The Tuesday slot this week has been filled by Radian, whose work tends to be published on Tuesdays, in my experience.
I found this to be an enjoyable solve, perfectly pitched in terms of difficulty for a mid-week puzzle.
I would appreciate it if other solvers could confirm (or otherwise) my parsing of 6, since A1 is rarely written out in full, either in crosswords or in the wider world. I also wondered if there was some kind of theme around Elizabeth I going on here, given the entries at 14 and 29.
My favourite clues today were 3, for surface and brevity; 17, for the well-hidden definition; and above all 10 and 28, for their & lit. elements. It took me a while to twig what was going on at 12, but I think that I got there in the end.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | FAITHFUL | Constant fault if stove keeps hot
H (=hot, on a tap) in *(FAULT IF); “stove (in)” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | RANDOM | Casual travellers with lodging
AND (=with) in ROM (=travellers, gypsies) |
| 09 | MISTAKEN | Note pale number that’s wrong
MI (=note, in music) + STAKE (=pale, of fence) + N (=number) |
| 10 | NAUSEA | Outcome of a sharp turn in Northern ocean?
[A + U (=sharp turn)] in [N (=northern) + SEA (=ocean)]; & lit. |
| 12 | UNEATABLE | As Oscar’s quarry, supreme, not second-class
UN<b>EATABLE (=supreme); “not second-class (=B)” means letter “b” is dropped; the reference is to Oscar Wilde’s description of fox-hunting (“quarry”) as “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable” |
| 13 | DOUBT | Distrust Dorothy hugging hubby only occasionally
<h>U<b>B<y> (“occasionally” means alternate letters only) in DOT (=Dorothy, colloquially) |
| 14 | MORE | Additional // victim of Elizabeth’s father
Double definition; the reference is to Thomas More (1478-1535), who was put to death by King Henry VIII, the father of Elizabeth I |
| 16 | KINGDOM | Taxonomic group making do, mainly preserved
Hidden (“preserved”) in “maKING DO Mainly” |
| 19 | PRETEND | Affect priest related to nurse
P (=priest) + RE- (=related to) + TEND |
| 21 | BODY | Organisation‘s overdraft appears in Times
OD (=overdraft) in BY (=times, as in 6 x 4) |
| 24 | ELEMI | Resin from tree around eastern India
[E (=eastern) in ELM (=tree)] in I (=India); elemi is a fragrant resinous substance from various tropical trees |
| 25 | REAR WHEEL | Bring up list limiting women’s part of cycle
W (=women) in [REAR (=bring up, raise) + HEEL (=list, lean, of ship)] |
| 27 | LOVING | Fond diary describing Bordeaux, say
VIN (=Bordeaux, say, i.e. French wine) in LOG (=diary) |
| 28 | TUMMY BUG | It upsets my bum and gut
*(MY BUM + GUT); “it upsets” is anagram indicator |
| 29 | DUDLEY | Queen’s favourite // town in West Midlands
Double definition; the reference is to Robert Dudley, the 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-88), favourite of Queen Elizabeth I |
| 30 | FAINTEST | Least obvious lover accepting one check
[I (=one) in FAN (=lover, enthusiast)] + TEST (=check) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | FAMOUS | Prominent female loves avoiding Republican
F (=female) + AMOU<r>S (=loves; “avoiding Republican (=r)” means letter “r” is dropped) |
| 02 | INSTEP | Tension in spine distorted part of foot
T (=tension, in physics) in *(SPINE); “distorted” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | HEART | It beats // a red card
Double definition: the heart as an organ that beats AND a heart is a red suit in a pack of cards |
| 04 | USEABLE | Working uniform, black clothing, European
U (=uniform, in radio telecommunications) + [E (=European) + SABLE (=black)] |
| 06 | ABANDONED | Musicians in first-class department gave up
BAND (=musicians) in [A ONE (=first-class, i.e. A1) + D (=department)] |
| 07 | DISSUADE | Stop notice appearing in Democrat publication
AD (=notice, advert) in [D (=democrat) + ISSUE (=publication)] |
| 08 | MEANTIME | Opposed to appearing in web image, for now
ANTI (=opposed to) in MEME (=web image, i.e. an image spread by internet users) |
| 11 | WEAK | Frail first of azaleas in gardens pulled up
A<zaleas> (“first of” means first letter only) in KEW (=gardens, in London); “pulled up” indicates vertical reversal |
| 15 | OBEDIENCE | Medal enclosed in cube for submission
OBE (=medal, i.e. Order of the British Empire) + [ENC. (=enclosed) in DIE (=cube)] |
| 17 | APPEALED | Drew took off, nicking ring
PEAL (=ring, of bell) in APED (=took off, mimicked) |
| 18 | DESERVED | Just duke and earl waited
D (=duke) + E (=earl) + SERVED (=waited, on tables) |
| 20 | DARE | Challenge bunch of desperadoes heading north
Hidden (“bunch of”) and vertically reversed (“heading north”) in “despERADoes” |
| 21 | BRAVURA | British artists impress very snooty virtuoso
[V (=very) + U (=snooty, upper-class)] in [B (=British) + RA RA (2 x RA=Royal Academician)]; cf. a virtuoso/bravura performance |
| 22 | FEEBLE | Unconvincing complaint about Nancy’s article
FEEB (BEEF=complaint, grumble) + LE (=Nancy’s article, i.e. a French word for the definite article the) |
| 23 | PLIGHT | Soft, easily digestible pickle
P (=soft, i.e. piano in music) + LIGHT (=easily digestible, i.e. a light meal); to be in a pickle/plight |
| 26 | WOMAN | She was victorious over core of armada
<ar>MA<da> (“core of” means central letters only) in WOM (=was victorious) |
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