Independent on Sunday 1696 Brunel

Thank you to Brunel. Some nice surfaces here. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Aimless, wandering girl (7)

MELISSA : Anagram of(…, wandering) AIMLESS.

5. Superficial cut in in former Murdoch organisation (7)

SKETCHY : ETCH(to cut/carve on a surface) contained in(in) SKY(media organisation formerly owned by Rupert Murdoch.

9. Don‘s turned over in bed (3,2)

PUT ON : Reversal of(turned over) [NOT UP](not up and about but still in bed).

10. Wide-ranging terror grips soldiers by unwalled camp (9)

PANORAMIC : PANIC(terror/uncontrollable fear) containing(grips) [ OR(abbrev. for “other ranks”, non-commissioned soldiers in the military) plus(by) 1st and last letters deleted from(unwalled) “camp” ].

11. Redeveloped area until left by one side (10)

UNILATERAL : Anagram of(Redeveloped) [AREA UNTIL + L(abbrev. for “left”) ].

Defn: Descriptive of action performed … without the agreement of the other side(s) involved.

12. Part of deck sees action (4)

SUIT : Double defn: 1st: One of four/… of playing cards; and 2nd: … in a court of law.

14. Like the Sphinx, reportedly, if accepted (11)

WEATHERWORN : Homophone of(reportedly) “whether”(“if”, as in “I couldn’t tell whether he was right or wrong”) + WORN(past tense of “wear”, informal term for “accept”/”tolerate”, as in “I wanted to try a new approach, but my boss wouldn’t wear it”).

: Note the weatherworn face.

18. Brazen stripping after dance causes annoyance (11)

DISCOMMODES : “immodest”(brazen/unashamed) minus its 1st and last letters(stripping) placed after(after) DISCO(a dance, specifically, an event at which people dance to disco music).

21. Space age turned on first of Apollos (4)

AREA : Reversal of(… turned) ERA(a long period of time/an age) plus(on) 1st letter of(first of) “Apollos“.

And the Apollos were a series of spacecraft during the space age.

22. Swimmer shockingly flashing around pier – not very good (10)

ANGLERFISH : Anagram of(shockingly) FLASHING containing(around) “pier” minus(not) “pi”(short for “pious”/very good).

That “light bulb” at the top of its head is its bait used to fish for other fish:

25. Unpackaged setters’ fags – nice, laid back smoke (9)

CIGARETTE : 1st and last letters, respectively, deleted from(Unpackaged) reversal of(…, laid back) “setters’ fags – nice“.

26. Being led, struggling to win (2,3)

IN TOW : Anagram of(struggling) TO WIN.

27. Prevents editor spinning the likes of Saddam (7)

DESPOTS : Reversal of(… spinning) [STOPS(prevents/causes to cease) + ED(abbrev. for “editor”)].

28. Rona Lee harassed another girl (7)

ELEANOR : Anagram of(… harassed) RONA LEE.

Defn: …, referring to “Rona Lee”.

Down

1. Rising corporation poaching American banker’s design (3,3)

MAP OUT : Reversal of(Rising, in a down clue) TUM(short for “tummy”/stomach/corporation/paunch) containing(poaching) [ A(abbrev. for “American”) + PO(an Italian river, something with banks/a banker) ].

2. Country that’s ravaged vital area (6)

LATVIA : Anagram of(ravaged) VITAL + A(abbrev. for “area”).

3. Aluminium driver taken below bunker, possibly, or tree (10)

SANDALWOOD : [ AL(symbol for the chemical element, aluminium) + WOOD(a golf club, in this case a No. 1 wood/driver, mainly used for teeing off) ] placed below(taken below, in a down clue) SAND(term representing/possibly, a bunker, an obstacle in a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow).

To complete the golfing surface: Driver heads can be made from aluminium or aluminium alloys, and there are large trees on a golf course.

4. Phone company‘s partial withdrawal of help package (5)

APPLE : Hidden in(partial) reversal of(withdrawal of) “help package“.

Defn: …, maker of the i-Phone.

5. Basked in a French club, having cast off clothing (9)

SUNBATHED : [ UN(French for the article, “a”) + BAT(a club/an implement for hitting a ball, say) ] contained in(having … clothing) SHED(cast off/took off, say, clothing).

… in the French Club Med:

6. Finally serve ace, then service finding net (4)

EARN : Last letter of(Finally) “serve” + A(abbrev. for “ace”, as in the playing card) plus(then) RN(abbrev. for the Royal Navy, one of the Services in the British military).

Defn: …/to gain as clear profit, after all deductions have been made.

7. Rise to attend one brief encounter (4,4)

COME UPON : [COME UP](to rise/to reach a higher level) plus(to attend) “one” minus its last letter(brief).

8. Ellen MacArthur’s craft headed up island on blowy night (8)

YACHTING : Reversal of(headed up, in a down clue) CAY(or key/a small low island made of sand and coral fragments) placed above(on, in a down clue) anagram of(blowy) NIGHT.

Defn: Ellen MacArthur, the solo yachtswoman’s skill/craft in handling an ocean-going craft.

13. Writer to yearn for goddess (10)

PROSERPINE : PROSER(a writer/one who composes prose, hence, a proser) + PINE(to yearn/to long for).

Defn: An ancient Roman ….

15. Ancient sea-creatures with shells, say, paladins picked up (9)

AMMONITES : AMMO(short for “ammunition”, which includes/say, “shells”/explosive projectiles or bombs) + homophone of(… picked) “knights”(paladins/heroic champions of noble causes).

… and the inside of one:

16. Late for Lent? (8)

ADVANCED : Double defn: 1st: …/far ahead in development; and 2nd: …, a sum of money, say.

17. Sprinklers keep initially-trimmed grass high (8)

ASPERGES : Anagram of(… high) [ “keep” minus its 1st letter(initially-trimmed) + GRASS].

Defn: Implements to sprinkle holy water.

19. Future queen, perhaps (6)

KITTEN : Cryptic defn: That which may/perhaps grow in future to be a queen/an adult female cat that has not been sterilised.

20. Rain ensues when Her Majesty attends event (6)

SHOWER : ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, Her Majesty the Queen of the UK) placed below(attends, in a down clue) SHOW(an event or competition with an exhibition of animals or plants, eg. the Chelsea Flower Show).

23. City of Leipzig, in East Germany, evacuated at outset (5)

LIÈGE : 1st letters, respectively, of(… at outset) “Leipzig, in East Germany, evacuated“.

Defn: … in Belgium.

24. So, maybe Shrek‘s sent up (4)

ERGO : Reversal of(…’s sent up, in a down clue) OGRE(an example of which/maybe, is Shrek, the animated cartoon character).

Defn: …/therefore.