Thanks Kairos for an enjoyable Sunday outing. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8 Roll over for one at sea (4)
LOST : “list”(a roll/a register of names) with O(abbrev. for “over” in cricket scores) replacing(for) “L”(Roman numeral for “one”).
Defn: Without a clue or understanding.
9 Tragic priestess with romantic Roman (5)
NORMA : Anagram of(romantic) ROMAN.
Defn: …, main character in Bellini’s opera of the same name.
10 Sound virtuous (4)
GOOD : Double defn: 1st: Without defect; and 2nd: Possessing moral virtue.
11 Practical joker swallows small gemstone (6)
JASPER : JAPER(one who japes/plays practical jokes) containing(swallows) S(abbrev. for “small”).
12 In case of emergency chooses sharp tools (3,5)
ICE PICKS : ICE(acronym for “in case of emergency”, the pseudonym for the number, stored in one’s mobile phone, to be contacted should one be caught in an emergency) + PICKS(chooses out of two or more options).
13 Discovered spotted dick originally eaten for dessert (5,3)
APPLE PIE : “dappled”(marked with spots or round patches) minus its 1st and last letters(Discovered /dis-covered/having the cover removed, like in the construction of “disconnected”) + PI(abbrev. for “private investigator”/dick, in slang) + 1st letter of(originally) “eaten“.
15 Surrenders products (6)
YIELDS : Double defn: 2nd: … generated or produced in agriculture or industry.
17 Line in metaphor about old women (7)
TOWROPE : TROPE(the metaphorical use of a word or expression) containing(about) [O(abbrev. for “old”) + W(abbrev. for “women”)].
19 Gas results from cook quitting heroin substitute (7)
METHANE : “methadone”(a substitute drug for heroin, used in the treatment of heroin addiction) minus(… quitting) “do”(to cook food to a degree required by the consumer, as in “How’d you like me to do your steak – rare, medium or well done or anywhere in between?”).
22 7‘s time Surrey town (6)
ESTHER : T(abbrev. for “time”) contained in(in) ESHER(town in Surrey, England).
Defn: A book in the Old Testament, answer to 7 down.
24 Drills French joiner used to make toy (5,3)
TRAIN SET : TRAINS(drills/instructs one how to perform a task) + ET(French for “and”, the word joining clauses in a sentence in English grammar).
26 24 hours following member of the Addams family (8)
THURSDAY : Cryptic defn: The 24 hours/the day after/following Wednesday, the little girl in The Addams Family TV series.
28 Promote Government department’s territory (6)
FOSTER : FO(abbrev. for the Foreign Office, a Government department)‘S + TER(abbrev. for “territory”).
30 Books about former fashion retailer (4)
NEXT : NT(abbrev. for the New Testament, the collection of books in the Bible) containing(about) EX-(prefix signifying “former”/once, as in “ex-President”).
Defn: British multinational …
31 Members of mass audience from the Middle East (5)
SAUDI : Hidden in(Members of) “mass audience“.
Defn: … country of Saudi Arabia.
32 Very possibly my hole in the ground (4)
WELL : Triple defn: 1st: As in “It could very possibly be a hoax”; 2nd: An interjection expressing surprise or dismay, as in “My! He’s gone too far this time!”
Down
1 Drink knocked back in Colorado Springs (4)
SODA : Reversal of(knocked back) and hidden in(in) “Colorado Springs“.
2 Sponge Bob first sees painter (8)
STIPPLER : TIPPLER(a sponge/a heavy consumer of alcoholic drinks) placed below(… first, in a down clue) S(abbrev. for “shilling”, the former British currency unit, nicknamed a “bob”).
Defn: … who uses the technique of marking numerous small dots or specks on the painted surface.
3 Net of hospital department charge (6)
ENTRAP : ENT(abbrev. for the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist department in a hospital) + RAP(in N. America, a charge/a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offence).
Defn: …/to catch.
4 Mosaic maker hosts artists’s preview (7)
TRAILER : TILER(a mosaic tile maker) containing(hosts) RA(post-nominal letters for a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts/an artist).
Defn: …/a series of extracts shown or broadcast as advance publicity for an upcoming film or programme.
