A most enjoyable puzzle from Peto today.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CROSSBOW |
Weapon maker’s back in Colombia getting secret service leaders to comply (8)
|
| {Last letter of (back [of]) [MAKE]R inside (in) CO (Colombia)} + first letters of (leaders [of]) S[ECRET] S[ERVICE] + BOW (comply) | ||
| 5 | ORIOLE |
Flier showing Baltimore baseballer (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | NUTCASE |
Foolish person subject of investigation by head (7)
|
| NUT (head) + CASE (subject of investigation) | ||
| 11 | TRAILER |
Follow with oddly dismissed retro film advert (7)
|
| TRAIL (follow) + even letters of (oddly dismissed) [R]E[T]R[O] | ||
| 12 | OPERATION |
Speech admitting extremely pervasive influence (9)
|
| ORATION (speech) around (admitting) outside letters of (extremely) P[ERVASIV]E | ||
| 13 | HARDY |
Brave duke interrupting heartless prince (5)
|
| D (duke) inside (interrupting) HA[R]RY (prince) minus middle letter (heartless) | ||
| 15 | EXALT |
Praise film featuring times with Capone (5)
|
| ET (film) around (featuring) {X (times) + AL (Capone)} | ||
| 16 | FORMLESS |
Don’t make so many without a definite shape (8)
|
| FORM LESS (Don’t make so many) | ||
| 19 | UPPER LIP |
Tooth protector’s superior edge (5,3)
|
| UPPER (superior) + LIP (edge) | ||
| 20 | TORTE |
Cake quote’s back after about-face of revolutionary (5)
|
| TROT (revolutionary) reversed (about-face of) last letter of (back [of]) [QUOT]E, with “after” indicating the order of the wordplay | ||
| 21 | DATED |
Extremely upset over one type of shirt being unfashionable (5)
|
| DEAD (extremely) reversed (upset) around (over) T (one type of shirt) | ||
| 23 | CLOSE CALL |
Put an end to discussion of California students’ narrow escape (5,4)
|
| CLOSE (put an end to discussion) + CA (California) + {L + L} (students) | ||
| 25 | PUERILE |
Rue lie sadly after Penny becomes childishly silly (7)
|
| P (penny) + anagram of (sadly) {RUE LIE} | ||
| 27 | CASSIUS |
Clay once used sauciness ignoring norms especially at the start (7)
|
| Anagram of (used) SAUCI[NE]SS minus (ignoring) first letters of (at the start) {N[ORMS] + E[SPECIALLY]}, referring to the birth name of Muhammad Ali | ||
| 28 | TILLER |
Row about line at end of manual for steering mechanism (6)
|
| TIER (row) around (about) {L (line) + last letter of (end of) [MANUA]L} | ||
| 29 | SENTENCE |
Defendant’s punishment for deplorable scene outside hospital department (8)
|
| Anagram of (deplorable) SCENE around (outside) ENT (hospital department) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CONDONES |
Overlooks temporary traffic markers taking in river (8)
|
| CONES (temporary traffic markers) around (taking in) DON (river) | ||
| 2 | ON THE CARPET |
In trouble over article about regularly upset inside right (2,3,6)
|
| ON (over) + THE (article) + CA (about) {alternate letters of (regularly) [U]P[S]E[T] inside RT (right)} | ||
| 3 | SEA BATTLE |
Decide to grab first-class sailor returning from Trafalgar, for instance (3,6)
|
| SETTLE (decide) around (to grab) {A (first-class) + AB (sailor) reversed (returning)} | ||
| 4 | OBELI |
Priest supporting former pupil’s indications of textual corruption (5)
|
| OB (former pupil) + ELI (priest) | ||
| 6 | REACH |
Get to crack disappearance of bishop (5)
|
| [B]REACH (crack) minus (disappearance of) B (bishop) | ||
| 7 | OIL |
Helios somewhat upset by one kind of painting (3)
|
| Hidden in (somewhat) [HE]LIO[S] inverted (upset) | ||
| 8 | EARLY |
Not quite removing name before the appointed time (5)
|
| [N]EARLY (not quite) minus (removing) N (name) | ||
| 9 | ETON CROP |
Brief summary put up by policeman describing resistance in Barnet, for example (4,4)
|
| NOTE (brief summary) inverted (put up) + {COP (policeman) around (describing) R (resistance)} | ||
| 14 | RESERVATION |
Expression of doubt qualifying approval of allowance to cover new verse (11)
|
| RATION (allowance) around (to cover) anagram of (new) VERSE | ||
| 16 | FILM CREW |
Movie makers finding fine haze covering most of Cheshire town (4,4)
|
| FILM (fine haze) + CREW[E] (Cheshire town) minus last letter (most of) | ||
| 17 | LETTERSET |
Method of printing brief dates essentially on permit (9)
|
| LET (permit) + TERSE (brief) + middle letter of (essentially) [DA]T[ES] | ||
| 18 | DÉCLASSÉ |
Having lost status of French girl protected by the church (8)
|
| DE (of [in] French) + {LASS (girl) inside (protected by) CE (the church)} | ||
| 21 | DEPOT |
Drink up behind rear of old warehouse (5)
|
| Last letter of (rear of) [OL]D + TOPE (drink) inverted (up) | ||
| 22 | DRIVE |
Initiative shown by copper finally entering seedy bar (5)
|
| Last letter of (finally) [COPPE]R inside (entering) DIVE (seedy bar) | ||
| 24 | ON CUE |
In the past catching you speaking just at the right moment (2,3)
|
| ONCE (in the past) around (catching) U (homophone of [speaking] you) | ||
| 26 | EEL |
Letters from freeloader revealing slippery character (3)
|
| Hidden in (letters from . . . revealing) [FR]EEL[OADER] |
Thanks Peto and Cineraria
For the benefit of non Brits ETON CROP is a severe hair cut and Barnet is hair in Cockney rhyming slang. In the other hand I was completely baffled by the Baltimore baseballer clue 5ac although the bird was clear from the crossers.