Sunday, April 28, 2013 — ST 4531

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4531
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 31, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4531]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 20, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 27, 2013
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 27, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Dave Perry's introduction captures my experience very well. I made rapid progress through most of the puzzle — then slowed to a crawl through the final half dozen clues.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Climate’s troublesome for a climber (8)

6a   Advert seen around Spain for refrigerated transport (6)

In the surface reading, advert^[5] is an informal British term for an advertisement. However, in the cryptic reading, advert^[5] is a verb used in formal speech meaning to refer to in speaking or writing ⇒ I have already adverted to the solar revolution.

Reefer^[5] is slang for a refrigerated lorry [truck], railway wagon [railway car for Canadian readers; railroad car for US readers], or ship.

9a   Privy to nothing in bar (2,2)

10a   Check on military supports (10)

11a   Recently arrived fount of wisdom, bishop in diocese is me (6,5)

Although I didn't know the name, I was able to work it out correctly from the wordplay. Early this year, Justin Welby^[7] became the 105th and current Archbishop of Canterbury and senior bishop in the Church of England. As such, he is Primate of All England and the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

A bishop (abbreviation B)^[5] is a chess piece. The Diocese of Ely^[5] is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in the city of Ely.

14a   Manic ideas I’d put out randomly and forget? (8)

I would say that there is an implied second "I'd" in the clue, making it read "Manic ideas I'd put out randomly and [I'd] forget?". This allows the definition to be "I'd forget", justifying the solution being a noun (AMNESIAC). Without this interpretation, the definition is a verb (FORGET) and the solution (AMNESIAC) is either a noun or an adjective.

15a   Broad strip of Devon area getting unusual heat (6)

Devon^[5] is a county of SW England; county town, Exeter.

16a   A start showing how to make a star! (3- 3)

This is a type of semi & lit. clue that I suppose scchua (a fellow blogger on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) might label DIWW (definition intertwined with wordplay). Although, I don't recall ever seeing him use the term, he often mentions a counterpart type of semi & lit. clue which he calls WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition).

In a true & lit. clue, the entire clue is the definition (when read one way) and the wordplay (when read a second way). In a semi & lit. clue, the most common case (in my experience) is for the entire clue to be the definition, with only portion of the clue constituting the wordplay. This is what scchua calls a WIWD clue. However, today we have the converse situation where the entire clue forms the wordplay and the definition is only a portion of the clue. Thus by logical extension, it would seem that such a clue might be described as a DIWW clue.

18a   Where you find digital pictures  not for all to see (2,6)

20a   Hanging features in foreign prison camp with no end of cheering etc and it’s awful (11)

The trick here is to avoid falling into the trap of supposing that STALAG (foreign prison camp) is pointing you in the direction of stalagmites^[5] (which point up — not down).

22a   Cherry’s no charisma unfortunately (10)

Mistakenly thinking the solution is plural — and, and as a result, misspelling maraschino — caused havoc in the southwest corner.

24a   Stink in US created by cowboy show over wasting energy (4)

Odor being the US spelling of odour.

25a   British actor  vacillates (6)

Nigel Havers^[7] is an English actor. He played Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire and Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up. He portrayed the role of Lewis Archer in the British television soap opera Coronation Street from 2009 to 2010. He returned to the role in 2012 and departed once again in February 2013.

In British English, haver^[5] means to act in a vacillating or indecisive manner ⇒ (as noun havering) she was exasperated by all this havering.

26a   Discard bet on the best team (3,5)

In Britain, side^[7] is another term for a sports team. The "best team" is the 'A side'. I could find no evidence that the expression is used in this sense in Britain. The clue may be a cryptic allusion to A-side^[5], the side of a pop single regarded as the main one.

Down

2d   Athlete and what covers his or her thighs? (4,6)

In Britain, a jumper^[5] is a knitted garment typically with long sleeves, worn over the upper body (in North American terms, a sweater). What we would call a jumper, the Brits would call a pinafore^[5] (a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or [British] jumper [i.e., North American sweater]). Thus if a British lass wore a pinafore over her jumper and a North American girl wore a jumper over her sweater, they would be dressed identically.

