Independent 11129 / Methuselah

See 14 

[POST-] IMPRESSIONIST

1 mafioso pursues crime after kicking drug (3,6) 

ROB BRYDON (reference ROB BRYDON [born 1965], Welsh actor, comedian, IMPRESSIONIST [entry at 1 across] , television presenter, singer and writer)

ROBBERY (crime) excluding (kicking) E (ecstasy; drug) + DON ([American] slang for a Mafia boss)

ROB BRY DON

14-1’s sphere about to absorb, er, everyone’s sphere (5) 

TERRA (Latin and Italian word for planet earth, the sphere on which we all live)

ART (the field or sphere in which the POST-IMPRESSIONISTs [14 / 1 entry] worked) reversed (about) containing (to absorb) ER

T (ER) RA<

Item worn by woman asleep next to Bond (7) 

NIGHTIE (clothing often worn by women when asleep although I reckon men can also wear NIGHTIEs. Perhaps the technical term in that case is nightshirt)

NIGH (near to; next to) + TIE (bond)

NIGH TIE

See 24 Down 

[PAUL] CEZANNE

Description of movement‘s frequently a mess if Spooner spits it out (4-13) 

POST-IMPRESSIONIST (descriptive of an art movement that followed [POST] he period dominated by the IMPRESSIONISTS)

Anagram of (out) MSI (letters 2, 4 and 6 [frequently] of A MESS IF) and SPOONER SPITS IT

POST–IMPRESSIONIST*

A couple of cricket sides seen at intervals (2-3-3) 

ON AND OFF (reference the ON side AND the OFF side on a cricket pitch)

ON-AND-OFF (intermittent, occasional. at intervals) double definition

ON-AND-OFF

13 or 22 possibly taking over independent nation (8)

SURINAME (a nation in South America)

SURNAME (the entries at 13 across and 22 down are CEZANNE and COOGAN, both of which are SURNAMEs) containing (taking) I (Independent)

SUR (I) NAME

Jelly available in tea garden (4)

AGAR (jelly prepared from seaweeds of various kinds used in bacteria-culture, medicine, glue-making, silk-dressing, and cooking)

AGAR (hidden word in [available in] TEA GARDEN)

AGAR

Bit of fruit leading to sinful occasion’s a banana skin (7) 

PITFALL (hidden danger or unsuspected difficulty; banana skin can be defined similarly)

PIT (fruit stone; piece of fruit) + FALL (lapse into sin)

PIT FALL

Old 1 and silent 1 each losing a million (3-4) 

ONE-TIME (past; old)

MONET (reference Claude MONET [1840-1926], French painter and founder of IMPRESSIONIST [1 across] painting) excluding (losing) M [million] ) + MIME (descriptive of the performance a silent IMPRESSIONIST [1 across] on stage or in film) also excluding […each losing …] M

ONE T IME

Did egg on uniform ultimately trigger meeting with my boss? (5) 

URGED (egged on; did egg on)

U (Uniform is the International Radio Communication codeword for the letter U) + RG (final letters [ultimately] of each of TRIGGER and MEETING) + ED (editor; a crossword editor is usually the ‘boss’ of a crossword setter)

U RG ED

Close temperatures keeping characters from hiking round Thailand (5-4) 

TIGHT-KNIT (closely integrated)

(T [temperature] + T [temperature] giving temperatures) containing (keeping) ([a jumble of] the characters of HIKING containing [round] T [International Vehicle Registration for Thailand])

T (IGH (T) KNI*) T

See 9 Down

[MALE] IMPERSONATOR

Important chap reportedly avoided a disputed territory when travelling north (2,3) 

MR BIG (head of an organisation, especially of a criminal organisation; important chap)

MR (MISTER [sounds like {reportedly} MISSED A {avoided}]) + GIB (Gibraltar [territory disputed by United Kingdom and Spain]) reversed (when travelling north)

MR BIG<

Collector’s item‘s a bloody state, I suppose! (6)

RARITY (something valued for its scarcity, hence a collectible item)

RARITY (reference a steak cooked RARE which means it remains fairly bloody) double definition

RARITY

Wet earth covering animal’s lair (6) 

SODDEN (soaked thoroughly; very wet)

SOD (piece of turf; earth) + DEN (animal’s lair)