5 Detective acquires basic skill after month with English novel (4,4)
JANE EYRE : EYE(slang for a detective, as in “a private eye”) containing(acquires) R(one of the 3Rs/the basic skills of ‘reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic) placed below(after, in a down clue) [JAN(abbrev. for the month of January) plus(with) E(abbrev. for “English”)]
6 Setter leaves explosive fire (6)
IGNITE : “gel”(a setter/a soft liquid substance that can set/gel and become solid) deleted from(leaves) “gelignite”(a gel used as an explosive)
7 Job for one to criticise king (4)
BOOK : BOO(to criticise/to show disapproval by uttering “boos”) + K(abbrev. for “king” in chess notation).
Defn: …, ie. one of the books in the Bible.
14 Plans to involve Labour leader in revolutionary standstill (5)
PLOTS : 1st letter of(… leader) “Labour” contained in(in) reversal of(revolutionary) STOP(a standstill).
16 Tightly packed foxholes with earth (5)
DENSE : DENS(foxholes/foxes’ homes) plus(with) E(abbrev. for “earth”).
18 Adult in despair about heaven (8)
PARADISE : A(abbrev. for “adult”) contained in(in) anagram of(… about) DESPAIR.
20 Workers welcoming South American with tools (8)
HANDSAWS : HANDS(workers engaged in manual labour) containing(welcoming) [S(abbrev. for “south”) + A(abbrev. for “American”) + W(abbrev. “with”)].
21 Support set to remain (4,3)
STAY PUT : STAY(something used as a support/a prop) + PUT(to set/to place on, as in “he set the book on the table”).
23 Group of scientists occupying shelters in woods (6)
HURSTS : RS(abbrev. for the Royal Society, an organisation that supports and promotes excellence in science) contained in(occupying) HUTS(simple single-story buildings used as shelters).
Defn: …/groves.
25 A fine fine business (6)
AFFAIR : A + F(abbrev. for “fine”) + FAIR(fine, as with “fine weather conditions”).
Defn: …/a matter that is one’s responsibility.
27 Take note of the editor (4)
HEED : Hidden in(of) “the editor“.
29 Strips head off fish (4)
EELS : “peels”(strips, eg. one’s clothing) minus its 1st letter(head off).
Very satisfying to eventually finish what I thought was a top notch puzzle. I wasn’t off to a good start, being lost on LOST for ages and a few other unusual words or senses such as JAPER for ‘Practical joker’ and TIPPLER for ‘Sponge’ held me up. Never heard of HURSTS, though the wordplay was kind and I didn’t know NORMA was a ‘Tragic priestess’, even though she’s a crossword staple.
Clue of the day to the triple def WELL. One of those ‘What the…?’ clues on first reading.
Thanks to Kairos for a tough challenge and to scchua for the blog and pics.
My experience was pretty much identical to WordPlodder@1. Very hard but satisfying to finish. LOST & STIPPLER were my last two. My only criticism was that I felt the double definition for 10a was a bit weak perhaps? Both definitions are very close to each other – virtuous = sound mind?
Thanks to Kairos and scchua.
Found this quite tough, with my last 3 (LOST, TOWROPE, STIPPLER) taking an age to complete – LOST in particular was approached from every angle but the correct one, so the PDM was especially satisfying/frustrating. Looks like there\’s a bit of a theme, though it wouldn\’t have helped me even if I\’d seen it while solving. Thanks Kairos and scchua.
I wondered about a theme. I noticed PARADISE LOST but don’t know anything more than the title. There are a few solutions that can also be people’s names which may be relevant.
There is a theme but not quite as highbrow as Paradise Lost. A Swindon based Literatech agent might help you on your way!
Got held up by the same two as others – LOST & STIPPLER. The latter sounds like a rather strange job description!
Rather liked the surface of 30a and gave top billing to WELL.
Thanks to Kairos and to scchua for the review. Looked up your Swindon based agent, Kairos, you certainly have an eclectic taste in reading matter. I blame it on those sons of yours!
Our experience was much the same as for WordPlodder, Hovis and Cecil, but we got there in the end. We thought 13ac had to be APPLE PIE from the two crossing Ps, but took ages to parse it, as was the case with several other entries. We didn’t know the Addams family reference, although the answer was obvious from crossing letters, but we did know HURSTS (from ‘hurst’ as an element in place names such as Midhurst).
Plenty to like: TOWROPE and METHANE among our nominations for CoD.
Thanks, Kairos and scchua.
8ac and 17ac defeated me, and I never spotted the theme, despite having read several of the books. I was reading the first one whilst commuting by train and a fellow passenger wanted to know what I was laughing at.