3d   The Tories manifest troubles and he resigns? Rarely! (8,2,5)

In this semi & lit. clue, the entire clue would seem to be the definition, with only the portion preceding the the question mark being the wordplay — making it what scchua would call a WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) [see comment at 16a].

The wordplay, as I see it, is an anagram (troubles) of T[HE] TORIES MANIFEST with HE deleted (and HE resigns).

4d   Stops in car behind the Northern Queen (7)

Mini^[7] is an automobile brand, currently owned by BMW, but originally introduced as a model under the Austin and Morris marques by the British Motor Corporation (BMC).

The pronunciation of "the" in the Geordie dialect of northeast England is t'. Based on this, in this clue, "the Northern" is used to clue the letter T.

Geordie refers to (1) a person from Tyneside or (2) the English dialect or accent typical of people from Tyneside. Tyneside^[5] is an extended urban area on the banks of the River Tyne, in NE England, stretching from Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast. 

The dialect of this area is known as Geordie^[7], and contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive word pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Geordie dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon populations who migrated to and conquered much of England after the end of Roman Imperial rule. This language was the forerunner of Modern English; but while the dialects of other English regions have been heavily altered by the influences of other foreign languages—particularly Latin and Norman French—the Geordie dialect retains many elements of the old language.

By tradition, the ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

5d   One may be seen up in Kashmir seminary (3)

Sri^[5] (a variant spelling of Shri) is an Indian title of respect used before the name of a man, a god, or a sacred book ⇒ Shri Chaudhuri.

6d   Money raisers for famous Singapore hotel (7)

Raffles Hotel^[7] is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore. Established in 1887, the the hotel has become one of Singapore's best known icons. It was named after Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, whose statue was also unveiled in 1887.

7d   Regular parliamentary business? They are and they aren’t! (5,3,7)

An early day motion^[7] (EDM), in the Westminster system of parliamentary government, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House and their main purpose is to draw attention to particular subjects of interest.

I learn from Dave Perry that there is more to the clue than meets the North American eye. In Britain, motion^[10] can mean (1) the evacuation of the bowels [bowel movement] or (2) excrement. An early day bowel movement may — or may not — constitute "regular business" for parliamentarians.

8d   With head of Ford away, not so many in jug (4)

12d   Wife with one young child overlooking a US city (7)

Chit^[5] is a derogatory British term for an impudent or arrogant young woman ⇒ she is a mere chit of a girl.

13d   Bladed weapon seen in small bags on command (10)

A short sword^[5] (or shortsword [Wikipedia inconsistently using both spellings within the same article]) is a single-handed sword, typically two to three feet in length.

Bags^[5] is a dated British name for loose-fitting trousers ⇒ a pair of flannel bags. Thus "small bags" would be 'shorts'.

17d   Pope, mostly open and straightforward, starts to change institutional secrecy? (7)

Francis^[7] is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, elected on 13 March 2013. As such, he is Bishop of Rome, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, and sovereign of the Vatican City State.

19d   Like down clue initially? A bit much, merely leaving learner behind (7)

OTT^[5] is British slang for over the top ⇒ presenting him as a goalscoring Superman seems a bit OTT.

21d   One’s followed tasteless articles for so long (2- 2)

Tat^[5] is British slang for tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewellery, or ornaments ⇒ the place was decorated with all manner of gaudy tat.

23d   Faulty tablet’s lacking power (3)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 21, 2013 — ST 4530

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4530
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 24, 2013
Setter Dean Mayer (Anax)
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4530]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 13, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 20, 2013
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 20, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

As is usually the case with puzzles set by Anax, I needed to call out my electronic reinforcements fairly early in the battle. In the end, I threw in the towel on one clue. The correct solution had actually occurred to me, but I dismissed it as I could not decipher the wordplay.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

4a   Work in  trouble (3)

"Work in" is used in the sense of applying a finish to a piece of furniture, for example.

The rub^[5] is the central problem or difficulty in a situation ⇒ that was the rub—she had not cared enough [from Shakespeare's Hamlet ( iii. i. 65)].

7a   After bible classes, will copy sinner (9)

"Bible classes" is used here as a stand-in for 'Religious Education' (RE). Wikipedia, in an article on Religious education,  says "in England the term religious instruction would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with religious education referring to teaching about religions in general". A former article entitled Religious Education (note the subtle difference in capitalization of the titles of the two articles) has now been removed from Wikipedia. It stated "Religious Education (RE) is a compulsory subject in the state education system in the United Kingdom. Schools are required to teach a programme of religious studies according to local and national guidelines."

