Across
Live Stone The Crows love song from the 60s (2,2,4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BE (live, as a verb) + MY (my! = stone the crows! = an expression of surprise) + BABY (love = pet name for a beloved). Recorded in 1963 by the Ronettes. (For the surface, Stone the Crows was a slightly later Scottish blues-rock band.)
31a
(and 31 Across) IBM Melbourne could produce figures contact needs (6,6)
Method of communicating with satellite is cool (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
IO (a satellite of Jupiter) after RAD (short for radical = cool = slang expression of approval). The clue doesn’t specify the order of these two parts, but I think the intention is clear enough.
Significant pair of musical works, back-to-back with common ending (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
OPERA (a musical work performed on stage), then EVITA (a specific musical work) reversed (so that the two words are back-to-back), sharing the final A of both words (with common ending). As in “the operative word” = the one that carries the main point of what’s being said.
Earl breaks upper leg cycling some distance up (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
E (abbreviation for earl), breaking into THIGH (upper leg) with the letters “cycling” round so that the T appears at the end.
Outrageous old woman drained nurses (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
GRAN (short for grandmother = old woman), contained in (. . . nurses, as a verb) FLAT (drained, as an adjective = tired and lacking energy).
Great man relaxed with a new novel (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (novel = new and unexpected) of RELAXED + A + N (abbreviation for new). Alexander the Great, ancient king of Macedon.
Undertakings question case for tortuous checks (5)
Country type working to secure living at last (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (working) of TYPE , containing (to secure) the last letter of [livin] G .
Added time pressure no longer felt? (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Tension = pressure = stress, in common speech if not in scientific language. Tension that has now eased off might be called EX-TENSION , along the same lines as Monty Python’s ex-parrot.
Loud crowd threatening a seafaring group (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
F (f = abbreviation for Italian forte = musical notation for loud) + LOT (a crowd) + ILL (as in ill-tempered = threatening) + A (from clue text). A formation of small ships.
Norton, Gloucestershire: remote and agricultural, principally meat (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
First letters (principally) of G [loucestershire] R [emote] + A [gricultural], then HAM (cured pork meat). For the surface, there is indeed a place called Norton in Gloucestershire. Comedian and TV host Graham Norton.
Introduction to Leeds United fanzine stirred up disorder (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (stirred up) of the introductory letters of L [eeds] U [nited] + FANZINE . Disorder = an illness or medical condition.
Government proposals seek money from society (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BILL (as a verb = seek money from = send a request for payment to) + S (abbreviation for society).
See 5 Across
Tablet to be swallowed in advance, round or oval (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
PILL (tablet) swallowed up by CITE (advance, perhaps as in citing a proposal for discussion or citing evidence in a court defence), all reversed (round).
Down
Tease about threat to career in demographic data (5,4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
RIB (as a verb = tease) reversed (about), then an anagram (to career = to run around out of control) of THREAT .
Professional work at the end of term? (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Cryptic definition: the work of a professional who assists when a pregnancy comes to the end of its term.
Stall the pair patrolling entrance to Olympia (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BOTH (the pair) around (patrolling) the first letter (entrance) of O [lympia].
Abuse King or 2 Kings? (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BOO (shout derisively at = abuse) + K (abbreviation for king). Definition by example: short name for the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament.
Distant relative phoned during off-campus university function (5-4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
RANG (phoned), inserted into OU (abbreviation for Open University = academic institution that provides off-campus study) + TAN (abbreviation for tangent = a mathematical function). Distant relative of humans.
Island, the leader in after-hours entertaining business? (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
I (abbreviation for island) + leading letter of A [fter-hours], containing (entertaining) BIZ (as in showbiz = abbreviation for business). Clue-as-definition: Spanish island known for its nightclub culture.
Remove first person in Strasbourg to squat in European court (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
JE (“I” in French = the first person singular in the French city of Strasbourg), contained in (squatting in) E (abbreviation for European) + CT (abbreviation for court, especially in streetmaps).
Lovely short percussion instrument (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BELL [e] (feminine form of the French word for “lovely”, also used in English to mean an attractive woman) without the last letter (short).
Outline book of accounts unwrapped (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
[l] EDGE [r] (traditional account-book) without the outer letters (unwrapped).
Quality testimonial at first (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
TRIBUTE (testimonial = a speech in appreciation of someone), with AT before it (first). Quality = attribute = a feature.
Mechanical process available to repair recalled clutches (4)
Funny routine drinking beer with companion in cabin (3,6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SKIT (a short comedy sketch = funny routine), containing (drinking) ALE (beer) after CH (abbreviation for Companion of Honour). Again, there’s nothing to tell us that CH goes before ALE, but we can work it out.
My cousins played recorders (4,5)
Assume old temple can be made out (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Sound-alike (can be made out = can be heard) of FANE (no, I’d never heard of it either, but the dictionaries tell me it’s an old word for a temple). Assume = feign = to pretend, as in “to assume an air of authority”.
Half of relatives must support hard-working animal charity (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Half of FAM [ily] (relatives), after (below, in a down clue = supporting) OX (a hard-working animal). Charity originally founded as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief.
Mark is catty - suffering iron deficiency? (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
[fe] LINE (associated with cats = catty), without FE (Fe = chemical symbol for iron, from Latin ferrum ).
Minister's raised staff attempt to dispose of dead (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
BAR (staff = rod) reversed (raised = upwards in a down clue), then BI [d] (attempt) without the D (abbreviation for dead). A minister of Judaism.
Name what 15 26 9 made first (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Double definition. Call, as a verb = name = to identify someone by name; or a reference to the first ever telephone call, made by ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (15a 26a 9d) 150 years ago today.
Type letters or click words in the clue