An enjoyable Sunday puzzle. Not much trouble, though a couple in the NE corner were the last ones in, after a while. Thanks to Poins. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Against having a man to follow Penny in charge of current affairs (7)
TOPICAL : TO(against, as in a “put your ear to the wall”) plus(having) [ AL(a man’s name) placed after(to follow) P(abbrev. for penny, the currency unit) + IC(abbrev. for “in charge”) ]
5 Ship‘s mate’s uncertain about turning back (7)
STEAMER : Anagram of(uncertain) MATE’S + reversal of(turning back) RE(short for about;with reference to).
9 Curt is somewhat bitter secretly (5)
TERSE : Hidden in(somewhat) “bitter secretly “.
10 One serving of cake at present (9)
BARTENDER : BAR(a cake, as in “a bar/cake of soap”) plus(at) TENDER(to proffer;to present, eg. your resignation). Nice misdirection.
11 Unlucky tsar shot by hostile revolutionary (3-7)
ILL-STARRED : Anagram of(shot) TSAR contained in(by, as in “to enter by/through the back door”) [ ILL(hostile, as in “ill will” or “ill feeling”) + RED(a revolutionary;a leftist) ].
12 Pet‘s fine after returning in good condition (4)
TIFF : F(abbrev. for “fine”) placed after(after) reversal of(returning) FIT(in good condition;suitable for purpose).
Defn. and Answer: A fit of bad mood.
14 Completely destroy new ATM in Exeter (11)
EXTERMINATE : Anagram of(new) ATM IN EXETER.
18 Difficult today to accept note on Swift being inflexible (4-3-4)
HARD-AND-FAST : HARD(difficult, as in “a hard/difficult crossword”, say) + [ AD(abbrev. for “anno Domini”, an abbrev. used with a date, strictly a year, indicating a relatively more recent time;today used loosely) containing(to accept) N(abbrev. for “note”) ] plus(on) FAST(swift;fleet).
21 Dull sounding English officer (4)
MATE : Homophone of(sounding) “matt”(or “matte”;descriptive of a surface dull in appearance – although “mat” is also a variant spelling of both) + E(abbrev. for “English”) .
Answer: An officer onboard ship.
22 Perform just for the ears of Shakespeare perhaps (10)
PLAYWRIGHT : PLAY(to perform in, especially a musical recital or concert) + homophone of(for the ears) “right”(just;proper).
Answer: An example of which;perhaps, is Shakespeare.
25 A Chilean revolutionary eating a bit of dessert from a dish (9)
ENCHILADA : Anagram of(revolutionary) A CHILEAN containing(eating) the first letter of(a bit of) “dessert”.
26 Australia working to get energy from something found in the atmosphere (5)
OZONE : OZ(Australian slang for “Australia”) + ON(working, as with an appliance) plus(to get) E(symbol for “energy” in physics).
27 SNP extremists against Labour’s initial impulse to spend freely (7)
SPLURGE : The 2 outermost letters of(extremists) “SNP ” plus(against) first letter(…’s initial) “Labour” + URGE(an impulse, sometimes uncontrollable).
28 A rock band manager makes money keeping emphasis primarily on records (7)
EPSTEIN : [ TIN(British slang for money) containing(keeping) first letter of(primarily) “emphasis ” ] placed after(on;associated with) EPS(plural of EP, abbrev. for “extended play”, originally a disc form of a music recording containing more music than a “single” but less than a “long play”). Nice surface.
Answer: Brian, manager of the Beatles, and other rock bands.
Down
1 Delicacy shown in piece supporting flyer (6)
TITBIT : BIT(a piece;a small portion) placed below(supporting, in a down clue) TIT(a small bird;a flyer). Answer: A tasty small piece (of food) and what, as the wise saying goes, a woman gets when she goes to a man’s apartment for a late night snack, she agreeing, of course.
2 Drink extremely lively stout (6)
PORTLY : PORT(a fortified alcoholic drink) + the 2 outermost letters of(extremely) “lively “.
3 Gossip columnist’s debut with article on fellow consumed by passion (4,3,3)
CHEW THE FAT : The first letter of(…’s debut) “columnist” + [ THE(the definite article) placed above(on, in a down clue) F(abbrev. for “fellow”) ] contained in(consumed by) HEAT(passion;intense feeling, as what most animals are in, some of the time). Nice storytelling surface. My COD.
4 Released particulars about penning book on the Queen (9)
LIBERATED : Reversal of(about) DETAIL(particulars;the nitty gritty) containing(penning) [ B(abbrev. for “book”) placed above(on, in a down clue) ER(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina;the Queen) ].
5 Consider including priest in a night on the razzle? (5)
SPREE : SEE(consider, as in “we’ll see about/consider that”) containing(including) PR(abbrev. for “priest”). Defn: A good time partying, drinking or dancing, or all of the above. Just what a priest needs!
6 Fair result for the most part (4)
EVEN : “event”(the result;the final outcome, as in “in the event of …” or “it’s easy to talk after the event”) minus its last letter(for the most part).
Answer: Just;impartial, as in “an even distribution”.
