Financial Times 16824 Gurney

Thank you to Gurney. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Praise fruit Australia’s imported (8)

APPLAUSE : APPLE(a fruit – that keeps the doctor away) containing(…’s imported) AUS(abbrev. for “Australia”).

5. Escaped nasty duel at end – knight went missing (6)

ELUDED : Anagram of(nasty) DUEL plus(at) “end” minus(… went missing) “n”(abbrev. for “knight” in chess notation).

9. Referring to Light Infantry, skilled and trustworthy (8)

RELIABLE : RE(referring to/with reference to) + LI(abbrev. for “Light Infantry”) + ABLE(skilled/competent).

10. Permanently mark military spectacle (6)

TATTOO : Double defn.

12. Water alongside this wandering isle heron (9)

SHORELINE : Anagram of(wandering) ISLE HERON.

Defn: The “this” in the defn.

13. Author usefully displays object of worship (5)

HORUS : Hidden in(… displays) “Author usefully“.

Defn: …, the sun god in Egyptian mythology.

14. History period at Saint Trinian’s starts (4)

PAST : 1st letters, respectively, of(…’s starts) “period at Saint Trinian“.

16. Heavily defeat Right, suffering setback, vitality lacking at first (7)

TROUNCE : Reversal of(…, suffering setback) RT(abbrev. for “Right”) + “bounce”(vitality/vigour, as in “there was a bit of bounce in his step”) minus its 1st letter(lacking at first)

19. Regular fun or I’m wretched! (7)

UNIFORM : Anagram of(… wretched) FUN OR I’M.

Defn: …/unvarying.

21. Restaurant worker, most important – I must clear out! (4)

CHEF : “chief”(most important/the principal) minus(… must clear out) “I“.

24. Moment for telling argument (5)

POINT : Double defn: 1st: A particular … in time, as in “from this point on, there is no turning back”; and 2nd: Something said that is convincing, as in “the point he made swung the vote”.

25. High quality team developed, contemporary (9)

CLASSMATE : CLASS(high quality/stylish excellence, as in “a class act that was hard to follow”) + anagram of(… developed) TEAM.

27. Society pair at work, beginning in London, move up fast (6)

SPIRAL : S(abbrev. for “Society”) + anagram of(… at work) PAIR + 1st letter of(beginning in) “London“.

28. Royalist, offhand (8)

CAVALIER : Double defn: 1st: …, specifically a supporter of King Charles I and II during the English Civil War; and 2nd: …./without regard to the seriousness of the situation.

29. Democrat referring to important animal (6)

DONKEY : D(abbrev. for “Democrat”, a member of the Democratic Party) + ON(referring to/about, as in “a talk on the birds and the bees”) KEY(important/crucial).

30. Looking embarrassed with English trick? Go to new positions (8)

REDEPLOY : RED(describing one’s complexion when embarrassed) plus(with) E(abbrev. for “English”) + PLOY(a trick/a ruse).

Down

1. A problem? Not describing this clue! (6)

ACROSS : A + CROSS(a problem/a hardship that is unavoidable and has to be endured or dealt with, as in “we all have our own crosses to bear).

Defn: …, since this is a down clue.

2. Medicine that’s painful: sleep on it (6)

PILLOW : PILL(a medicine that comes in the form of a small round solid mass) + OW!(an expression of pain).

Defn: The “it” in the defn.

3. Knowing conflict is in abeyance, all content to leave (5)

AWARE : WAR(a conflict, in one form or another) contained in(is in) “abeyance” minus all its inner letters(all content to leave).

4. Musician‘s stool is broken (7)

SOLOIST : Anagram of(… broken) stool is.

6. Offensive swearing in African port (9)

LOATHSOME : OATHS(swearing/oaths, collectively) contained in(in) LOMÉ(African port and capital of Togo).

7. Get rid of the drone somehow (8)

DETHRONE : Anagram of(… somehow) THE DRONE.

Defn: …, specifically, from a position of authority or dominance.

8. Maybe dog’s cross, upset, seeing where canvasser may go (8)

DOORSTEP : Reversal of(…, upset, in a down clue) [PET(an example of which/maybe, is a dog) plus(‘s) ROOD(a cross/crucifix).

Defn: …, particularly one who goes door-to-door.

11. Receiving lecture at outset, sulk and hide (4)

PELT : 1st letter of(… at outset) “lecture” contained in(Receiving …,) PET(to sulk/to be in a bad mood).

15. After a contest, be confronted by sharp change (5-4)

ABOUT-FACE : [A + BOUT(a contest/a match, in wrestling or boxing)] placed above(After …,…, in a down clue) FACE(be confronted by/presented with, say, a problem).

Defn: …/turn in the opposite direction, in one’s thinking.

17. Highly doubtful son at university acted as model! (8)

SUPPOSED : S(abbrev. for “son”) + UP(at/attending university) + POSED(acted as a model, for a painting or photograph, say).

Defn: …/assumed or believed to be true on flimsy evidence, as in “the supposed existence of fairies”.

18. On return, arrest four in camp originally nonmilitary (8)

CIVILIAN : Reversal of(On return) [NAIL(to arrest/to nab, especially criminals) + IV(Roman numeral for “four”) + 1st letters, respectively, of(… originally) “in camp“].

20. Staff coat, employee’s latest (4)

MACE : MAC(short for a mackintosh/a full-length waterproof coat) + last letter of(…’s latest) “employee“.

21. Absurd behaviour of artist visiting African country ending in farce (7)

CHARADE : RA(abbrev. for a Royal Academician, a member of the Royal Society of the Arts/an artist) contained in(visiting) CHAD(a north-central African country) + last letter of(ending in) “farce“.

Defn: …/a farce.

22. Tyre leading pairs in rally discuss aloud (6)

RADIAL : 1st 2 letter, respectively, of(leading pairs in) “rally discuss aloud“.

23. Annual diary’s back – ahead of time (6)

YEARLY : Last letter of(…’s back) “diary” + EARLY(ahead of time/before the scheduled time).

26. Bet it could be part of fence (5)

STAKE : Double defn: 1st: Amount of money placed on a bet; and 2nd: An upright post as part of a fence.