I have sourced this information from a blog posting that I wrote on October 28, 2011 reviewing a Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword (DT 26622) in which "bible classes" was used to clue RI (religious instruction).

Probate^[5] can mean (1) the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will; (2) the official certificate stating a will to be genuine and conferring on the executors power to administer the estate; or (3) the probate copy of a will (an authenticated copy of a will certified by a judge to be valid). In Britain, it would seem, the word "probate" is used only as a noun. The word appears to exist as a verb only in North America.

9a   Border crossing over here and there (5)

In cricket, an over^[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

11a   Is this produced with end of trial? (5)

Dave Perry indicates that this is an & lit. clue — one in which the entire clue is the definition (according to one reading) as well as the wordplay (according to second reading). This would be the case if one can justify the words "is this" being part of the wordplay.

As I interpret the clue, the wordplay is GAVE (produced) + (with) L (end [last letter] of triaL) — which does not include the words "is this". If my interpretation is correct, then this would be a semi & lit. clue (rather than a true & lit. clue) since the wordplay constitutes only a portion of the clue — not the entire clue, as it would in a true & lit. clue. Nevertheless, I don't discount the fact that someone more knowledgeable than I might have a different interpretation. Or, perhaps, Dave Perry just does not consider it meaningful to make a distinction between true & lit. clues and semi & lit. clues.

12a   Cruising behind wind (3,6)

I spent a lot of time trying to concoct a rationale for SEA BREEZE. I eventually ditched the idea when I could not make it work with a couple of the intersecting clues. As I was to find out, "wind" is used in a totally different sense.

13a   Passing comment while couple occupying farm sold us ground (6,4,5)

"Passing comment" is a cryptic reference to a statement made just before passing from this life to the hereafter. The anagram indicator is "ground" (used as a verb).

14a   Likely to forget a host? Oddly, needs him on board (7)

16a   Ruckus about one’s lawyer showing contempt (7)

I had expected that there might be complaints from some Brits that District Attorney is an American term — but none materialized.

18a   Having fit iron glove, it can’t go unnoticed (6,9)

The anagram indicator is "having fit".

21a   This be poor Lit badly written (9)

Here we have a situation that is somewhat similar to the one that we encountered in 11a. If the word "this" is considered to be part of the wordplay, this clue would be an & lit. clue i and, if not, it would be a semi & lit. clue.

22a   Wise seabird circling island (5)

Ernest Wiseman (1925 – 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise^[7], was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.

24a   Really describing a good man as offensive (5)

I tried to construct the solution as NY (?) containing (describing) {A (from the clue) + ST (good man)}. As I discover from Dave Perry, the wordplay is actually NAY (really) containing (describing) ST (a good man).

Nay^[5] may be used in the sense of 'or rather' (used to emphasize a more appropriate word than one just used) ⇒ permission to build the superstore will take months, nay years. However, the discussion on Times for the Times offers various other explanations.

The use of the word "describe" as a containment indicator is a cryptic crossword convention. The device relies on describe^[3] being used in the sense of to trace the form or outline of ⇒ describe a circle with a compass. Thus, in today's clue, we have NAY (really) containing (describing) ST (a good man; saint). The idea is that the container (NAY) forms an outline around the contained entity (ST) in a similar manner to the circumference of a circle forming an outline around the circular area contained within it.

25a   Virgin — no slag? (9)

In the second definition, slag^[5] is the stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore. A countryside not marred by heaps of slag could be described as unspoiled.

The surface reading of the clue relies on slag being derogatory British slang for a promiscuous woman.

26a   Old woman beginning to tie knot (3)

Down

1d   Old maid puts doctor under pressure (4)

Doctor in the sense of falsify.

2d   Boxer Billy who sings in French — yes, soprano (3,5)

Joe Louis^[5] (1914 – 1981) was an American boxer; born Joseph Louis Barrow; known as the Brown Bomber. He was heavyweight champion of the world 1937–49, defending his title twenty-five times during that period.

Billy Joel^[6] is a US pop singer and songwriter.

The French word oui^[8] means yes.

