Weekend Quick Cryptic 56 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's my turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Before looking at the answers, if you would like some additional help, click the label below.

Hints...

Some hints and tips:

• 14D is not my holiday destination.
• Clydeside could perhaps have a hyphen in it.
• The definition at 10A is "hillside" rather than "donkey's cry".
• 15A could have been "Stir" rather than "Time for".
• The nurse is state-enrolled.
• The thematic connection in 21A is via the Metropolitan police.
• You need to split "rising fast" in 16D.

And click on this label to get the solution.

Solution and explanation of the answers...

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc,  {deletions} and [] other indicators.

Across

1              Scattering clans to depart this country (8)
                SCOTLAND – [Scattering] (clans to)*, D (depart). Emigration was part of Highland history before and during the clearances, and reached its highest level after them.
6              Lake Lugano borders Switzerland (4)
                LOCH – Outside letters [borders] of  LuganO , CH (ISO country code for Switzerland).
8              Handsome Clydeside bank robber? (6)
                BONNIE – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint – Bonnie and Clyde the bank robbers.
9              Young woman's story about a ship (6)
                LASSIE – LIE (story) [about] A SS (ship).
10            Donkey’s cry heard on hillside (4)
                BRAE – Sounds like [heard] BRAY (donkey’s cry).
11            Lists the variety of prickly plants (8)
                THISTLES – (lists the)* [variety].
12            Provide food for pet before queen (5)
                CATER – CAT (pet) ER (queen).
13            Encourage to begin going naked outside (5)
                NUDGE – [to begin] Going, with NUDE (naked) [outside].
15            Time for Hamish's breakfast (8)
                PORRIDGE – Double definition, the answer and the first definition both being slang for a prison term.
17            Nurse returns small cape (4)
                NESS -  SEN (State-Enrolled Nurse) [returns] -> NES, S (small). Also a Scottish 6A, of course.
19            Mythical water spirit that is after seaweed (6)
                KELPIE – I.E. (id est, that is) [after] KELP (seaweed). We’re hoping to visit the Kelpies here on our way to or from our holiday cottage. The collapse of the kelp trade was another driver of the clearances.
20            Old woman joins soldiers for Burns Night treat (6)
                HAGGIS – HAG (old woman) GIS (soldiers). Lovely with neeps and tatties – and baked beans and brown sauce.
21            Cart reversed three feet (4)
                YARD – DRAY (cart) [reversed] -> YARD. Scotland Yard (as you probably know) is the HQ of the Metropolitan Police.
22            Abandoned the lands where ponies come from (8)
                SHETLAND – (the lands)* [abandoned]. The eponymous breed of pony.
 
Down
2              Some echo irks singers (5)
                CHOIR – Hidden in [some] eCHO IRks.
3              Function of diamond geezer’s sunlamp? (7)
                TANGENT – A sunlamp might TAN a GENT (diamond geezer). The resulting trigonometric function is the ratio of the opposite and adjacent side lengths of a right-angled triangle.
4              Rag week regularly creates amazement (3)
                AWE – Alternate letters [regularly] of rAg WeEk. And also a Scottish 6A.
5              Initially discouraged association is carrying on (9)
                DALLIANCE – [Initially] Discouraged, ALLIANCE (association).
6              Composer of auditor's inventory (5)
                LISZT – Sounds like [auditor’s] LIST (inventory).
7              Greek letter seen, oddly, in another language (7)
                CHINESE – CHI (Greek letter), (seen)* [oddly].
11            Weariness of struggling dissenter (9)
                TIREDNESS – [Struggling] (dissenter)*.
12            Her cola cocktail led to nasty intestinal infection (7)
                CHOLERA – (Her cola)* [cocktail].
14            Finished with colleen from Irish town (7)
                DONEGAL – DONE (finished) GAL (collen).
16            Swim a river that's rising fast (5)
                RAPID – DIP (swim) A R (river) [rising] -> RAPID.
18            Icons destroyed by descendant of notable family (5)
                SCION – (Icons)* [destroyed].
20            Garden tool sliced top off footwear (3)
                HOE – sHOE (footwear) without the first letter [sliced top off].