An easier offering this week than last, with the usual good mixture of clue types. Our favourite was 20 across, which gave us a lovely penny-dropping moment on this hungover Sunday.
ACROSS
1. AC CE SS
5. BOA(S)TERS
9. F(A.M.)ILIAL
10. EX ACTS
11. STAT(E PENS)ION
13. CU LL
15. TAILORED (idolater)*
17. BRI(o) S BANE
18. DIAS< referring to Batolomeu Dias
20. A HEART OF GOLD Lovely clue, with ‘gold’ at the heart of clAUde and nORa.
23. C RUM MY
24. GRATUITY anagram of ‘artist’ without the ‘s’ and ‘guy’
25. HOLSTEIN (in hostel)*
26. O F FISH
DOWN
2. COASTGUARD (drag a scout)*
3. EDI(C)T
4. S(LIP)PY
5. BEL AND THE DRAGON ‘end-to-end blah’ anagramised aroung ‘rag’. It’s an apocryphal tale, hence why not many of us will read it.
6. A GEL I’M IT
7. TRAINLOAD cryptic definition
8. RO< T.A.
12. HERACLITUS ‘her’ followed by ‘a cult is’ anagramised
14. LAS(PAL MA)S
16. JANE EYRE sounds like ‘jain air’
19. MO N(AC)O
21. G RUFF
22. A R NO
Thanks for the blog, Handel. Enjoyable puzzle which I found hardish for Quixote. I too liked HEART OF GOLD a lot, also marked OFFISH and TRAINLOAD. In 17A, I think the first part of the answer may come from BRIS(k).
Thanks for feedback. STATE PENSION was personal thematic, by the way!
Quixote
I did wonder whether that was the case, and raised a glass to you at the time on the off chance.
5d never heard of.12d same.Didnt finish surprisingly!
Got 20a but not with ‘au’ or ‘or’!
Hey Moose, I fell down on 5dn too. Managed the rest though, albeit with a *little* more trouble than usual for a Quixote. Is ‘Bel and the Dragon’ supposed to be part of the common knowledge of your reasonably-educated person nowadays? It had certainly passed me by, but I can’t tell whether that’s because the subject is obscure or because I’m (whisper it quietly so the Don doesn’t hear) an atheist.