Spectator 2761: Alphabetical Jigsaw by Doc

Like carrier, off course (6)

ASTRAY (off course)

AS (like) + TRAY (a carrier of articles, such as drinks, plates etc)

AS TRAY

Instrument from Juliet at ferry port, cycling (5)

BANJO (a  musical instrument)

(J [Juliet is the international radio communication codeword for the letter J) + OBAN [a ferry port town on the West coast of Scotland]) with the letters all cycled three spaces to the right and round to the front to form BANJO

BANJO

Court case condemned Glitter

CORUSCATE (sparkle; glitter)

Anagram of (condemned) COURT CASE

CORUSCATE*

Overdid a little drink – date is off (10) 

DRAMATISED (exaggerated the importance or emotional nature of; overdid)

DRAM (a small measure of whisky; a little drink) + an anagram of (off) DATE IS

DRAM ATISED*

Bird at 36 lough (4)

ERNE (an eagle, especially the sea eagle; bird)

ERNE (name of an IRISH [entry at 36 across] lough  Lough ERNE is situated in Northern Ireland)  double definition

ERNE

Loud isn’t very soft (5)

FAINT (lacking force; very soft)

F (forte; loud) + AIN’T (contracted forn of is not; isn’t)

F AINT

Cricketer Joel’s stores (7) 

GARNERS (gathers up and stores)

GARNER’S (reference the former West Indian cricketer Joel GARNER [born 1952]) double definition

GARNERS

Worker lost diamonds alone in Star Wars (3,4)

HAN SOLO (fictional character in the Star Wars franchise)

HANd (worker) excluding (lost) D (diamonds) + SOLO (alone)

HAN SOLO

Flag girl’s husband from Cork, say (5)

IRISH  (descriptive of a person from the southern IRISH city of Cork)

IRIS (flag) + H (husband)

IRIS H

Port and orange (5)

JAFFA (port city in Israel)

JAFFA (an orange from the area around the Israeli town of JAFFA)  double definition

JAFFA

King missing Queen at German monastery (7)

KLOSTER  (German word for monastery)

K (king) + LOST (missing) + ER (Elizabeth Regina; Queen Elizabeth)

K LOST ER

Resounding soccer win repulsed singer (6)

LINNET (a bird that produces a tuneful melody; singer)

(TEN-NIL, a resounding winning score in a football match) reversed (repulsed)

LINNET<

Spread you love or hate (7)

MARMITE (a spread for bread or toast made from yeast and vegetable extracts)

MARMITE (a subject that usually inspires either profound enthusiasm or profound hostility; something you either love or hate)  double definition

MARMITE

Immigrant’s child in Biston is eight (5)

NISEI (an American or Canadian born of Japanese immigrant parents; immigrant’s child)

NISEI (hidden word in [in] bistoN IS EIght)

NISEI

Truly sorry, empty, to make return journey (7)

ODYSSEY (a journey)

(YES [truly] + SY [letters remaining in SorrY when the central letters orr are removed [empty]) + DO [make]) all reversed (return)

(OD YS SEY)<

Singer in church is introduced by priest (6)

PRINCE (reference the singer PRINCE [Prince Rogers Nelson {1958 – 2016}])

PR (priest) + IN + CE (Church [of England])

PR IN CE

Queen’s radio broadcast, for example at French FO (4,6)

QUAI D’ORSAY (informal name for the French Foreign Office which is located on the street of the same name)

QU (queen) + an anagram of (broadcast) RADIO + SAY (for example)

QU AI D’OR* SAY

Fashion items thugs picked up

RUFFS (a frill, usually starched and pleated, worn round the neck, especially in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods; fashion item)

RUFFS (sounds like [picked up] ROUGHS [thugs])

RUFFS

One holding hot stones (7)

SHINGLE (coarse gravel; stones)

SINGLE (one) containing (holding) H (hot)

S (H) INGLE

Loo for hire – I entered (7)

TOILET (loo)

I contained in (entered) TO LET (for hire)

TO (I) LET

One holding adult Christian

UNIAT  (member of any community of Christians, especially in eastern Europe and Asia, that acknowledges the papal supremacy but which is allowed to retain its own customs and practices with regard to all else; Christian)

UNIT (one) containing (holding) A (adult)

UNI (A) T

Feud over 500 gatecrashing ground at event (8)

VENDETTA (feud)

D (Roman numeral for 500) contained in (gatecrashing) an anagram of (ground) AT EVENT

VEN (D) ETTA*

A question of property (5)

WHOSE (a term used to identify who some property belongs to)

WHOSE, in grammar terms is a possessive pronoun, which could indicate possession of a property [?]

