An enjoyable Sunday solve from the Shakespearean one. One or two remote synonyms, I thought, but generally clearly clued. Just a couple where I’m unsure of the exact parsing.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Easy to accomplish data collection without Bill
FACILE
FILE outside AC for account or ‘bill’. The insertion indicator is ‘without’, as opposed to ‘within’, in its (mainly Scottish, I fancy) meaning of ‘outside’. ‘Scotland will be better off without the EU.’
4 Pages Hamlet distributed providing a source of information
PAMPHLET
(PP HAMLET)* with ‘distributed’ as the anagrind.
10 Set close to smaller diamonds for example
MINOR SUIT
I think this is MINOR for ‘smaller’ and SUIT for ‘set’ as in ‘set of clothes’. Whatevs, ‘diamonds’ is one of the two MINOR SUITS in bridge. I’m not a bridge player, but don’t clubs and diamonds ever get an inferiority complex? I think they should be offered psychotherapy. Even the two of clubs wins a trick sometimes.
11 Haggard‘s German relative
GAUNT
A charade of G and AUNT.
12 Fools caught out in great numbers
LOTS
[C]LOTS
13 Having lost some support over tenor being shabby in appearance
DOWN AT HEEL
This would appear to be a charade of DOWN and T inserted into A HEEL. The last element for ‘some support’ is fine, but DOWN for ‘lost’ or ‘having lost’?
15 Doctor involved in first class hospital department, creating a relaxing atmosphere
AMBIENT
An insertion of MB for ‘doctor’ in AI for ‘first class’, followed by ENT for the setters’ fave ‘hospital department’, Ear, Nose and Throat.
16 Bad-tempered sailor on board again
MOROSE
An insertion of OS for ‘ordinary seaman’ in MORE.
19 The central part of town mostly inhabited by sailors
KERNEL
Sailors are taking over. Here they are RN for Royal Navy inserted into KEEL[E], a town best known for its university and motorway service station (sorry, Keele residents, I am sure there are other attractive features I am not aware of).
21 Prince moved to rapture after conclusion of ice show
PRESENT
A charade of PR for ‘prince’, E for the last letter of ‘ice’ and SENT for ‘moved to rapture’. The surface gives you instructions for the order of the elements.
23 Support point of view taken on animal insurance at the outset
ASSISTANCE
A charade of ASS, I for ‘insurance’ (as in NI, I guess) and STANCE.
25 Language coming from Scorsese oddly ignored
CREE
The even letters of ‘Scorsese’ give you the Native American language.
27 Porcelain from Switzerland popular with Austria’s leader
CHINA
A charade of CH for the abbreviation for ‘Switzerland’, IN and A.
28 Starting point in Queens Road not entirely unfamiliar
SQUARE ONE
(QUEENS ROA[D])* Usually heard in the phrase ‘back to square one’, allegedly from early football radio commentary.
29 Young horse in yard needing attention shown by Heather
YEARLING
A charade of Y, EAR and LING for the botanical ‘heather’.
30 An influence on the Spanish composer
HANDEL
A charade of HAND and EL for one of the words for ‘the’ in Spanish.
Down
1 Well-known storyteller supporting female friend in Paris
FAMILIAR
Since it’s a down clue, it’s LIAR for ‘storyteller’ underneath (‘supporting’) F and AMI.
2 Firmly established after study of artist
CONSTABLE
A charade of CON and STABLE.
3 Animal product causing some vascular disease
LARD
Hidden in vascuLAR Disease and a cad: clue as definition, or what used in olden times to be called &lit. In breaking news, the term ‘&littish’ is also to be put out to grass, to be replaced by ‘caddish’.
5 For Joy it’s misery not coming back to split even the smallest amount with Miles
ANTONYM
An insertion of NOT reversed in ANY, followed by M for ‘Miles’.
6 Opportunity after a long time to break through with a thriller perhaps
PAGE TURNER
An insertion of AGE and TURN in PER for ‘through’. As in the Latin, I suppose: Per Ardua ad Astra and all that.
7 Latin name of river insect
LOUSE
A charade of L and OUSE for one of many British rivers.
8 Clement Attlee’s content to gossip
TATTLE
Hidden in ClemenT ATTLEe.
9 Primitive canoe discovered after search
DUGOUT
I think that this is a dd: ‘the information was discovered/dug out after a long search’.
