It’s a rather rushed Ringo this morning, so I’m afraid it’s a stripped-down, no-frills blog of this very nice puzzle from the Don. Apologies in advance for any typos.
ACROSS
1. MAGISTRACY Magi [wise guys] + st [saint, someone good] + racy [spirited]
6. HART H [hospital] + art [sculpture, e.g.]
9. APPARENTLY A rent [a division] within apply [try to get a job]
10. AMEN Amen(d) [change]
12. ADDER’S TONGUE Anagram of a ground seed t(ime)
15. ALLEVIATE A + Levi [priest] within reversal of et al [with others]
17. LADEN L [left] + Aden [port]
18. DOVER D [duke] + over [maiden, possibly, in cricket]
19. MOMENTOUS Anagram of mums one to
20. CIRCUMSCRIBE Sounds like sir come [gentleman arrive] + scribe [writer]
24. PAIN Pa [dad] + in [at home]
25. FIRST OF ALL Looks like firs [trees] + to fall [to come down]
26. RAKE (D)rake [Sir Francis, Devon hero]
27. METATHESIS Anagram of tame + thesis [work for a PhD]
DOWN
1. MEAD Hidden in liMEADe
2. GAPE Gap [passage] + E(nglish)
3. STRADIVARIUS Reversal of I [one] + darts [rushes] + various [divers] minus O [Oxygen]
4. RANGE (Johnso)n within rage [indignation]
5. COLOSSEUM Loss [financial deficit] within Coe [Seb, Olympics organiser] + um [hesitation]
7. ARMAGEDDON Mag [periodical] within a red don [a leftie academic]
8. TENDERNESS Double definition
11. POLLING BOOTH Cryptic definition
13. LANDSCAPER Anagram of P(irelli) calendars
14. CLEVER DICK Cl [class] + ever [always] + c(lass) within reversal of kid [child]
16. ADMISSIVE Ad [commercial] + missive [communication]
21. RASTA A star [a celebrity] with r [right] transposed
22. PASS Pass(é) [faded]
23. ILLS Hills [things mounting up] as a Cockney might say it
Many thanks for the blog.
I found this a good deal more straightforward than that of his alter ego in the Guardian where I failed miserably.
Bracoman