An intelligent and varied offering from the Don. Struggled to find the cryptic nature of 16down unless it’s tongue-in-cheek?
ACROSS
1 SALMAGUNDY anagram of SLUDGY A MAN a 17th century salad mix
6 STUD double definition
9 ECOTOURISM anagram of I USE MOTOR with C (speed of light)
10 SLIP double definition
12 STAGE WHISPER anagram of THIS WE GRASP and RE< around back
15 CHARIVARI CHA cleaner I one V very ARI[A] short song – French – a noisy mock serenade for newlyweds
17 LATHI hidden clue paL AT His – stick used Indian martial art
18 AISLE IS in ALE
19 RIGHT WING double definition – politics and football
20 PIANO QUARTET Joanna piano
24 PIKE dive name and fish
25 STEM WINDER watch: M maiden WIND turn all in STEER young bull
26 RUED sounds like RUDE
27 BRUTALISED anagram of BUTLER SAID
DOWN
1 SEER sever (cut off) with its heart (V) removed
2 LOOT LOO small room T tons
3 ABOUT TIME TOO this could be a clue for Toto – T in TOO
4 UNRIG RI[P] in anagram of GUN
5 DISOWNING SOW in DINING
7 TELEPATHIC extra sensory communication – anagram of THE IT PLACE
8 DO PORRIDGE serve time in prison DO cook PORRIDGE breakfast
11 FILLS THE BILL witty cryptic
13 SCRAP PAPER witty cryptic
14 RAMSHACKLE falling down RAM animal SHACK shed LE half left
16 AIR GUITAR Jeff Beck being one of the guitarists in The Yardbirds
21 REMIT area of responsibility RE in respect of MIT university
22 IDES (of March) SIDE with S moving to the bottom
23 PROD reminder – half of PROD[ucts] removed
Well done jed. I think that the clue for No.16 down is in the words : One may keep quite = an air guitar does not make any sound. + Jeff beck is a famous guitarist. and saddos play air guitar.
Or am I being too simple? anyhow that is how i got the answer.
Much love
David
Thanks Bradman for an enjoyable crossword and Jed for the blog.
12ac: I think this is E (back – last letter – of theatrE) in (THIS WE GRASP)* & lit.
11dn and 13dn: I really like this way of cluing a phrase – one indication of the normal meaning of the phrase and a reinterpretation of the literal meaning of the words.
Sorry for coming in again, but I meant to comment on 1dn. While solving – which I always do unaided for weekday puzzles – I was not convinced that “Wise person” really defines SEER. I have just looked in Chambers 2008 and Collins 2000 without finding this definition, but then went to Dictionary.com, which explicitly gives “a wise person or sage who possesses intuitive powers”.
The Hindi word ‘lathi’ (both ‘a’ and ‘i’ are elongated) is used for the baton or stick that a policeman in India carries. In Tamil Nadu and other States we may not use the Hindi term but if the police use sticks to disperse an unruly crowd anywhere in India, it is always ‘lathicharge’.
BTW, I like the simple blog in B&W with essential annotation. Anyone who comes to the blog after solving the crossword does not need the clue text. If we have not solved a crossword, why would we want to read the clues with the answers. It is the comments – praise, pans, niggles – that are most important.
I would argue that even people who have solved the puzzle very often need, or would like to see again, the clue text. If there’s a debate on the wording of something or other it’s virtually impossible (for me!) to recall exactly what was written, and it’s far more convenient to see the thing up in the blog than dig the dead tree out of the bin, or go back to the relevant website. Thus I prefer the full-on blog, even when it doesn’t have any pretty pictures to look at.