Independent on Sunday 1221 Raich

I remember that this didn’t pose too much of a problem, at the time of solving.  Like this one, I’ve enjoyed Raich’s puzzles in the weekday Indy, and also liked and blogged his Gurney puzzles in the FT.  Thanks to Raich.  Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]

Across

1 Group see gold and copper beginning to soar (6)

CAUCUS : C(homophone of “see” used in mobile phone text messaging) + AU(chemical symbol for the element, gold) plus(and) CU(chemical symbol for the element, copper) + first letter of(beginning to) “soar “.

Answer:  A group within a larger group, especially of politicians or political party members.

5 Give detailed account of Beatrix (cheery) regularly on return (6)

RECITE : Reversal of (on return) 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th letters of(regularly) “Beatrix (cheery) “.

8 Deal with historical complaints of eldest lot working at sixty, say (6,3,6)

SETTLE OLD SCORES : Anagram of(working) ELDEST LOT plus(at) SCORES(multiples of 20, an example of which;say, is 60). I presume that lot are represented by a union.

10 Empty container within another (6)

VACANT : CAN(a container, usually of food and drink) contained in(within) VAT(another container for liquids).

11 Ritual of American artist in Hong Kong in front of flag (pointless!) (4-4)

HARA-KIRI : { [ A(abbrev. for “American”) + RA(member of the Royal Academy of Arts) ] contained in(in) HK(abbrev. for Hong Kong) } placed before(in front of, in an across clue) “iris”(a flag) minus “s”(abbrev. for “south”, the compass point) (pointless).

Answer: Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment with a dagger, the term being a literal translation from Japanese.  A somewhat gruesome image of one committing it in front of the Hong Kong flag -as it says, pointless!

12 Requires massages, we’re told (5)

NEEDS : Homophone of(we’re told) “kneads”(massages with an action similar to kneading dough).

13 One favouring what’s new, first seen by river in Minnesota (9)

MODERNIST : IST(letters that look like 1st;first) placed after(seen by, in an across clue) [ODER(the river in central Europe) contained in(in) MN(abbrev. for the US state of Minnesota, used with zip codes).

Defn:  Especially in art and literature.

15 German writer reaching Saxony perhaps (growth area) (9)

GRASSLAND : GRASS(Gunter, German writer) placed before(reaching, in an across clue) LAND(an example of which;perhaps is the state of Saxony in eastern Germany).

Defn: Not growth in size, population, economic activity, etc. but of plant life.

17 Carry award back for Mr Big? (5)

MOGUL : Reversal of(back) [ LUG(to carry with force or effort) + OM(post-nominal letters for the Order of Merit;an award conferred by the British sovereign).  A interesting surface as Mr. Big was the nickname (I leave it to you to guess how he got it) of the character in the TV series “Sex and the City”, played by Chris Noth.  He has been nominated for various awards – the actor for his acting, not the character for being Big.

19 Indication of agreement to accept mail when services are abandoned because of this? (8)

APOSTASY : AY(an indication of agreement;yes) containing(to accept) [ POST(the mail;correspondence) + AS(at the same time;when, as in “as/when dawn breaks…”) ].

Answer: The “this” in the defn. A departure from;abandonment of one’s religion, including religious services, of course.

21 Setting for Chronicles some Captain rang about (6)

NARNIA : Hidden in(some) and reversal of(about) “Captain rang “.

Answer: The magical realm in which the epic series written by C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, is set.  And there is a captain (of King Caspian’s) ship in the Chronicles.

23 It could give Nice altered tone potentially? (7,8)

ENTENTE CORDIALE : Anagram of(It could give) NICE ALTERED TONE.

Answer: The “it” in the defn. In general, a friendly understanding between political powers. With capitals, the specific understanding reached between France and Britain in 1904 which settled outstanding colonial disputes, and which could put the town of Nice, France in a different light. Nice surface and a WIWD (wordplay intertwined with defn.) clue.

24 Dad tucked into what’s left – of this? (6)

REPAST : PA(like “Dad”, an informal term for one’s father) contained in(tucked into) REST(what is left over).

Answer: The “this” in the defn. A meal whose leftovers Dad might have eaten. Another WIWD clue.

25 Workers’ representatives meet resistance (crucial) and flop (6)

TURKEY : TU(abbrev. for “trade union”;the workers’ representatives) plus(meet) R(in physics, the symbol for electrical resistance) + KEY(crucial;of major importance).  The reps alluded to in 8 across?

Answer: Slang for a dramatic production that fails;a flop.

Down

2 Diplomatic official cheers up, overlooking facial feature (7)

ATTACHE : Reversal of(up) TA(an expression of thanks!;cheers!) placed above(overlooking, in a down clue) TACHE(short for “moustache”, a facial feature if you don’t shave your upper lip).

3 Coin slots adapted for new arrivals (9)

COLONISTS : Anagram of(adapted) COIN SLOTS.

Answer: New arrivals who take over the land, as with ants for example.

4 Snap  goal attempt (4)

SHOT : Double defn: 1st: A single photograph, a snapshot in full; and 2nd: A try at scoring a goal.

5 Silly dunderhead, no use at first, caught thus? (3-6)

RED-HANDED : Anagram of(Silly) “dunderhead” minus the first letter of(no … at first) “use”.

6 Not one firm in California produces powder (5)

COCOA : [ O(letter that looks like zero;not a one) + CO(abbrev. for “company”;a commercial firm) ] contained in(in) CA(abbrev. for the US state of California, used with zip codes).

7 Ends 50% reduction in winter dress (7)

TERMINI : “winter” minus its first 3 out of 6 letters(50% reduction in) + MINI(short for miniskirt, the dress first made popular in the 60s).

Defn: As a plural noun.

8 Compensating quality of South Africa’s very popular horse competition (6,5)

SAVING GRACE : SA(abbrev. for South Africa) + V(abbrev. for “very”) + IN(popular;in fashion) + GG(shortened spelling for “gee-gee”;childrens’ term for a horse) + RACE(a running competition).

9 Go wrong up to a certain time on the radio, then sparkle? (11)

SCINTILLATE : Homophone of(on the radio) [ “sin”(to go wrong;to transgress) + “till late”(up to a certain time late in the night) ].

13 Statesmen ordered resources check (5,4)

MEANS TEST : Anagram of(ordered) STATESMEN.

14 Criminal damage upset jockey touring area (3-6)

RAM-RAIDER : Anagram of(upset) MAR(to damage;to spoil) + RIDER(a jockey) containing(touring) A(abbrev. for “area”).

16 Child‘s poster work covering course feature (7)

ADOPTEE : AD(short for “advertisement” which could be a poster) + OP(abbrev. for opus;a musical work) placed above(covering, in a down clue) TEE(for each hole, the area on a golf course where you start from).

18 Part of craft initially used near winch in strong wind (7)

GUNWALE : First letters, respectively, of(initially) “used near winch ” contained in(in) GALE(a strong wind).

20 Section of Hampton garden country (5)

TONGA : Hidden in(Section of) “Hampton garden “.

Answer: A country consisting of a group of islands in the SW Pacific Ocean, whose national team scored a shock win over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

22 He entertains in house on street (4)

HOST : HO(abbrev. for “house”) + ST(abbrev. for “street”).

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For answers to pic#1 please click here, pic#5 here and here, pic#7 here and here, for pic#9 here and here.