Easier than usual I thought, but no less enjoyable. Thank you Azed.
| Across | ||
| 4 | SCAFF-RAFF | Special snack bar service following rubbish (9) |
| S (special) CAFF (snack bar) RAF (service) F (following) | ||
| 11 | DRACO | Sort of lizard Jack maybe flipped over (5) |
| CARD (a Jack maybe) reversed (flipped) then O (over) | ||
| 12 | ARAMIS | Member of famous trio, artist appearing in cloak (6) |
| RA (artist) inside AMIS (cloak, same as amice) – the Three Musketeers | ||
| 13 | DELISH | Yummy wing in what’s served for dinner? (6) |
| EL (wing) inside DISH (what’s served for dinner) | ||
| 15 | ATONY | An old fool, displaying lack of energy (5) |
| AN TONY (fool, old = obsolete) | ||
| 16 | YAPSTER | What may be trained as pet within year? (7) |
| anagram (trained) of AS PET inside YR (year) – definition is &lit | ||
| 18 | UTIS | Awful noise once from musician, less flat at edges (4) |
| flAUTISt (musician) missing FLAT at the edges | ||
| 19 | ALLELE | Form of gene detectable in small elephants (6) |
| found inside smALL ELEphants | ||
| 20 | CHEMISETTE | Bodice showing frilly ties etc round border (10) |
| anagram (frilly) of TIES ETC contains (round) HEM (border) | ||
| 22 | PYROMANIAC | Crazy (if not OTT), like Nero – first clue, maybe, … (10) |
| PottY (crazy) missing OTT then ROMAN (like Nero) and IAC (1ac, first clue maybe). I’m not sure what to underline as the definition – “like Nero” maybe? | ||
| 26 | TRIGON | … Playing this (dress in fashion)? (6) |
| RIG (dress) in TON (fashion) – a lyre, as played by Nero maybe | ||
| 28 | ALGA | What’s à la plage, seen drifting, bits regularly detached? (4) |
| anagram (seen drifting) of every other letter (bits regularly detached) of A lA pLaGe – again I’m not sure how much of this clue is definition | ||
| 31 | COPIOUS | Refusenik with devout following in plentiful numbers (7) |
| CO (conscientious objector, refusenik) followed by PIOUS (devout) | ||
| 32 | ABLOW | One to show reverence about lecturer, spouting? (5) |
| A (one) BOW (to show reverence) contains (about) L (lecturer) | ||
| 33 | WORRIT | Summons involving squaddies, cause for concern locally (6) |
| WRIT (summons) including OR (other ranks, squaddies) | ||
| 34 | DIESEL | Loco maybe stops working on raised tracks (6) |
| DIES (stops working) on EL (elevated railway, raised tracks) | ||
| 35 | SEISE | Lawyer’s put in possession of part of case I settle (5) |
| found inside caSE I SEttle | ||
| 36 | INTERPRET | Translate bit of poetry engraved inside fashionable ring (9) |
| Poetry (first letter, a bit of) inside IN (fashionable) TERRET (ring) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | IDDY-UMPTY | What tidy clues about dead former yuppie for Morse! (9) |
| IDTY (what TIDY clues, anagram) contains (about) D (dead) YUMP (former yuppie) | ||
| 2 | BREATH | Slight suspicion on entering liquid measure (6) |
| RE (regarding, upon) inside BATH (liquid measure, Hebrew) | ||
| 3 | PALPI | They enable crustacean to sense mate on half of upturned ship (5) |
| PAL (mate) on shIP (half of) reversed (upturned) | ||
| 5 | COSTAE | Company supported by food climbing ridges (6) |
| CO (company) on top of (supported by) EATS (food) reversed (climbing) | ||
| 6 | ATHERMANCY | Resistance to heat making the canary flutter round head of mine (10) |
| anagram (flutter) of THE CANARY containing (round) Mine (first letter, head of) | ||
| 7 | FRAG | Zap, using loud artillery grenades initially (4) |
| F (loud) RA (Royal Artillery) then Grenades (first letter, initially) – to kill (using grenades) | ||
| 8 | RAT-FLEA | Worried re fatal cause of verminous infestation (7) |
| anagram (worried) of RE FATAL | ||
| 9 | AMORET | Once dejected, penning English love poem (6) |
| AMORT Dejected, once) contains (penning) E (English) | ||
| 10 | FINAL | Last and first of file in a line (5) |
| File (first letter of) IN A L (line) | ||
| *14 | BRAINPOWER | Intellectual ability (10) |
| competition clue | ||
| 17 | BEE-MASTER | Meat’s cooked in ale – maybe I’ll produce honey (9) |
| anagram (cooked) of MEAT inside BEER (ale) | ||
| 21 | HOGNOSE | Work in garden interrupted by fuss over harmless snake (7) |
| HOE (work in garden) containing (interrupted by) SONG (fuss) reversed (over) | ||
| 23 | RIBLET | E.g. chicken cut up, obstruction being small bone (6) |
| 24 | IMPOSE | Poem’s modified after one command (in Shakespeare) (6) |
| anagram (modified) of POEM’S following I (one) | ||
| 25 | AGUISE | Former fashion is limited by fit (6) |
| IS inside (limited by) AGUE (fit) | ||
| 27 | RUBIN | Old stone to polish on the spot (5) |
| RUB (to polish) IN (on the spot) | ||
| 29 | LORIC | Tailor I consult has this for lining leather cuirass (5) |
| found inside (…has this for lining) taiLOR I Consult | ||
| 30 | EWER | Axeman denied aspiration in jug (4) |
| hEWER (axeman) missing H (not aspirated) | ||
Thanks.
I think 23 Dn is BIR(D), “e.g. chicken”, and cut = docked, and BIR going up is RIB.
I agree it doesn’t seem a difficult puzzle but it took me a very long time.
Stefan
Thank you Stefan, that is much better.
Um, PeeDee, you have a couple of unlined definitions early on. Thanks for explaining the usual brain and dictionary stretcher. As always I enjoyed this immensely.
Thank you Mystogre, missing definitions now restored.