Gah! A busy weekend with Excoll, singing Spem in alium among other things (including Biebl's Ave Maria, totally new to me and very effective) means that I forgot to blog the crossword – and, indeed, an incautious software upgrade before that meant that I lost my place in the online Java applet provided by the Observer. (Thanks, Chrome, for assuring my security with your new PPAPI plugin architecture, but why does that mean I cannot have the shiny?)

Ahem. In any case, I did do Azed 2191; here it is. (Did I have time to think about a clue for the competition word? Did I heck.)

  • 1ac: SPLATTERPUNK: Violent novels portraying charger in spirit (12): PLATTER (charger) in SPUNK (spirit)
  • 10ac: CLARAIN: Streaks in coal? Could be such sets, OK, when mined (7): *(STREAKS IN COAL) = CLARAIN SETS OK &lit.
  • 11ac: GREY: Pale, like a gannet that’s deprived of half feed (4): GREEDY (like a gannet) - (fe)ED
  • 12ac: RURU: Aussie bird? A hearty sport, twice (4): R(ugby) U(nion) twice
  • 13ac: CHIDER: Edrich batting, a combative fellow of old (6): *(EDRICH)
  • 15ac: NAIL GUN: Less hard work than a hammer? See chippy align one (7, 2 words): *(ALIGN) + UN (one)
  • 17ac: PLEB: Commoner section of people believe (giving his word contentiously!) (4): peoPLE Believe; ref. Plebgate
  • 18ac: SENDABLE: Object in fur that can be shipped (8): END (object) in SABLE (fur)
  • 21ac: STANDEE: Not seated? That may be disturbing to one (7): *(NOT SEATED) = TO STANDEE &lit.
  • 23ac: DECEASE: Die, peace replacing speech as part of honouring (7): DECORATION (honouring) - ORATION (speech) + EASE (peace)
  • 25ac: ORGANONS: Investigation methods soon entering tangled gorse mostly (8): ANON (soon) inside *(GORS(e))
  • 26ac: INCE: Footballer from number kept in reserve (4): N(umber) in ICE (reserve)
  • 28ac: SALIENT: Hush when foreigner comes in, striking (7): ALIEN (foreigner) in ST (hush)
  • 31ac: TURTLE: Soup? Half of what it’s in, left simmering, female ignored (6): TUR(een) (half of what soup is in) + *(LE(f)T)
  • 32ac: GRIS: Steps formerly displaying charm if half cut? Exactly (4): GRIS(gris) (charm)
  • 33ac: OTIC: Like some drums? See one beside backing (4) C (see) I (one) TO (beside) all reversed
  • 34ac: MISTICO: Small ship, obscure in a way before one joins company (7): MIST (obscure) + I (one) + CO(mpany)
  • 35ac: REMAINDER-MAN: I’ll acquire interest in estate ditch – general fell in? (12): REAN (ditch) around MAIN (general) + DERM (fell)
  • 1dn: SCRIPT DOCTOR: Film editor cited poor crits hammered, i.e. rejected (12, 2 words): *(CITED POOR CRITS) - IE
  • *2dn: PLUG: Stopper (4)
  • 3dn: LARNEY: Wealthy Springbok (not Habana) nearly ruined (6): *(NEARLY)
  • 4dn: TALISMAN: Amulet in metal is man-made (8): meTAL IS MAN-made
  • 5dn: TIPLESS: Lacking bit at the end, like a disgruntled waiter? (7): Double Definition
  • 6dn: RAHU: What gets Hindu trembling with fear – this fiend? (4): *(HINDU FEAR) = RAHU FIEND
  • 7dn: URDY: Pointed bean appearing before end of July (4): URD (bean) + (jul)Y
  • 8dn: NEEDLES: Are they pointless? Not quite, or not at all (7): NEEDLESS - S &lit.
  • 9dn: KYRIE ELEISON: Crowning garlands worn irk eye badly in part of mass (12, 2 words): LEIS (garlands) ON (worn) under (crowned by) *(IRK EYE)
  • 14dn: IN-AND-IN: Endlessly senseless hullabaloo ensuring good breeding? (7) INAN(e) (endlessly senseless) + DIN (hullabaloo)
  • 16dn: ABREAST: Rule circumvented by a copper keeping in line (7): R(ule) inside A BEAST (copper)
  • 19dn: DANSEUSE: Ballerina? That’s her in English habit (8): DANS (her in, assuming her [= DANSEUSE] is French) + E(nglish) + USE (habit)
  • 20dn: VERSUTE: Crafty poems about ‘do’ (as it was called) (7): VERSE (poems) around UT (do, as in Solmization)
  • 22dn: TENIOID: Like a US ferret I catch, brought up on fish (7): I NET (catch) reversed + O (on) + ID (fish)
  • 24dn: UNTRIM: I turn out with maiden free of ornamental extras (6): *(I TURN) + M(aiden)
  • 27dn: GRIM: Make a face when losing top card, depressing (4): GRIMACE (make a face) - ACE (top card)
  • 29dn: ALDI: Face having to exchange portions in supermarket (4): DIAL (face) with halves swapped
  • 30dn: MICA: Rock-forming mineral, not for surfacing material (4): FORMICA (surfacing material) - FOR