Independent 12,286 by Liari

I've not seen this compiler before but I see that there have been a number of previous puzzles. I thought it was of a very high standard with some great clues.

I liked 29A, 14D and 28D for the very smooth surface reading.

 picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 SKIP
Bound to drink around end of week (4)

Sip(=drink) around [wee]k

4 DESERTS
Places with few grasses or leaves (7)

DD

10 IZARD
13 perhaps head off to find antelope in the Pyrenees (5)

[W]izard. The izard is another name for the Pyrenean chamois.

11 ARTHROPOD
Moth ultimately ensnared by dreadful trapdoor spider? (9)

[Mot]h in trapdoor*.

12 MEANEST
Tightest locks on street securing back of house (7)

(Mane(=locks i.e. hair) + st{reet}) around [hous]e

13 MERLIN
Short route following French sea bird (6)

Lin[k](or possibly lin[e]) after mer(=French word for sea)

15 THONG
Host runs out in revealing swimsuit (5)

Th[r]ong(=host, as in a large group of people)

17 RESISTANT
Opposing trains set off (9)

(Trains set)*

20 HOME VIDEO
Amateur recording movie shot in high definition initially earns Oscar (4,5)

(Movie* in h{igh} d{efinition}) + e[arns] O[scar]

21 DUCAT
Old money train discovered (5)

[E]ducat[e](discovered=dis-covered)

22 ALBINO
White whale, maybe seen through special binoculars (6)

Hidden in special binoculars

24 EMPEROR
Rare poem about a missing penguin? (7)

(R[a]re poem)*. The emperor is a species of penguin.

27 CHARACTER
Sign formal document retaining account (9)

Charter(=formal document) around ac{count}

29 GOTTA
Must be off – heading to town – cheers! (5)

Go(=be off) + t[own] + ta(=cheers)

30 TAKE OUT
Watch Bob leaving date (4,3)

[S]takeout(Bob here used in the sense of s{hilling})

31 BINS
Throws away out-of-date jams? (4)

Bin[d]s(=jams in the sense of difficult positions with d{ate} removed)

DOWN
2 KEDGE
Light anchor king found on border (5)

K{ing} on edge(=border)

3 PLASTERED
Penny was on top, holding one in bed tight (9)

(P{enny} led(=was on top)) around aster(=type of flower, hence in a flowerbed)

4 DATUM
Time for everyone to stop raving over bit of information (5)

(T{ime} + U(=for everyone in cinema classification)) in mad<(=raving)

5 SURPRISED
Stunned pair is inside safe and sound finally (9)

((P{ai}r is) in sure) +[soun]d

6 RIP
Almost ready for final message (1,1,1)

Rip[e](=ready)

7 SODA
Stirs around drink (4)

Ados<(=stirs as a noun)

8 MISMATCH
Michigan school’s principal meets one fired after strike, causing conflict (8)

Mi{chigan}(postal abbrev) + s[chool] + match(=something that fires up after being struck)

9 PARANORMAL
Weird old man smuggled medium parts for use in trap (10)

Pa(=old man i.e. father) + ran(=smuggled) + (m{edium} in(=parts) oral(=for use in trap, where trap is slang for mouth))

14 INACCURATE
Copper infiltrates where bottles of ale are stored? Wrong (10)

Cu(=symbol for copper) in "in a crate"(=where bottles of ale are stored)

16 GIVE IT A GO
I’ve got a big cooked topside of beef cut to try (4,2,1,2)

(I've got a [b]ig]* (b[eef] removed)

18 STONE CRAB
Cycling old woman stopping to skewer some seafood (5,4)

(Crone(=old woman) with the first two letters cycling to the back) in stab(=skewer)

19 TUTORIAL
Test cases sorted out for lesson (8)

Trial(=test) around(=cases) out*(anagram signalled by sorted)

23 OCTET
Group of over one hundred and twenty regularly shunned (5)

O{ver} + c(=one hundred) + even letters removed from twenty

25 PAGAN
Druid perhaps, with power once more, ousting leader of Iceni (5)

P{ower} ag[i]an

26 SCUT
Rabbit’s tail shortened near beginning of surgery (4)

Cut(=shortened) after s[urgery]

28 ARK
Mum fleeing ocean predator in old boat (3)

[Sh]ark, with mum used in the sense of staying silent.

4 comments on “Independent 12,286 by Liari”

  1. Petert

    A fine puzzle. In addition to the clues highlighted by NealH, I enjoyed INACCURATE.

  2. PostMark

    Nice puzzle, Liari. Congrats. Nice succinct clues and smooth constructions. Trademark birds and penguins. HOME VIDEO, ALBINO, DATUM, GIVE IT A GO, STONE CRAB and PAGAN are my faves.

    Thanks both

  3. Jayjay

    Excellent surfaces. Admirable. Thanks to Liari and NealH

  4. Rob T

    Fabulous puzzle, lots of very nice clues. In particular I ticked THONG, GIVE IT A GO, ALBINO, INACCURATE, ARK and TUTORIAL.

    Thanks, Liari and Neal

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