(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 straightforward puzzle, except for a couple of minor niggles. Thanks to Armonie. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Soldier introduced to top twenty in France (8)
CHARTRES : R.E.(abbrev. for a solder in the Royal Engineers Corps in the British Army) contained in(introduced to) CHARTS(the weekly listing of the most popular musical recordings, the top twenty being the most often cited).
Answer: City in France.
5 Sister accepts falsehood that’s even more unoriginal (6)
STALER : SR.(abbrev. for “Sister” in a religious order) containing(accepts) TALE(a falsehood;a fabrication).
9 Cut train in error? It’s withdrawn! (8)
TACITURN : Anagram of(… in error) CUT TRAIN.
10 Protection for troops (6)
GUARDS : Double defn.
12 Earl handled fragment (5)
ERODE : E(abbrev. for “Earl”, the title) + RODE(handled;endured successfully, as in “he rode out the political storm”).
Defn: To break off. I thought the defn. and answer are not totally equivalent: the former refers to detachment in pieces, while the latter is separation by slow grinding. But, of course, I may have the wrong answer in the first place, in which case the above is academic.
13 Doctor had snored? Tough! (4-5)
HARD-NOSED : Anagram of(Doctor) HAD SNORED.
14 Talisman for Monday’s race meeting (6)
MASCOT : M(abbrev. for Monday) + ASCOT(the horse racing meeting at, well, Ascot, England).
16 Stomach sailor having affair with people (7)
ABDOMEN : AB(abbrev. for “able-bodied seaman”;a sailor) plus(having) DO(a social affair;function) plus(with)MEN(used in general for “people”;mankind, or humankind, if you prefer).
19 Become brighter and cold – king gets excited (5,2)
CLEAR UP : C(abbrev. for “cold”) + LEAR(the king in Shakespeare’s play) plus(gets) UP(in a state of excitement).
Defn: With reference to the sky, for example.
21 Fools hold on to a bit of the property (6)
ASSETS : ASSES(fools) containing(hold on to) the 1st letter of(a bit of) “the “.
23 Indian dish’s extra in the US (9)
BALTIMORE : BALTI(the Indian spicy dish) + MORE(extra).
Answer: The state in the US.
25 Make good in harmony (5)
ATONE : [AT ONE](in harmony;in concordance).
26 One addressing other ranks has register back to front (6)
ORATOR : O.R.(abbrev. for “other ranks”;other than commissioned officers in the military) plus(has) reversal of(… back to front) ROTA(a register of persons’ names and their duties).
27 Set off porter about talent (5,3)
START OUT : STOUT(porter;dark sweet ale from black malt) containing(about) ART(a talent;a knack for doing something).
28 The dog for me (6)
SETTER : Double defn: 2nd: Self-referentially, the compiler of this puzzle.
29 Tory took off correctly from college (8)
CRANWELL : C(abbrev. for a Conservative Party member;a Tory) + RAN(took off) + WELL(correctly;in a good and proper manner).
Defn: … in England for training RAF personnel.
Down
1 Boat for Charlie to deliver (6)
CUTTER : C(letter represented by “Charlie” in the phonetic alphabet) + UTTER(to deliver;to express audibly).
2 An unpleasant duty collecting silver in port (9)
ANCHORAGE : AN + CHORE(an unpleasant duty;task) containing(collecting) AG(chemical symbol for the element, silver).
Defn: … in Alaska.
3 In short, it lends distinction to a name (5)
TITLE : Hidden in(In) “short, it lends “.
4 What gossip can make when in audible range (7)
EARSHOT : [EARS HOT](according to superstitious folklore, what you feel when someone is gossiping about you – but I thought it was itchy ears?).
6 Fillet is done differently in French town (9)
TOURNEDOS : Anagram of(… differently) DONE contained in(in) TOURS(the French town).
Defn: Boneless steak from the undercut of sirloin.
7 Birds live on boats (5)
LARKS : L(abbrev. for “live”) placed above(on, in a down clue) ARKS(boats, like Noah’s).
8 Team cuts lease for occupier (8)
RESIDENT : SIDE(a team in competition) contained in(cuts) RENT(to lease).
11 Article about a neighbourhood (4)
AREA : A(the grammatical article) + RE(about;with reference to) + A.
15 Drug for boy in erotic play (9)
CORTISONE : SON(a boy) contained in(in) anagram of(… play) EROTIC.
17 A pacemaker adapted more to men (9)
METRONOME : Anagram of(adapted) MORE TO MEN.
18 Strike-breaker promises to supply plant (8)
SCABIOUS : SCAB(a strike-breaker) + I.O.U.S(abbrev. for “I Owe You”s;promises to pay one’s debts).
20 Sovereign caught in drug conspiracy (4)
PLOT : L(or £, symbol for a pound sterling, which was the worth of the sovereign, a former British gold coin) contained in(caught in) POT(slang for the drug, marijuana).
21 A worthier associate (7)
ABETTER : A + BETTER(worthier;of higher quality or value).
22 Conservationists separate material for hire (6)
RENTAL : N.T.(abbrev. for the National Trust, the conservationist organisation in England, Wales and N. Ireland) contained in(separate) REAL(describing substance that something is made of;material).
24 Minimum for many a player (5)
LEAST : L(Roman numeral for fifty, which can be considered many) + EAST(designation for one of the 4 players in a bridge game).
25 A couple working in protective clothing (5)
APRON : A + PR(abbrev. for “pair”;a couple) + ON(working, say, an electrical appliance).
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thank you scchua. I share your doubts about 12 ac, but can’t think of an alternative at the moment.
Thanks Armonie and schhua
Found it one of the hardest puzzles by this setter in either his Armonie or Chifonie roles.
Had no problems with 12a – I had ‘handled’ in the sense of being on a horse and hence RODE. As for the definition, using thefreedictionary.com:
ERODE – become ground down or deteriorate; “Her confidence eroded”
eat at, gnaw at, gnaw, wear away
decay, dilapidate, crumble – fall into decay or ruin; “The unoccupied house started to decay”
CRUMBLE –
v.tr.
To break into small fragments or pieces: I crumbled the cheese into the salad.
Agree with @2, harder than I was expecting from this setter. The usual succinct cluing and clean wordplay – just for some reason got delayed in a few places.
12a seems fine to me – though I see the concerns. Fragmenting i.e. breaking down into “pieces”, is Erosion i.e. wearing down, as “pieces” get smaller and smaller!
I found this one hard, too, but enjoyable. Did not get Cranwell, not familiar to me.
BTW, there’s a typo at 23. Of course you meant city, not state, for Baltimore.
Thanks to Armonie and scchua
4d, your ears are supposed to turn red if someone is gossiping about you.
My English is rusty, have just remembered, the idiom is ‘…. ears must be burning’.
Happy New Year of the Goat scchua.