3d   Servant girl with bible standing up (6)

Primarily a British term, the Authorized Version (AV)^[5] is an English translation of the Bible made in 1611 at the order of James I and still widely used, though never formally ‘authorized’. It is also called the King James Bible — a name by which it is undoubtedly better known in North America.

4d   Covered in grass, circuits got worse (8)

5d   A river runs through bend in Northern town (6)

Barrow-in-Furness^[7] (commonly known as Barrow) is a large industrial town and seaport in the county of Cumbria in North West England.

6d   When playing, actor Niven also relaxed (14)

David Niven^[7] (1910 – 1983) was an English actor.

8d   Flags down vehicle for this designer? (8,6)

The meaning of this one took a long while to sink in. In Britain, a pavement artist^[5] is an artist who draws with coloured chalks on paving stones or paper laid on a pavement to earn money from passers-by. In the UK, unlike North America, pavement refers to the sidewalk — not the roadway. A flag^[5] is a flat stone slab, typically rectangular or square, used for paving. Thus paving stones laid down to form a walkway are the surface on which this artist creates his (or her) designs.

10d   Persuades train station to keep gutted livestock (5,4)

13d   Devour jars of peanuts (5,4)

15d   Fell over during shortened rest (5,3)

A fell^[5] is a hill or stretch of high moorland, especially in northern England.

Where have we seen over before — oh yes, in 9a.

17d   Work ending, so claimed benefit (6,2)

19d   Sandwich is one yours truly’s thrown up — it’s got a little horse in it (6)

The sandwich^[5] was named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718 – 1792), an English nobleman said to have eaten food in this form so as not to leave the gaming table.

This clue garnered several mentions on Times for the Times commenting on its timeliness. The 2013 meat adulteration scandal^[7] is ongoing in Europe; foods advertised as containing beef were found to contain undeclared horse meat, as much as 100% of the meat content in some cases, and other undeclared meats, such as pork. The issue came to light on 15 January 2013, when it was reported that horse DNA had been discovered in frozen beefburgers sold in several Irish and British supermarkets.

20d   Red cabbage wants nothing in spring (6)

23d   More wheels? Pretty much — works fantastic! (4)

Unlike Dave Perry, I was not able to decipher the wordplay. However, I take some small comfort in knowing what the Eddas are. An Edda^[5] is either of two 13th-century Icelandic books, the Elder or Poetic Edda (a collection of Old Norse poems on Norse legends) and the Younger or Prose Edda (a handbook to Icelandic poetry by Snorri Sturluson). The Eddas are the chief source of knowledge of Scandinavian mythology.

The wordplay is rather convoluted. Start with a reversal (wheels [turns about]) of ADDED (more) which gives us DEDDA. The phrase "pretty much" indicates that a letter must be deleted. As I recall, such a construction would usually indicate that the last letter is to be deleted — but, in this case, it is the first letter (unless one considers that the deletion is to be done before the reversal, but that is not the order in which the instructions appear). In any event, we are expected to end up with EDDA.

The definition is "works fantastic", where "works" is a noun and "fantastic" is a postpositive adjective.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 14, 2013 — ST 4529

Vacation Edition

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4529
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 17, 2013
Setter Jeff Pearce
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4529]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
Not provided
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, April 6, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 13, 2013
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 13, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen. I am currently on vacation. Today's abbreviated posting was prepared prior to my departure and provides a link to the review at Times for the Times for the puzzle that I expect to be published today. However, should the Ottawa Citizen alter its established publication pattern, the puzzle appearing in today's newspaper may vary from my forecast.

Introduction

I am taking some time off to visit family. During my absence, the blog will continue to provide a link to the Times for the Times site.

Signing off for this week — Falcon

Sunday, April 7, 2013 — ST 4528

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Sunday Times ST 4528
Date of Publication in The Sunday Times Sunday, March 10, 2013
Setter Tim Moorey
Link to Full Review Times for the Times [ST 4528]
Times for the Times Review Written By Dave Perry
Dave Perry's Solving Time
★★
Date of Publication in the Toronto Star Saturday, March 30, 2013
Date of Publication in the Vancouver Sun Saturday, April 6, 2013
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Times for the Times
Notes This puzzle appears on the Sunday puzzles pages in the Saturday, April 6, 2013 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.

