Azed 2172

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This was in the “not too difficult” category of Azed puzzles, at least as far as completing the grid was concerned. As often happens, confirming all the details to complete the blog took rather longer, which I suppose shows what I miss on non-blogging weeks when I fill in answers thinking “it must be that” without checking the intricacies.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. GARIBALDI Blouse revealing girl’s front, a loose one (9)
G[irl] + A RIBALD I
12. COUPE What it contains I disposed of – nothing amiss therein! (5)
This is “a glass container for serving [an ice cream dessert]”, so it’s O UP (nothing amiss) in ICE less I
13. AUTOCUE A worked out before Q? It’s a help for public speaker (7)
A + OUT* + CUE
14. AD MANUM Chap embraced by Maud, excited and ready (7, 2 words)
MAN in MAUD*
15. ANURA Amphibians inhabiting Caspian (Uralian) (5)
Hidden – Anura are the tailless amphibians, including frog and toads
17. TEAMSTER The pet husband twice got rid of – he’ll move animals along (8)
THE HAMSTER with H removed twice
18. PILOW Spicy dish, mixed type, of little value (5)
PI (mixed type) + LOW – rice dish perhaps more familiar as “pilau”
19. PETAR Device for making explosive entrance is scrapped in Pirates misguidedly (5)
PIRATES* less IS, with Pirates capitalised and italicised to make the surface reading suggest a special effect for The Pirates of Penzance
20. OPEN MARRIAGES Male included, unconventional pairs agree on … such? (13, 2 words)
M in (PAIRS AGREE ON)*
22. CREEL Soak to soften line – it’s used to catch lobsters (5)
CREE (to soften by soaking) + L
24. STADE Sports venue given support by the sound of it (5)
Homophone of “stayed” – a variant of “stadium”
26. AROMATIC Do a basmati rice? A bed is so fragrant, curried (8)
Composite anagram (“curried”) – (DO A BASMATI RICE)* = A BED IS SO + AROMATIC
29. NAVEW Root vegetable not available, and one not in prospect (5)
NA + V[I]EW – a rather implausible-looking word a for a wild Swedish turnip
30. NAUTICS Anicut’s adapted for water sports (7)
ANICUT’S* – anicut is an Anglo-Indian word for a dam, so the surface reading does make some sense
31. TREAGUE Turbulent age contained by genuine cessation of war once (7)
AGE* in TRUE – a Spenserian word for a truce
32. ATOKE Return of ancient character accepting satisfactory part with no sex (5)
OK in reverse of ETA, which is a letter in ancient, and indeed modern, Greek
33. INDAGATOR One of yore searching out form of gradation (9)
GRADATION*
Down
2. AO DAI Women’s tunic, excellent as wrap for concubine’s pad (5, 2 words)
ODA (a room in a harem) in A1; the ao dai is a tradtional Vietnamese woman’s tunic, for a time condemned as “decadent” by the communist regime, but since rehabilitated
3. RUMBLE Grass on twig? (6)
Double definition – to inform against, or to realise something
4. BENT Grass leaning (4)
Another double definition – bent is a type of grass
5. ABUTTAL An objection over pillar going up, one of two on which arch rests? (7)
A BUT + reverse of LAT (an Indian pillar)
6. LAME-BRAINED The crazed in bedlam are? (11)
(IN BEDLAM ARE)* &lit
7. DUMA Elected council identically trimmed boring shopping area (4)
DULL MALL, with the LL “trimmed” in both; the Duma is the Russian parliament,or the word can mean an elected council generally. It’s related to “doom” in the sense of “judgement”
8. CONSTATE Study ranks from below (pronounce in imitation of the French) (8)
CON + ETATS< – defined as “to assert” and glossed by Chambers as a Gallicism
9. SCUTA Did they make a tortoise run away in South America? (5)
CUT (run away, perhaps as in “cut and run”) in SA – the “tortoise” here is the Roman defensive formation made from shields (scuta = plural of Latin scutum = shield)
10. CURER Physician putting practice as of old in credit (5)
URE in CR
11. HEART’S-EASE Flower transformed seat in vehicle … (10)
SEAT* in HEARSE
12. CAMPO SANTO … Going to this, morning certain to be enveloped in melody? (10, 2 words)
AM POS[itive] in CANTO. Campo santo is an Italian cemetery, so it’s where the hearse in the previous clue might be going to
16. BONE MEAL Fertilizer that has been mixed with loam (8, 2 words)
(BEEN LOAM)*
19. PRECAVA Superior vessel in summary is missing narcotic drink (7)
PRECIS less IS + AVA (same as “kava”, a narcotic drink made from a type of pepper plant). The “superior vessel” is a vein in the upper body
21. GALIOT Old cargo boat: flap about slick when it’s capsized? (6)
OIL in TAG, all reversed; it’s a cargo boat or small galley
22. CRARE Trader responsible for oversight, run in (5)
R in CARE – another ship, this time a “trading vessel”
23. ROVER End of career past, he’s ready to peg out! (5)
[caree]R + OVER; one definition is “a croquet ball or player ready to peg out”.
25. DECKO Garland ring, look (5)
DECK (garland, as a verb) + O; Decko, or dekko, is slang for a look; I didn’t realise that it comes from a Hindi word
27. TOUN Barrel with nothing in? You’ll find Scotch aplenty here (4)
O in TUN. Scots form of “town”, where you would find plenty of “Scotch” people
28. QUAG Bog that shifts as ground on all sides falling away (4)
QUA (as) + GROUND less ROUND (on all sides); apparently the more familiar “quagmire” is a combination of this word, meaning a bog that shifts underfoot, and “mire”

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