AZED 2,240

Some difficult wordplays to decode (e.g. 15A, 22D) with a typical rate of Big Red Book consultations.  About medium for an Azed I’d say.   Still would like some enlightenment below. Enlightenment provided by Norman and Sidey (thanks!)

completed grid
Across
1 ASTRINGENTLY
Trains given a bashing, by George, on TV, i.e. severely (12)

ASTRIN*=trains,GENTLY – somehow ref George on TV? but why?

10 PARANOIA
Intense fear as norm I found in wild ox (8)

PAR,ANO(I)A – as any skoolboy no ANOA is a wild ox.

12 STROMATA
Supporting frameworks right inside anatomical openings (8)

ST(R)OMATA – Supporting frameworks (of connecting tissues) and stomata are our openings.

13 BRUNCH
Morning meal’s starter discarded – it’s wild and peppery (5)

[b]RUNCH – It’s a wild radish in Scots — so “wild and peppery” I suppose.

14 DEBITS
Entries in account? One coming out of it (6)

Rather clever clue: DEB=one coming out (debutante) and “of it”=ITS.

15 JASHER
G. Scarfe’s partner lost book (6)

Turns out that J. Asher (she of P. McCartney fame) is G. Scarfe’s wife.  And JASHER is a lost book of the bible.

17 FILET
Charge deposit, we hear, for lace embroidery (5)

Sounds like FEE=charge,LAY=deposit for FILET which is a type of embroidery. Norman clarifies: ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_George_Gently

18 EYECANDY
Detective, any DC, cracking a corker (8, 2 words)

EYE=private eye,CANDY=(any DC)*

21 NIELLIST
Engraver fashioned stein, badly turned inside (8)

rev(ill) in stein* – nielli is an engraving method.

24 KALPA
Very long day, grand one taking in high-altitude grassland (5)

A day of Brahma –  roughly 4 billion years.  K(ALP)A – grand=K.

27 CHATTA
Brolly, to be fastened, children at the back brought to the fore (6)

Take “attach” and move CH=children to the front. It’s an umbrella.

28 INLAWS
Part of wider family in Luxembourg was dispersed (6)

IN,L,AWS* – L=Luxembourg.

29 ATTIC
They taught classes in Athens, their leaders unusually refined (5)

Jumbled first letters of “They taught classes in Athens”.

31 TOILETRY
Cosmetic blue, one to allow interiorly (8)

TO(I,LET)RY – incidentally Brit blue=Tory, Brit red=Labour but US blue=left-wing (ish) and US red=right-wing (flyover) states.

32 MISPROUD
Our PM is shifting dimension, no longer too arrogant (8)

(our PM is)*,D – obs. o’erweening.

33 CANTILEVERED
Fluttering eastern veil a hundred rings bracketed in a way (12)

Don’t see the wordplay. Yet. Sidey below explains: (E,VEIL)* in cantred=a hundred.

Down
2 SAOUARI
Timber tree one found in wilderness of USA or Italy (7)

I in (USA or I=Italy)* – an American tree so not quite an &lit.

3 TRIN
Short term in set of three? (4)

abbre(TRIN) – term at Cambridge (?) and also a triplet.

4 RASCHEL
Fabric of loosely knitted wool is seen in name indicating sheep (7)

RA(‘S)CHEL – where our friend Rachel’s name is related to ewe.  Didn’t know!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel 

5 NOTARY
One issuing certificates, seal appearing below name (6)

N,OTARY – turns out otary is a seal (you know, the cute kind).

6 GIRDLE
Daughter in female fin-de-siècle corset (6)

GIR(D)L,E – where fin-de-siecle generates the final E.

7 NIMBI
Shower providers? I book short time – and it’s up (5)

The rain cloud type of providers.  rev(I,B,MIN[ute])

8 TRAILNET
Damaged rattline – it may be cast overboard by fishing boat (8)

rattline* – a trawler’s fishing net.

9 LATTE
Modern, taking runs? One’s often skinny (5)

LATTE[r] – ref. caffe latte (reminds me of the time I ordered a latte at the Milan airport and was asked whether I wanted it hot or cold, “hot of course”, and in return got a glass of steaming hot milk — ah, tourists).

10 PERJINKITY
A bit of finesse, a sudden quick turn and it enters a yard (10)

A nicety=”a bit of finessse. PER(JINK,IT)Y – where PER=”a”

11 PASTYFACED
Unhealthy-looking pie eaten before food’s brought in (10)

PASTY,F(AC)ED – struggled a bit with this until I worked out that AC=abbrev(ante cibum=before food) as well as air-conditioning.

16 STELLION
Lizard cat’s after suffers, being flipped (8)

rev(lets=suffers),LION – and it’s a lizard (E. Med).

19 ABATURE
Help in tracking deer, one a brute butchered (7)

A,(a brute)* – “butchered” is the anagrind (etymologically related to abattoir?). Means “the trail through underwood beaten down by a stag”.

20 DETINUE
Single dwelling going up with damn fencing, property being wrongly withheld (7)

rev(unit) in dee=damn euphemistically.

22 INSTIL
I love receiving next-door neighbours (literally) – drop in (6)

Bit of a mystery until I realized that NIL=love and ST are literally neighbours in the alphabet, so I,N(ST)IL

23 SCORSE
No longer chase runs, last pair changing places (6)

Obs. chase and wordplay is exchange the last two letters of scores=runs (incidentally, scorse also means exchange).

25 ANONA
Genus of fruit-bearing plants soon covering acre (5)

A not unknown visitor to crossword plants.  ANON,A

26 PALET
Leaf scale, etiolated over time (5)

Palea – “membranous inner bract…”.  PALE,T

30 THOR
Valuable element missing from writer for The Thunderer (4)

[au]THOR

*anagram

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