A fairly straightforward solve for a Tuesday, though with a few less common words to keep us thinking.
Some very neat surfaces here: I can easily picture 19a and 2d, for example, perhaps in the same scene. (There are quite a few “players” in the clues, either on stage or in sports.) My favourite clue was probably the misdirection in 21a (nothing to do with tax dodging!), but I also liked the &lit in 6d. Thanks to Falcon.
Definitions are underlined; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| Across | ||
| 9 | LILY-WHITE | Girl chess player, faultless (4-5) |
| LILY (girl’s name) + WHITE (one of the two players in chess). | ||
| 10 | HARDY | Difficult years making one tough (5) |
| HARD (difficult) + Y (years). | ||
| 11 | REGATTA | Building a target for event held on water (7) |
| Anagram (building) of A TARGET. | ||
| 12 | TRAINEE | Apprentice in series, keen at heart (7) |
| TRAIN (series, as in a train of events) + the heart (middle letters) of [k]EE[n]. | ||
| 13 | TEA | Drink with group of players no end (3) |
| TEA[m] = group of players, without the end letter. | ||
| 14 | HABERDASHER | Shopkeeper’s beard has her worried (11) |
| Anagram (worried) of BEARD HAS HER. | ||
| 17 | ACTED | In Pontefract, Eddy appeared on stage (5) |
| Hidden answer in [pontefr]ACT ED[dy]. | ||
| 18 | USE | Employ trick right away (3) |
| [r]USE = trick, without the R. | ||
| 19 | PIQUE | Annoyance as card game curtailed (5) |
| PIQUET (card game) without the last letter (curtailed). | ||
| 21 | BATON CHARGE | Don’t declare amount to be paid for a crowd control measure? (5,6) |
| BAT ON (cricket: “declare” = stop batting and make the other team start) + CHARGE (amount to be paid). | ||
| 23 | ILL | Dicky in trouble (3) |
| Double definition, though arguably they come from the same root: ill (adjective) = unwell, as in a dicky heart, or ill (noun) = trouble or problem. | ||
| 25 | SURPLUS | Almost certain matter involves large balance (7) |
| SUR[e] (almost certain) + PUS (matter) containing L. Balance = surplus as in spare money. | ||
| 27 | TRIPLET | One of three allowed on outing (7) |
| LET (allowed) added to TRIP (outing). | ||
| 28 | OMEGA | Oxygen required by huge Greek character (5) |
| O (chemical symbol for oxygen) + MEGA (huge). Omega in Greek literally means “big O” – a long O sound as opposed to the shorter omicron (little O). | ||
| 29 | DEBUTANTE | Poet holding pipe recalled young lady coming out (9) |
| DANTE (Italian poet), holding TUBE (pipe) reversed. A young lady coming out into society as an adult. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CLARET | A red line inside proofreading mark (6) |
| L (line) inside CARET (the character ^ used in proofreading to indicate an omission). “A red” as in “a shade of red” or “a red wine”. | ||
| 2 | FLAGRANT | Senior relative in apartment, glaring (8) |
| GRAN (senior relative) in FLAT (apartment). Glaring as in “a flagrant breach of etiquette”. | ||
| 3 | SWITCHED ON | Illuminated with it (8,2) |
| Double definition: with it = switched on = aware. | ||
| 4 | DIVA | Operatic star keen to come over (4) |
| AVID (keen), reversed (over). Diva = a leading lady opera singer; it means goddess in Italian. | ||
| 5 | YESTERYEAR | Quite rare, yet growing wild in former times (10) |
| YES (quite, as an indication of agreement with what’s just been said) + anagram (growing wild) of RARE YET. | ||
| 6 | RHEA | Some overhead, but not this bird! (4) |
| Hidden answer in [ove]RHEA[d]. Clue-as-definition: a rhea is a flightless bird, so you wouldn’t find it overhead. | ||
| 7 | BRANCH | Bishop organised church’s regional office (6) |
| B (bishop, chess notation) + RAN (organised) + CH. | ||
| 8 | BY GEORGE | Exclamation from leader of pop band rejecting first love (2,6) |
| BOY GEORGE, lead singer of Culture Club, rejecting the first O (love = zero in tennis scoring). This was my LOI because I spent far too long trying to make it MY something, until the penny dropped. | ||
| 15 | BRUSH ASIDE | Disregard skirmish, notwithstanding (5,5) |
| BRUSH (skirmish, as in a brush with authority) + ASIDE (notwithstanding). | ||
| 16 | APPRECIATE | Welcome rise (10) |
| Double definition: to accept something gladly, or to increase in financial value. | ||
| 17 | ASBESTOS | A plea for help secures top fireproof material (8) |
| A SOS (plea for help) holding BEST (top). Sadly now better known as a very nasty health hazard than as a useful fireproof material. | ||
| 20 | QUISLING | Question one, then hang traitor (8) |
| QU[estion] I (one) + SLING (hang). A traitor, named after the Norwegian Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling. | ||
| 22 | TARGET | Sailor needing to achieve objective (6) |
| TAR (sailor) + GET (achieve). | ||
| 24 | LETTER | Character wanting to hire over short period (6) |
| LET (hire) above TER[m] (period, shortened). A bit of a shame that LET also appears in the crossing 27a, but it has a different meaning there. | ||
| 26 | LEAD | Most important element (4) |
| Double definition: most important as in lead singer, or the heavy grey metal. | ||
| 27 | TOBY | Belch, perhaps, in play touring Belgium (4) |
| TOY (play, verb, as in toy with one’s food) around (touring) B (Belgium). Sir Toby Belch from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. | ||
I enjoyed this and found it harder than the usual Falcon puzzle. It took a while to work out YESTERYEAR and, yes, I was fooled by 21a, thinking first of tax minimisation.
Maybe not too difficult but RHEA was my favourite and linked in nicely to the clue referring to Darwin in today’s Brummie.
Thanks to Falcon and Quirister
Thanks to Falcon and Quirister. Enjoyable. I did not parse BY GEORGE and needed all the crossers to get YESTERYEAR.
ls the senior relative in apartment glaring at minis? He he he. This is a Mondayish puzzle by Falcon.
Thanks Falcon and Quirister
Entertaining crossword that was finished in good time … but contained an error at 8d – I didn’t get passed the MY thinking and went with an unparsed MY DEARIE. A shame because the clue is probably the best in the puzzle ! Also liked BATON CHARGE.
Finished in the NW corner with the clever SWITCHED ON and LILY-WHITE.