUANTIFY went in without pause. Well, with a quickly-suppressed stutter over whether it might be ‘quantity’ but the wordplay was fine for me.
All in all, not a bad Sunday morning workout. Thanks to Hypnos and Gaufrid.
Another who didn’t have a problem with QUANTIFY. My dictionary gives it, inter alia, as [to] measure or express as a quantity.
Didn’t parse obtuse, though immediately obvious on reading the blog, have heard of BT even 12,000 miles away, but then I’m an expat.
Thanks to Hypnos and Gaufrid.
Thanks for covering this for me gaugrid. I thought I had this covered but it looks like I blogged last weeks puzzle by mistake.