Apart from a couple of tricky ones, quite a straightforward puzzle to solve and parse. Thanks to Sayang. 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
1,4 Cobra, silent killer without support (6,8)
CARBON MONOXIDE : “Cobra ” minus(without) “bra”(short for the support for the female breasts).
Answer: The poisonous gas, a silent killer whose chemical symbol is CO.
9 Cleanse and refine superfamily short of males (6)
PURIFY : Anagram of(refine) “superfamily ” minus(short of) “males”.
10 Vacillating like Thomas (8)
DOUBTFUL : Cryptic defn: Reference to the biblical Thomas the sceptic.
12 Clinical clasp in action (8)
DETACHED : TACH(a variant of “tache”;a clasp, buckle, or hook, eg. to couple curtains together, as in the biblical reference) contained in(in) DEED(an action).
13 Miss Moon returning to drilling platform (3,3)
OIL RIG : Reversal of(returning) [ GIRL(a miss;a maiden) + IO(one of Jupiter’s moons) ].
15 Gather round swarm (4)
TEEM : Reversal of(round) MEET(to gather together).
16 Tough call in filthy place (7)
STRINGY : RING(to call on the phone) contained in(in) STY(a filthy place).
Answer: Wiry;sinewy, of a person’s build.
20 Letters composed in support of growth (7)
TRESTLE : Anagram of(composed) LETTERS.
Answer: A frame for climbing plants.
21 Itinerant died in the house (4)
HOBO : OB(from Latin for “he/she died”) contained in(in) HO(abbrev. for “house”).
25 Unique clue for Eno, perhaps (3-3)
ONE-OFF : Answer: “Anagram of(OFF) ONE” is a clue that gives “ENO” as an answer.
26 At home, well-known as notorious (8)
INFAMOUS : IN(at home) + FAMOUS(well-known).
28 Most rowdy engineer is on site (8)
NOISIEST : Anagram of(engineer) IS ON SITE.
29 Lots left in gallium mineral (6)
GALORE : L(abbrev. for “left”) contained in(in) [ GA(chemical symbol for the element, gallium) + ORE(a mineral) ].
30,31 Defence counsel, American, ill and wry being treated (8,6)
CRIMINAL LAWYER : Anagram of(being treated) [AMERICAN, ILL plus(and) WRY]. (There’s an error in the clue numbering in the online version).
Down
1 Greed and stupidity about to dislodge a good man (8)
CUPIDITY : “stupidity ” with “c”(abbrev. for “circa”;about when referring to dates) replacing(to dislodge) “st”(abbrev. for “saint”;a good man).
2 Sir, I rate cultured pearls (8)
RARITIES : Anagram of(cultured) SIR, I RATE.
Defn: Persons or things that are beautiful or valuable, like pearls.
3 Subsidiary employment service (6)
OFFICE : Triple defn: (I think) 1st: A subdivision in a larger organisation or government; 2nd: Employment as a public official, as in “to seek office”; and 3: A Chrisitian religious service.
5 Instrument for Mrs Derek in empty office (4)
OBOE : BO(Mrs John Derek, a 10) contained in(in) “office ” minus its inner letters(empty).
6 Neat link to centres of academic excellence (8)
OXBRIDGE : OX(a neat;a bovine animal) + BRIDGE(a link;a connection).
Answer: Collectively, Oxford and Cambridge Universities, famous centres of academic excellence.
7 Certify fighting fit (6)
INFORM : IN FORM(fighting fit, eg. with sportsmen).
Defn: To give information about;to certify.
8 Parting words (6)
EULOGY : Cryptic defn: Reference to the speech eulogising the departed.
11 He looks down in the mouth (7)
DENTIST : Cryptic defn: Reference to the professional who looks down into a patient’s mouth.
14 Brutal and evil, not wild (7)
VIOLENT : Anagram of(wild) EVIL, NOT.
17 The writing on the wall (8)
GRAFFITI : Cryptic defn: From the Italian for “little scratches”.
18 No competition for this game (8)
MONOPOLY : Double defn: 1st: Being the only supplier in a market; and 2nd: The board game.
19 I run some set-up for the French gentleman (8)
MONSIEUR : Anagram of(set-up) I RUN SOME.
Answer: The French equivalent of “Mister”.
22 Nobody can turn down this drink (6)
COGNAC : COG(a person or thing playing a small part in an organisation or process;a nobody) + reversal of(turn, in a down clue) CAN.
23 Twins from Wommelgem in industrial Belgium (6)
GEMINI : Hidden in(from) “Wommelgem in industrial “.
24 May, a public prosecutor in US? No, further north (6)
CANADA : CAN(used to request for permission, as in “can I …?”, but in more formal speech and writing, it’s “may I .…?” and “you may …”) + A + DA(abbrev. for “district attorney”;a public prosecutor in the US).
Defn: A country further north of the USA.
27 Starts to appreciate Scott Island, Antarctic continent (4)
ASIA : 1st letters, respectively, of(Starts to) “appreciate Scott Island, Antarctic “.
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Thanks, scchua and sayang.
I really dislike clues like 15. MEET and TEEM are equally valid answers to the given clue. I think a clue is poor when one has to depend on solving another first to be sure one has the right answer.
You can on ly solve it if the crossing letters jelp you,
I didn’t mind 15a too much, as the answer was given by the more “natural” cryptic reading of the clue. I though 10a was poor though: I confidently entered DOUBTING, which is how Thomas is usually described, and matches the grammar of “vacillating”. This sort of thing is why I generally don’t like cryptic definitions, unless they’re particularly clever, and there were rather too many of them here for my taste.
As Andrew on doubtful, 1,4 not an &lit but as a clue style hard to classify. Thanks scc
Thanks Sayang, and thanks Gazza for you exposition of 22 d.I agree with Andrew @3, about doubting/doubtful.No one ever heard of doubtful Thomas.
Thanks to Sayang and scchua.
[[Pic 1 Richard Dreyfus, Pic 6 Mackenzie Phillips and Paul LeMat and Pic 9 carhops at Mel’s
Drive-In were all featured in American GRAFFITI. Pic 3 looks like Charlie Chaplin who was
in The Tramp which is similar to HOBO.]]
Cheers…
[[Right about the 3 GRAFFITI pics, grandpuzzler. Pic3 is Billy West, a Chaplin impersonator and Oliver Hardy in drag in The Hobo.]]