The Age Cryptic by DP from 16/7/14

I am highly distracted and have fluff for brains today. Sorry. Days of a cold, managing teen with a sore face has left me in need of a brain break. I did manage most of yesterday's puzzle with only 6 clues left over and two of those were partially solved.

No big disappoints, a few nebulous clues I could guess and I really liked 18A, I thought it was a great clue.

1A - Italian flower has to leave modern paintings (3,3)
I did get the answer but it was not an encouraging start. I'm not sure how the clue works. I figured the definition to be "modern paintings" and rather than scanning through a list of Italian rivers or flowers, I took a stab with POP ART and got it. I don't know if the "flower" is a Poppy, or if "has to leave" is a portion of "Depart".

4A - Ready to be trimmed ahead of time (8)
Double definition; something "ready to be trimmed" that is also "ahead of time" is PREPARED. Or maybe "Ready" is the only definition, and "to be trimmed ahead of time" is the rest?

10A - Fruit taken in by prehensile monkeys (5)
Hidden word clue, We want to find a "Fruit" hidden "in" "prehensiLE MONkeys" answer is LEMON.

11A - Would Blyton character be appropriate protective wear (5, 4)
I don't understand the answer to this, as it's not really a common a phrase, is it? Is this an Aussie/Brit thing? My Scottish husband think's it odd.  With cross letters I could discern NODDY as our "Blyton" character, but I would've thought his distinctive hat or vest would be more apt as a "protective wear" than a SUIT. I've googled NODDY SUIT and get nothing, so I can't explain the answer.

12A - How efficient waiter give you just retribution? (6,3,5)
I guessed the first two words, but needed to wait on the third until I could figure out the set phrase of SERVES YOU RIGHT.

15A - Heartless piety and shame (4)
"Shame" is our definition and "Heartless piety" means to remove the heart of the word "piety" or the middle letter -E to get PITY.

16A - Singularly effective member of Consorting Squad (10)
I got this via cross-letters and guessing, it seems to be the way of solving these kinds of lateral thinking clues. GANGBUSTER.

18A - Cape, red perhaps, for mounted thug (6,4)
Good clue. We want a matching phrase for "mounted thug" and the "cape, red perhaps" further hint to RIDING HOOD. Just imagine Little Red Riding Hood as a highwayman, robbing carriages.

20A - Look at what poetry should do! (4)
"Look at" is our definition and somehow we're to get SCAN. I didn't get this clue.

23A - Bay with durable comic duo (6,3,5)
"Bay" is a type of LAUREL and a synonym of "durable" is HARDY to give LAUREL AND HARDY as our "comic duo"

25A - Gear suitable for bowling with energy (9)
With cross letters I could guess OVERDRIVE by thinking of gears in a car instead of clothing, but I'm not sure how bowling fits this, but "energy" can give an E.

27A - Font displayed by safari elephants (5)
Notice the word "displayed" as it's a hidden word signpost. Our definition is "Font" and hidden in "safARI ELephant" is ARIEL. Let's just pause a moment, because that is not correct. The font is spelled ARIAL  with an A not an E. Ariel is many things, but not a font.

28A - Broke fellow following in princess (8)
"Broke" is our definition and "fellow" = GENT and that is to follow "in princess" or IN DI to give INDIGENT.

29A - Shoot through a blemish (6)
I didn't get this. I can see "blemish" is the definition but now how "shoot through a" gives DEFECT.

1D - Disparate, like divorcees from Krakow (5,5)
"Disparate" is our definition and knowing Krakow is in Poland, and divorced couples there could be considered POLES APART. Groanworthy clue, moving on...

2D - Would an Englishman lose sleep over fish? (7)
I needed google and thesaurus for this. I had cross letters, and guessed "Englishman" = POMME and  "lose sleep over" = FRET but had to look up what a POMFRET was.  I used One Across to get this.

3D - Scout thus telephoned the Queen (6)
"Scout" is the definition, "telephoned" = RANG and "Queen" = ER for RANGER.

5D - Sunburnt due to bare-headed hatred (3)
"Sunburnt" is the definition and "bare-headed hatred" is a tricky instruction, because when need to imagine making a head bare, by maybe removing a -HAT from "hatred" which leaves RED, the colour of sunburn.

6D - Another way to equip shy body structure (8)
"Body structure" is the definition and "another way to" is an anagram indication to mix-up "equip shy" to get PHYSIQUE.

7D - Badly hurt, I go without comforts (5,2)
"Without comforts" is the definition and I figured "Badly" was an anagrind where "hurt, I go" had enough letters for the answer (and it is) but the anagram solver didn't work - they sometimes fail. answer is ROUGH IT, had to get it the old fashioned way.

8D - Customs obligation? (4)
Double definition, DUTY.

9D - 1-across exponent gets involved in Normandy war hold-up (4,6)
A "pop-art exponent" is "in" where in works as a container signpost, look close to see "normANDY WAR HOLd-up." I'm very annoyed I didn't get that one. Well concealed in the surface of the clue.

13D - Blended drug undone without proof (10)
"Without proof" is the definition and "Blended" is an anagrind, so when we mix "drug undone" we get UNGROUNDED.

14D - Nanna no longer bubbly in garden unit (6,4)
"Garden unit" is the definition and "Nanna" = GRANNY and "no longer bubbly" if we think of soda, is FLAT for a GRANNY FLAT.

17D - It's unworthy when inside brother mine (5,3)
I've never heard of this phrase. Definition is "it's unworthy" and answer is INFRA DIG. I managed to guess "mine" = DIG but used One Across to get the rest of this.

19D - No future in this cul-de-sac (4,3)
Double definition giving DEAD END.

21D - A bright red motor vehicle belonging to me! (7)
"A bright red" is the definition and "motor vehicle" = CAR and "belonging to me" = MINE for CARMINE. I'd thought  we were looking at DP being in there somewhere.

22D - Sack which the lumberjack needs? (3,3)
Here the type of "Sack" we want is when we get fired from a job. Mix that with "lumberjack needs" and we get THE AXE. My brain wouldn't go there yesterday. I even had the word AXE in place but couldn't figure out THE - frustrating brain fart.

24D - Velocity stripped by mathematical curves (4)
Definition is "mathematical curves" and you don't need to know math to get this, "Velocity stripped" means to remove outer letters from the word Velocity to leave the inner four LOCI, which doesn't seem like a proper word but Google reassured, that's right.

26D - Zero cash taken out of innocent hostelry (3)
Definition is "hostelry" and looking at the rest "(Zero) (cash) taken out of innocent" where the word innocent is to lose a zero, or letter -O and some cash -CENT leaving a synonym for hostelry INN.

There! Done! Onto the rest of the day. DA day tomorrow and I've printed out today's NS and the Guardians Boatman puzzle and yesterday's Paul...or was it Pasquale? I have so many print outs and not enough time to solve them all!

I did give the recent Rufus a try and was impressed by how few words his clues have, but they work so well. A very different style from any I've encountered so far. I'll need to try a few more to decide if I'm a fan or not but I certainly have respect.

Solving these kinds of puzzles are far more personal than doing quicks. I couldn't tell you who compiled the Boston Herald crossword, which I used to solve every morning over breakfast in the local diner. Often with my dad  a natural at solving jumbles) or mom (who is a Clavin of general knowledge) and the lady who ran the diner, who'd come solve a few clues before frying bacon and omelettes for her customers. It was the company, camaraderie and the homefries that brought me there most days. Oh and the American trend for a bottomless cup of coffee. I'm glad to be finding a group of enthusiastic solvers again these 20 years later. I do miss the homefries, though.