Clever and witty clues
Across
1 DECAMP (bolt) CE< (church turning) in DAMP
4 MANIACAL (mad) MAN (fellow) I (one) AC (account) AL (Jolson)
9 STADIA (arenas) ST (street) AIDA< (opera put back)
10 FLIPPANT (not serious) LIP (cheek) PAN (attack) all in FT (paper = we)
12 RAINED OFF (cancelled) (OFFER IN AD)*
13 SUITE (accommodation) sounds like SWEET (dear)
14 VENTRILOQUISTS (still mouths) (V QUIET NOSTRILS)*
17 PRODUCTION LINE (part of factory) NO< in (OLD PICTURE IN)*
21 ROGUE (reprobate) G (good|) in ROUE (degenerate)
22 DRESS DOWN witty dd
24 SHOP TALK (after-hours conversation) HOP (dance) in STALK (stride)
25 EXHORT (call on) EX (old lover) R[eunion] in HOT (animated)
26 SASARARA (scolding) SARA in SARA
27 XYSTER (bone scraper) (TRY SEX)*
Down
1 DISPROVE (challenge successfully) (PROVIDES)*
2 CLARION (shrill trumpet) A R (a river) in C LION (cold animal)
3 MOIRE (watered silk) O (duck) in MIRE (mud)
5 ALL OF A QUIVER witty dd
6 IMPASSION (fire up) I MP (one politician) AS (when) SION (Mount Sion)
7 CHARIOT (vehicle) CHA (tea) RIOT (disturbance)
8 LUTHER (theologian) L (left) THE (article) in UR (city)
11 MOLLYCODDLER (pamperer) MOLLY (Mary) CODDLER (cooker of eggs)
15 RED SETTER witty dd
16 LEINSTER (Irish province) IN (home) in LESTER (Piggott – The Long Fellow)
18 REGIONS (patches) (IGNORES)*
19 IRON OUT (settle) IRON (golf club) OUT (ready)
20 GRASPS (understands) P (parking) in GRASS (field)
23 SIXTY (>9) IX (nine) in STY (filthy dwelling)
( )* = anagram [ ] = omit dd = double definition < = reverse
Very enjoyable crossword from Bradman as always.
Loved 14a for ingeniously tying the definition with the anagram. VENTRILOQUISTS must have been a hard word to clue.
Thank you for the blog, Jed.
I managed just over half of this in the 30 mins I had free this lunchtime.
I think 14 & 11 are great clues, but I didn’t make the association that Mary = Molly.
I’d never have thought of ‘Damp’ as a synonym of ‘Rusty’ nor ‘out’ as a synonym of ‘ready’.
SASARARA, XYSTER, & MOIRE are all new words to me.
Thanks Bradman for an excellent puzzle and Jed for the blog.
Richard @2 re 1ac: I think DAMP is really being clued by all of “likely to get rusty maybe” rather than simply as a synonym of “rusty”.
Thank you, Pelham Barton. I really should have spotted that.
I guess I shouldn’t try to eat, drink, talk to my colleagues, and try to solve the crossword all at the same time!
Some nice clues, but xyster and sasarara forced me to the dictionary. I like the surface of the latter, but refuse to believe many knew the meaning without looking it up.