Independent 11225 / Rodriguez

Prompt to back her playing game (the first of many here) (6) 

EUCHRE (a North American card game for two, three, or four players, with the 32, 28 or 24 highest cards of the pack) – the comment in brackets in the clue relates to the fact that all the across entries are games.

CUE (prompt) reversed (to back) + an anagram of (playing) HER

EUC< HRE*

Stand before social event – it requires a diamond (8) 

BASEBALL (a bat and ball team game played on a pitch that is shaped like a diamong)

BASE (pedestal; stand) + BALL (social event)

BASE BALL

Try ties on the outside for suit (6) 

HEARTS (suit of cards; Also, an “evasion-type” trick-taking playing card game for four players, although most variations can accommodate between three and six players)

HEAR (try, as in a court HEARing) + TS (first and last letters of [on the outside for] TIES)

HEAR TS

After first half of sandwich, eats fish (8) 

SARDINES (fish; Also, an activity game where a person hides, and everyone else searches for the hidden person. Whenever a person finds the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot. Soon, the hidden group starts to look like a bunch of SARDINES)

SAR (3 of 6 letters [half of] SARNIE [sandwich]) + DINES (eats)

SAR DINES

Leader of trolls, bit hapless, smashed in Warcraft (11)

BATTLESHIPS (craft used in wars at sea; war craft; Also, a strategy type guessing game for two players. It is played on ruled grids [paper or board] on which each player’s fleet of warships are marked. The locations of the fleets are concealed from the other player. Players alternate turns calling “shots” at the other player’s ships, and the objective of the game is to destroy the opposing player’s fleet.)

Anagram of (smashed) T (first letter of [leader of] TROLLS) and BIT HAPLESS

BATTLESHIPS*

Orphan about to return in storm (7)

TWISTER (tornado; storm. Also, a game played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has six rows of large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, green, and blue. A spinner tells players where they have to place their hand or foot. The game promotes itself as “the game that ties you up in knots”.)

TWIST (reference the orphan Oliver TWIST, a character in Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name) + RE (with reference to; about) reversed (returned)

TWIST ER

Many a big noise in illegal business succeeded (7) 

RACKETS (significant noises; Also, a simplified derivative of the old game of tennis, similar to squash, played by two or four people in a four-walled court)

RACKET (dodge; fraudulent, violent, or otherwise unscrupulous moneymaking activities; illegal business) + S (succeeded)

RACKET S

This person’s with footballer, one eliminating danger in the main (11) 

MINESWEEPER (ship which drags the water to remove undersea mines; one eliminating danger in the sea [main]. Also, logic puzzle video game genre generally played on personal computers. The game features a grid of clickable squares, with hidden “mines” scattered throughout the board)

MINE (this person’s) + SWEEPER (defensive football player with no marking responsibility who assists the other defenders)

MINE SWEEPER

Exclusively for us, covering foot, arms and legs (3,5) 

ALL FOURS (arms and legs of a person.  Also, a card game in which there are four chances that score a point)

ALL OURS (exclusively for us) containing (covering) F (foot)

ALL (F) OURS

Heading west, bear Hollywood area’s hype (6) 

HOOPLA  (great activity, excitement or disturbance; pointless activity; hype. Also, a game which small hoops are thrown over prizes)

POOH (reference the fictional bear, Winnie the POOH) reversed (heading west) + LA (Hollywood is located in Los Angeles)

HOOP< LA

Macron’s refusal to engage a European strategist (8) 

NAPOLEON (reference NAPOLEON Bonaparte [1769 – 1821], French strategist. Also, a French modification of the game of EUCHRE [see 4 across], each player receiving five cards and playing as an individual)

NON (French [President Macron] word for ‘no’ [refusal]) containing (to engage) (A + POLE [native of Poland; European])

N (A POLE) ON

Gents, say, ogled without clothing are amazed (6)

BOGGLE (be astouned; are amazed.  Also, a word game played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players look for words in sequences of adjacent letters)

BOG (slang for toilet; Gents for example [say]) + GLE (letters remaining in OGLED when the outer letters O and D are removed [without clothing])

BOG GLE

Beastly kind of wine the French knocked over (6) 

BRUTAL (beastly)

BRUT (unsweetened dry wine) + LA (one of the French forms of ‘the’) reversed (knocked over)

BRUT AL<

Some neck jewellery, hot stuff, is placed around Eleanor’s jacket (10)

LAVALIERES (jewelled pendants worn round the neck on a chain)

LAVA (molten material from a volvano; hot stuff) + (LIES [is placed] containing [around] ER [outer letters of {jacket} ELEANOR]

LAVA LI (ER) ES

Kind of line, say, elevated poems, I see (8)

GEODESIC (the shortest line on a surface between two points on it)

EG (for example; say) reversed (elevated; down entry) + ODES (poems) + I + C (‘see’ defines the letter C)

GE< ODES I C

Uncovered sexy and chic parts in shows (8) 

EXHIBITS (shows)

EX (letters remaining in SEXY when the outer letters are excluded [uncovered]) + HI (letters remaining in CHIC when the outer letters are removed [uncovered]) + BITS (parts) – ‘uncovered’ qualifies both SEXY and CHIC

EX HI BITS

Part of garment Oscar fed to pet dog (8) 

COATTAIL (long back piece of a TAIL COAT; part of a garment)

O (Oscar is the international radio code word for the letter O) contained in (fed to) CAT (pet) + TAIL (follow; trail; dog)

C (O) AT TAIL

Rash pilot’s welcomed in Norway (4) 

ACNE (skin disease caused by inflammation of the sebaceous follicles, appearing a rash)

N (international vehicle registration for Norway) contained in (welcomed in) ACE (term often used to describe a pilot as a flying ACE)

AC (N) E

Female abandons ostentatious thong (4) 

LASH (thong can be defined as the LASH of a whip or crop)

FLASH (ostentatious) excluding F (female)

LASH

Boy grabs right back, man of the match in well defended area (10) 

STRONGROOM (ROOM constructed for the safekeeping of valuables or prisoners; well defended area)

SON containing (grabs) RT (right) reversed (back) + GROOM (male in a marriage match]; man of the match)

S (TR<) ON GROOM

American serving soft food and ginger up in cartoon (5,3)

PEPPA PIG (cartoon [and book] character)

(GI [American soldier; American serving] + PAP [soft food] + PEP [put vigour into; ginger]) all reversed (up; down entry)

(PEP PA P IG)<

English Navy wearing uniform with identical form of ID (8)

USERNAME (form of identification for gaining access to a computer system or app)

(E [English] + RN [{Royal} Navy]) contained in (wearing) (U [Uniform is the international radio communication code for the letter U] + SAME [identical])

U S (E RN) AME

Male animals catching fox’s nits (8) 

TOMFOOLS (idots; nits)

TOMS (male cats) containing (catching) FOOL (deceive; fox)

TOM (FOOL) S

Part of crustacean or old, old, group of whales (6) 

EXOPOD (outer branch of a crutacean limb)

EX (old) + O (old) + POD (collective noun for a group of whales)

EX O POD

One accompanies an Indian relative touring America (4) 

NAAN (bread that accompanies an Indian [meal])

NAN (grandmother [relative]) containing (touring) A (America)

NA (A) N – either A could be the one contained

Large drink bottles fail to balance (4) 

SLIP (slide or fall; fail to balance)

SIP (drink) containing (bottles) L (large)

S (L) IP