Independent 11263 / Methuselah

Rubbish poetry aches endlessly – that’s the long and the short of it (7) 

TROCHEE (a foot of two syllables, a long followed by a short)

Anagram of (rubbish) POETRY and ACHES where the outer letters of each, PY and AS, are excluded (endlessly) to leave only the letters OETR and CHE in the anagram

TROCHEE*

Bungling pal fleeced by gold-digger in the end (7) 

AMATEUR (‘not professional’ or ‘inexpert’), note that AMATEUR can be considered as an adjective and have the same meaning as AMATEURISH

MATE (pal) contained in (fleeced by [wearing a coat of]) AU (chemical symbol for gold) + R (last letter of [in the end]) DIGGER

A (MATE) U R

Front of blockade let down for liberal lord (5) 

LIEGE (lord or superior)

SIEGE excluding (let down) the first letter (front) S and replacing it with (for) L (Liberal)

L IEGE

Looking in mirror, see what wicked types may be up to (3) 

TIL (alternative spelling of TILL [until, up to])

LIT (descriptive of a object with a wick [wicked] that may be LIT) reversed (looking in mirror)

TIL<

Carved item bound for synagogue possibly includes symbol different from cross (5,4) 

TOTEM [POLE] (POLE carved and painted with venerated symbols, set up by indigenous peoples, originally in North America)

TO (towards; bound for) + (TEMPLE [a synagogue could be one of the types of building defined as a TEMPLE) containing (includes) O (a symbol different from an X [shape of a cross])

TO TEM P (O) LE

Once humans have died off, he’ll really push the envelope … (7) 

POSTMAN (a person who will push envelopes through doors or into letterboxes)

POST (after … death; once … died off) + MAN (humans)

POST MAN

… knocking around at nine hundred like Methuselah (7) 

ANCIENT (very old, like Methuselah, a character in the Book of Genesis)  Also the name of the setter, but I doubt if he/she is ANCIENT or 969 years old.

Anagram of (knocking around) AT NINE and C (Roman numeral for 100)

ANCIENT*

Comic character’s a friend of Batman and Superman? (5,10) 

ROBIN GOODFELLOW (Puck, or ROBIN GOODFELLOW, is a comic character in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Also a name for an elfin sprite)

ROBIN (Batman has a friend called ROBIN) + GOODFELLOW (Superman acts like a GOOD FELLOW)

ROBIN GOOD FELLOW

Head of airline’s very happy to drop off old fighter pilot (7) 

AVIATOR (pilot)

A (first letter of [head of]) + V (very) + GLADIATOR (fighter of olden times) excluding (to drop off) GLAD (happy)

A V IATOR

One who fancies getting married, perhaps? (7) 

ADMIRER (one who fancies something)

Anagram of (perhaps) MARRIED

ADMIRER*

Cooler‘s nice and fiery wings discounted (5) 

ICIER (cooler) I would have defined it a ‘colder’ rather than ‘cooler’ but I recognise that a refrigerator is defined in America as a ‘cooler’

NICE + FIERY where the outer letters of each, NE and FY, are excluded (wings discounted)  This is a similar device to that used in the clue for TROCHEE at 7 across

IC IER

Hamburger’s good and natural (3) 

GUT (German [Hamburger, citizen of Hamburg] word for ‘good’)

GUT (Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary lists GUT as a definition for NATURAL, Chambers defines GUT as instinctive which I suppose is close to NATURAL and Collins has GUT as characterised by what is NATURAL)  double definition

GUT

Unprofessionally laid down in the middle of pillow fight (3-2) 

LOW-FI (giving an impression of poor quality; unprofessional)

LOW-FI (hidden word in [laid down in the middle of] PILLOW FIGHT)

LOW-FI

Wolf impressed by home that’s most unlike a pig sty (7) 

NEATEST (tidiest; most unlike the mess of a pig sty)

EAT (wolf [down]) contained in (impressed by [fixed deeply]) NEST (den; home for animals or birds)

