The usual very pleasant workout from Azed. I always find that I make steady progress and then reach an impasse, when I simply can’t parse one or two of the clues. But they always fall eventually. At least I hope they have done this time, because I don’t want to be disqualified from the clue-setting competition. 10dn is probably a very rare word and I was all set to shrug my shoulders and put in ELLIS on a wing and a prayer, but fortunately decided to trawl Chambers before doing so.
Definitions in italics.
Across
1 Drool about Beth on being trounced in party game (13)
SPIN-THE-BOTTLE
(Beth on)* in spittle
11 Perennial rings brought forth tons in e.g. Kew feature (9)
ARBORETUM
(bore T) in arum [the perennial]
13 The French recipe includes hot oven (4)
LEHR
r [= take] in (le r)
14 E.g. Turner in splurge of lac, radiating (7)
ACTINAL
Tina [Tina Turner] in (lac)*
15 Sign of hesitation in rear? Almost – it’s bound to lose (6)
STUMER
um in ster{n}
16 Aussie talk prevailed upon US squaddie (5)
WONGI
won [as in won over] GI
18 Autochthones from Utah heading south-east, driven back (4)
UTES
Ut (SE)rev.
19 Temporary stop mostly around end of hour for rowing boats (5)
PRAUS
Paus{e} round {hou}r
20 Pig has messed about with garden’s splendid plant (13, 2 words)
SPANISH DAGGER
(pig has a[= about] garden)* — although perhaps this isn’t quite right, for the anagram indicator seems peculiarly placed
23 Neighbour to work in Tuscan market town? (5)
BORGO
bor [= neighbour] go [= work]
25 Gift number passed back? (4)
BOON
(no. [= number] OB [= passed, obit])rev.
27 A bit of rope put on head for hanging (5)
ARRAS
a r{ope} ras
28 Philosopher, by the sound of it, having to take stock? (6)
RUSTLE
“Russell” [Bertrand R]
30 So Greek – could indefinitely offer more songs, Keats ? (7)
STAMNOS
a comp. anag. where [so Greek Stamnos] … [more songs, Keats] — a stamnos is an ancient Greek short-necked jar, so I’m a bit uncomfortable with this: what has it got to do with the songs? The reference to Keats is no doubt connected with his Ode on a Grecian Urn
31 Prince cross with switching of parts (4)
KHAN
ankh with the first two letters and the second two switched
32 Finial remains encased in stone, superlatively hard (9)
STEELIEST
(tee [= finial] lies) in st. [= stone]
33 Notes about senior I returned indicating ‘grumpy behaviour’ (13)
CROCHETINESS
(sen. I)rev. in crotchets
Down
1 Spicy stuff that gets a lass excited (5)
SALSA
(a lass)*
2 Correspondent accepts thanks after page ‘off the peg’ (13)
PRET-A-PORTER
p re(ta)porter
3 Nautical bar, standard one (6)
NORMAN
norm [= standard] an [= one]
4 Showing perfect pitch – or flat? (4)
TRUE
2 defs — the flat one is as in ‘flat broke’, although it is probably possible to think of an exact correspondence
5 Club runs in early stage of competition (6)
HEARTS
hea(r)ts — the football club Heart of Midlothian, nothing to do with clubs/hearts as in cards
6 Cheers for county (5)
BUCKS
2 defs
7 Chamber group rules for old peer sitting in judgement on fellow (5)
TRIOR
trio r
8 Shawls in fashion snag when unravelled (7)
TONNAGS
ton (snag)*
9 She followed the troops – one in part of journey’s broken rules, as bedded (11)
LEAGUER-LASS
le(a)g, then as in (rules)*
10 Last character you’ll see in divine heaven (no Saint)! (5)
EBLIS
{divin}e blis{s} — &lit.
12 Shoot up maybe, rakee shot drunk, and prepare to ride (9, 2 words)
TAKE HORSE
Azed has given us something extra here: I think the definition is the last three words, and there are two goes at the wordplay: if you are taking heroin [= horse] you are possibly shooting up, also (rakee shot)* — but I can’t see the point of the anagram with its unusual word, since it reads perfectly well without it
17* A confused mass (7)
FARRAGO
The competition clue-word
21 County back, one of two in three-quarters (5)
DORSET
dorse [= back] t — I think the t is simply one of the two t’s in ‘three-quarters’
22 Bit of old canvas, begging to have bottom repositioned at top (6)
GASKIN
asking [begging] with the g repositioned at the top of the word — I think ‘bit of old canvas’ means ‘old [i.e. archaic] bit of canvas’
23 ‘Opposed to acid’ – with which you’ll see I can come from ban (5)
BASIC
a base as opposed to an acid [chemical or geological] — this word is to be read ‘b’ as ‘I c’ and in the word ‘ban’ you replace the ‘b’ with ‘I c’ to make ‘ban’ into ‘I can’ — these clues always defeat me for ages
24 Range delivering stuffing for Aga mutton (5)
GAMUT
hidden in AGA MUTton
25 Stock co-religionist shunned by monarch briefly (5)
BROTH
broth(ER)
26 People taking time in urinal? (5)
GENTS
gen(t)s
29 Unattractive hybrid, regularly bungaloid (4)
UGLI
bUnGaLoId
I think it’s (pig has garden’s)* in SPANISH DAGGER.
30 (STAMNOS). The song reference ties in nicely with the Ode on a Grecian Urn:
“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;”
I think 3d is three quarters of ENDORSE (back) + T (one [letter] of [the word] two), or put another way 3/4 of ([EN]DORSE + T)[WO]
As a subsidiary indication the wording is rather un-AZED-like…
… but it is gets the surface right (re Rugby Football).
Personally, I don’t usually look at the surfaces of any of the clues until after I have completed the grid (since it usually doesn’t help you solve the clues except for &lits), so I only saw why Azed had used the wording he chose afterwards
The azed site andlit.org.uk confirms that John’s parsing of 3d is correct, not Norman’s. I certainly wouldn’t expect Azed to get his maths wrong like that!
We now have the official note on 21dn: It reads “dorse (qv) + t”, which supports John’s reading. As I understand it, andlit.org.uk includes Azed’s slips when they become available, but Dr Watson’s reviews are just as unofficial as the reviews on this site. If I am wrong on this, I would welcome evidence to that effect.