Beelzebub 1,302

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Quite a challenging week, I thought, though I did make life difficult for myself by absent-mindedly writing in SKIP at 23 across like a chump.

It helped to know your Samoan currencies, as these crop up twice. Strangely they were both oddly familiar, presumably from crosswords as I’ve no other reason to know them!

You’ll have to help me with 2 down, as I can’t parse it at all beyond the definition.

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed.

Across
1 BUTCHER’S HOOK – SCHUBERT* + HOOK.
11 CLUB – L[egs] in CUB.
12 TOASTIE – OAST in TIE.
13 ATROPA – A + PORT< + A.
14 PLANTA – PLAN + TA.
15 MINNOCK – INN in MOCK.
17 ALTO – [music]AL TO[nes] &lit.
18 QUETCH – QUET[s]CH.
19 TONSILLECTOMY – [ora]L in (NOTICE MOSTLY)*.
21 OPTIMA – 0 + POINT.
23 OMIT – [v]OMIT.
27 SENESCE – SENES + CE.
28 IMPAIR – IMP AIR.
29 TALUKA – UK in TALA.
30 TEA ROSE – AROS[e] in TEE.
31 GILD – L in DIG<.
32 UNINTERESTED – (TRENDIES TUNE)*.
Down
2 ULTIMO – Last month’s fashionable idea’s first to go, I think.
3 TURN INTO – TURN IN + T[oo] O[bsequious].
4 HYPOLIMNION – H + (L in (MY OPINION)*).
5 EXACT – AXE< + CT.
6 SOPH – OP in SH.
7 HALLUCINATE – (A HALTIN[g] CLUE)*.
8 OSAGE – SO< + AGE.
9 KITH – KIT + H.
10 BEACHY HEAD – ACHY in BEHEAD.
11 CAMPTONITE – CAMP + TONITE.
12 TOKOLOSHE – (0 + LOOKS*) in THE.
16 ETON SUIT – (E + TU[i]TION’S)*.
20 MICKLE – from FICKLE, with M in place of F.
22 IMARI – MAR in II.
24 METER – ST in MEER.
25 EMEU – [vag]UE ME[mory]<.
26 ERST – from REST, with its first half turned.

2 comments on “Beelzebub 1,302”

  1. Avatar for Conrad Cork
    Comment #1
    Conrad Cork
    February 22, 2015 at 8:08 am at

    Morning Simon

    Re 2 down. Ult (what you usually get) is an abbreviation for ultimo. Wordplay: (c)ult ‘fashionable idea first to go’ the IMO (in my opinion – although I usually and hypocritically use IMHO) hence the italicised ‘i’.

    Hooray, another Sunday.

  2. Avatar for Dormouse
    Comment #2
    Dormouse
    February 22, 2015 at 10:17 am at

    I, too, couldn’t parse 2dn. I’d got the (c)ult part but couldn’t quite see why IMO meant I think. I also couldn’t parse 26dn so thanks for the explanations.

    Something about 1ac amused me, possibly because I like Schubert’s music and I’m enough of a Londoner to still say, “Have a butcher’s”.

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