Independent on Sunday 1309 Raich

An enjoyable Sunday outing with Raich, to whom thanks. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Bill Dad’s accepted at centre of Faro inn? (5,3)

TAPAS BAR : TAB(the bill for spending, say, at a bar) containing(… accepted) PA(informal name for one’s Dad)‘S plus(at) the 2 middle letters of(centre of) “Faro“.

Answer: A restaurant;an inn serving tapas (and drinks).

5    Took care of Independent at sea? (6)

MINDED : IND.(abbrev. for “Independent”, say, a candidate not belonging to any particular political party) contained in(at …;in the) MED(short for the Mediterranean Sea).

9    Permission to proceed unlike 21? (3,5)

ALL CLEAR : Literally, unlike grey areas (answer to 21 across).

10    Marxist activists operating in Sinic manner first of all? (6)

MAOISM : The 1st letters of, respectively,( … first of all) “Marxist activists operating in Sinic manner “.

Answer: Marxism of the Sinic;Chinese sort. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.

12    Stretch to see wading bird (5)

CRANE : Double defn: 1st: As in “to stretch your neck to see above an obstruction”.

13    Can’t meet Norway’s revised law (9)

ENACTMENT : Anagram of(… revised) [CAN’T MEET + N(IVR code for Norway) ].

14    Heading to this perhaps, a little fast food and drink brought over in ship (11)

ARCHIPELAGO : [ A + CHIP(a bit of;a little fast food) plus(and) reversal of(… brought over, in an across clue) ALE(an alcoholic drink) ] contained in(in) ARGO(the ship in the legend of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece).

Defn: Where you might be heading for in a ship. A WIWD clue.

18    New surgeon in hospital, foreign, one of pair to make rapid progress? (7,4)

RUNNING SHOE : Anagram of(…, foreign)[ N(abbrev. for “new”) + SURGEON IN + H(abbrev. for “hospital”) ].

Defn: … on foot .

21    ”No definite rules apply in these” – ex-Foreign Secretary at first argues referring to withdrawn appeal (4,5)

GREY AREAS : GREY(Edward, former UK Foreign Secretary, 1905 – 1916) + the 1st letter of(at first) “argues ” + RE(referring to;with reference to) + reversal of(withdrawn) SA(abbrev. for “sex appeal”).

23    Prairie stove (5)

RANGE : Double defn: 1st: An extensive tract of open land.

24    Get former pupil linked with Army elected (6)

OBTAIN : O.B.(abbrev. for “old boy”;former pupil) plus(linked with) T.A.(abbrev. for “Territorial Army” in the British military) + IN(voted into whatever position the election was for).

25    One seeking influence to aim high – close to first (8)

LOBBYIST : LOB(to hit, say, a ball, high into the air) + BY(close to, as in “he was standing by the door”) + IST(first;1st with the number replaced by its Roman numeral).

26    After peace line of soldiers became smaller (6)

SHRANK : SH(like “peace!”, an interjection requesting silence) placed before(After …, in an across clue) RANK(a line of soldiers in formation).

27    ”Choosy” type the French (or Spanish) accommodated in particular area (8)

SELECTOR : Either LE(French for “the”) or EL(Spanish for “the”) contained in(accommodated in) SECTOR(a particular area which is part of a bigger one).

Down

1    Monarch ignored by PM once in part of House? (6)

THATCH : “ER”(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina, the current British monarch) deleted from(ignored by) “Thatcher”(Margaret, once British PM).

2    Supporter of natural lipstick upset (6)

PILLAR : Hidden in(of) reversal of(… upset) “natural lipstick “.

3    Alone in fix, am set to change – this might help? (4-11)

SELF-EXAMINATION : Anagram of(… to change) ALONE IN FIX, AM SET.

Defn: Something you might have to do prior to making a change to help yourself if you’re alone and in a fix. A WIWD clue.

4    Saying used in publicity pages extremely deficient (5)

ADAGE : AD(short for “advertisement”, a publicity notice) + “pages ” minus its 2 extreme letters(extremely deficient).

6    Old ruler in river battle he contrived (4,3,8)

IVAN THE TERRIBLE : Anagram of(… contrived) IN RIVER BATTLE HE.

7    Park area? (8)

DRIVEWAY : Cryptic defn: Where one might park one’s vehicle.

8    Going down to see protest over money (not one to participate) (8)

DEMOTION : DEMO(short for “demonstration”;a protest) placed above(over, in a down clue) TIN(British slang for “money”) containing(… to participate) O(letter representing zero;not a single one;not one).

11    Part of diocese being standard? Sort of (6)

PARISH : PAR(a standard;a norm) + -ISH(the suffix denoting “sort of”;to some degree, as in “greenish”).

15    On vacation coy man, after switch of heart, finds young bird (6)

CYGNET : “coy” minus its 2 middle letters(On vacation) + GENT(a man) with its 2 middle letters switched round(after switch of heart).

16    Forces fierce females to embrace love (8)

DRAGOONS : DRAGONS(fierce females, fire-breathing and all that) containing(to embrace) O(letter representing 0;love in tennis scores).

Defn: Type of military forces, originally the mounted infantry.

17    Popular opening for initially overlooked creative person (8)

INVENTOR : IN(popular;in fashion) + VENT(an opening for fluids to escape) + “for ” minus
its 1st letter(initially overlooked).

19    At home sibling primarily tries to express convinced viewpoint (6)

INSIST : IN(at home) + SIS(short for one’s sister;female sibling) + the 1st letter of(primarily) “tries “.

20    He advises some women to rest (6)

MENTOR : Hidden in(some) “women to rest “.

22    Recycled traffic markers in Scottish location (5)

SCONE : Anagram of(Recycled) CONES(traffic markers on the roads).

Defn: A village in Scotland.