Another plain Azed this week, all good as usual. Thank you Azed.
| Across | ||
| 1 | OTHERWORLDISH | Holst worried nervously before opening of his – such as Planets? (13) |
| anagram (nervously) of HOLST WORRIED then His (opening letter of) | ||
| 11 | GRANA | Stacks of discs, good, with Prince on (5) |
| G (good) and RANA (prince) | ||
| 12 | SERAI | Wherein you’ll see houris are dancing, with time off? (5) |
| anagram (dancing) of hourIS ARE missing hour (time) | ||
| 14 | STEPBAIRN | Nae one’s ain gyte? Lead on one’s held by t’ reins, cruelly (9) |
| PB (lead) on A inside anagram (cruelly) of T’REINS | ||
| 15 | LOTUS | Place for used cars, American? One wouldn’t be seen there (5) |
| LOT (place for used cars) and US (American) – perhaps a Lotus, being a European car, might not be seen in an American lot | ||
| 16 | CREW | Prop, second sent off – team was cock-a-hoop (4) |
| sCREW (prop, propeller) missing S (second) – two definitions | ||
| 18 | CHERCHEF’T | Wearing old headcloth, one’s tense beside costly French cook (9) |
| T (tense) following (beside) CHER (costly, French) CHEF (cook) – wearning a headcloth, old=archaic | ||
| 21 | SEPOY | Foreign soldier heading off short-sighted ones retreating (5) |
| mYOPES (short-sighted ones) missing heading and reversed (retreating) | ||
| 22 | CHARA | Sort of salmon active in freshwater algae (5) |
| CHAR (sort of salmon) then A (active) | ||
| 24 | TRICERION | Church candle in middle of holiday rector lit (9) |
| anagram (lit, drunk) of IN with holIday (middle letter of) and RECTOR | ||
| 27 | BATS | Start of bidding resting with south? More than one club’s crazy (4) |
| Bidding (start of) AT (resting with) and S (south) – two definitions | ||
| 29 | SPRIT | Something to extend sail, right in light rainfall (5) |
| R (right) in SPIT (light rainfall) | ||
| 31 | CLATHRATE | Box lined with wooden strip, lattice-like (9) |
| CRATE (box) containing (lined with) LATH (wooden strip) | ||
| 32 | KATTI | Food that’s dry inside, about 500g in China (5) |
| KAI (food) containing (that has…inside) TT (teetotal, dry) | ||
| 33 | WANEY | Not old, captivated by fashion on the decline (5) |
| NE (not old=archaic) inside (captivated by) WAY (fashion) | ||
| 34 | GREAT NORTHERN | Train company, ailing, got there and ran with reduced service? (13, 2 words) |
| anagram (ailing) of GOT THERE and RAN then RN (service, Royal Navy, reduced=abbreviation) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TROOPER | Foul-mouthed one maybe bringing up rumour with nothing in it (7) |
| REPORT (rumour) containing O (nothing) | ||
| 3 | HART | One panting for the psalmodist in the spirit of Spenser? (4) |
| As the hart panteth after the water from psalm 42 – Spenserean spelling of heart | ||
| 4 | ENDURO | Long-distance race that requires energy staggering round (6) |
| E (energy) then anagram (staggering) of ROUND | ||
| 5 | WOTCHER | Pull up, dear –’ow yer doin’? (7) |
| TOW (pull) reversed (up) then CHER (dear) | ||
| 6 | OPERE CITATO | In aforesaid work father ransacked attic, opening love letters? (11, 2 words) |
| PERE (father) with anagram (ransacked) of ATTIC inside O O (love letters, letters reprenting zero, a tennis score) | ||
| 7 | ROPE | Linked climbing party, thorough, outer pair removed (4) |
| pROPEr (thorough) missing outer letters | ||
| 8 | DEATH | A hound’s tail wagging with the hunt’s climax (5) |
| anagram (wagging) of A hounD (tail of) with THE | ||
| 9 | IRIDEAL | I’m up on almost everything relating to flower family (7) |
| I RIDE (I’m up) on ALL (everything, almost all the letters of) | ||
| 10 | SARK | Cutting short a shirt in the Scottish style (4) |
| SARKy (cutting, short) | ||
| 11 | GOLDSTICK | Colonel in cavalry regiment, familiar in G & S whimsy (9) |
| OLD (familiar) inside GS (G & S) then tick (whimsy) | ||
| 13 | INSTANTLY | During visit takes in odd features of Natal at once (9) |
| IN (during) STAY (visit) contains (takes in) nAtAl (every other letter, odd features of) | ||
| 17 | EPILATE | Shave bit off fitness regime after start of exercises? (7) |
| PILATEs (fitness regime) missing last letter (with a bit off) following Exercises (starting letter of) | ||
| 19 | ROOSTER | His is wake-up call, old, in duty list? (7) |
| O (old) in ROSTER (duty list) | ||
| 20 | FRUITER | One of many in orchard: true fir? Wrong (7) |
| anagram (wrong) of TRYE FIR | ||
| 23 | HUPPAH | Pages replacing bishop in cheer for wedding ceremony (6) |
| HUrrAH (cheer) with PP (pages) replacing RR (Right Reverend, bishop) | ||
| 25 | COTTA | Short vestment, excessive one with cape on top (5) |
| OTT (excessive) A (one) following (with…on top) C (cape) | ||
| 26 | ALAR | Chemical once used by e.g. 20 scare curtailed (4) |
| ALARm (scare, cutailed) – a pesticide once used on apple trees | ||
| 28 | ARAN | Like distinctive woollies, knitted angora – bargain struck (4) |
| anagram (knitted) of ANgoRA missing (struck) GO (bargain) – like an Aran wooly jumper | ||
| 30 | RUNE | Work on English for Finnish song (4) |
| RUN (work) on E (English) | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
I struggled a little with this one, though did manage to parse almost all the clues, which isn’t always the case. Perhaps I just took a little more care than usual…