Thanks to Peto. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Able to go through without a hint of resistance (6)
CLEVER : “cleave”(to go through/to make a way through something, as if to split it) minus(without) “a” + 1st letter of(hint of) “resistance“.
4. Discontinue supporting raffle (8)
WITHDRAW : WITH(supporting/backing, as in “I’m with you on that”) + DRAW(a raffle/a lottery where winners are selected by random means).
10. Knife one of a pair carried by revolutionary? Just the opposite (7)
MACHETE : MATE(one of a pair/one half of a coupling) containing(carried by …? Just the opposite) CHE(Guevara, Argentinian revolutionary).
11. Starts to become less enraged after soldier’s story (7)
PARABLE : 1st letters, respectively, of(Starts to) “become less enraged” placed after(after) PARA(short for “paratrooper”, a soldier dropped by parachute into battle).
12. Close to cancelling amateur fight (4)
BOUT : “about”(close to/more or less) minus(cancelling) “a”(abbrev. for “amateur”).
Defn: …, as in “he survived a bout with a virus infection”.
13. Preacher performing live on stage lacks authority essentially (10)
EVANGELIST : Anagram of(performing) [“live on stage” minus(lacks) middle letter of(… essentially) “authority“.
15. Animal caught earlier by old farm worker (6)
COTTER : OTTER(an aquatic mammal) placed after(… earlier) C(abbrev. for “caught”, as in cricket scores).
Defn: …, formerly, occupying a cottage in return for the work.
16. Son heard about Omani leader celebrated in legends (7)
STORIED : S(abbrev. for “son”) + TRIED(heard/judged in a court hearing/trial) containing(about) 1st letter of(… leader) “Omani“.
Defn: …/stories.
20. Turn out well for Miranda’s dad? Not entirely (7)
PROSPER : “Prospero”(Miranda’s dad/father in Shakespeare’s The Tempest) minus its last letter(Not entirely).
21. It serves as a warning for meat eating earl (6)
BEACON : BACON(meat, specifically, cured meat from the back or sides of a pig) containing(eating) E(abbrev. for “earl”).
24. Fellow countryman Sepp’s back living in converted attic room (10)
COMPATRIOT : Last letter of(…’s back) “Sepp” contained in(living in) anagram of(converted) ATTIC ROOM.
26. Dead monotonous (4)
FLAT : Double defn: 1st: …, as with a battery, say; and 2nd: Without any variation/dull.
28. Crazy time touring Italy’s principal island (7)
MADEIRA : MAD(crazy/nuts) + ERA(a long period of time) containing(touring) 1st letter of(…’s principal) “Italy“.
29. Pretend to be with it around left-leaning Australian guy on ecstasy (7)
IMITATE : IT containing(around) reversal of(left-leaning, in an across clue) [A(abbrev. for “Australian”) + TIM(a guy/man’s name)] + E(abbrev. for the drug Ecstasy).
30. Propose for election in Maine – not surprisingly (8)
NOMINATE : Anagram of(not surprisingly) MAINE – NOT.
31. Spirit shown by City (6)
GENEVA : Double defn: 1st: Dutch gin.
Down
1. Extend help in return (8)
COMEBACK : COME(to extend/to reach, as in “the plains come right to the foot of the mountains”) + BACK(to help/to provide support).
Defn: … to a former state of popularity or fame, as in “vinyl is making a comeback”.
2. Meet in French bar (9)
ENCOUNTER : EN(French for the preposition “in”) + COUNTER(a bar/a long narrow high table from behind and over which drinks are served).
3. Still constant (4)
EVEN : Double defn: 1st: Used to emphasise comparisons, as in, “I like him even less than before”; and 2nd: …/without variation.
5. International agreement in support of politician having freedom from punishment (8)
IMPUNITY : I(abbrev. for “international”) + [UNITY(agreement/harmony) placed below(in support of, in a down clue) MP(abbrev. for “Member of Parliament”, an elected politician)].
6. Timeless painting seen in set acquired with much effort (4-6)
HARD-EARNED : “art”(a form of which is painting) minus(…less) “t”(abbrev. for “time”) contained in(seen in) HARDENED(set/solidified, as wet concrete becomes).
7. Conversation cut short by religious leader (5)
RABBI : “rabbit”(a conversation) minus its last letter(cut short).
Defn: … of the Jewish faith.
8. Working at first on heart shaped flower arrangement (6)
WREATH : 1st letter of(… at first) “Working” placed above(on, in a down clue) anagram of(… shaped) HEART.
