Independent on Sunday 1792 Deri

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

Across

1. Somewhere in Liverpool, puzzling remains … (6,3)

KNOTTY ASH : KNOTTY(puzzling/tricky) + ASH(remains, after being burnt).

Defn: Area …, England.

6. … altogether popular with advanced students (2,3)

IN ALL : IN(popular/fashionable) plus(with) A(abbrev. for “advanced”) + L,L(2 x letter displayed by a student driver).

9. Party now and then? Given invite, go (7)

ATTEMPT : 2nd and 4th letters of(… now and then) “Party” plus(Given) TEMPT(to invite/to lure into).

Defn: …/a try at doing something.

10. Going about quietly, being a spy (7)

PEEPING : PEEING(going/having a pee/urinating) containing(about) P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical direction to play softly/quietly).

11. Fairground Attraction‘s Perfect finally introduced by presenter wearing weave (5,5)

GHOST TRAIN : [ Last letter of(… finally) “Perfect” placed after(introduced by) HOST(a presenter, in say, a TV or radio show) ] contained in(wearing) GRAIN(weave/the pattern in which fibres are arranged in a fabric).

And “Perfect” is a song by the band, Fairground Attraction.

12. Former PM‘s Gulf broadcast (4)

PITT : Homophone of(… broadcast) “pit”(a gulf/a large hole in the ground).

Answer: William the Younger or William the Older, both former Prime ministers of Great Britain.

14. Jockeys perhaps wheeze at the end of races (5)

PANTS : PANT(to wheeze/to breathe with difficulty) plus(at) last letter of(the end of) “races“.

Defn: …/briefs, examples of which/perhaps are the Y-front briefs so-called by its original manufacturer, Jockey International, because it was claimed to provide support like a jockstrap.

15. Instrument for Rick Wakeman Roger Dean transformed? (4,5)

REED ORGAN : Anagram of(… transformed) ROGER DEAN.

Defn: …, who was a keyboard player with the band “Yes”, for whom Roger Dean designed and painted posters and album covers.

… no pipes.

16. Cheap flat (9)

TASTELESS :  Double defn: 1st: …/trashy; and 2nd: …/without flavour.

18. Peer into kinky porn so right to quit (5)

SNOOP : Anagram of(kinky) “porn so” minus(… to quit) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).

20. Starters of spicy enchiladas carried to group (4)

SECT : Respective 1st letters of(Starters of) “spicy enchiladas carried to“.

21. Truss cedes to party charmer? (10)

SEDUCTRESS : Anagram of(… to party) TRUSS CEDES.

25. Kill American snake beginning to terrorise ship (7)

ICEBOAT : ICE(to kill, in American slang) + BOA(a large constrictor snake) + 1st letter of(beginning to) “terrorise“.

26. Getting hold of match official is difficult for Cambridge University (7)

HARVARD : VAR(abbrev. for “Video Assistant Referee”, an official in a sports match assisting the referee, by using a video recording of the match as it happens) contained in(Getting hold of … is) HARD(difficult/tricky).

Defn: …, ie. the University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

27. Somewhat reflective, impressionist Serafinowicz takes it easy (5)

RESTS : Hidden in(Somewhat) reversal of(reflective) “impressionist Serafinowicz“.

28. I’d try out couch that’s blue and disgusting? (5,4)

DIRTY WORD : Anagram of(…out) I’D TRY + WORD(to couch/express something spoken or written using particular words).

Down

1. Rescue boat turning up with no good whale carcass (5)

KRANG : Reversal of(… turning up) ARK(in the Bible, the boat used by Noah to rescue animals from the global flood) plus(with) NG(abbrev. for “no good”).

2. Old hat blooming tatty (7)

OUTWORN : OUT(of a flower, blooming/blossoming) + WORN(tatty/in poor condition).

Defn: …/describing something stale.

3. Freely admit a dumped settee proved useful for ages (4-6)

TIME-TESTED : Anagram of(Freely) [ “admit” minus(… dumped) “a” + SETTEE].

4. Shift key regularly errs (5)

ALTER : ALT(a button/key on a computer keyboard) + 1st and 3rd letters of(regularly) “errs“.

Defn: …/to change in character.

5. Denied an introduction, men must suppress sighs for Felicity (9)

HAPPINESS : 1st letter deleted from(Denied an introduction,) “chaps”(men/guys) containing(must suppress) PINES(sighs for/longs for).

6. Holly possibly sending up cross priest (4)

ILEX : Reversal of(sending up, in a down clue) [ X(abbrev. for “cross-“, as in “X-country”) + ELI(Biblical priest) ].

Defn: An example of which/possibly is the holly plant.

7. Lifting Qataris in game to some extent (7)

ARISING : Hidden in(… to some extent) “Qataris in game“.

8. “Plug” in the comic! Take things less seriously (7,2)

LIGHTEN UP : Anagram of(… comic) “PLUG” IN THE.

13. First couple in tonight going off syrupy TV film (5-5)

TOPSY-TURVY : 1st 2 letters of(First couple in) “tonight” + anagram of(going off) SYRUPY TV.

Defn:  … telling of Gilbert and Sullivan and their “The Mikado”.

14. Chef working to improve turnover? (9)

PATISSIER : Cryptic defn: Chef whose specialty is in making patisserie/pastries, including turnovers.

15. In office again, smirk over application of current journalist (9)

REELECTED : Reversal of(… over, in a down clue) LEER(smirk/to look at someone in an unpleasant way) + ECT(abbrev. for “electroconvulsive therapy”, a medical treatment with the application of electric currents through the brain) + ED(abbrev. for “editor”, a senior journalist).

17. Unmentionables? On in 20 seconds! (7)

SECRETS : RE(on/with reference to) contained in(in) SECT(solution to 20 across) + S(abbrev. for “seconds”).

19. Old beast of burden climbing to get aromatic plant (7)

OREGANO : O(abbrev. for “old”) + reversal of(… climbing, in a down clue) ONAGER(the Asiatic wild ass – not sure that it is a beast of burden, as it is undomesticated, unlike its relative, the donkey).

22. Direct and officious librarian in Bow? (5)

USHER : “husher”(how one might describe an officious librarian calling for silence/hush!) dropping the “h”(as it may be pronounced in Bow in the London East End).

23. Joined daughter supporting team (5)

SIDED : D(abbrev. for “daughter”) placed below(supporting, in a down clue) SIDE(one of the teams in a sporting competition).

Defn: …, in terms of choosing to support one of the parties opposing others in a dispute or competition.

24. Kate perhaps writing about naked pose (4)

MOSS : MS(abbrev. for “manuscript”, text written by hand rather than typed or printed) containing(about) 1st and last letters deleted from(naked) “pose“.

Defn: An example of/perhaps someone with first name Kate.