Thank you to Major (new setter? or special event setter?). Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Some solutions are associated with the sport of motor racing, specifically F1, one of whose Championship races is on today at 6 down.
Across
1. National survey over the telephone (4)
POLE : Homophone of(… over the telephone) “poll”(an opinion or voting survey).
Defn: A … from Poland.
4. Holds frame for glasses masking grave expression (5)
GRIPS : 1st and last letters of(frame for) “glasses” containing(masking) RIP(abbrev. for “Rest in Peace”, an expression found on gravestones).
7. Pressure fool to make the grade (4)
PASS : P(symbol for “pressure” in physics) + ASS(a fool/a stupid person).
9. First ever to mix up I and me (6)
MAIDEN : Anagram of(mix up) I AND ME.
Answer: Refering to one’s first ever win in, say, motor racing.
10. Performing group stops complicated intro gaining popularity (8)
TRACTION : ACT(a performing group in a, say, concert, as in “The opening act was The Quarrymen”) contained in(stops) anagram of(complicated) INTRO.
Answer: How much something becomes popular or accepted.
11. Focus of Ferrari to eavesdrop about new aerodynamic part (4,4)
REAR WING : Middle letter of(Focus of/centre of) “Ferrari” + EARWIG(to eavesdrop/secretly listen to a conversation) containing(about) N(abbrev. for “new”).
12. Who attempts to get in touch with twin? (6)
RINGER : Double defn: 1st: … on the phone; and 2nd: Person or thing which looks exactly like another/a twin.
13. Outing secret agent finishing early at work (4)`
SPIN : “spy”(a secret agent) minus its last letter(finishing early) + IN(present at the office/at work, as in “He was in before the clients”).
Answer: A brief trip in a vehicle for pleasure.
15. Concerned with design of street away from the town crossing defaced channel (10)
STRUCTURAL : ST(abbrev. for “street”) + RURAL(away from the town/in the countryside) containing(crossing) “duct”(a channel/a conduit) minus its 1st letter(defaced …).
17. One leading expert’s entertained by favourite theory regularly (10)
PACESETTER : ACE(an expert in a specific activity) contained in(entertained by) PET(a favourite/one treated with special favour) + 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of(… regularly) “theory”.
19. Glory hole’s opening next to a toilet wiping rear (4)
HALO : 1st letter of(…’s opening) “hole” plus(next to) A + “loo”(informal term for “toilet”) minus its last letter(wiping rear).
Defn: A luminous ring drawn over the head of Christ or saints.
And, … a glory hole is an opening in a toilet cubicle’s wall for illicit activities.
20. Californian law enforcement arresting perp not half drunk (6)
LAPPED : LAPD(abbrev. for the Los Angeles Police Department”, a Californian law enforcement agency) containing(arresting) last 2 out of 4 letters deleted from(… not half) “perp”.
22. The man on seat secures coach (8)
REHEARSE : HE(pronoun for “that man”) contained in(… secures) [ RE(with reference to/on) + ARSE(slang for one’s buttocks/seat) ].
25. I hope it breaks American nation (8)
ETHIOPIA : Anagram of(… breaks) I HOPE IT + A(abbrev. for “American”).
27. Stage cricket match for all ages in afternoon (6)
PODIUM : [ ODI(abbrev. for “One Day International”, a form of an international cricket match) + U(a classification of movies that are suitable for general/all ages viewing) ] contained in(in) PM(abbrev. for “post meridiem”, the afternoon time of day).
28. Part of car exhaust heard (4)
TYRE : Homophone of(… heard) “tire”(to exhaust/wear out).
29. Brown crust of gooseberry tart (5)
TANGY : TAN(a brownish colour) + 1st and last letters of(crust of) “gooseberry”.
Defn: …/having a strong sharp taste.
30. Attempt to draw attention of two females as the second turns around (4)
FLAG : F(abbrev. for “female”) + reversal of(… turns around) GAL(the second female per the clue).
Down
2. Old enough for starters to purchase cigarette? (2,3)
OF AGE : 1st letters, respectively, of(… for starters) “Old enough” containing(to purchase) FAG(slang for a cigarette).
Defn: Referencing the law which sets a minimum age in order to purchase cigarettes.
