There was a fun bit of play here. I usually skim through all the clues and pick out easy ones first. My eye caught on 35,36-across which reads:
Good luck getting 8-down and 11-across (7,7)
Oh really- you're taunting us? Challenge accepted! Coffee made. Here's my final pic:
Which included a finger puppet monster that has haunted my desk for a couple of weeks now and seemed fitting to include considering some of the solutions we're about to encounter.
1, 4A - Nice Russian vodkas, say, with soulmates (7,7)
"Soulmates" is our definition and "Nice" = KIND, "Russian" = RED and "vodkas" = SPIRITS for KINDRED SPIRITS.
9A - Grow pot after former lover died (6)
"Grow" is our definition and I admit to spending too long looking at the wrong kind of "pot" = PAN to be placed "after former lover" = EX and last letter is taking the D from "died" to give us
EX(PAN)(D), I wonder if the D is like when we look at genealogies and a person's death is marked with a D for deceased.
10A - Burning and killing it! (2,4)
A fun double definition: ON FIRE!
11A - Not out of French kiss list (5)
Right - this is one of our taunting clues! "List" is our definition and something "not out" is IN, "French" = DE and yes it's usually LE but that's not a hard&fast rule, (scroll down to French for the list) "kiss" = X as xoxo is kiss-hug-kiss-hug, a popular ending for an affectionate letter. Gives us INDEX.
12A - Vehicle with oddly brown emission? (6)
"Emission" is our definition and "Vehicle" = CAR, "oddly BrOwN" = BON for CARBON.
14A - Oscillating any wig around (6)
"Oscillating" is the definition and "any wig around" is fodder and anagrind to give us YAWING. I'd first thought "Oscillating" was the anagrind.
16A - Digit in bank code from Kentucky (5)
"Digit" is our definition and a "bank code" = PIN and "Kentucky" = KY for PINKY. Our first finger.
18A - Vermin love sauce (5)
I love this clue, the surface is fun and icky. "Vermin" = PEST, "love" = O for the sauce PESTO.
22A, 20D - Bottom oar moving watercraft (5,4)
This one confused me at first because I was solving it in a weird way (the bottom of bottom = MOT and homophone of "oar" for OR and...?) but it's a straightforward anagram so I don't know where my head was. I think I was distracted by cross letters and I knew the second word. "Watercraft" is what we are looking for and "bottom oar moving" is fodder and anagrind to give us MOTOR BOAT.
24A - Genes hiding doughnuts in duvet (5)
"Duvet" is our definition and "genes" = DNA "hiding doughnuts" = OO to be put into DNA like this: D(OO)NA.
28, 30A - It protects body from nasty tummy nemesis! (6,6)
Is this an &lit? Cryptic definition? I wish I could get better at recognising clue types. It's very good. "Nasty tummy nemesis" is anagrind and fodder to give us IMMUNE SYSTEM, which does protect us from nasty tummy and other nemeses.
31A - Sailors inputting coordinates for chasm (5)
I think I have this one but please correct me if I'm wrong. "Chasm" is the definition and "sailors" = ABS the S added as it's plural. "Coordinates" = YS, the S also added as it's plural and the Y is used in maths for plotting coordinates on axes. "Inputting" is a container signpost so we put the YS into the ABS like this: AB(YS)S.
32A - Don't begin tippling and leaking (6)
"Leaking" is the definition and work this clue backwards and get "tippling" = BOOZING and then "don't begin" means to remove the -B leaving us with OOZING.
33A- United Nations announce ticket cost is a ripoff (6)
This was one of the last clues in, I had the answer lightly pencilled for a while. "Ripoff" is the definition and "United Nations" = UN and "announce ticket cost" where announce is a homophone signpost for FARE to become FAIR and the answer is UNFAIR.
35, 36A - Good luck getting 8-down and 11-across (7,7)
Skip down to 8D and get that answer MIDDLE, then 11A was INDEX - both have something in common; they're both fingers. Look at their placement in the grid in the picture - they make the shape of a cross. "Good luck" = CROSSED FINGERS. Is that not just some damn good fun for a puzzle?! I mean so often crosswords are dry fact finding exercises or spot the signpost but this was a step above. Puzzles need to have more of this kind of stuff.
1D - Ken mashed backspace with parts of leg (8)
"Parts of leg" is what we are looking for and "Ken mashed" is partial fodder and anagrind with "backSPACE" as a one-word instruction to reverse SPACE in the grid like this: (KNE)(ECAPS).