N (EAT) EST

Sister bandages injury at work, ultimately doing this? (7)

NURSING (someone who bandages an injured person may be considered to be NURSING them)

(NUN [sister] containing [bandages] RSI [Repetitive Strain Injury {an injury often related to excessive data input or other physical tasks that are undertaken repeatedly}]) + G (last letter of [ultimately] DOING)

NU (RSI) N G

See 12 Across 

[TOTEM] POLE

Calm helper regularly stops P G Wodehouse’s lead character getting upset (6)

PHLEGM (calmness)

HLE (letters 1, 3 and 5 [regularly] of HELPER) contained in (stops) (P + G + M (W [first letter of [lead character of] WODEHOUSE turned upside down [upset] to form M )

P (HLE) G M

Novel about small vessel almost too detailed (4,4) 

WENT INTO (analysed and gave details about; detailed)

NEW (novel) reversed (about) + TIN (small vessel) + TOO excluding the final letter (almost) O

WEN< T IN TO

Spanish dish needing one bone but tossing out another (6) 

PAELLA (Spanish dish containing saffron, chicken, rice, vegetables, seafood, etc)

PATELLA (kneecap; bone) excluding (tossing out) T (reference a T-bone steak)

PAELLA

Old writer taps tablet to reveal parody (8) 

PASTICHE (imitations of another’s style; parody)

PAST (former; old) + I (the writer) + (C [cold] + H [hot] – taps) + E (reference an ecstasy tablet)

PAST I C H E

Master has flogger in Fifty Shades of Grey? (4,6) 

BEST SELLER (The book Fifty Shades of Grey by E L JAMES was a BEST SELLER)

BEST (win against; master) + SELLER (someone who flogs [informal terms for sells] things; flogger)

BEST SELLER

Talented but short Poirot figured out quick getaway method (13)

TELEPORTATION (movement by telekinesis [movement at a distance by power of though or will power])

Anagram of  (figured out) TALENTED excluding the final letter (but short) D and POIROT

TELEPORTATION*

Doing job from home, or sticking the telly on? (6,7) 

REMOTE WORKING (doing a job from home)

REMOTE WORKING (using the REMOTE control device to switch on the television) double definition, one slightly cryptic

REMOTE WORKING

Such a message in album is unexpectedly left (10) 

SUBLIMINAL (beneath the threshold of consciousness, subconscious; of insufficient intensity or duration to produce a response or register in the conscious mind – such a message is unexpectedly left)

Anagram of (unexpectedly) IN ALBUM IS + L (left)

SUBLIMINA* L

They’ll draw up contracts excluding certain stars (8) 

NOTARIES (officials authorized to certify deeds, contracts, copies of documents, affidavits, etc)

NOT (excluding) + ARIES (a specific [certain] constellation; stars)

NOT ARIES

Row about high-pitched electronic beeping on phone (4,4) 

DIAL TONE (the continuous sound heard on picking up a telephone receiver which indicates that the equipment is functioning and ready to accept an input telephone number) I don’t think the DIAL TONE is a beeping sound

(DIN (noise; row] containing [about] ALTO [high falsetto male voice]) + E (electronic)

DI (AL TO) N E

High-flying American brothers picked up parts of bill (6) 

RIGHTS (reference various Bills of RIGHTS enacted in a number of different countries)

RIGHTS (sounds like [picked] up WRIGHTS (reference the American brothers Orville [1871-1948] and Wilbur [1867-1912] WRIGHT, aviation pioneers – high flying brothers)

RIGHTS

Flat whites you wouldn’t want to swallow (6) 

MOLARS (grinding teeth with a flat surface.  Usually white in colour)

MOLARS (you wouldn’t want to swallow your MOLARS but you might want to swallow a flat-white coffee [one made by adding steamed milk to a shot of espresso])

MOLARS

Court order put solicitor’s nose out of joint (4) 

WRIT (legal or formal document; court order)

WRIST (joint connecting the hand to the arm) excluding (out of) S (first letter of [nose] SOLICITOR)

WRIT