Suppose I should have seen the theme coming. I thought Neo did well to stretch the thematic material as far as he did – even if it may be a little too innuendo-laden for cap-doffing Cavalier tastes.
Across
9 PEA-SOUPER – P[arking] + (as Europe)*. A word that always conjures up boyhood memories of the film One of Our Dinoasaurs is Missing, although I suspect that it no longer passes muster on the PC front these days.
10 AGATE – a gate.
11 WILLIAM – will + 1A.M. Highly unusual to see Shakespeare as the definition (albeit by example) rather than as a pointer to an esoteric or vowel-shifted answer. It does allow a segue into the maritally dramatic sub-theme, though.
12 ENEMIES – (see mine)*.
13 SKI – ski{n}.
14 THE PENTAGON – t[ime] + (phone agent)*.
17 WALES – w[ide] + ales.
18 GOA – go + A (‘very good’). Groan; although it must be hard to be original with these three-letter grid-stalwarts.
19/27 ROYAL WEDDING – (L{arge} + dowry gained)*. The scurrilous anagram here was the highlight of the thematic material, I felt.
21 FORESIGHTED– (horse gifted)*. Mr Ed meets Mystic Meg, I suppose.
23 MAD – ma + d[ied].
25 LUMP SUM – lumps (as in “lump it or leave it”) + U[nionist] + M.
28 SHREW – hr in sew.
29 NOVELISTS – (L + I[ntl]) in (no vest + ‘s).
Down
1 SPAWNS – pawn in SS.
2 CALL GIRL – (LL + GI) in Carl. I liked ‘student duo” for LL, but am blissfully unaware as to what makes Carl the epitome of ‘rude’ness. [Edit: carl is a variant of churl, as in one who is churlish]
3 SOVIETISES – so vie + (is set)*. Ugly word, but a relatively eye-catching clue in comparison.
4 SPAM – double def’n.
5 IRRELEVANT – I + err< + Levant.
6 KATE – K + ate.
7 TAMING – ta + Ming (“the Merciless” from Flash Gordon).
8 PERSONAL – E.R. son (i.e. “Charles for instance”!) in pal.
15 ENGAGEMENT – double def’n.
16 TARADIDDLE – (RA + did + D[aughter]) in tale.
17 WIFELESS – wireless, with r[ight] for f[requency].
20 YUMMIEST – (mum is yet)*. Not sure whether this is intended ot be thematically forward-looking?!
22 REMARK – re. + Mark.
24 DIGEST – dig + EST (Electric Shock Therapy). I wasn’t aware that the latter had its heyday in the ’70s. Perhaps it was the lesser of many evils at the time – the alternatives being Donny Osmond or watching Scotland in the World Cup finals. [Edit: In fact, EST = Erhard Seminars Training – a less violent, but apparently just as dangerous treatment]
26 SEWN – the four compass poitns.
27 WAVE– W[omen] + {h}ave. A poetic term for cresting waves.
Thanks smiffy
In 2dn, ‘carl’ is not being used as the name of a person. Chambers defines ‘carl’ as “a churl” which in turn is defined as “an ill-bred, surly fellow” or as clued ‘a rude man’.
Finihed this
Sorry, finger trouble. Finished quite quickly for me. In explanation of 27d I think you mean that “white horse” is poetic………
Impeccable cluing, nice touches of humour, one new word (TARADIDDLE – and what a good one), held up for a bit by SOVIETISES, loved PERSONAL; what a lovely way to pass my commute. Thanks to Neo and to Smiffy. BTW Chambers gives “Carl” as a churl.
Sorry Gaufrid, our postings crossed (your explanation is more complete anyway).
Many thanks Smiffy
This was a joy!
Thanks Neo – you are certainly the One (anagram) to watch.
Agreed! An excellent puzzle with a good spot, I thought, about parallels with Wales, Shakespeare, Middleton and Minola.
Another point for the blogger, EST was Erhard Seminar Training, popular in the 70s as a self-improvement course that actually sent a good fwe people mad, as I recall.
Right, I’m sure the est is “est Standard Training” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Seminars_Training). It’s very much from the 70s, and the other is usually called ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) anyway.
That bit is Erhard Seminars Training = est, which has an entry in Chambers and in the archives of several cult awareness groups! It’s called The Forum now, as far as I know (which is quite far, because I went through the experience for myself in 1993).