Independent 11,696 / Phi

JE (=first person in France, i.e. the French word for I) + *(FLUTE); “playing” is anagram indicator; “like the wind” in the definition refers to speed, moving quickly

A + N (=new, as in NT) + <re>GULAR (=soldier, private; “not the Engineers (=RE, i.e. Royal Engineers); angular is stiff in manner, the opposite of easy or graceful

*(ANTI-BRAIN); “that could be” is anagram indicator

Cryptically, (to) RIG I.D. could be (to) fake documents!

<f>LAKE (=small chip); “losing initial” means first letter is dropped; lake is a reddish pigment, originally derived from lac

*(IN THE DISCO); “dancing” is anagram indicator

<g>ENT (=chap; “dismisses good (=G)” means letter “g” is dropped) + RAN (=managed) + CE (=church, i.e. Church of England); the entrance to a city could be described as the approach to it

SM (=sexual style, i.e. sadomasochism) in DIAL (=face, e.g. of clock)

HO (=house) + RACE (=descendants, people); the reference is to the Roman poet Horace (65-8 BC), the leading lyric poet during the time of Augustus

MET (=satisfied, e.g. conditions) + ALL (=everything) + I + C<ampanology> (“initially” means first letter only); a ringing sound is metallic in nature

*(CAN + MUST RIP); “up” is anagram indicator

F (=fellow) + O<perate> (“beginning to” means first letter only) + X Y (=axes, on a graph); the reference is to a fox hunt

RABBI<t> (=babble, chatter); “endless” means last letter is dropped

WINTERS ON (=gets through extended hibernation); the reference is to acclaimed UK writer Jeanette Winterson (1960-)

LEEK (=vegetable) in SLY (=crafty)

AUSTE<n> (=British novelist, i.e. Jane; “omitting note (=N)” means letter “n” is dropped) + RE- (=about, regarding)

BILE (=ill-temper) replaces “n” (=last (letter) of fun) in JU<n>E (=UK summertime)

TRICK (=success in card game) + STER<n> (=sever; “cut” means last letter is dropped)

A (=American) in <r>UTH (=baseball player, i.e. Babe Ruth (1895-1948); “heading off” means first letter is dropped)

LE (=the French, i.e. a French word for the) + NIEN (NEIN=German refusal, i.e. the German word for no; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) + CE (=this Parisian, i.e. a French word for this)

AMAZ<e> (=surprise, astonish; “endless” means last letter is dropped) + ON (=working, of machine)

*(MEDICAL RIG); “sorted out” is anagram indicator

LEG IT (=show turn of speed, i.e. make a run for it)

C<ar> (“front of” means first letter only) in RADIAL (=tyre)

MATCH (=game, fixture) + STICK (=criticism, rap); cf. to strike a match

*(AIMS I LOVE); “getting drunk” is anagram indicator; malvoisie is a type of grape originally from Greece, used to produce mainly white wine

PAN (=hollow, basin) in REDDA (ADDER=snake; “turned up” is anagram indicator)

HUM (=strong smell, pong) + ERUS (SURE=certainly; “rising” indicates vertical reversal)

YEN (=Japanese currency) in CANE (=staff, rod); cayenne is a pungent red pepper, hence “hot stuff”

BRAW (=Scot’s excellent, i.e. a word for excellent, splendid in Scottish English) + N (=new) + Y (=year)

NO BL<u>E (=not good enough for university team); “university (=U) ditched” means letter “u” is dropped

Hidden (“in”) in “tiMES Square”