Financial Times 15356 Dante

Thanks to Dante for another of his trademark puzzles. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Back-slapping male with cultural pretensions (6)

HEARTY : HE(pronoun for a male person) + ARTY(with cultural pretensions).

4 It’s plain Dad is going back and forth with payment (8)

APPARENT : Reversal of(… is going back) PA(informal term for one’s Dad) plus(…is going … forth) PA(Dad) plus(with) RENT(payment for a let premises).

9 Regions about to receive hand- outs (6)

REALMS : RE(about;with reference to) plus(to receive) ALMS(hand-outs to the poor).

10 Shipping company after vessel for lubricant product (8)

VASELINE : LINE(a shipping company, as in the P&O Line) placed after(after) VASE(a vessel).

12 Pains grip sick Greek hero (8)

ACHILLES : ACHES(pains) containing(grip) ILL(sick).

Defn: … of the Trojan War.

13 Join a number in this place (6)

ADHERE : A + D(Roman numeral for 500) + HERE(in this place).

15 Take a girl out some fruit (4)

DATE : Double defn.

16 The way in which American financial interests operate (4,6)

WALL STREET : Cryptic defn: The street;way which literally is the location of, and figuratively stands for, the American financial centre.

19 Government official making conclusive changes (10)

VICECONSUL : Anagram of(… changes) CONCLUSIVE.

20 Run and hide (4)

PELT : Double defn.

23 Subject matter about right for a mundane circle (6)

TROPIC : TOPIC(the subject matter being talked or written about) containing(about) R(abbrev. for “right”).

Defn: One of the two parallels of latitude of the earth, or mundane;earthly circle.

25 Ageless saint and god (5,3)

PETER PAN : PETER(the saint at the gates of Heaen) plus(and) PAN(ancient Greek god frolicking in the forests and pastures).

Answer: …, as a modifying noun, as in “Peter Pan looks”.

27 Poor tip diner provided, showing no fear (8)

INTREPID : Anagram of(Poor) TIP DINER.

28 Place to meet after a drive (6)

AVENUE : VENUE(place for a meeting) placed after(after) A.

29 Such a girl presumably doesn’t keep her boyfriends hanging about (4-4)

GOOD-TIME : Cryptic defn: Someone, in this case, she, who keeps good time is punctual, and presumably doesn’t keep her boyfriends waiting;hanging about. And being a good-time;fun-loving girl, she presumably doesn’t hang about when it comes to having fun.

30 A company that floated to avoid liquidation ended up here (6)

ARARAT : Cryptic defn: Reference to the boatload of animals in Noah’s Ark that escaped liquidation;extinction by the gigantic liquidation aka the Great Flood, and ended atop this Mount.

Down

1 Virginia right to get a place in tough university (7)

HARVARD : [ VA(abbrev. for the US state of Virginia) + R(abbrev. for “right”) ] contained in(to get a place in) HARD(tough).

2 An old man with the twitch is listless (9)

APATHETIC : A(like “an”, an article in grammar) + PA(an informal term for an old man) plus(with) THE + TIC(an uncontrollable twitch of a muscle)

3 Holy place that may throb with intense activity (6)

TEMPLE : Double defn: 2nd: That part of your head that may throb when you’re engaged in intense activity.

5 Top dog, say (4)

PEAK : Homophone of(…, say) “peke”(a canine breed).

6 Account provided once date has been amended (8)

ANECDOTE : Anagram of(… has been amended) ONCE DATE.

7 Omit a vowel? I’d easily included it (5)

ELIDE : Hidden in(… included it) “vowel? I’d easily“.

8 At that point, change for the theatre (7)

THEREAT : Anagram of(change for the) THEATRE.

11 Bones for stays (7)

REMAINS : Double defn: 1st: What’s left of a corpse after a time.

14 Tempts a number to break rules (7)

ALLURES : A + L(Roman numeral for 50) plus(to) anagram of(break) RULES.

17 Watch first man to take over – it’s a surprise (3-6)

EYE-OPENER : EYE(to watch) + OPENER(in cricket, the one who is first in the batting order, ie. who faces the first over).

18 I’d interrupted to stress something unintentional (8)

ACCIDENT : I’D contained in(interrupted) ACCENT(to stress a syllable or word in speech).

19 Given to change, yet preventing its political implementation (7)

VETOING : Anagram of(… change) GIVEN TO.

21 Get browned off with a chap on the Circle Line (7)

TANGENT : TAN(to get a brown skin colouring after exposure to the sun) plus(with) GENT(a gentleman;a chap).

Defn: …, or, rather, a line touching a circle.

22 You and I declare he’s a man of the cloth (6)

WEAVER : WE(pronoun referring to you and I together) + AVER(to declare;to assert).

Defn: …, or, rather, one who produces cloth from yarns, threads, etc, and not one with the clerical habit.

24 Beat unconscious, then execute! (5)

OUTDO : OUT(unconscious;out of consciousness) plus(then) DO(to execute;to perform an action).

26 Settled business (4)

FIRM : Double defn: 1st: Decided, as in, “are you firm in your choice of running mate?”; and 2nd: A commercial organisation.