Financial Times 15428 Crux

Thanks to Crux for quite an easy start to the week.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 French writer‘s false arrest (6)

SARTRE : Anagram of(false) ARREST.

Answer: Jean-Paul, French writer and other things.

4 Instrument of torture for some Sassenachs? (8)

BAGPIPES : Cryptic defn: Reference to the musical instrument that might;? sound like torture to some Sassenachs, a derogatory term for Englishmen, given by Scotsmen.

10 Friendly fellow appearing in a tale (7)

AFFABLE : F(abbrev. for “fellow”) contained in(appearing in) [ A + FABLE(a tale) ].

11 Witticism before getting shot first heard in India (7)

PUNJABI : PUN(a witticism;a play on words) placed before(before getting) JAB(an injection;a shot) I(Roman numeral for 1, denoting the first, as in “Queen Elizabeth I”).

Defn: A language heard in parts of India.

12 What some boxers do for the thrill of it (4)

KICK : Double defn: 1st: … in the sport of kick-boxing.

13 It’s cold in China – coat of this would be ideal (10)

CHINCHILLA : CHILL(a feverish cold, as in “you might catch a chill…”) contained in(in) CHINA.

Defn: This animal’s fur would make a nice and warm, well, fur coat.

15 One’s out to deceive an American hawk (3-3)

NEO-CON : Anagram of(…’s out) ONE plus(to) CON(to deceive;to trick).

Defn: One who espouses Neoconservatism, a political movement started in America, advocating a hawk-like strong military stance towards the rest of the world.

16 Mole, say, is involved with criminal triad (7)

DIARIST : IS contained in(involved with) anagram of(criminal) TRIAD.

Defn: An example of which;say, is Adrian Mole, the fictional protagonist whose diaries are the basis of stories by Sue Townsend.

20 Pat could be next to Crux (2,5)

BY HEART : BY(next to;beside) + HEART(the crux;the vital point;the core).

Defn: Learned by memory, word for word, so as to be able to repeat it pat;exactly.

21 How to pay when carried within short distance (2,4)

IN CASH : AS(when, as in “as you enter the room …” contained in(carried within) INCH(a short distance).

24 Solicitors’ guild in new city of Wales (not France) (3,7)

LAW SOCIETY : Anagram of(new) [ “city of Wales” minus(not) “F”(abbrev. for France) ].

26 Press into a bit of corruption – it’s the first sign (4)

CRAM : The 1st letter of(a bit of) “corruption” + RAM(the constellation Aries, the first sign of the zodiac).

28 European parliament intercepts petitions and settles in advance (7)

PREPAYS : EP(abbrev. for the European Parliament) contained in(intercepts) PRAYS(“petitions” as a verb).

29 Parrots you’ve probably seen already (7)

REPLAYS : Double defn: 1. Repeats or reproduces, a speech, say; and 2. Playbacks of a video recording of an event or events you’ve probably seen in real time.

30 Ferocious little fish (you might think) are toasted and buttered (8)

PIKELETS : PIKE(a ferocious predatory fish) LETS(suffix denoting things that are young or little, as in “piglets”).

Defn: Thin crumpets that are eaten toasted and buttered.

31 Please change how you spend much of your life! (6)

ASLEEP : Anagram of(… change) PLEASE.

Defn: …, about 1/3 of it.

Down

1 Punishment with nine-inch ruler (8)

SPANKING : SPAN(a unit of measurement commonly taken as 9 inches) + KING(a male ruler).

2 Official in black and blue eats in the City dining room (9)

REFECTORY : [ REF(short for “referee”, an official in a competitive match, traditionally wearing black) plus(and)TORY(informal name for a Conservative Party member, traditionally represented by the colour blue) ] containing(eats) EC(abbrev. for for “East Central”, the post-code area that includes all of the City of London).

3 Leaders of Roundheads only baited Englishmen in fancy dress (4)

ROBE : The 1st letters, respectively, of(Leaders of) “Roundheads only baited Englishmen“.

Defn: …, ie. “fancy” in the sense of “elaborate” or “ceremonial”.

5 Part of book often cut out in the theatre (8)

APPENDIX : Double defn: 1. … found at the end; and 1. … by operating surgeons.

6 Liquor consumed after a sound beating? (5-5)

PUNCH DRUNK : PUNCH(a drink of alcoholic liquor mixed with fruit juice, etc. and flavoured with spice and sugar, etc.) + DRUNK(consumed a liquid).

Defn: The state one might be in after a sound beating on the head.

7 She gets ring around finger at last (5)

PEARL : PEAL(the loud prolonged ringing of a bell) containing(around) the last letter of(… at last) “finger“.

Defn: A feminine name.

8, 17 There’s a constant wind throughout this flight (6,9)

SPIRAL STAIRCASE : Cryptic defn: … of stairs.

9 Spirits arise from them on Sunday (5)

METHS : Anagram of(arise from) THEM placed after(on) S(abbrev. for Sunday).

Defn: An informal name for methylated spirits.

14 Start of night is too late, perhaps, to get stuck in such traffic (4-2-4)

NOSE-TO-TAIL : The 1st letter of(Start of) “night” + anagram of(…, perhaps) IS TOO LATE.

17 See 8

18 Teaches French and is a playtime favourite with boys (5,3)

TRAIN SET : TRAINS(teaches;coaches) + ET(French for “and”).

19 Bus running during strike is a positive sign (6-2)

THUMBS-UP : Anagram of(… running) BUS contained in(during) THUMP(a strike;a heavy blow, with the hand).

22 Mistake made when raising schoolchildren (4-2)

SLIP-UP : Reversal of(raising, in a down clue) PUPILS(schoolchildren).

23 Grim sort of film we deleted (5)

STERN : “Western”(the sort of film;movie set in the American West) minus(… deleted) “we“.

25 Play area in a week becomes a shambles (5)

WRECK : REC(short for “recreation ground”;a play area) contained in(in) WK(abbrev. for “week”).

27 Nothing to drink in return for work (4)

OPUS : O(letter signifying 0;nothing) + reversal of(… in return) SUP(to drink).

Defn: A piece of literary or musical work.