Solving time 47:10, with one clue left (which I eventually got while writing this blog entry).
This one was split roughly half and half between entries using familiar vocabulary and those that had me thumbing through the dictionary. So a pretty good mix. There are still a couple of answers for which I don’t understand the wordplay (19a, 25d).
Across
| 1 | CREESH – CREES (softens by boiling) + H(ot). A Scottish word for grease. |
| 8 | SPED – S (last letter of Christmas) + PED (a dialect word for a pannier or hamper). |
| 12 | HOMELYN – HOMELY + N – a name for the spotted ray. |
| 13 | DAUTIE – a Scottish word for darling. Who knows what those politicians get up to! |
| 14 | PAUPER – U (widely viewed, cinema rating) inside PAPER, slightly strained &lit. |
| 15 | GOON – two meanings, the second for GO ON. |
| 16 | LITERARY AGENT – (yet regal train)* |
| 19 | GENERAL – it has to be the right answer, but I can’t see why! The clue is “For which I, ratty, will get upset with this top soldier (7)”. Any ideas? [ Refers back to 16. Anagram of LITERARY AGENT minus (I, ratty). Thanks, Andrew ] |
| 20 | SPOUSE – P in SOUSE. Old word for “to marry”. |
| 21 | PARKEE – ARK in PEE. Same as a parka. |
| 23 | TRIGLOT – TRIG (Scottish for smart) + LOT. Meaning able to speak three languages. |
| 26 | AUTHORITATIVE – (out the TV aria I)* |
| 29 | SILO – hidden rev. in demOLIShed |
| 30 | ACATES – A + CATES(by). Robert Catesby was the leader of the Gunpowder Plot. Acates is an old word for bought provisions. |
| 31 | ITALIC – I + I (centre of wig) inside TALC |
| 32 | ATAMANS – A, MAN inside sat*. Draught = man as in the game of draughts. |
| 33 | SYEN – Seyton without T(he) O(ld). Seyton was a servant of Macbeth, and SYEN is a Shakespearean spelling of scion, so maybe he was a younger member of his family. |
| 34 | ORANGE – O (duck), RANGE, &lit. |
Down
| 1 | CHOLESTASIS – HOLES inside (cast is)*. A condition in which stagnation of bile in the liver results in jaundice and/or liver disease. |
| 2 | ROJI – J inside ROI. A Japanese garden feature. |
| 3 | EMPTY – PT inside EMY(s) – an emys is a type of terrapin. |
| 4 | SLURPS – composite anagram (Soup + relish)* = Oh, i.e. SLURPS. |
| 5 | HYPATE – (The pay)*. It’s the lowest string of the lyre. |
| 6 | ENERGETICAL – GET inside (cleaner I)* |
| 7 | ADRY – DRAY with the first two letters moved inside the last two. |
| 8 | SAMAN – A MAN under S(un) – the rain tree, a member of the Mimosa family. |
| 9 | PUGGERY – EGG, UP rev. + RY. Egg is slang for a bomb or mine. Puggery is one of several alternative spellings of pagri, a turban. |
| 10 | DIONAEA – ONE,A inside DIE + A(ctive). The scientific name for the Venus flytrap. |
| 11 | GENTLENESSE – (Lenten)* inside GESSE, a Spenserian spelling of guess. An old word for nobility. |
| 17 | SPRUITS – PR in SUITS, i.e. formally dressed. A spruit is a watercourse that is dry except during and after rain. |
| 18 | LUGHOLE – (lough,le)* |
| 21 | POTATO – A in POTTO. A potto is another name for the kinkajou (an animal similar to a raccoon). |
| 22 | AVATAR – take the Call away from Callatrava, and anagram the rest. It’s the icon or image that represents the player in some computer games, or the writer in a blog or online forum. |
| 24 | LOG-IN – GO inside NIL, all rev. More computer terminology. |
| 25 | NISAN – the first ecclesiastical month of the Jewish calendar. I don’t understand the wordplay. Full clue is “Early time of year in the synagogue? If so, men’ll become mean (5).” [ Men become mean if N IS AN. Again thanks to Andrew in the comments, but I’m kicking myself for not getting that. ] |
| 27 | RACK – two meanings. Rack is one of those words with 6 separate entries in Chambers, so it took a while to find both in there! |
| 28 | VANG – VAN + G. A van is a windmill sail, and a vang is a guy-rope to steady a gaff. |
For 25dn the wordplay is that “men” will become “mean” if N IS (replace by) AN.
19 ac refers back to the previous clue – it’s an anagram of YET REGAL TRAIN minus I RATTY.
Thanks – I’m annoyed at myself for not getting 25dn, as I’m normally pretty good at spotting that sort of construction. As for 19ac, I didn’t even spot the ellipsis and treated it as a standalone clue!