Solving time: 20 mins
* = anagram > = reversal
ACROSS
1 RHAPSODIC o in (harp disc)*
6 (e)QUIP
11 T (OU L) ON
14 BALL A DEER
15 TEMP O
16 A ESOP pose>
21 S (COR) ER
24 PRE-RAPHAELITISM {har(d) paper}* elitism
25 TIN(n)Y Not one new = remove one n
26 PAS DE DEUX (a d – document initially sexed up)*
DOWN
1 REF IT
2 AS EX U AL(l)
3 SEAL OF APPROVAL
4 D (IS) C Washington DC
5 C (Y CLO-C(k)) ROSS
8 P (AN) ET TONE
9 TARGET PRACTICE pr act in (cigarette)*
13 READERSHIP (dearer)* (phis)*
14 B (breeder initially) LACK S POT
17 SOYBEAN (by a nose)*
19 BAR L(IN)E Berlioz is French so article = le
22 REM IX (Roman numeral for nine)
23 ME (atle) SS
Thanks to nmsindy for helping out. I spent much of the day at hospital so only got home late to look at the puzzle.
3 Down (SEAL OF APPROVAL)
How is the second sentence connected with the answer?
Interesting to see how many of Phi’s clues have musical connections. His monthly crossword in the BBC Music magazine is very clever because every clue or answer is in some way connected with music, which must now always be his first thought when setting any clue.
SEAL OF APPROVAL I was not convinced of this till I had crossing letters tho I’d guessed it straightaway from the enumeration. My interpretation of it was that definition was endorsement, but that an endorsement on a driving licence would be the opposite of a seal of approval i.e. recording a driving offence.