A nice traditional puzzle. Thank you Neo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BREAK NEW GROUND | Harrow for the first time to be innovative (5,3,6) |
| double definition | ||
| 10 | TENOR | All fingers and thumbs – or finding settled course (5) |
| TEN (all fingers and thumbs, ten of) then OR | ||
| 11 | NIGHTMARE | With REM, a thing to disturb? (9) |
| anagram (with…to disturb) REM A THING – definition is &lit | ||
| 12 | CHIMERA | Monster to agree with hawk- headed god (7) |
| CHIME (to agree with) then RA (hawk-headed god) | ||
| 13 | SELLERS | Retailers, clairvoyants accepting Liberal line (7) |
| SEERS (clairvoyants) containing (accepting) L (Liberal) L (line) | ||
| 14 | OPIUM | One with hesitation joins operation to find narcotic (5) |
| I (one) with UM (a hesitation) follows (joins) OP (operation) | ||
| 16 | EXPLAINED | Described grassland appearing in river delta (9) |
| PLAIN (grassland) inside EXE (river) and D (delta) | ||
| 19 | PANATELLA | Headless insect found in dish that’s smoked (9) |
| gNAT (insect, headless) inside PAELLA (dish) – a cigar | ||
| 20 | EGRET | Bird plunged into water gets back (5) |
| found inside (plunged into) waTER GEts reversed (back) | ||
| 22 | ORATORY | Chapel area in gold and blue (7) |
| A (area) inside OR (gold) and TORY (blue, colour of political party) | ||
| 25 | MIGRANT | Wandering Russian fighter encounters storm (7) |
| MIG (Russian fighter plane) with RANT (storm) | ||
| 27 | ASTRONAUT | Space traveller’s American out to Saturn (9) |
| A (American) then anagram (out) of TO SATURN | ||
| 28 | CHILE | Companion brought to French island nation (5) |
| CH (Companion of Honour) with ILE (island in French) | ||
| 29 | CURRENT ACCOUNT | Ready source for story in the news (7,7) |
| definition/cryptic definition – source of ready cash | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | RENDITION | Start to read publication holding new version (9) |
| Read (first letter, start to) then EDITION (publication) containing N (new) | ||
| 3 | AGREE | Fit silver on table at last (5) |
| AG (silver) RE (regarding, on) then tablE (last letter of) | ||
| 4 | NONPAREIL | Wrought iron panel that’s unmatched (9) |
| anagram (wrought) of IRON PANEL | ||
| 5 | WAGES | Comedian, extremely envious, demands payment (5) |
| WAG (comedian) then EnviouS (extreme letters of) | ||
| 6 | RETALIATE | Online merchant recalled accepting thanks in reply (9) |
| E-TAILER (online merchant) reversed (recalled) contains (accepting) TA (thanks) | ||
| 7 | USAGE | Man having time to find employment (5) |
| US (man, we humans) with AGE (time) | ||
| 8 | DRESSED | Doctor sees wounded duke bandaged (7) |
| anagram (wounded) of DR (doctor) SEES then D (duke) | ||
| 9 | STUCCO | Economies elevated firm producing fine plaster (6) |
| CUST (economies) reversed (elevated, going upwards) then CO (company, firm) | ||
| 15 | METRONOME | Counter in music shop? (9) |
| cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | PRAGMATIC | Sensible MP with a tragic undoing (9) |
| anagram (undoing) of MP with A TRAGIC | ||
| 18 | NARRATION | Managed to get raise with share account (9) |
| RAN (managed) reversed (to get raise) with RATION (share) | ||
| 19 | PROSAIC | Expert thus securing a flat (7) |
| PRO (expert) then SIC (thus) contains (securing) A | ||
| 21 | TITTER | Non-drinker involved in row causing giggle (6) |
| TT (non-drinker) inside (involved in) TIER (row) | ||
| 23 | ALTAR | Union Station? (5) |
| cryptic definition – a place (station) for a wedding (union) | ||
| 24 | YEAST | Froth on beer indeed soft at the edges (5) |
| YEA (indeed) then SofT (at the edges, outer letters of) | ||
| 26 | GECKO | Go round city and finally ask for wall sticker? (5) |
| GO contains (round) EC (City of London, from postal code) and asK (final letter of) – a lizard that can climb smooth walls | ||
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.
Enjoyed this! I think the headless insect in 19 across is gnat. That gives nat in paella.
JamJar – so it is, fixed now. Thanks.
Thanks to Neo and PeeDee. This puzzle was probably too easy for expert solvers because I managed to parse everything, but I enjoyed it. The only delay came from the US = man in USAGE.
Thanks Neo — as a long time solver of US cryptics but a relative novice at British ones I look forward to your crosswords — the perfect challenge for me. Very clever parsing for PROSAIC.
Thanks Neo and PeeDee
Another tight offering from this setter which I could only get to in short spells during the day I solved it. No real holdups along the way with clues falling steadily when I actually could get to the puzzle. Began with 1a but wrote in BREAK THE GROUND for a start and had to wait on NONPAREIL to fix it up.
Liked the &lit at 11a and thought that the nifty ALTAR was good as well. Finished with that one followed by YEAST and TENOR (with the clever definition for TEN) as the last few in.