Independent on Sunday 1329 Hypnos

(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)  A nice easy Sunday puzzle. Thanks to Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Host being mad forgoing introduction (4)

ARMY : “barmy”(mad;bonkers) minus its 1st letter(forgoing introduction).

3    Ban cars moving round rear of Greek eatery (5,3)

SNACK BAR : Anagram of(… moving) BAN CARS containing(round) the last letter of(rear of) “Greek“.

9    School left stage in race in clutches of old athlete (7)

COLLEGE : L(abbrev. for “left”) + LEG(a stage in a race, eg. a relay race) contained in(in clutches of) COE(Sebastian, Olympic gold medallist in 1980 and 1984).

10    Gas encountered – hydrogen and nitrogen in a mine with minute gone (7)

METHANE : MET(encountered) + H(chemical symbol for the element hydrogen) + [ N(ditto for the element nitrogen) contained in(in) “a mine ” minus(with … gone) “min”(short for “minute”, 60 seconds) ].

11    Saw dog restrained by lead (7)

PROVERB : ROVER(stereotypical dog’s name) contained in(restrained by) PB(chemical symbol for the element lead).

12    Heading west, note around river pale Arctic animal (7)

NARWHAL : Reversal of(Heading west, in an across clue) { LAH(alternative for “la”, syllable representing the 6th note in a musical scale) + [R(abbrev. for “river”) contained in(around …) WAN(pale, say, from sickness)] } .

To fit the answer, the second part of the wordplay should be read as “round river, pale” – a little Yoda-speak.

13    Cute toy absent sadly in aesthetic competition (6,7)

BEAUTY CONTEST : Anagram of(… sadly) CUTE TOY ABSENT.

14    One studying jobs? (13)

CRIMINOLOGIST : Cryptic defn: These jobs being the work of criminals, especially robberies.

18    Mark surfaced ill-advisedly? Not altogether (7)

CEDILLA : Hidden in(…? Not altogether) “surfaced ill-advisedly “.

Defn: … placed under the letter c to indicate its pronunciation, in eg. French or Portuguese, as in “garçon”.

19    Decrease, perhaps, to become equal (4,3)

EVEN OUT : [EVEN OUT](to de-crease;to smooth out all the wrinkles).

21    Welsh politician in beginning snubbed Japanese art (7)

ORIGAMI : AM(abbrev. for a National Assembly Member in Wales) contained in(in) “origin”(the beginning of) minus its last letter(snubbed).

22    A holy man strangely avoiding hospital? That’s irregular (7)

ANOMALY : Anagram of(… strangely) “A holy man” minus(avoiding) “h”(abbrev. for “hospital”).

23    Singer entertaining a child at certain times (8)

SEASONAL : SEAL(stage name of the British R&B singer) containing(entertaining) [ A + SON(a child)].

24    Unrestrained Irish wit, we hear (4)

WILD : Homophone of(…, we hear) “Wilde”(Oscar, Irish wit, author, playwright, and poet).

Down

1    View favourably a cricket club with record turnover initially (6)

ACCEPT : A + CC(abbrev. for “cricket club”, as in the MCC) plus(with) EP(abbrev. for “extended play”, a sound recording disc) + the 1st letter of(… initially) “turnover “.

2    Nordic city invested in formal monuments (5)

MALMO : Hidden in(invested in) “formal monuments “.

Defn: …(in Sweden).

 … a Turning Torso …

3    Group consuming, say, mint drink (7)

SHERBET : SET(a group of persons with similar interests, etc.) containing(consuming) HERB(an example of which;say, is the mint).

4    Calendar a Frenchman retained in northerly waterway (7)

ALMANAC : A + [ M(abbrev. for “monsieur”, the term of address for a Frenchman) contained in(retained in) reversal of(northerly, in a down clue) CANAL(an artificial waterway) ].

5    Director working by lathe haphazardly (7,7)

KATHRYN BIGELOW : Anagram of(… haphazardly) WORKING BY LATHE.

Defn: First female to win the Oscar for Best Director.

6    Quiet fellows entering a club in shame (9)

ABASHMENT : [ SH(call for quiet) + MEN(fellows) ] contained in(entering) [A + BAT(a club)].

7    Sportswoman in struggle nears semi, harbouring a resolve (6,8)

SERENA WILLIAMS : Anagram of(struggle) NEARS SEMI
containing(harbouring) [A + WILL(resolve) ].

 … that you won’t see at Centre Court.

8    Last character with energy very much a fanatic (6)

ZEALOT : Z(the last character in the English alphabet) plus(with) E(abbrev. for “energy” in physics) + [A LOT](very much).

13    Swedish soprano in minor part of record showing weak spot (5,4)

BLIND SIDE : LIND(Jenny, the soprano known as the Swedish Nightingale) contained in(in) B-SIDE(in pop music, the flip side of a record single, less important in comparison to the A-side which is expected to be a hit).

14    Firms working to create secure place (6)

COCOON : CO,CO(abbrev. for a commercial firm, twice) + ON(working, as with an electrical appliance, say).

15    Enthusiastic response over holiday about to be discounted (7)

OVATION : O(abbrev. for “over” in cricket scores) + “vacation”(a holiday) minus(… to be discounted) “ca”(abbrev. for “circa”;about;approximately in relation to dates).

16    Protective garment on the whole (7)

OVERALL : Double defn.

17    Good man always supported by daughter held out (6)

STAYED : ST(abbrev. for “saint”;a good man) + AYE(always from the Scottish, as in “I’ve aye fancied seeing Edinburgh”) placed above(supported by, in a down clue) D(abbrev. for “daughter”).

20    Approve a special number to see ruminant (5)

OKAPI : OK(to approve;to assent to) + A + PI(the unique number which is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter).

Defn: … native to the rainforests of the Congo.

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