Fresh from icy Breidablik, a grid by Baldur to start the week.
There were some beautiful surfaces, of which I will plump for 16d as my overall favourite. Add to those one NHO (Psalters) and a reference to Chay Blyth, which took me back to childhood trips to Greenwich, there was a lot in this that I very much enjoyed.
Thanks Baldur for the grid.
Definitions are underlined.
Pale [WAN] tweeds every now and then [every other letter = T E D]
Spy [MOLE] having cracked clue [anag “cracked” CLUE = CULE]
Anag ENERGETIC [“dancing”] after dropping [remove] a tab [E]
Appeal [IT} to heavyweight [ALI = Mohammed Ali] conservative [C]
Cryptic clue
Tyne and Wear [NE] also headed [remove first letter = LSO] Nissan in the end [last letter = N]
Hidden word [“a selection from”] FIRST SIX EXPORTS
Anag [“running around”] AINTREE TIMED
Men [OR] bulge at the front [B] after tummy muscles [ABS]
Anag. [“deployed”] STATE AID
An [PER] intro to shanty [S] written about [around] old sea dog [SALT]
What might be a bomb [TICKER] in ships hold [inside SS]
Anag [“about”] I DREAM
Case for unusual [UL] clock [TIME] brought round at [AT]
Poet removing jacket [OE] and covering [around] old yachtsman [CHAY (Blyth)].
Ian here a reference to a Scottish person
A Liverpool player [A RED] outside of [around] area almost [RANGE]
Homphone clue. Support for setter = “MY TEE”
Early indications [first letters of] Legionnaires Opening Inadvisable New
Out and out [UTTER] good guy [ST] starts [at the beginning] speaking initially [S]
Cryptic. Talentless people = “Not ables”
Papers [ID] implicating [around] couple [MATE] enjoying [around] sex [IT]
Snack’s [CRIPS] quietly [P] replaced by one [I]
Author [I] lovingly [FONDLY] delivering [removing] diamonds {D}
Opponents [Bridge = ES] rubbish [TAT] the closure of [last letter] college [E]
Vacuous [empty] EEJITS [=ES] clutching [around] books [BB]
Thanks Leedsclimber for the excellent blog. I must admit I had to look up Breidablik to see where you are! It must be beautiful as the Spring emerges and the light returns.
Delighted you appreciated the surfaces. I’ll be interested to see if/how others parse the tricky 24a!
I solved most of the puzzle pretty steadily before my stupidity necessitated a couple of letter reveals at the end. My podium goes to ABSORB, STICKERS and SATIATED.
I parsed TSETSE as SET (station) in a cycled version of SET (kit, I guess as in Airfix set/kit?)
A very enjoyable and approachable puzzle, thanks Baldur – and thanks also to Leedsclimber for the blog.