2D - Sleep in nice acrylic pyjama tops (3)
"Sleep" is the definition and it is found "in" "Nice Acrylic Pyjama tops" = NAP as the first or "top" letters of the preceding words spelling out our answer.
3D - Finishing reno without walls getting dent (6)
"Finishing" is our definition and "reno without walls" means to remove the first and last letter from "rENo" leaving EN then "getting dent" = DING for (EN)DING.
5D - Snoop around cuddling and kissing for extra vote (5)
"Extra vote" is our definition and to "snoop around" = PRY, to be put "around" a "cuddle and a kiss " as I mentioned earlier = O X like this: PR(OX)Y which makes me remember one of my favourite movies The Hudsucker Proxy "You know, for kids!"
6D - Eye condition initially infected Rob, Ian then Ingrid sadly (6)
"Eye condition" is our definition and the key word here in "initially" and just like 2D it's an initial letter clue so "Infected Rob, Ian Then Ingrid Sadly," = IRITIS.
7, 21D - Abuse players drunk then hit with a tool (14)
Oh look ! I got the sport related question! Ha! "Hit with a tool" is our definition. There's been a lot of discussion in the news about verbal abuse by players mostly in cricket but also AFL but to be honest, it happens in all sports. I think Australia is the first to put a word to what that particular type abuse is called (Or it's that I've only learned the term since moving here) and it's called sledging = SLEDGE, "drunk" = HAMMERED. "Hit with a tool" = SLEDGE HAMMERED. This gets me in my Fallout addiction where there's a unique sledgehammer weapon called The Tenderiser.
8D - Diamonds within 1.6km of heart (6)
"Heart" is the definition and "diamonds" = DD as it's plural we want two of them, "1.6km" = MILE so we put the DD "within" the MILE to get: MI(DD)LE.
13D - Jewellery boxing area (4)
Double definition: RING
15D - Dodge ball embraced by Beckham, topless (5)
"Dodge" is our definition and "ball" = O to be "embraced" or put inside a "Beckham, topless" = DAVID -D like this: AV(O)ID.
17D - You ancient chaps in Middle East nation (5)
"Middle East nation" is our definition and "you ancient" = YE and "chaps" = MEN for YEMEN.
18D - Underarm of one in public transport (3)
""Underarm" is our definition and "one" = I being put "in" "public transport" = PT to give us PIT. The Scots have a great word for the armpit: oxter.
19D - Is rewinding third Dark Knight (3)
"Knight" is what we're looking for and "is rewinding" = SI as we just reverse the "is" and "third daRk" = R as it's the third letter in "dark" to give us SIR, the title one gets on becoming a knight.
23D - Old boy ogled and followed (6)
This was my last clue in and I got it stuck in my head "ogled" was an anagrind and "oldboy" the fodder which really only gave me "bloody" but the cross letters are an O and a Y so I kept thinking I was missing something. Yes, I was - the whole clue. "old boy" = OB and "ogled" = EYED for OBEYED. I even have it wrong in the grid as I'd ignored the tense and put it OBEYER.
25D - Dump rotten clue (3-3)
"Clue" is our definition and a "dump" = TIP and something "rotten" is OFF leaving us with TIP-OFF.
26D - Mother returned first and last letter on online store (6)
"Online store" is what we want and "mother returned" = MA reversed to AM, "first and last letter" = AZ and we just use the ON from the clue to get AMAZON.
27D - One second...we return to emergency broadcaster (6)
"Broadcaster" is the definition and "One" = I, "second" = S, "we returned" = US reversed to SU and "emergency" = ER all put together to give us ISSUER.
29D - Keen bird spent 50 on Romeo (5)
"Keen" is the definition and "bird" = EAGLE but "spent 50" = -L to remove the Roman numeral for 50 and replace it with "Romeo" = R the letter from police code to give us EAGER.
34D - Donkey takes cockney's avocado (3)
"Donkey" is our definition and work this backwards so "avocado" = HASS the popular variety of avocado and Cockney slap the H off to leave us with ASS.
There, we are done. That was fun, right? I had fun. I say that because I solved it - we always sing high praise for the ones we solve.
Let me know if you had smoother or other solutions. Also, let me know if you go down any rabbit holes because then I won't feel so lonely about falling down my own.
Have a great day, unless in Melbourne then just do your best to stay dry and upright.
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