SOD DEN

Avoiding both fringes, old Labour leader starts to eat next to Green (8) 

INNOCENT (naive; green)

KINNOCK (reference Neil KINNOCK [born 1942], former leader of the Labour Party) excluding the outer letters (avoiding both fringes) K and K + ENT (first letters of [starts to] each of EAT, NEXT and TO)

INNOC  ENT

Perhaps Facebook users have seen zit burst by noon (8) 

NETIZENS (person who regularly uses the Internet, such as a user of Facebook)

N (noon) + an anagram of (burst) SEEN ZIT

N ETIZENS*

Dangerous strain sees father and son kept apart by national government (5,4)

SIREN SONG (something alluring but also potentially dangerous; dangerous strain [SONG])

([SIRE {to father} + SON] containing [kept apart by] N [national]) + G (government)

SIRE (N) SON G

Old men with power like propping up old royal (8)

GRANDPAS (old men)

GRAND (this looks like the ‘old royal’ part of the wordplay, but I can’t find a dictionary or thesaurus that directly relates grand and royal.  The best I can find is a link through regal) + P (power) + AS (like)

GRAND P AS

Certain artists could be 14-1s by the sound of it (4,13) 

MALE IMPERSONATORS (type of performing artistes)

MALE (sounds like [by the sound of it] MAIL [POST [entry at 14 across]) + IMPERSONATORS (IMPRESSIONISTS [1 across])

MALE IMPERSONATORS

14-1 has time for Brussels to mature with a bit of manure in plot (9)

STRATAGEM (plan for deceiving an enemy or gaining an advantage)

SEURAT (reference Georges SEURAT [1859-1901], French artist considered to be one  of the most important painters in the POST-IMPRESSIONIST [entry at 14-1] movement with T (time) replacing (for) EU (European Union, colloquially referred to as Brussels where the headquarters are located) + AGE + M (first letter of [bit of] MANURE)

STRAT AGE M

What rice does for sushi eaters’ sake? (8) 

FERMENTS (SAKE is Japanese [sushi eaters] alcoholic drink made from FERMENTed rice)

FERMENTS (the whole clue is a definition of the entry FERMENTS)

FERMENTS

Cycling star to turn and get off seat (8) 

UNSADDLE (remove from a seat)

SUN (star) with the letters cycled left one position to form UNS + ADDLE (go rotten; turn)

UNS ADDLE

Fickle Methuselah no longer has the hots for mimics (8) 

EMULATES (imitates; mimics)

Anagram of (fickle) METHUSELAH excluding (no longer has) (H [hot] and H [hot] giving hots)

EMULATES*

Cheat hanging around own goal area – 1 often seen with 10 (6) 

COOGAN (reference Steve COOGAN [born 1965], actor, comedian and screenwriter who has appeared in a series of semi-fictionalised travelogue television programmes films with ROB BRYDON [entry at 10 across])

CON (swindle; cheat) containing (hanging around) (OG [own goal] + A [area])

CO (OG A) N

Group including a precise number (6) 

This clue has defeated me.  There are at least four possible words that each satisfy both possible definitions of group and number (piece of music)

The four possibilities I can see are DECTET, SEPTET, SESTET or SEXTET each of which can be defined as a piece of music (number) for 10, 7, 6 or 6 players

I don’t see how the wordplay works, beyond thinking that SET is a container meaning group.  It is the ‘a precise [number]’ that defeats me.  I can see that EXACT can mean precise which makes SEXTET a distinct possibility but I can’t see how to exclude the AC in the centre of EXACT.

SET (group) containing  EPT? EST? EXT? Using SET as a definition for group rules out DECTET as an option.

?

14-1‘s spanner regularly fixing disruption to Suez Canal when one end’s blocked (4,7) 

PAUL CEZANNE (reference PAUL CEZANNE [1839-1906], French POST-IMPRESSIONIST [14 /1 entry] artist)

PNE (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of SPANNER) containing (fixing) an anagram of (disruption to) SUEZ CANAL excluding the first letter (when one end’s blocked) S

P (AUL CEZAN*) NE

Tattooist has a change of heart relating to private area? (5)

INNER (private area)

INKER (tattooist [someone who works with inks or indelible dyes[) with the central letter K changed to N (change of heart)

INNER