Independent on Sunday 1448 Peter

Thanks to Peter, for a puzzle that posed just a little difficulty. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

P.S. I will be away when this is posted, so the blog won’t be corrected for any errors and omissions (until I return).

Across

1 Document about small rope (6)

RECORD : RE(about;with reference to) + CORD(a small rope).

4 Obama upset about Republican’s second-lowest life form (6)

AMOEBA : Anagram of(… upset) OBAMA containing(about) the 2nd letter of(…’s second) “Republican“.

9 Dirty mark made by small dog with no tail (4)

SMUT : S(abbrev. for “small”) + “mutt”(a dog, especially a mongrel) minus its last letter(with no tail).

Defn: … made by a flake of soot or other dirt.

10 Tantrum leading to troubled life on Dutch agricultural land (5,5)

PADDY FIELD : PADDY(tantrum;a fit of temper) plus(leading to) anagram of(troubled) LIFE plus(on) D(abbrev. for “Dutch”).

11 Clergyman burying Yorick’s head in ravine (6)

CANYON : CANON(a clergyman) containing(burying) the 1st letter of(…’s head) “Yorick“.

12 Pictures in one book of maps taken from periodicals (8)

IMAGINES : I(Roman numeral for “one”) + “A-Z”(a book of maps;an atlas of street maps, the first of which to be published was for London) deleted from(taken from) “magazines”(periodicals).

Defn: … in one’s mind.

13 Plant found by pacifists drinking beer at university city (9)

CALENDULA : CND(abbrev. for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a pacifist organisation opposing use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons) containing(drinking) ALE(beer) plus(at) U(abbrev. for “university”) + LA(abbrev. for the US city of Los Angeles).

15 Dunce finally excluded from class project (4)

CAST :  The last letter of(… finally) “Dunce” deleted from(excluded from) “caste”(a class;a stratum in society).

Defn: To throw, as in “to project your voice”.

16 Eastern ruler‘s poem rejected (4)

EMIR : Reversal of(… rejected) RIME(archaic spelling of “rhyme”;a poem).

17 Sloth featured in handout found in pub next to church (9)

INDOLENCE : DOLE(a handout;a charitable gift of food, clothes, or money) contained in(found in) INN(a pub) plus(next to) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England).

21 Draughts in politician’s house reported (8)

CHECKERS : Homophone of(… reported) “Chequers”(aka Chequers Court, the country house of the Prime Minister of the UK).

Defn: The N. American name for draughts, the board game.

22 Electronic voice in car? (6)

ESTATE : E-(prefix indicating a thing is electronic, as in an “e-book”) + STATE(to voice;to declare).

Answer: … or estate car, one with a large carrying area behind the passenger seats.

24 Posters about defining feature of lingerie (10)

SUSPENDERS : SENDERS(posters;people who send letters, etc. by post) containing(about) USP(acronym for “Unique Selling Proposition or Point”, the benefit which is a feature of a company, service, product or brand that differentiates;defines it compared to others.

Defn: …, in the sense of female underwear rather than sexy nightwear.

Answer: Belts used to hold up;suspend stockings, preventing them from slipping. As such, their usage now, besides being functional and fashionable, includes an erotic element.

25 See 2 Down

26 Money in fiction books (6)

TALENT : TALE(fiction;a made-up story) + NT(abbrev. for “New Testament”, the collection of books in the Bible).

Defn: Unit of currency once used by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

27 Learn to service empty vehicle (6)

HEARSE : HEAR(to learn by word of mouth) plus(to) “service” minus its inner letters(empty).

Down

1 Dance half of dance with pudding (3,4)

RUM BABA : RUMBA(a dance originally from Cuba) + the 1st two letters of(half of) “ball”(a dance;a social function involving dancing).

2/25 Rusty tack destabilised ship (5,4)

CUTTY SARK : Anagram of(… destabilised) RUSTY TACK.

Defn: One of the last British tea clippers, fast sailing boats.

3 During bumpy ride, swan came to maturity (7)

RIPENED : Anagram of(bumpy) RIDE containing(During …) PEN(a female swan).

5 Cry for help in publicity about end of democracy welcomed by PM (6)

MAYDAY : [ Reversal of(… about) AD(short for “advertisement”;publicity) + the last letter of(end of) “democracy” ] placed below(welcomed by, in a down clue) MAY(Theresa, current Prime Minister of the UK).

6 Get rid of cream containing minute angelica root (9)

ELIMINATE : ELITE(the cream;the best) containing(containing) [ MIN(abbrev. for “minute”, the time period + the 1st letter of(… root) “angelica” ].

7 Frail men talking about complaint (7)

AILMENT : Hidden in(… about) “Frail men talking“.

8 Painter with strange new desire to protect 22 (5,8)

EDWIN LANDSEER : Anagram of(strange) NEW DESIRE containing(to protect) LAND(a form of property;estate, answer to 22 across).

14 Spoil cape maybe belonging to a bishop (9)

EPISCOPAL : Anagram of(… maybe) SPOIL CAPE.

16 Drain top of ulcer in Texas hospital complex (7)

EXHAUST : The 1st letter of(top of, in a down clue) “ulcer” contained in(in) anagram of(… complex) [TEXAS + H(abbrev. for “hospital”) ].

18 Supervise part of match on court (7)

OVERSEE : OVER(part of a cricket match, 6 consecutive valid ball deliveries, for those not familiar with it) placed above(on, in a down clue) SEE(to court;to date, with honourable intentions, presumably).

19 Company linked to closure of Stormont upset Ireland’s charmed circle (7)

COTERIE : CO(abbrev. for “company”, a commercial concern) plus(linked to) the last letter of(closure of) “Stormont” + reversal of(upset, in a down clue) EIRE(the Irish name for Ireland).

Defn: … or a privileged and exclusive group of people.

20 Pressure on singers to hold new nationalist flag (6)

PENNON : P(abbrev. for “pressure” in physics) placed above(on, in a down clue) [ ENO(abbrev. for the English National Opera, company of singers) containing(to hold) N(abbrev. for “new”) ] + N(abbrev. for “nationalist”).

Defn: … in a tapered, triangular or swallow-tailed shape.

23 Turned up remains containing a shocking weapon (5)

TASER : Reversal of(Turned up, in a down clue) [ REST(that which remains) containing(containing) A ].