Azed No 2,490

My apologies for the formatting of this blog, but the excellent utility that I (and many other bloggers) use to write the blogs does not appear to recognise this week’s puzzle.

The puzzle was very straightforward by Azed standards although I am unable to parse 9dn, and I rattled through it with only 26dn holding me up, so at least that made the writing of the blog more straightforward.

 

ACROSS

 

1    WOBEGONE               Old boy, I’ll be involved in new suffering, all forlorn (8)

OB (old boy) + EGO (“I”) will be involved in *(new) [anag:suffering]

7   AS OF                             Starting with piece of drawing room furniture, back to front (4, 2 words)

A-SOF(a) (“piece of drawing room furniture” with its back (A) to the front)

10  AIR MARSHAL           Senior officer concealing his alarm with RA (10, 2 words)

*(his alarm RA) [anag;concealing]

11  DARGA                          Daughter backing Indian city as place for cremation (5)

D (daughter) + <=AGRA (backing “Indian city”)

A darga is a structure upon which Muslims are cremated

12  SHADY                          Mysterious, or fish-y (5)

SHAD (“fish”) + Y

14  INOSITOL                    Crucial bodily substance converted into oils (8)

*(into oils) [anag;converted]

Inositol is a lipid that is crucial for the formation of cell membranes

17  TOLLMEN                    Tax officials chime with measure gathering millions (7)

TOLL (“chime”) with EN (printer’s “measure”) gathering M (millions)

18  ANGRY                          It’s no good with any old wrapping that’s waxy (5)

NG (no good) wrapped by ARY (“old” word for “any”)

19  SPAYAD                        Deer, still maturing, once miserable, having to suffer in confinement (6)

SAD (“miserable”), having PAY (“to suffer”) in confinement

20  MIDAIR                        Aid badly needed among peasants cooperating in flight? (6)

*(aid) [anag:badly] in MIR (“peasants cooperating” in revolutionary Russia”)

22  ANIME                          Form of cinema requiring no head of casting (5)

[anag:form of] *(inema) being “cinema” with no [head of] C(asting)) and &lit.

Not sure about the &lit. bit as an anime film still requires casting (voice actors etc)

24  SCOPULA                     Ties back to front in a little tuft (7)

S-COPULA(s) (“ties” with its back (S) at the front)

27  FOREDECK                  In branch, yield when retiring place at the prow (8)

 In FORK (“branch”),  <=CEDE (“yield” when retiring)

29  REALS                           Coins once current in Catalonia maybe, and in Navarre also (5)

Hidden (in) “navarRE ALSo”

30  APPAY                           As it seems, rent left out to satisfy as of old (5)

APPA(rent-l)Y (“as it seems”, with RENT and L (left) out)

31  INTERREGNA             Breaches of continuity in e.g. errant broadcast (10)

*(in eg errant) [anag;broadcast]

32  CHER                            Enduring performer / beloved of Parisians (4)

Double definition, the first referring to the singer.

33  LESSENED                  About to eat abroad, shown the way as after reducing weight (8)

About ESSEN (“to eat abroad”, i.e. in German), LED (“shown the way”)

 

DOWN

 

1   WADI                              Dry bed I make my way up, river having evaporated (4)

<=I D(r)AW (“I make my way” up, with R (river) having evaporated)

2   OUANANICHE            Oxford table talk on appropriate habitat for salmon (10)

O.U. (“Oxford” University) + ANA (collection of “table talk” anecdotes) on NICHE (“appropriate habitat”)

3   BARONG                       Peer over tumbler, lass missing knife (6)

  BARON (“peer”) over G(lass) (“tumbler”, with LASS missing)

4   GRAIP                            Tool for digging tatties, one held in grasp tightly (5)

A (“one”) held in GRIP (“grasp tightly”)

A graip is a fork used for lifting dung or potatoes (tatties) in Scotland

5   OMITTER                      Change timer to one that strikes (7)

 *(timer to) [anag;change]

6   NAPOO                          Among the fallen at Ypres? Certainly not including lively OAP (5)

NO (“certainly not”, including *(oap) [anag;lively]

Napoo is WWI slang for “gone” or “finished”

7  ASHPLANT                    Walking stick and hat’s adjusted, with OS map pocketed? (8)

*(hats) [anag:adjusted] with PLAN (“OS map”) pocketed

8   SHAMMY                      Buffer?  An impostor, I do declare! (6)

SHAM (“impostor”) + MY (“I do declare”)

9   FLYUNDER                  Part of intersection? Swat’s aimed to get — the head (8)

Not sure of the parsing here?

13  DREAMSCAPE            Strange or unreal image (10)

 Azed invited the solver to come up with a clue for this one

15  SAMSARIC                   A missa (RC) confused about the soul’s journey (8)

*(a missa rc) [anag:confused]

16  GRAPPLER                  One wrestling to assemble Greek fruit recipe (8)

Gr. (Greek) + APPLE (“fruit”) + R (recipe)

19  SCARVES                     Squares cut up into two small ones? (7)

CARVE (“cut up”) into S + S ( 2 “small”)

21  DOGATE                      Mean fellow took meals in chief magistrate’s office (6)

DOG (“mean fellow”) + ATE (“took meals”)

23  ICE PAN                      Polar feature I get across, by the sound of it (6, 2 words)

Homophone of [by the sound of it] I SPAN (“I get across”)

25  LOURE                        That old slow turn on the floor, enticement securing love (5)

LURE (“enticement”) securing O (“love”)

26  PEAGS                         Non-standard currency, silver, foot from side to side (5)

Ag (“silver”) with PES (“foot”) on the sides

Peags were shells used as a currency in North America

28  KYND                          Note penned by (contemporary) playwright, Spenser’s sort (4)

N (note) penned by (Thomas) KYD (“contemporary playwright”)

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