Introduction

Obviously my puzzle solving skills are no where near those of Dave Perry. He seems to have found this puzzle to be about average in difficulty. I, on the other hand, found it to be an extreme challenge. Although it certainly would have speeded matters up had one been a regular viewer of British TV, I was actually able to identify the British TV personalities without too much difficulty with a bit of help from Wikipedia. It was a handful of clues clustered in the bottom right hand corner that did me in.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the full review at Times for the Times, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Newspaper's a steal, one to replace FT? (3,1)

The Financial Times (FT)^[7], founded in 1888, is a British international broadsheet business newspaper [which is conspicuously printed on distinctive light salmon pink newsprint]. The i^[7] is a British tabloid newspaper published by the same company that publishes The Independent. The newspaper, which is aimed at "readers and lapsed readers" of all ages and commuters with limited time, was launched in 2010. It is seemingly a steal at only 20 pence a copy. The Independent^[7] is a British national morning tabloid newspaper published in London. Nicknamed the Indy, it was launched in 1986 and is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers.

4a   Conduct of senior politician responsible for publicity? (10)

The wordplay is a whimsical cryptic definition suggesting that a "senior politician responsible for publicity" might be known as the 'Ad Minister'.

9a   Women aboard dread flying in a Lear? (6)

Not a Learjet, but English artist, illustrator, author and poet Edward Lear^[7] (1812 – 1888) who is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised.

10a   Swift's tome cried out, deism principally trashed (8)

Although totally a misdirection, Jonathan Swift^[7] (1667 – 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

11a   Secondary posters intended to reach cooler staff (10)

These "secondary posters"are not contributors to blogs, but those who redirect mail. Warder^[3,4] is a chiefly British term for a prison guard.

14a   Look in a thesaurus for this old character (4)

In the Bible, Esau^[5] is the elder of the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca, who sold his birthright to his brother Jacob and was tricked out of his father’s blessing by his brother (Gen. 25, 27).

15a   Medical check is most poor (4,4)

In British slang, skint^[5] is an adjective describing the condition of having little or no money available ⇒ I’m a bit skint just now.

17a   Barker for example embraced by hairy Sid is put out (6)

Sue Barker^[7] is an English television presenter [announcer] and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career, she won a Grand Slam women's singles title at the 1976 French Open and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3. She is now one of the main sports presenters at the BBC.

18a   Career girl’s left work (6)

In music, Op. (also op.)^[5] is an abbreviation meaning opus (work). It is used before a number given to each work of a particular composer, usually indicating the order of publication.

20a Bond has a following surprisingly in Palace? Not half! (8)

This is, no doubt, a reference to the film sequence shown during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games in which Queen Elizabeth II and English actor Daniel Craig^[7], in the role of secret agent James Bond, appeared to arrive at the event by parachuting from a helicopter.

22a   German workers getting day off (4)

In Crosswordland, a Scot is usually called Ian and an Irishman is virtually always known as Pat. It looks like Hans may be in the running for the title of favourite German appellation.

23a   Opinion in Tory Right: Miliband’s respected [10)

Ed Miliband^[7] is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in the British House of Commons.

25a   US gangster stole, a case for Chicago police (8)

The solution to this clue was absent from the list compiled by my wordfinder application. I also overlooked the possibility that a stole^[5] might be a woman’s long scarf or shawl, especially of fur or similar material, worn loosely over the shoulders.

27a   Bachelor leaving disturbs rest (6)

Sometimes one is able to decipher very challenging clues while failing to solve ones that are far less difficult. Such was my experience here.

29a   “Spectator" sees Witney represented (10)

The Spectator^[7] is a conservative-leaning weekly British magazine owned by the same people who own The Daily Telegraph^[7]. Witney^[7] is a town on the River Windrush, 12 miles (19 km) west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.

30a   A lot of money returned in this period (4)

In Britain, stop^[5] is a dated term for a punctuation mark, especially a full stop — full stop^[5] being the British name for a punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence or an abbreviation; in North American parlance, a period^[5].

Down

2d   White wine bottles Dad ordered for the fish (7)

Hock^[5] is a British name for a dry white wine from the German Rhineland.

3d   Gershwin is inspirational to some extent (3)

Ira Gershwin^[7] (1896 – 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.