3. Ability to cope with nude swimming managed today (9)
ENDURANCE : Anagram of(… swimming) NUDE + RAN(managed, say, on organisation) + CE(abbrev. for “Common Era”, an alternative to AD used to indicate today’s age/the period after Christ’s birth).
4. Exposed medium with two guardian spirits (5)
GENII : 1st and last letters deleted from(Exposed) “agent”(medium/means to produce a specified result) plus(with) II(Roman numeral for “two”).
5. Teeing off over par ultimately getting whole number (7)
INTEGER : Anagram of(… off) TEEING + last letter of(… ultimately) “par”.
6. Write up further thoughts on adult resort (3)
SPA : Reversal of(Write up, in a down clue) [ PS(abbrev. for “postscript”, further thoughts written after the main message) plus(on) A(abbrev. for “adult”) ].
Not just mineral baths, but this too:
7. Still in bed retiring for present (3,2)
PUT ON : Reversal of(… retiring) [NOT UP](still in bed sleeping or not out of bed yet).
Answer: To organise, say, a play or an event.
8. Obstruct nasty snot that’s disgusting everyone (9)
STONEWALL : Anagram of(nasty) SNOT + EW!(an expression of disgust/”that’s disgusting!”) + ALL(everyone).
12. Cobra certainly eclipses North American snake (5)
RACER : Hidden in(… eclipses) “Cobra certainly”.
And, … a cobra will certainly overcome this:
14. An effort to support green vegetables in farming class (9)
PEASANTRY : AN + TRY(an effort/attempt to achieve something) placed below(to support, in a down clue) PEAS(green vegetables).
15. Hurry son and daughter outside to go to the toilet (5)
SPEED : [ S(abbrev. for “son”) plus(and) D(abbrev. for “daughter”) ] containing(outside) PEE(to urinate/to go to the toilet).
16. Peacekeepers try to work out fine lacking precedent (7-2)
UNHEARD-OF : UN(abbrev. for the United Nations, acting as peacekeepers to the world) + HEAR(to try in a court of law) + DO(to figure/work out) + F(abbrev. for “fine”, on the pencil hardness scale).
18. I’m hesitant to enter line of vehicles making ground (7)
TERRAIN : ER(expression meaning “I’m hesitant”/I’m not sure) contained in(to enter) TRAIN(a number of vehicles moving in a line).
21. Cool writer captures lives (5)
POISE : POE(Edgar Allan, American writer) containing(captures) IS(exists/lives).
Defn: …/calmness.
23. Free type of takeaway’s set aside cold (5)
HIPPY : “chippy”(a fish-and-chip shop as a takeaway/an establishment selling food to eaten elsewhere) minus(…’s set aside) “c”(abbrev. for “cold”).
Answer: A free spirit, one who is nonconformist.
24. Sit semi-naked in this sweater? (5)
SAUNA : Cryptic defn: Where to sweat it out:
… with hot air or steam.
26. Dirty place arises where antiperspirant may be required (3)
PIT : Double defn: 1st: A hole in the ground, which can be described as “dirty”/with a lot of dirt around, or, the worst possible place, as in “the pits”; and 2nd: An informal term for a person’s armpit, ….
And perhaps: PIT: Hidden in(where … may be required) reversal of(arises …) “antiperspirant”.
Definitely hectic:
Thanks Major and scchua
You can add 19 HALO to the themers, as that’s the term for the protective frame around the front of the cockpit of an F1 car.
It goes to show that you don’t have to be interested in the theme to enjoy the puzzle. An impressive number of themed entries. I liked PUT ON. It’s so neat it must have been done before. Great blog, too.
Fun.. altho needed the blog to fully explain some like REHEARSE.. I wondered about a theme, but didn’t require it to solve.. had NIPPY for HIPPY until it patently wasn’t… a lot to enjoy
Thanks Major n scchua
26d
i think this should be tip (informal for a dirty place) reversed (arises, in a down clue) to give pit, but if major cleverly constructed this clue with 3 separate parsing, I’d tip my hat off to him
Missed the theme, despite solving while watching the Belgian GP! Doh
Lovely puzzle. Thanks so much to Major and scchua for the explanations I needed!
Thanks scchua for the wonderful blog and for all the kind comments. Jerremy@4 has the correct parse of 26d, but designing a reversal-doubledefn-hidden hybrid sounds like a challenge I’d happily take on!