Independent on Sunday 1393 Poins

Not so easy for a Sunday puzzle. Thanks to Poins. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Get former pupil to exercise right away (6)

OBTAIN : OB(abbrev. for “old boy”;a former pupil of a school) + “train”(to exercise) minus(… away) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).

4 Keep in work during military takeover (4,2)

COOP UP : OP(abbrev. for “opus”, a musical or literary piece) contained in(during) COUP(a military takeover of the government).

8 Grave bearing it seen in New York after archaeological excavation (7)

DIGNITY : [IT contained in(seen in) NY(abbrev. for New York) ] placed after(after) DIG(an archaeological excavation).

9 To repeat it time after time requires energy (7)

ITERATE : IT + [ T(abbrev. for “time”) placed after(after) ERA(a long period of time) ] plus(requires) E(abbrev. for “energy” in physics).

11 England, for instance, giving support to peacekeepers after about turn by the Queen (6,4)

PROPER NOUN : PROP(a support) plus(to) UN(abbrev. for the United Nations, peacekeepers of the world) placed after(after) [ reversal of(… turn) ON(about, as in “the talk was on law”) placed after(by) ER(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina, the Queen) ] . A convoluted construction, I think.

Defn: An example of which;for instance, is the word “England”.
12 Fish only found in an area of the Atlantic (4)

SOLE : Triple defn: 3rd: One of the areas of the Atlantic Ocean for purposes of weather reporting and forecasting by the UK Met Office.

… and a few others made up by Stephen Fry here:

13 Letters from Orange Lodge’s financial backer (5)

ANGEL : Hidden in(Letters from) “Orange Lodge“.

14 Get the better of Eric at the outset with story about new means of transportation (8)

PIPELINE : PIP(to get the better of your opponent by a small margin or at the last minute) + the 1st letter of(… at the outset) “Eric” plus(with) LIE(a fabricated story) containing(about) N(abbrev. for “new”).

Defn: … of liquids and gases.

16 Begin to admit gangster needing wife to become committed in support (8)

STALWART : START(to begin) containing(to admit) [ AL(Capone, American gangster) plus(needing) W(abbrev. for “wife”) ].

18 Last of tiles taken from unique fireplace (5)

INGLE : The last letter of(Last of) “tiles” deleted from(taken from) “single”(unique;one of a kind).

20 Press club (4)

IRON : Double defn: 1st: … clothes; and 2nd: … in a golf set.

21 Press going to town after politician shows a stiffness of manner (10)

CONSTRAINT : [ STRAIN(to press;to exert) plus(going to) T(abbrev. for “township” or “town”) ] placed after(after) CON(abbrev. for a Conservative Party politician).

23 Land for grazing is beyond river (7)

PASTURE : PAST(beyond in place or time) + URE(river in N. Yorkshire, England).

24 Warrant cards finally found in grass over towards the centre of Staveley (7)

DESERVE : The last letter of(…finally) “cards” contained in(found in) reversal of(… over) REED(tall slender-leaved grass) ] plus(towards) the central letter of(centre of) “Staveley“.

Defn: As a verb, as in “that offence warrants severe punishment”.

25 Extremely sensitive after former copper has reason to justify offence (6)

EXCUSE : The 1st and last letters of(Extremely) “sensitive” placed after(after) [ EX-(prefix signifying former;once) + CU(symbol for the chemical element copper) ].

26 Advisable to take arsenic too (2,4)

AS WELL : WELL(as an adjective, “advisable”, as in “it would be well for you to lie low”) placed after(to take) AS(symbol for the chemical element arsenic).

Down

1 Poplar relation of East End sock-seller (5)

OSIER : “hosier”(a seller of socks and other legwear) with its “h” dropped(when pronounced by a Cockney from London’s East End).

2 Piece of camping equipment found by river that’s not initially recognised by girl (4,3)

TENT PEG : “Trent”(a river in the Midlands region of England) minus its 1st letter(that’s not initially) “recognised” plus(by) PEG(a girl’s name).

3 Bury boxing champ takes first of amphetamines among other things (5,4)

INTER ALIA : INTER(to bury in a grave or tomb) + ALI(Muhammad, champion boxer) plus(takes) the 1st letter of(first of) “amphetamines“.

5 Frequently finding fellow gripped by books on space (5)

OFTEN : F(abbrev. for “fellow”) contained in(gripped by) OT(abbrev. for the Old Testament, books in the Bible) placed above(on, in a down clue) EN(a unit of measurement of space in printing text) .

6 Soldier needing extremely large protective device (7)

PARASOL : PARA(short for a paratrooper, a soldier parachuted into action) plus(needing) SO(extremely, as in “you’re so cool”) + L(abbrev. for “large”).

7 Distributed tape with uncle showing peevish irritation (9)

PETULANCE : Anagram of(Distributed) [TAPE plus(with) UNCLE].

10 Sufficiently good to contend with Anita regularly (9)

COMPETENT : COMPETE(to contend;to participate in a contest with) plus(with) the 2nd and 4th letters of(… regularly) “Anita“.

13 Change by turns every second (9)

ALTERNATE : Double defn: 1st: As in “the chairmanship alternates between them”; and 2nd: As in “you may take alternate weekends off”.

15 Fellow looking into aims of TV quiz show (9)

POINTLESS : LES(a fellow’s name) contained in(looking into) POINTS(aims;what are to be achieved, as in “the point of fiscal policy is …”).

Defn: … shown on BBC television.

17 Extremely foolish for London’s earliest university to have Brown back in charge (7)

LUNATIC : The 1st letter of(…’s earliest) “London” + U(abbrev. for “university”) plus(to have) reversal of(… back) TAN(a brown colour) + IC(abbrev. for “in charge”).

19 Yes uttered after German boy’s inviting glance (4,3)

GLAD EYE : Homophone of(… uttered) “aye”(yes) placed below(after, in a down clue) [ G(abbrev. for “German”) + LAD(a boy) ].

21 Worries about filling bag up (5)

CARES : RE(about;with reference to) contained in(filling) reversal of(… up) SAC(a hollow flexible structure resembling a bag).

22 Interestingly unusual for Emma perhaps (5)

NOVEL : Double defn: 2nd: Of which, Emma by Jane Austen, is an example;perhaps.