7 Extremely foolish to reject Irish girl’s song (8)
MADRIGAL : MAD(extremely foolish, as in “you’re mad to attempt that stunt”) plus(to) reversal of(reject) IR(abbrev. for “Irish”) + GAL(slang for a girl).
Answer: A type of 16-17C song for unaccompanied voices.
8 Dearer if represented as exclusive (8)
RAREFIED : Anagram of(represented) DEARER IF. Answer: Of or belonging to an exclusive;select group.
13 Simon oddly ignored by fellow American when winning (10)
VICTORIOUS : [ “Simon ” minus its first, third and fifth letters(oddly ignored) placed below(by, in a down clue) VICTOR(a fellow’s name) ] + US(abbrev. for things American).
15 Willing servant reportedly available immediately (5-4)
READY-MADE : READY(willing;all set to go) + homophone of(reportedly) “maid”(a domestic servant).
16 Wine containers found near the centre of Cirencester (8)
CHAMPERS : HAMPERS(large baskets with covers, usually for food) placed below(found near, in a down clue) the central letter of(the centre of) “Cirencester “.
Answer: British slang for the sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France.
17 Nonsense contained in fancy polo club’s code of etiquette (8)
PROTOCOL : ROT(nonsense, as in “don’t talk rot”) contained in(contained in) anagram of(fancy) [ POLO + C(abbrev. for the suit of clubs in bridge notation) ].
19 Refuse to acknowledge Carnera’s title – not surprising at first (6)
IGNORE : “signore”(the form of polite address;title for Carnera, an Italian gentleman) minus(not) the first letter of(at first) “surprising “. The surface suggests Primo Carnera, the former Italian boxer who held the world heavyweight title, in a career marred by speculation that his early fights were fixed.
20 Spread untidily by Poles in short trousers – just the opposite (6)
STREWN : S,N(abbrevs. for the 2 geographic poles respectively) containing(in … – just the opposite; outside of) Edit.note: “trews”(tight-fitting trousers, usually of Tartan worn by certain Scottish regiments) minus its last letter(short).
23 Let out line and relax (5)
LEASE : L(abbrev. for “line”) plus(and) EASE(to relax;to lessen the severity, pressure, tension or strain). Answer: To let/rent out, especially a property.
24 Row with Bond on river (4)
TIER : TIE(a bond connecting things together) placed above(on, in a down clue) R(abbrev for “river”). Answer: A row, one of many arranged one behind and above another, eg. seats in a stadium or theatre.
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For answers to pics 2,5,7,9 please click here then here, here, here, and here respectively,
for pics 1 and 10 here and here,
for pic 3 here,
for pic 4 here,
for pic 6 here
and for pic 8 here.
Thanks scchua and Poins. BARTENDER was very nice.
I had STREWN as TR (short trousers) in SEWN (compass points).
[[Pic 6 could be an EPSTEIN sculpture, Pic 1 is a TIER pagoda]]
.. but as it says poles, not points you are clearly correct.
Thanks, scchua.
…not sure about the fuss over TREW – it seems perfectly well defined by “short trousers”.
Apologies to all, especially setter. No fuss at all. Just a blind spot on my part, mistaking “short” for describing “trousers” instead of a deletion indicator.
I liked a lot of the clues such as 27a, 17d, 19d, 28a, 16d and my favourites were 3d CHEW THE FAT, 5d SPREE, 15d READY-MADE & 10a BARTENDER.
I couldn’t parse 13d & 20d (TREWS is a new words for me).
Thanks for the blog, scchua.
I parsed 17d as ROT in anagram of POLO C(lub’s).
Thanks michelle. Blog amended – careless of me!
A straightforward solve but enjoyable nonetheless.
The clue for BARTENDER was indeed good, as some of you have already pointed out. It is a word that is ripe for a Simpsons-related clue, something around what Moe is, but would also become if he ever caught up with whoever was making the crank calls to the bar, although the wordplay would probably have to be too long-winded for it to work properly.
The trouble with commenting on these puzzles is that I completed this so long ago, I can’t remember my mental processes when I was doing it. I recall that it took me a couple of days, but why did I enter “Madeiras” at 7dn? “Madrigal” is hardly an obscure word, especially to a Radio 3 listener. Must have been late at night, and I think I read the last five letters as “Saire” reversed, which I guessed must be an Irish girl’s name. (Yes, I know I appear to have transposed a couple of letters; tired and dyslexic.)
[[Pic 8 looks as if the object in the foreground might be a magnum of CHAMPERS. Pic 10 seems to be the logo of a UN organisation, but I can’t think which and hence how it relates to the puzzle.]]
[[Hi Muffyword and allan_c, I’ll post links to the answers at the end of the day. Meantime, a hint: between them, the 10 pics have links to 4 of the crossword answers.]]
I still don’t understand 12ac…. Where’s the definition in the clue?
@markg
From blog:
12 Pet‘s fine after returning in good condition (4)
TIFF : F(abbrev. for “fine”) placed after(after) reversal of(returning) FIT(in good
condition;suitable for purpose).
Defn. and Answer: A fit of bad mood.
i.e. Both PET and TIFF are "A fit of bad mood."