14 It’s served with a piece of toast at county town dance
TENNIS BALL
A charade of T for the first letter of ‘toast’, ENNIS for the county town of Clare, Eire, and BALL.
17 Something foul made palatable with sugar?
SWEARWORD
I am probably missing something, but I’ll have a stab at explaining this. I think it is referring to the fact that some folk, in an effort to be polite, will say ‘Sugar!’ instead of ‘Shit!’. Shit is certainly foul, and indeed they are synonyms: ‘he shat himself/he fouled himself.’
18 Spiritual healer embarrassed by Keats regularly
ETHEREAL
‘Keats regularly’ gives you kEaTs; then you need (HEALER)* with ’embarrassed’ as the anagrind.
20 Contact between groups with back trouble is working
LIAISON
A reversal of AIL followed by IS and ON.
21 Stop over with group of Cubs
PACK UP
A ‘group of Cubs’ (of both the animal and ankle-biter variety) would be a PACK; then it’s the UP for ‘over’. ‘The game is up/over.’
22 Stomach turned by lines from ‘Remember the Alamo’ for instance
WAR CRY
CRAW most often means ‘throat’, as in ‘it stuck in my craw’; but dictionaries also give a definition of ‘stomach’. So it’s CRAW reversed followed by RY for railway or ‘lines’. If you want more detail on the Alamo reference, it’s here.
24 His changes to the Bible upset God
SHIVA
A charade of (HIS)* and AV for Authorised Version or ‘Bible’ reversed.
26 Australian paramilitary movement sent up in song
ARIA
A reversal (‘sent up’) of A and IRA.
Many thanks to Poins for this Sunday’s Indy entertainment. He obviously doesn’t like full anagrams.
Not exactly the 1a def, but not too much hair pulling required either. I had no idea about the parsing for SWEARWORD – your explanation sounds plausible – and the ‘town(s)’ weren’t a write in for non-UK solvers. Enjoyed the &lit (or whatever we’re meant to call such clues these days – you never know, ‘caddish’ may catch on) LARD and the ‘It’s served’ def. for TENNIS BALL.
Didn’t know the ‘relaxing’ bit of AMBIENT so a valuable educational experience as well.
Off to the Grand Prix for a presumably less educational experience.
Thanks to Poins and Pierre
Didn’t have any issue with 13a. If you read ‘down a heel’ as ‘having lost some support’, it works. Didn’t enjoy this as much as I usually do with Poins, but I put that down to losing an hour’s sleep with the shift to BST. Having read your blog, most of my misgivings where due to not reading the clues properly.
I wondered about ‘any’ in 5d for ‘even the smallest amount’ but, after checking in my Collins, realised this is fine as in ‘she couldn’t stand any noise’.
Thanks to Poins and Pierre.
Mostly straightforward, but slowed down a bit on the right hand side. I parsed DOWN AT HEEL as Hovis did. I didn’t know the two towns referred to, but managed to work the clues out anyway.
I liked the definition of ANTONYM and the clever clue for LARD (however it’s classified).
Most enjoyable, many thanks to Poins & Pierre. I particularly admired the clue for SQUARE ONE
Keele passed me by as I looked at_E_N_L and saw the one sailor abbreviation I’d not considered. I’ve actually been to Ennis, and took the Ennis ferry popping in to a small cafe at the terminal and finding a telephone with a wind up handle to call the operator! The hotel I was staying in in Limerick had STD(not the one you need penicillin for!) from the bedside. It was almost 40 years ago mind. The SW held me up longest, with SWEARWORD last one in from the checkers and a vague suspicion of our bloggers’s interpretation. Liked TENNIS BALL and SQUARE ONE. Thanks Poins and Pierre.
A pleasant Sunday solve, a few easy cles to get started, but also some headscratching required. Didn’t think of ‘hand’ as a synonym for ‘influence’ so our LOI was HANDEL after we suddenly realised what 17dn was and felt like saying ‘O Sugar!’
So SWEARWORD was our CoD, with SQUARE ONE and TENNIS BALL as strong contenders.
Thanks, Poins and Pierre.
We tend to agree with Pierre about the rather remote synonyms. Bert took longer to get into the puzzle than Joyce who then ground to a halt towards the end.
Clue as definition is fine by us but not sure about ‘caddish’ – anything BUT &lit though!
Thanks to the two Ps.