4d   Summer is more dismal when there’s no sun (5)

Summer is a whimsical cryptic crossword invention meaning someone who creates sums [by analogy with words such as hatter, someone who makes hats].

5d   Lady sounding bubbly (3)

G. H. Mumm & Cie,^[7] situated in Reims in northern France, is one of the largest Champagne producers worldwide.

6d   Fine fellow at home continued to sit up for sweet Fanny Adams (3,1,5)

Not a sniff is an informal expression meaning not the slightest amount. The wordplay is a reversal (up) of {F (fine) + F (fellow; of a society) + IN (at home) + SAT ON (continued to sit; the House sat on past midnight in an effort to pass the bill)}. Fanny Adams^[5] (or sweet Fanny Adams) — a euphemism for fuck all (or sweet fuck all) — is British slang meaning nothing at all ⇒ I know sweet Fanny Adams about mining.

7d   Rather declare briefly? OK (6,5)

The Sooner State^[10] is the nickname of the US state of Oklahoma (abbreviation OK^[10]), which comes from the name of its early settlers.

8d   A Middle East office is to move abroad, leaving Gulf (7)

Emirate^[5] is the rank [i.e., office or position], lands, or reign [i.e., office or tenure] of an emir.

12d   Ultimately Oscar Wilde wasn’t wicked, bent maybe (11)

The surface reading of this clue provides a great deal of scope for guessing at the setter's intent. Hopefully, my efforts to craft an explanation for it don't prove to be merely grasping at straws.

Bent^[10] can take on a variety of meanings in British slang, among them being (1) dishonest or corrupt; (2) crazy or mad; and (3) homosexual (offensive). It may well be the latter sense in which the word is being used in this clue.

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams and plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment which was followed by his early death. Wilde was convicted on charges of gross indecency with other men for which he was imprisoned for two years' hard labour.

In Irish, Scottish and English dialects, windlestraw^[10] means (1) the dried stalk of any of various grasses or (2) anything weak or feeble, especially a thin unhealthy person. I could find no evidence of this term being specifically applied to homosexuals, but it is not uncommon for them to be characterized as being weak and feeble.

13d   Pop on the coach comes from blasted trannie (7)

Pop^[10] (often followed by in, out, etc.) means to come (to) or go (from) rapidly or suddenly.

16d   Caught boring formerly favoured TV presenter in the club [9)

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] indicates caught (by) ⇒ ME Waugh c Lara b Walsh 19.

The above example indicates that batsman "ME Waugh" was caught out by a fielder named "Lara" on a ball bowled by "Walsh". The number "19" is the number of runs credited to ME Waugh during his time batting (and excludes any "extras" that may have been scored).

"Ant"^[7] is a diminutive of the given name "Anthony" or "Antony", popular in Britain, but less common elsewhere. Anthony "Ant" McPartlin is one half of the English comedy and television presenting duo Ant & Dec, with the other being Declan Donnelly.

In the club^[5] (or in the pudding club) is British slang meaning pregnant. [If you're confused, join the club!]

19d   Expert to probe some chaos (7)

Arch^[4] is used in the sense of very experienced or expert ⇒ an arch criminal.

21d   See you check always before beginning to invest offshore (7)

Cheerio^[5] is an informal British exclamation used as an expression of good wishes on parting; in other words, goodbye ⇒ cheerio, see you on Saturday.

The wordplay is CH (check) + EER (ever; e'er) + the first letters of (beginning to; beginning of) {Invest  + Offshore}. Like Dave Perry, I have reservations about the clue. Does "beginning of" properly indicate that we are to use not only the beginning letter of "invest" but the beginning letter of "offshore" as well?

24d   British actor seen in clubs (5)

Jeremy Irons^[7] is an English actor who has won numerous awards for his work on stage, film and television.

26d   Lamb is partly stewed (3)

I did wonder whether a lamb could be a ewe. At TheFreeDictionary.com, although the two American dictionaries stress that a ewe^[3,4,11] is a female sheep, especially when full grown or fully mature, the British dictionary makes no such distinction. In fact, as a usage example, it even shows a ewe lamb.

28d   Bears mess endlessly (3)

Bear is a verb — not an animal.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)

Signing off for this week — Falcon