Financial Times 16588 Sleuth

Thank you to Sleuth. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Shift without cover in cold spell lately in club (6)

CUDGEL : “budge”(to shift/to move a little) minus its 1st letter(without cover) contained in(in) [C(abbrev. for “cold”) + last letter of(… lately) “spell“].

4. Secure title for letter? (8)

LANDLORD : LAND(to secure/to gain, as in “to land a job there”) + LORD(a title for a nobleman).

Defn: … of property.

9. Australian following onslaught is frightened (6)

AFRAID : A(abbrev. for “Australian”) + F(abbrev. for “following”) + RAID(an onslaught/an attack).

10. This case is reviewed for discipline (8)

CHASTISE : Anagram of(… is reviewed) THIS CASE.

Defn: …/to punish.

12. Device for securing strip of wood in musical instrument (8)

KEYBOARD : KEY(with a lock, a device for securing) + BOARD(a strip of wood/a plank).

13. Lad embracing pursuit in East London gets reward (6)

BOUNTY : BOY(a lad) containing(embracing) ‘UNT(“hunt”/a pursuit, as may be pronounced by a Cockney in the London East End).

15. Course announced in beginning (4)

ROOT : Homophone of(… announced) “route”(a course/a path from place to place).

16. Single operator supported by staff and airline in aim (3-3,4)

ONE-MAN BAND : ON(supported by something underneath) + {[MAN(to staff/to put employees into an organisation, say) plus(and) BA(abbrev. for British Airways)] contained in(in) END(an aim/an objective)}.

…or the gender-neutral one-person band:  

19. Perfectly describing mascot’s role? (4,1,5)

LIKE A CHARM : [LIKE A CHARM](describing a mascot’s role, ie. to bring good luck, like what a charm does).

Defn: …, as in “the medicine worked like a charm”.

20. Sail in resort by river (4)

SPAR : SPA(a health and beauty resort) plus(by) R(abbrev. for “river”).

Defn: …, or rather the pole to which it is attached.

23. Rowdy rugby lot’s leader enters a French yard (6)

UNRULY : [RU(abbrev. for the sport of rugby union) + 1st letter of(…’s leader) “lot“] contained in(enters) [UN(French for “a”) + Y(abbrev. for “yard”, the unit of measurement)].

25. Put up with character losing head? That’s normal (8)

STANDARD : STAND(to put up with/to bear with) + “card”(a character/someone who is odd or amusing) minus its 1st letter(losing head).

27. Cover part of a watch for ordinary sailor (8)

DECKHAND : DECK(to cover/to adorn with decorations, as in “deck the halls with…”) + HAND(a part of a watch/timepiece, specifically a pointer indicating the passage of time – ironically, such a watch is not a digital one).

28. Jerry, maybe, acquires special hair lotion (6)

MOUSSE : MOUSE(an example of which/maybe, is half of the the animated cartoon duo, Tom and Jerry) containing(acquires) S(abbrev. for “special”).

Not the dessert: 

29. Teenager waylays a marine in Isle of Wight town (8)

YARMOUTH : YOUTH(a teenager) containing(waylays) [A + RM(abbrev. for a Royal Marine)].

30. Largely uncovered a great deal in vote (6)

BALLOT : “bald”(uncovered/bare) minus its last letter(Largely …) + LOT(a great deal/a large number of).

Down

1. Festive joke is usually kept by this very fine type (7)

CRACKER : Double defn: 1st: A joke is usually found in this tube used mainly during the Christmas festival; and 2nd: …/someone who is very admirable and likeable.

2. Dishonest practices in professional waste disposal? (5,4)

DIRTY WORK : Cryptic defn: Reference to how one might describe the profession of waste disposal.

3. Film studio employee tried desperately to capture Oscar (6)

EDITOR : Anagram of(… desperately) TRIED containing(to capture) O(letter represented by “Oscar” in the phonetic alphabet).

5. Leading flier conceals hard pain (4)

ACHE : ACE(a leading flyer, specifically a fighter pilot credited with destroying several enemy aircraft) containing(conceals) H(abbrev. for “hard”).

6. Ignore reduction by a retailer (8)

DISCOUNT : Double defn.

7. Top number recalled as potential tearjerker? (5)

ONION : Reversal of(… recalled, in a down clue) [NO. I(Number 1/the top/the best, with the Roman numeral substitution) + NO(abbrev. for “number”)].

Defn: … when you’re peeling it.

8. See director after money, reportedly, being guileless (3-4)

DOE-EYED : [EYE(to see/to look at with interest) + D(abbrev. for “director”)] placed below(after, in a down clue) homophone of(…, reportedly) “dough”(slang for “money”).

11. Stock place in middle of hotels for block (7)

TRANCHE : RANCH(a place for rearing stock/farm animals like cattle) contained in(in) middle 2 letters of(middle of) “hotels“.

Defn: …/a specific portion of, eg. a company’s shares/stocks.

14. English master getting cross in Dubai, perhaps (7)

EMIRATE : E(abbrev. for “English”) + M(abbrev. for “master”) plus(getting) IRATE(cross/angry).

Defn: An example of which/perhaps is Dubai.

17. A friend keeps pairs prepared for evaluation (9)

APPRAISAL : A + PAL(a friend) containing(keeps) anagram of(… prepared) PAIRS.

18. British colleague, hilarious sort caught short in fuss (8)

BALLYHOO : B(abbrev. for “British”) + ALLY(a colleague/one who shares a common interest with you) + “hoot”(a hilarious sort/someone who is always cracking jokes) minus its last letter(caught short).

19. Run lady arranged for household task? (7)

LAUNDRY : Anagram of(… arranged) RUN LADY.

21. Sign to stop mate going wild for beef, say (3,4)

RED MEAT : RED(a sign to/a colour associated with, “stop”, as with a red traffic light) + anagram of(… going wild) MATE.

Defn: An example of which/say, is beef.

22. Silky wool has note in Greek marketplace (6)

ANGORA : N(abbrev. for “note”) contained in(in) AGORA(a marketplace in ancient Greece).

Defn: … named after, the breed of rabbit it comes from.

24. Speedy type found in disgrace repeatedly (5)

RACER : Hidden in(found in) “disgrace repeatedly“.

26. Measure of speed in strike that’s mounted (4)

KNOT : Reversal of(… that’s mounted, in a down clue) TONK(to strike a heavy blow).

Defn: …, nautically.