A most enjoyable puzzle with, as is usual for Monk, some excellent surfaces. Unfortunately I am unable, as yet, to explain the wordplay in 14d. Edit: now explained by Nmsindy, see below.
.
.
Across
1 PERSONA NON GRATA AN in *(PATRON RAGES)
9 TRAGEDY AGED (old folk) in TRY (judge)
10 TENACES cd&d
11 SAMOS SAM (missile) OS (very large) – not sure where the ‘base for’ comes in.
12 SEPHARDIC *(CHAP RIDES)
13 ESPLANADE PLAN (map) in [d]E SADE (marquis heading off)
15 OMAHA hidden in ‘tOMAHAwk’
16 OUNCE [b]OUNCE (bob’s headless)
18 TASK-FORCE T (time) ASK FOR (request) CE (church)
20 ECCENTRIC CENT (coin) in CIRCE (sorceress) reversed
23 ORLOP RL (hands) O (love) in OP (work)
24 RISOTTO OTT (too much) O (old) SIR (gentleman) reversed
25 SCOTTIE SCOTT (explorer) IE (for example)
26 STARS AND STRIPES STARS (Norma for example) AND (with) TRIPE (rubbish) in SS (ship) – Norma is a small southern constellation.
Down
1 PATES DE FOIE GRAS *(GEAR) in *(SAFE-DEPOSIT)
2 ROAD-MAP D (England ultimately) in ROAM (ramble) A P (a page)
3 OVERSTATE [c]OVER (screen) STATE (say)
4 ABYSS BY (near) in ASS (fool)
5 OCTUPLETS *(CLOUTS PET)
6 GANJA NAG (horse) reversed JA (yes, in German)
7 ARCADIA CAD (bounder) in ARIA (song)
8 ASSOCIATED PRESS ASSOCIATED (connected) PRESS (iron)
14 AFTERNOON P (little pressure) M (married) – Edit: thanks Nmsindy for the explanation of this one.
15 OFF-COLOUR cd&d
17 NICOSIA *(CASINO I)
19 ROLL-TOP ROLL (bread) TOP (lid)
21 NATES ATE (scoffed) in NS (poles)
22 COSTS CO (company) ST (good man) S (succeeded)
I think it’s PM pressure, married
Thanks Nmsindy
Of course! Now why didn’t I think of that?
I thought this was tricky. Nine references I didn’t know, though I’m swift to add that my vocabulary and general knowledge are very undeveloped by crossword standards: Tenace, Samos, Sephardic, Omaha as ‘military target’, Norma, Arcadia, Associated Press (though I’ve heard the term), Roll-top, Nates.
Quite enjoyable. Not sure I’ve done a Monk before.
I still don’t understand Omaha, in fact. But I’m too late to get a response.
Hi Will
No, you’re not too late to get a response. Monk is one of the more difficult setters in the FT, but usually perfectly fair.
Regarding ‘Omaha’, this was the code name for one of the Allied landings in Normandy during World War 2, hence the ‘military target’.
Thanks. In fact, that’s pretty remarkable, because a clue I was pondering in yesterday’s Times used ‘Normandy beach’ to define Gold, and I only understand it now having looked up Omaha – the three others were Juno, Sword and Utah.
Weird.
There were some problematical clues here, for me at least.
10A Tenaces are card holdings, not hands, in bridge at least, so the non-cryptic definition doesn’t quite work.
3D “about” in the clue seems to have no function.
7D and 15D required knowledge well beyond my ken!