Independent on Sunday 1445/Poins

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Poins has a particular style of setting, which I am finally getting used to. I still find that I need to ponder his clues longer than other IoS setters, but that’s no bad thing. There were a couple of references here that led me to learn more about a subject, which is also no bad thing.

As for style, I find Poins generally eschews full anagrams (there’s only one today, and that’s a rather obscure word); he likes insertions (11 out of 29 clues contain this device); and some of the synonyms he chooses, particularly for prepositions, can be remote. But there’s nothing unfair here.

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing

definitions are underlined

Across

1 Song added to after Pellinore’s first exploit
PLAY ON
A charade of P for the first letter of ‘Pellinore’, LAY and ON. LAY is an archaic, mainly literary, word for ‘song’. ON for ‘added to’ just about works, I think: ‘Marmite on toast’ is ‘Marmite added to toast’. Pellinore is a king in Arthurian legend, not that you needed to know that.

4 Coolness shown by American doctor over practical joke? Not quite
APLOMB
This is PLO[T] in A MB, unless someone else can think of a four-letter word for ‘practical joke’ that isn’t PLOT, because in my opinion they are not really synonymous.

8 Stipulate extremely fiery ground spice at the outset
SPECIFY
A charade of (SPICE)* and FY for the outside letters of ‘fiery’.

9 A couple of statues in Parisian museum that should not be missed
MUST-SEE
Poins is asking you to insert ‘a couple’ of letters of STatues in MUSEE. Usually an -ée ending in French is a sure-fire sign of a feminine word, like l’entrée, la soirée, or the scourge of French schoolchildren, la dictée; but le musée and le lycée are annoying exceptions.

11 Cape seen on female servant in French town
MAIDENHEAD
More French. A charade of MAID, EN for one of the words for ‘in’ in French, and HEAD for the geographical ‘cape’.

12 Kahn animated by a symbol of life
ANKH
(KAHN)* The only complete anagram in the puzzle. Not a common word, but with four letters and two crossers, it couldn’t really be anything else, so we mustn’t grumble.

13 One animal or another covering over the front of it
COATI
An insertion of O for the cricket ‘over’ in CAT and I for the first letter of ‘it’.

14 Concerned with something done when working
IN ACTION
A charade of IN and ACTION. ‘She’s concerned with/she’s in marketing.’

16 Arrive at a particular state without hindrance after power becomes absolute
COMPLETE
An insertion of P and LET for ‘hindrance’ in COME.

18 Severely criticise taking in a German fellow professing polytheism
PAGAN
An insertion of A and G in PAN.

20 Deterioration from use in river
WEAR
A dd, referencing the river in the North-East of England on which Durham and Sunderland are found.

21 Subsequently discovering where patients may be found tucking into dessert
AFTERWARDS
An insertion of WARD in AFTERS, which is the term used by posh people for what the middle-classes call ‘dessert’. The lower orders call it pudding. Or is AFTERS northern? Or you could have SWEET.  I’ve lost the plot with this one, I’m afraid.

23 One without much experience meeting people of fashion from the east
HAVE-NOT
A charade of HAVE and TON reversed. I’d always thought TON was just ‘fashion’, but it can also mean ‘fashionable people’, I discovered. If ever you feel the need to use it, you’ll need to pronounce it in the French way, with a nasal sound and no ‘n’; it’s not pronounced the same way as ‘a ton of friends’.

24 Similar article penned by doctor with great enthusiasm
LIKE MAD
A charade of LIKE and A in MD for ‘doctor’.

25 Fellow needing no introduction gets wine in bulk
EXTENT
I wouldn’t choose EXTENT as my first synonym of ‘bulk’, but it works, I think. I’m guessing that the first bit is [R]EX, and that’s followed by TENT for ‘wine’. If I have got this right, then not my favourite Poins clue.

26 Nervous with anticipation for study into selfconfidence in retirement
ON EDGE
An insertion of DEN in EGO, all reversed.

Down

1 Nonsense to have gold brought back from somewhere in Indonesia
PAPUA
A charade of PAP and AU for the chemical symbol for ‘gold’ reversed.

2 Scoundrel taken in by song of a pastoral paradise
ARCADIA
An insertion of CAD in ARIA.

3 Disgusting attack
OFFENSIVE
A dd.

5 Beat poet
POUND
Another dd. Ezra POUND is the (American) poet.

6 Rejected as unfashionable by an exclusive social class say
OUTCAST
A charade of OUT for ‘unfashionable’ and CAST which is a homophone of CASTE or ‘social class’.

7 On the spot after a discontinuity in analysis of data
BREAKDOWN
A charade of BREAK and DOWN. I’m struggling a bit to equate DOWN with ‘on the spot’.

10 Sketch showing Dean and Lee with it in ruins
DELINEATE
(DEAN LEE IT)*

13 Be willing to assist British politician occupied by work and class
COOPERATE
An insertion of OP in Lord Sebastian COE followed by RATE.

15 Disparaging remark about false praise overwhelming son earlier
ASPERSION
ON for ‘added to’ earlier; ON for ‘about’ here. ‘Her thesis was on/about political economics.’ S in (PRAISE)* precedes that.

17 Right to interrupt short-story writer over books of momentous significance
PORTENT
An insertion of RT in POE followed by NT for New Testament or ‘books’. ‘Over’ works because it’s a down clue, and Edgar Allen POE is the ‘short-story writer’, best known perhaps for his short story The Pit and the Pendulum.

19 Ambitious target ultimately abandoned by boss
GO-AHEAD
A charade of GOA[L] and HEAD.

21 Notice piece of redwood boarding on deck
ADORN
The setter is making ON work for its living in this crossword. Here he is asking you to insert R for the first letter of ‘redwood’ in that and precede the whole thing with AD for ‘notice’.

22 Famous explorer died a libertine
DRAKE
A charade of D and RAKE gives you the Elizabethan explorer. Or privateer. Take your pick.

Many thanks to Poins for this morning’s IoS puzzle.