The usual pleasing cryptic from Everyman. Nothing to frighten the horses, which is as it should be.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Small timepiece’s piece of cloth
SWATCH
A charade of S and WATCH.
5 Reluctant announcement of just one summary
AVERSE
I’m not sure about this. ‘Announcement’ suggests aural wordplay of A VERSE, but I don’t get VERSE as ‘summary’.
8 Elbow rather jittery: make things easier
LOWER THE BAR
(ELBOW RATHER)* with ‘jittery’ as the anagrind.
11 Some of bosun’s crew edgy, ready to take off
UNSCREWED
Hidden in bosUNS CREW EDgy.
12 Disgust: social outcast returns
REPEL
A reversal of LEPER.
13 Precious-ish, emeraldesque rock in demand; olivine trinket, primarily!
PERIDOT
The initial letters of the first seven words of the clue and a cad.
14 Launch campaign?
PROJECT
A dd.
15 Overnight train: what it will cross
SLEEPER
Another dd.
17 Snubs enthusiasts for Bible study
REBUFFS
RE BUFFS would presumably be keen on Bible study …
20 We hear 40 in Rome go far
EXCEL
Aural wordplay (‘we hear’) for XL, Roman numerals for the number 40.
21 Frequently depressed characters?
KEYBOARDS
A cd.
22 Composed acid satire initially attacking Balkans’ neighbour
ADRIATIC SEA
A charade of (ACID SATIRE)* and A for the initial letter of ‘attacking’. The anagrind is ‘composed’.
23 Classic car’s finish: Switzerland, then major Italian city
CHROME
A charade of CH and ROME.
24 Mostly clear: thyme’s not refined
EARTHY
Hidden in clEAR THYme. ‘Mostly’ is indicating that the majority of the letters of the two words are needed.
Down
2 Encircles tree with garbage including carbon, depression begins now
WALL STREET CRASH
An insertion of C in WALLS, TREE and TRASH. The insertion indicator is ‘including’.
3 Time we rode off, Rose
TOWERED
A charade of T and (WE RODE)* with ‘off’ as the anagrind.
4 Mineral-rich fluid tumbling earthward
HARD WATER
(EARTHWARD)* with ‘tumbling’ as the anagrind.
5 A doctorate describing Citizen’s second cause of Rosebud’s loss
APHID
An insertion of I for the second letter of ‘citizen’ in A PHD. The insertion indicator is ‘describing’.
6 Trade barrier: flickering amber, then green light
EMBARGO
A charade of (AMBER)* and GO. The anagrind is ‘flickering’.
7 Drops chaps after reshuffle: poor!
STRAPPED FOR CASH
(DRIOS CHAPS AFTER)* with ‘reshuffle’ as the anagrind.
9 Shoe quiz
PUMP
A dd.
10 Australian drunk disembarked
ALIT
A charade of A and LIT.
14 Say conga is agreed policy
PARTY LINE
If you dance the conga at a party, you need to form a line …
15 Upset, Everyman cut 50% of fats, being staunch
STEM
A charade of ME and [FA]TS reversed.
16 Lighter, twinkling, somewhere in Sicily
PALERMO
A charade of PALER and MO. MO is short for ‘moment’, of which ‘twinkling’ is a synonym.
18 Dumb row’s erupting, cancelling some characters – 23?
BROWSER
Hidden in DumB ROWS ERupting and referring to the solution to 23ac, CHROME.
19 Pest – and missing – neither good nor bad
SO-SO
SO [AND] SO.
21 Two knights on the street; one’s a rascal
KNAVE
A charade of K, N (both abbreviations for ‘knight’) and AVE for avenue or ‘street’.
Many thanks to Everyman for this week’s puzzle.
Thanks Pierre. I also didn’t get verse>summary in AVERSE, so I put those two words in a search and AI tells me it’s biblical. A verse summary condenses a specific passage of scripture, highlighting its main points, key themes, and significant verses to capture the essence of its meaning.
As usual, I wasn’t looking for the rhyming pair, so the two long’uns SFC and WSC took longer than perhaps they should have. Don’t know why CHROME is necessarily a feature only of classic cars.
I particularly liked the surfaces in the clues today. Too many to mention, but was especially tickled by the references to Citizen Kane and Rosebud in such a pesky little word like APHID.
ALIT: I’ve seen drunk Australians disembark on a voyage from Sydney to Southampton decades ago, when sea travel was cheaper than airfares. They thought they could swim back to the ship after carousing in Acapulco, (we went via Panama when Suez was closed) but the ship was at anchor a mile out, and they had to be rescued. The purser stamped their passports and they would have had lots of trouble anywhere else they wanted to go.