Good puzzle for the IoS slot, I thought. A few harder ones, but once you’d got some crossers, it wasn’t too tricky to finish. You might have thought differently, so comments welcome.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Queen, perhaps, with European renown but no line in class
CATEGORY
A charade of CAT for ‘Queen’ or a female cat, E for ‘European’ and G[L]ORY.
5 Tawdry gear put in front of school
KITSCH
A charade of KIT and SCH.
10 Sample sales talk close to salesman
PATTERN
A charade of PATTER and N for the last letter of ‘salesman’.
11 Past due to be reviewed in bulletins, say
UPDATES
(PAST DUE)*
12 Discuss free entertainment
TREAT
A dd. Were you ‘treated’ to a film or a meal recently?
13 How one might describe caller at risk?
ON THE LINE
A cd cum dd.
14 Actress ferries chair in play
CARRIE FISHER
(FERRIES CHAIR)* The actress from Star Wars, who was also once married to Paul Simon. She got one of his guitars as part of the divorce settlement.
19 Frenchman to support diplomat and get on initial trip?
MAIDEN VOYAGE
A charade of M for Monsieur or ‘Frenchman’, AID for ‘support’, ENVOY for ‘diplomat’ and AGE for ‘get on’. Phew.
22 Noted West Indian that’s smuggled in fish? Suspect something wrong
SMELL A RAT
Well, the definition and the enumeration would give you it, but you’d have to know that Brian LARA was a ‘noted West Indian’ cricketer and that SMELT is a type of silvery ‘fish’. The insertion indicator is ‘smuggled’. Lara was gifted beyond measure, but he was a left-hander, so what do you expect?
25 Taverner verifying bottles or bottle?
NERVE
Hidden in TaverNER VErifying with ‘bottles’ as the inclusion indicator.
26 Waiter in a trat, possibly, over to secure a gratuity (not pennies)
ITALIAN
Took me ages to parse this. It’s a reversal of NAIL A TI[P].
27 A cup includes a lot of sumptuous fruit
APRICOT
It took me about as long to parse this. It’s an insertion of RIC[H] in A POT.
28 Place to prepare food in area of theatre not right
GALLEY
GALLE[R]Y
29 Head of school to take out group showing range of talent?
SKILL SET
A charade of S for the first letter of ‘school’, KILL for ‘take out’ and SET for ‘group’.
Down
1 US writer, one first off to receive a prize
CAPOTE
I’ll put my hands up and say that this one was another whose parsing nearly eluded me. It’s Truman CAPOTE, and is A POT inserted into [A]CE for ‘one first off’.
2 Put limit on number south of Thailand
TETHER
A charade of T for the abbreviation for ‘Thailand’ and ETHER for the anaesthetic ‘number’.
3 It could be angered about a trespasser’s entry?
GREAT DANE
I’m going to risk opprobrium by saying that this is &lit, and that it’s (ANGERED)* around A and T for the first letter of ‘trespasser’.
4 Trumpeter’s last note after playing musical composition
RONDO
A charade of R for the last letter of ‘trumpeter’ and DO for the ‘note’ after ON for ‘playing’.
6 Cool stop for non-mainstream band
INDIE
A charade of IN and DIE.
7 Model under the influence of drink? Don’t move!
SIT TIGHT
A charade of SIT for ‘model’ and TIGHT for ‘drunk’.
8 Many see around back of older pub
HOSTELRY
A charade of HOST for ‘many’ and an insertion of R for the last letter of ‘older’ in ELY for the setters’ favourite ‘see’.
9 Posh baronet in cultivated style shows refinement
SUBTLETY
An insertion of U and BT in (STYLE)*
15 Minister never flustered when indebted?
REVEREND
This is perhaps getting a bit sophisticated for an IoS puzzle, but it’s (NEVER)* in RED. The anagrind is ‘flustered’ and Hypnos is asking you to put the anagram in RED for ‘indebted’ or ‘in the red’.
16 Novel learning covering English mostly
IN GENERAL
(LEARNING)* with an insertion of E.
17 Wonderful part of a tennis player’s repertoire
SMASHING
A dd.
18 Dismiss idiot overlooking latest in computer protection
FIREWALL
A charade of FIRE for ‘dismiss’ and WALL[Y]
20 One known for snapping American plant
CROCUS
A charade of CROC and US.
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can’t get friendly with a crocodile
Don’t be taken in by his welcome grin
He’s imagining how well you’d fit inside his skin …
21 Act foolishly and get lost
BEAT IT
If you act foolishly, you’d BE A TIT. A dd cum cd.
23 See anger in foreign banker
LOIRE
A charade of LO! and IRE. Some folk don’t like ‘banker’ for a river, but I’m getting used to it.
24 Follow recorded music
TRACK
A dd to finish.
Many thanks to Hypnos for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Above average difficulty for an IoS, which I prefer, last portion finished was NW corner, where there were a few tricky ones.
Tanks to Hypnos for an interesting puzzle with nice clueing and to Pierre for an impeccable blog.
Some tricky parsings but all fair. BEAT IT made me chuckle.
Thanks Hypnos and Pierre
First ever IoS I’ve finished, I can’t do the “easy” ones.
A pleasant Sunday stroll with maybe a couple of stiles and some rough ground en route, but nothing too troublesome. A few clues where the definition and enumeration make the answer obvious but it’s only when you write it in that you see the parsing, e.g. SMELL A RAT. I note that ‘pot’ in its meaning of a trophy occurs in both 27ac and 1dn, but does that really matter?
No clear favourite, but I liked RONDO and SUBTLETY.
Thanks, Hypnos and Pierre
Enjoyable stuff on the harder side of easy or, if you like, the easier side of medium for me. Like gwep, it was the NW (NW is always tricky) that held out the longest. Fave clues 3d & 22d (natch) so thanks to Hypnos for the puzzle and to Pierre for the blog.
Like others NW was tough. It’s the first Indy I’ve done and was obviously too cocky after rattling through Paul on Sat. Had to come here for 1a and for the second time in as many weeks missed the alternative way of seeing number – there was a similar clue in The Guardian recently. Maybe it will stick now. Thanks Hypnos and Pierre.