Independent on Sunday 1404 Kairos

Thanks to Kairos for an enjoyable crossword (notwithstanding a little parsing problem). Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Make a futile attempt to sell Shergar? (4,1,4,5)

FLOG A DEAD HORSE : FLOG(to sell) [A DEAD HORSE](an example of which is Shergar, the Derby-winning racehorse which was kidnapped and presumed killed in 1983).

10 Middle-eastern group welcomes Utah’s underworld leader (5)

PLUTO : PLO(abbrev. for the Palestine Liberation Organisation, a Middle-eastern group) containing(welcomes) UT(abbrev. for Utah, the US state).

Defn:  The god-ruler of the underworld, land of the dead.

11 Note of thirteenth letter in riddle cracked by Britain (9)

SEMIBREVE : [ EM(M, the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet) contained in(in) SIEVE(a riddle;a utensil riddled with holes used to separate coarse from finer material) ] containing(cracked by) BR(abbrev. for Britain).

Defn: A whole note representing 4 beats in 4/4 time.

12 Alberta’s note against European remit (7)

ABSOLVE : AB(abbrev. for Alberta, the Canadian province) + SOL(the fifth note in the sol-fa musical scale) + V(abbrev. for “versus”;against) + E(abbrev. for European).

Defn: To forgive a sin or to cancel a debt or punishment.

13 Couple study American food processors (7)

DUODENA : DUO(a couple of people or things, especially in music or entertainment) + DEN(a study;a secluded room) + A(abbrev. for American).

Defn: Plural for the starting portion of the small intestine, which digests;processes the food you eat.

14 Sting‘s technologically advanced, witty and stylish (5)

SMART : Quadruple defn: 1st: The painful sensation; and 2nd: As in a “smart phone”; and 3: Amusingly clever; and 4: Elegant;chic.

16 Flies hang around shark (9)

ANGELFISH : Anagram of(… around) FLIES HANG.

Defn: A genus of sharks.

19 French chalk adding quality to Palmolive and Lux? (9)

SOAPSTONE : TONE(in general, the quality of something; specifically, the characteristic quality of the sound of a musical instrument) placed after(adding … to) SOAPS(of which Palmolive and Lux are brand names).

Defn: The mineral, the soft variety of which is used to make French chalk, used by tailors for marking fabrics.

20 Disconcertingly holds back gunpowder component (5)

NITRE : Hidden in(… holds) reversal of(… back) “Disconcertingly“.

22 A republican bum’s liabilities (7)

ARREARS : A + R(abbrev. for a member of the Republican Party) + REAR(the bum;buttocks)‘S.

25 Spanish man returns on Thursday with toilets (7)

THRONES : Reversal of(… returns) SENOR(a form of address to a Spanish man, corresponding to Mr. or sir) placed after (on) TH(abbrev. for Thursday).

Defn: A humorous term for “toilets”.

27 Make another pie cooked with claret (9)

REPLICATE : Anagram of(… cooked) [PIE plus(with) CLARET] .

28 One with legal right to make film (5)

ALIEN : A(One) plus(with) LIEN(a legal right to another’s property as security for an unpaid debt).

Defn: … directed by Ridley Scott.

29 Maybe brass anemometer? (4,10)

WIND INSTRUMENT : Double defn: 1st: In music, an example of which;maybe, is a brass instrument; and 2nd: Cryptically, a description of an anemometer;an instrument that measures wind speed.

Down

2 USA oil in a distilled state (9)

LOUISIANA : Anagram of(… distilled) USA OIL IN A.

Defn: … in the USA.

3 Good lines to speak in a surly way (5)

GROWL : G(abbrev. for “good”) + 2 lines [ROW(a line of similar things) + L(abbrev. for “line”)].

4 Head of department’s language books replaced by Dutch criminal (9)

DESPERADO : The 1st letter of(Head of) “department” + “Esperanto”(an artificial international language) with “nt”(abbrev. for the New Testament, the collection of books in the second part of the Bible) replaced by “D”(abbrev. for Dutch).

5 Designed top holiday location (5)

AIMED : AI(A1;top class with 1 substituted by its Roman numeral) + MED(short for the Mediterranean, a holiday region;location).

6 Start to swear briefly after lout becomes mischievous creature (9)

HOBGOBLIN : I can’t satisfactorily explain the wordplay.  Is it: [ GO(to start;to set out, say, on a journey) + “blind”(I presume from “eff and blind”;to use swear words, OR from “swear blind”;to state assertively) minus its last letter(briefly) ] placed below(after, in a down clue) HOB(itself short for “hobgoblin”;a mischievous creature – but an understatement, to say the least, if used to describe a lout).

7 Leading ladies standing up for chief magistrate (5)

REEVE : Reversal of(… standing up) 2 leading ladies[EVE(the Biblical mother of the human race) + ER(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina, the Queen) ].

Defn: … in English history.

8 Body part found by detective on beat (7)

EYELASH : EYE(a detective, as in “a private eye”) plus(on) LASH(to beat with, say, a lash).

9 Talks of special vegetables containing potassium (6)

SPEAKS : S(abbrev. for “special”)+ PEAS(vegetables) containing K(symbol for the chemical element, potassium).

15 Conductor‘s to make an electronic copy of single (9)

TOSCANINI : TO + [SCAN IN](to make an electronic copy of, say, a document to store in an electronic file) + I(Roman numeral for “one”;a single).

Answer: Arturo, Italian conductor.

17 Bargee and tar sailing around large Canadian Lake (5,4)

GREAT BEAR : Anagram of(… sailing around) [BARGEE plus(and) TAR].

18 End a healing process (9)

INTENTION : Double defn: 1st: An objective;an aim; and 2nd: In medicine, the healing process of a wound.

19 Pig eating young fish and bird (7)

SPARROW : SOW(an adult female pig) containing(eating) PARR(a young salmon, and various other young fish).

21 What a choir may do under running water is relaxing (6)

EASING : SING(what a choir may do) placed below(under, in a down clue) EA(dialect for “river”;”running water”, from Old English, used in place-names).

23 Develop paper in, for example, reading and writing (5)

RIPEN : I(the i, British newspaper in tabloid-size format) contained in(in) [ R(for “reading”, one of the;for example, 3Rs in school, together with “‘riting” and “‘rithmetic”) plus(and) PEN(writing as a profession or occupation, as in “a master of the pen”) ].

24 Horse also includes other animals (5)

SEALS : Hidden in(… includes) “Horse also“.

26 Domain of artistic movement one’s abandoned (5)

REALM : “Realism”(a movement in the fine arts, say, painting, sculpture and literature that seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life, rather than an idealised or romantic version of it) minus(… abandoned) [ “I”(Roman numeral for “one”)‘S ].