I am struggling to see this clue as anything other a cryptic definition of the word WHOSE

WHOSE

French boy, cross with a German quartet (6)  

XAVIER (French name for a boy.  The name also has Basque and Spanish roots)

X (symbol of a cross) + A + VIER (German word for four; German quartet)

X A VIER

Shetland isle’s calls (5)

YELLS (calls)

YELL’S (YELL is the second largest island in the Shetland Isles)  double definition

YELLS

Nick losing head following unknown love (5)

ZILCH  (nothing, zero [love score in tennis)

Z (a letter frequently used to represent an unknown value in an equation) + fILCH (steal) excluding the first letter (losing head) F 

Z ILCH

Absurd mothers tailored beachwear (7,6)

BERMUDA SHORTS (beachwear)

Anagram of (tailored) ABSURD MOTHERS

BERMUDA SHORTS*

A child of 5 as friar (7)

AQUINAS  (reference Thomas AQUINAS [died 1274], Italian Dominican friar, priest, theologian and philosopher)

A + QUIN (one of five children) + AS

A QUIN AS

Sole card game in part (5)

PELMA  (the sole of the foot)

PELMA (the first 5 of the 9 letters [in part] of PELMAnism [a card game in which the cards are spread out face down and must be turned up in matching pairs])

PELMA

Essentially fervent SA plots (5)

ERVEN (South African [SA] term for a garden plot or small piece of ground)

ERVEN (the five central letters [essentially] of fERVENt)

ERVEN

Grass to spare, maybe (7)

ESPARTO (a strong grass grown in Spain and North Africa)

Anagram of (maybe) TO SPARE

ESPARTO*

Law in French “Thou art in public” (7)

STATUTE  (law enacted by the legislature)

TU (French biblical style word for ‘thou’) contained in (art in) STATE (public – Chambers Dictionaty gives public as a definition for STATE as an adjective)

STA (TU) TE

Amid beta, lambda and others (4)

ET AL  (Latin for ‘and other’ people or things)

ET AL (hidden word in [amid] bETA Lambda)

ET AL

French language clubs in action abroad (7)

OCCITAN (name for Langue d’Oc, the Romance dialects of Southern France, the language of the troubadors)

C (clubs) contained in (in) an anagram of (abroad) ACTION

OC (C) ITAN*

Is superior to former favourites we hear (7)

EXCEEDS (is superior to)

EX (former) + CEEDS (sounds like [we hear] SEEDS [the best players in sports knockout competitions])

EX CEEDS

Hellfire caver swapped stationery item (5-4,4)

LEVER-ARCH FILE (a stationery item)

Anagram of (swapped) HELLFIRE CAVER

LEVER-ARCH FILE

Away, using LSD (2,1,4)

ON A TRIP (away)

ON A TRIP (using LSD [using a hallucinatory drug])  double definition

ON A TRIP

Sworn enemies – with 1 worn out, maybe (7)

NEMESES (rivals or opponents who cannot be beaten, often portrayed as sworn enemies)

Anagram of (maybe) Sworn ENEMiES excluding (out) WORN and I (Roman numeral for 1)

NEMESES*

Church ushers, say, from Unst? (8) 

ISLEMEN (men from the island of Unst in the Shetland Islands)

ISLEMAN (sounds like [say] AISLEMEN [church ushers])

ISLEMEN

Fruit – lemon gone off (4,5)

OGEN MELON (variety of small melon)

Anagram of (off) LEMON GONE

OGEN MELON*

Priest and maestro talk idly (7) 

PRATTLE (talk in a foolish or childish way; babble; talk idly)

P (priest) + RATTLE (reference Sir Simon RATTLE [born 1955], British conductor, often referred to as a maestro)

P RATTLE

Innocence troubled Venetia (7)

NAIVETÉ (natural simplicity; innocence)

Anagram of (troubled) VENETIA

NAIVETE*

Coppers in Yemeni capital cut composer (7)

SMETANA  (reference Bedrich SMETANA [1824 – 1884], Czech composer)

MET (reference the METropolitan Police [coppers]) contained in (in) SANAa (capital city of Yemen) excluding the final letter (cut) A

S (MET) ANA

Buffy‘s small bed (6)

SLAYER (reference Buffy the  Vampire Slayer, an American television series)

S (small) + LAYER (course, bed or stratum)

S LAYER