9. Pull out of the Spanish climbing party right away (5)
LEAVE : Reversal of(… climbing, in a down clue) EL(Spanish for the article “the”) + “rave”(a lively party with dancing and drinking) minus(… away) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).
14. Belief in nature (10)
PERSUASION : Double defn: 1st: A belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious ones, as in “he was of the Marxist persuasion”; and 2nd: Type/sort, as in “peoples of the Latin persuasion”, a somewhat humorous usage as an extension the former definition.
17. Former secretary introduced to sect by head of English is free from blame (9)
EXCULPATE : EX-(prefix denoting “former”/once) + [PA(abbrev. for “private assistant”/someone’s secretary) contained in(introduced to) CULT(a sect/a group of people with a persuasion regarded by others as strange)] plus(by) 1st letter of(head of) “English“.
18. Cowardly to withdraw statement implicating soldiers (8)
RECREANT : RECANT(to withdraw a statement/to declare a reversal of one’s once-held opinion or belief) containing(implicating) RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers, soldiers in an arm of the British Army).
19. Cursed person from Botswana: the Magician! (8)
ANATHEMA : Hidden in(from) “Botswana: the Magician“.
Defn: …/one who is thoroughly disliked.
22. Letter about returning to Jenny oddly lacking insight (6)
ACUMEN : Reversal of(… returning, in a down clue) [MU(letter in the Greek alphabet) + CA(abbrev. for “circa”/about when refering to a year, or a period of years)] plus(to) “Jenny” minus its 1st, 3rd and 5th letters (oddly lacking).
23. At present concerned with a situation doomed to failure (2-3)
NO-WIN : NOW(at present/at this instant) + IN(concerned with/occupied in or with, as in “she was in the film industry”).
25. Massachusetts mother and brothel keeper (5)
MADAM : MA(abbrev. for Massachusetts, the American state) + DAM(the mother/female parent of an animal, especially a domestic mammal).
Defn: … and we start our letters “Dear sir/madam …”
27. Keep secret papers in a couple of heaps (4)
HIDE : ID(abbrev. for “identity”, used to refer to identification papers) contained in(in) 1st 2 letters of(a couple of) “heaps“.
I liked this a lot. Esp STORIED
Thanks Scchua and Peto.
I found this a struggle in places, especially PERSUASION which was my last in, not helped by another example of the old “ie or ei?” problem for MADEIRA. I couldn’t see the ‘extend’ sense for COME (thanks for the explanation) and had to take a punt on ‘Miranda’s dad’. It was interesting to read about jenever (GENEVA gin) post-solve. CLEVER is a nice self-descriptive clue.
KERRY appears across the middle unches, as well as a few three letter words in other places; looks serendipitous to me, unless someone can spot a link.
Thanks to Peto and scchua
Quite a satisfying solve, although we did need some help. RECREANT wasn’t exactly a new word to us – we’d come across oit before without really knowing the meaning. We particularly liked COMPATRIOT, EXCULPATE and ACUMEN. Thanks, Peto and scchua.
Thanks to Peto and scchua. Enjoyable. I took a while before getting COMEBACK, RECREANT and my LOI PERSUASION.
Being unfamiliar with COTTER, RECREANT, GENEVA (as gin), and Miranda’s dad made what was already a slog impossible for me to complete. I did enjoy ACUMEN, LEAVE, and BOUT. Thanks to both.
Thanks Peto and scchua
A really tough and unexpected assignment for so early in the week. Am really trying not to make use of external aids for as long as I can – and was able to do it all the way until I got to PERSUASION, the last one in. Still it took over 2 hours to get there.
Some Shakespearean characters tend to stick and PROSPERO and his daughter were a couple of them, so 20a was amongst the earlier entries. Words such as COTTER and GENEVA (gin) lurked down in the depths and did surface after a little while. Had trouble equating RABBIT to ‘conversation’ – only knew it in the verbal sense.
Lost the plot a bit with 29a by having MATE as the ‘Australian guy’ (like in “How ya going’, mate; ‘Hey mate, do ya wanna beer?’) – so had parsed it as I (oops, nothing for it) M – IT – ATE. Chastened by the blog now.
Hard and pleased to get though it, even if some of the thought processes were wrong.
I had trouble and needed external help on this one too.
FWIW, I think the anagrind on 30 is just “surprisingly”; the ”not” is part of the anagram itself.
Otherwise, thanks, Scchua, for the detailed explanations.