I found this to be an average week, in terms of difficulty. There remain one or two details that elude me for the time being.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | APLUSTRE – (T[h]E PULSAR)*. |
| 7 | STAR – STAR[t]. |
| 10 | ASTROBLETE – TRO[u]BLE in EAST*. |
| 11 | ERNE – [earli]ER NE[eeds]. |
| 12 | ESSOYNES – ESS + (YES + NO)*. It took me a moment to figure out, but ESS is S[inners]. |
| 14 | TITUPY – not sure about this: Pull up beside yard, unsteady. |
| 15 | EPEE – E + PEE. |
| 17 | HOSTRY – HOST + RY. |
| 19 | AERONAUT – A + (O in NATURE*). |
| 21 | PRESERVE – P[inot] + RESERVE. |
| 23 | MESETA – SET in MEA[dow]. |
| 24 | UZIS – ZI[p] in US. |
| 27 | UNLESS – [s]UNLESS. |
| 29 | FACE CARD – R in (FACE + CAD). |
| 30 | ETHE – ETH[an]E. |
| 31 | FOUDROYANT – FOUD + (OY in RANT). A tough one, last in I think. |
| 32 | SURE – SUR[g]E. |
| 33 | ESSENISM – (SIN in MESSE)<. The reference to Fauré puzzled me for a while, but I think the point is simply that he was French. |
| Down | |
| 1 | ABET – A BE[n]T. |
| 2 | PERIPETEIA – PE + (I in RIPE TEA). |
| 3 | LANTERNS – LA + [i]NTERNS. |
| 4 | STEP-IN – P in STEIN. |
| 5 | ROSE-HUED – SHOE* in RUED. |
| 6 | EBON – B in EON &lit. |
| 7 | SLYISH – [comed]Y in SLISH. |
| 8 | TEND – TEN + [chor]D. |
| 9 | RESTYLES – RESTY + LES. |
| 13 | ENRAVISHED – [po]E + (HIS RAVEN’S)*. |
| 15 | EARMUFFS – EA + [listene]R + MUFFS. Great clue. |
| 16 | CARABAOS – a dd., I think: buffaloes/Greek island. Presumably “pulling carriages” is a reference to the buffaloes’ domestication. |
| 18 | TERZETTI – (T[h]E + T[h]E + RITZ)*. |
| 20 | RECEDE – EC in REDE. |
| 22 | SUNDAE – AND* in SUE. |
| 25 | SCUR – U in SCR. |
| 26 | ACRE – R in ACE. |
| 28 | SEAM – [vers]E in SAM. |
Pull up beside yard, unsteady
Pull – TIT (chiefly Scot) n. or v. tug (Chambers)
up – UP
beside
yard – Y