Independent 12434 / Phi

LUSTFUL (passionate)

(US [United States; American] + FT [foot] reversed [twisted]) contained in (during) LULl (pause) excluding (off) one of the Ls [first letter of [beginning to] Limp

L (US TF<) UL

JET PIPE (exhaust PIPE in a JET engine; an item that might be letting off steam)

PIP (hard seed or a stone in a fleshy fruit) contained in (stopping) JETÉ (in ballet,  leap from one foot to the other in which the free leg usually finishes extended forward, backward or sideways; ballet move)

JET (PIP) E

MECHANISM (contraption; device)

ME (Phi; the crossword setter) + (CHASM [opening] containing [to include] IN [popular] reversed [reverse of])

ME CHA (NI<) SM

KNIFE (a kitchen tool)

KN (letters remaining in KitcheN when the central letters itche are removed [emptied]) + IF (provided) + E (final letter of [latest in] fashionablE)

KN IF E

EDEN (river in Cumbria)

DENE (small valley) with the final letter [back] E moved to the beginning [front] to form EDEN

EDEN

PERILOUSLY (with a degree of risk)

Anagram of (dispensation of) YOUR PILLS containing (including) E (MDMA is an abbreviation for methylene-dioxymethamphetamine, a drug more commonly known as ecstasy [E])

P (E) RILOUSLY*.

AMIENS (city in Northern France)

AMENS (final words) containing (about) I (Roman numeral for one)

AM (I) ENS

GODETIA (any plant of the American genus Godetia, closely related to the evening primrose [flowering plant])

GO (leave) + (IT reversed [to revert] contained in DEAl [a soft wood] excluding the final letter (a lot of) L

GO DE (TI<) A

HAMMERS (Nickname of West Ham United, a London football team playing in the EFL Championship this season)

H (husband) + yAMMERS (keeps talking loudly and at length) excluding the first letter (dismissing foremost) Y

H AMMERS

STRAWS (reference the phrase ‘the STRAW that broke the camel’s back’; backbreaking stuff)

TRAWl (a type of fishing net) excluding the final letter (trimmed) contained in (aboard) SS (steamship)

S (TRAW) S

MARATHONER (an athlete who runs MARATHONs)

Anagram of (flailing) ANOTHER ARM

MARATHONER*

PLUG (a piece of favourable publicity, such as an advertisement)

P (piano) + LUG (informal term for the ear)

P LUG

TOPIC (discussion subject)

TO (I propose a toast to [in honour of]) + PIC (picture; film)

TO PIC

SOPRANINO (in a group of instruments, the ones higher than the corresponding soprano variants; instruments offering notes in elevated positions)

SOP (bribe) + RAN [arranged] + IN + O (Ohio)

SOP RAN IN O

RUSSELL (reference Bertrand RUSSELL [1872 – 1970], English philosopher)

(RUSE [stratagem] containing [involving] S [singular]) + LL (lines)

RUS (S) E LL

ECLOGUE (a short pastoral poem)

E (English) + (GO [energy] reversed [reflected] contained in [in] CLUE [a crossword feature])

E CL (OG<) UE

LUMBER (anything cumbersome or useless)

pLUMBER (tradesman) excluding (avoids) P (parking)

LUMBER 

SOCCER MOM (A mother who dedicates many hours to driving her children to, and supporting them at, organised recreational activities; busy parent) – both Chambers and Collins list this, but describe it as an American term

SO (very [much] as in ‘the river is so [very much] polluted’) + CC (Cricket Club) + an anagram of (perturbed) MORE + M (master)

SO CC ER MO* M

FLAP (flustered state)

F (following) + LAP (drink)

F LAP

LOITERS (stands idly; lingers)

O (over) contained in (tucks into) LITERS (American term for the British litres measures of volumes or quantities]

L (O) ITERS

JUMPING (avoiding)

(MP [Member of Parliament; politician] + IN [elected]) contained in (held in) JUG (slang word for prison)

JU (MP IN) G

TAKE ORDERS (be ordained; decide on a vocation in the church, for example)

TAKE ORDERS (work at the till in a fast food retailer, for example)  double definition

TAKE ORDERS

IVIES (collection of creeping and invasive plants)

I (Roman numeral for one) + VIES (struggles) – as this is a down entry, the letters VIES are placed in the grid under the letter I

I VIES

EVERYMAN (the hero of an old morality play, representing mankind)

VERY (extremely) contained in (beset by) NAME (reputation) reversed (inversion; down entry)

E (VERY) MAN<

RECEPTACLE (a place where an article may be stored)

Anagram of (possible) CREATE PLaCE excluding (from which … is taken) A (the indefinite article)

RECEPTACLE*

TOWELLING ( a type of fabric)

Anagram of (recycled) WELLINGTOn (capital city of New Zealand) excluding the final letter (almost) N

or alternatively

WELLINGTO with the letters moved two positions to the right and back to front [recycled] to form TOWELLING

TOWELLING*

OHMMETER (an instrument for measuring electrical resistance)

O (old) + HM (His Majesty, a form of address for a King) + MET (encountered) + ER (Elizabeth Regina, a title for Queen Elizabeth II [1926 – 2022], former Queen of the United Kingdom)

O HM MET ER

SPOUSAL (describing states of matrimony, [states of union; united states])

USA (United States; American) contained in (in) (S [special] + POLl [survey] excluding the final letter [cut short]) L

S PO (USA) L

STEEPLE (part of a church)

STEEP (wet thoroughly) + LE (first letters [initially] of each of Lovers and Encounter) – as this is a down entry, the letters L and E are positioned under the letters STEEP

STEEP L E

IGNORE (shun)

sIGNORE (Italian word for a gentleman; Italian guy) excluding (doffing) the first letter (cap) S

IGNORE

ROPES (a term to describe climbing parties roped together on a mountain)

Anagram of (drunken) PERSOn excluding (leaving) N (new)

ROPES*

TAIL (the cricketers allocated the lower position in the batting order are known collectively as the TAIL. They tend to be specialist bowlers rather than quality batters)

TAIL (reversed [upside down; down entry] hidden word in [amid] defoLIATion)

TAIL<