How splendid to blog another Azed.
I have marked a few points that I could not quite resolve below, none of which ultimately prevented completion of the grid.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SPEED COP |
One checking road crime, special vigour limiting breaking of code (8, 2 words)
|
| S (special) + PEP (vigour) around (limiting) anagram of (breaking of) CODE | ||
| 7 | NOBS |
Swells kicked the bucket after end of celebration (4)
|
| I think there is a problem here: Last letter of (end of) [CELEBRATIO]N + OB. (kicked the bucket = obiit, died) + S (???) or: Last letter of (end of) [CELEBRATIO]N + OBS (kicked the bucket = obsolete???) | ||
| 11 | CRACK |
Expert creating flaw (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | HARD BOP |
Jazz type making poet dance switching parts (7, 2 words)
|
| [B]ARD (poet) + [H]OP (dancing) switching the first letters (switching parts) | ||
| 13 | AEROSIDERITE |
A tide rose, i.e. somehow about right, indicating heavenly body (12)
|
| Anagram of (somehow) {A TIDE ROSE I.E.} around (about) R (right), specifically, an iron meteorite | ||
| 16 | STOL |
It involves take-offs and landings, many returning (4)
|
| LOTS (many) reversed (returning), an aeronautical acronym | ||
| 17 | STEGOSAUR |
Jurassic creature, sort e.g. roaming round USA, wild (9)
|
| Anagram of (roaming) {SORT E.G.} around (round) anagram of (wild) USA | ||
| 18 | ERHU |
One’s bowed, displaying dowager hump in part (4)
|
| Hidden in (displaying . . . in part) [DOWAG]ER HU[MP], according to Chambers: “a Chinese two-stringed musical instrument, played with a bow” | ||
| 20 | URGE |
Ballot-box information twice yielding names to press (4)
|
| UR[N] (ballot-box) + GE[N] (information) twice minus (yielding) N (name[s]) | ||
| 22 | ALEE |
Indicating port side, outer bits cut from whale bone (4)
|
| I think there is a problem here: The wordplay leads to: [B]ALEE[N] (whale bone) minus (cut) outside letters (outer bits), but “alee” means “on or toward the lee-side,” according to Chambers. I wonder whether Azed’s glance skipped down to the next entry, “aleft,” defined in Chambers as “on or to the left hand.” | ||
| 23 | OBIA |
Charm I discerned in African chieftain (4)
|
| I inside (discerned in) OBA (African chieftain), this spelling indicated as “obsolete” in Chambers | ||
| 25 | REBELLION |
Dance round baron, brave one in activity involving boxers? (9)
|
| REEL (dance) around (round) B (baron) + LION (brave one), with a non-capitalization misdirection, referring to the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901 | ||
| 26 | DADO |
Trouble going after depth in border (4)
|
| D (depth) + ADO (trouble) | ||
| 30 | ELECTROMOTOR |
Picked for office tomorrow? Almost, in a way, as power source (12)
|
| ELECT (picked for office) + anagram of (in a way) TOMORRO[W] minus last letter (almost) | ||
| 31 | CORTÈGE |
Sheep occupying centre in procession (7)
|
| TEG (sheep) inside (occupying) CORE (centre) | ||
| 32 | DRUSE |
Doctor given exercise for cavity (5)
|
| DR (doctor) + USE (exercise) | ||
| 33 | KOSS |
Digger on ship a short distance from India (4)
|
| KO (“digger,” i.e., a Maori digging stick) + SS (ship). I am not sure about “a short distance,” in that this is defined in Chambers as “about 1 3/4 miles.” | ||
| 34 | SEA LEMON |
Fish twice interspersed with English marine slug (8, 2 words)
|
| SALMON (fish) twice interspersed with E (English) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCAG |
Junk, cold, dumped in sink (4)
|
| C (cold) inside (dumped in) SAG (sink), both slang for heroin | ||
| 2 | PRESTEL |
Viewdata system was still mostly in programming language (7)
|
| RESTE[D] (was still) minus last letter (mostly) inside (in) PL (programming language) | ||
| 3 | EAR DEFENDERS |
Muffs organ and delays involving consequence (12, 2 words)
|
| EAR (organ) + DEFERS (delays) around (involving) END (consequence) | ||
| 4 | ECOD |
Crack that’s devoid of extremes? It was a mild oath (4)
|
| [D]ECOD[E] (crack) minus (devoid of) outside letters (extremes) | ||
| 5 | CHID |
Ticked off flower without tincture? (4)
|
| [OR]CHID (flower) minus (without) OR (tincture) | ||
| 6 | PRENUBILE |
Dancing in pub reel, not yet ready to get hitched (9)
|
| Anagram of (dancing) IN PUB REEL | ||
| 8 | OBITER DICTUM |
Passing remark, one taking effect in blame around court (12, 2 words)
|
| BITER (one taking effect) inside (in) ODIUM (blame) around CT (court) | ||
| 9 | BOTOX |
Something for treating complexion to put in receptacle (5)
|
| TO inside (put in) BOX (receptacle) | ||
| 10 | SPELAEAN |
Like a caveman, tumbling asleep if old (8)
|
| Anagram of (tumbling) ASLEEP + AN (if, old, indicated in Chambers as “archaic”) | ||
| 14 | CORVETTES |
Old vessels? One experienced in military service in Spanish parliament (9)
|
| VET (one experienced in military service) inside (in) CORTES (Spanish parliament). A modern class of ship called “corvette” also exists. | ||
| 15 | DAUB |
Smear in meat stew, French, not English (4)
|
| DAUB[E] (meat stew, French) minus (not) E (English) | ||
| 17 | SPAR DECK |
Electrician consumes rotten matter, ay lost, in temporary part of vessel (8, 2 words)
|
| SPARK (electrician) around (consumes) DEC[AY] (rotten matter) minus (lost) AY | ||
| 19 | HOBO |
Tramp perished in wartime service (4)
|
| OB. (perished, obiit) inside (in) HO (wartime service, defined in Chambers as “hostilities only, used to designate service in the Royal Navy during wartime”) | ||
| 21 | GIOCOSO |
Sound made by Scotsman, exceedingly jolly (7)
|
| Homophones of (sound made by) JOCK (Scotsman) + OH SO (exceedingly) | ||
| 24 | BALOO |
Bear black tuber (5)
|
| B (black) + ALOO (tuber), referring to a character in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book | ||
| 27 | ZOEA |
Crab larva, ordinary, found among maize (4)
|
| O (ordinary) inside (found among) ZEA (maize) | ||
| 28 | GORE |
Try on old-fashioned skirt (4)
|
| GO (try) + RE (on), indicated in Chambers as “obsolete,” thus “old-fashioned” | ||
| 29 | WREN |
Serving girl, fresh up, taking recipe in (4)
|
| NEW (fresh) inverted (up) around (taking . . . in) R (recipe), defined in Chambers as “a member of the WRNS,” “formerly, Women’s Royal Naval Service” |