I’m bound to say, I’m afraid, that I didn’t enjoy this puzzle all that much: the complicated constructions, unhelpful grid and occasional questionable definition made it a bit of a slog. I’m ready to be put right on one or two of these, as I’m not sure I was 100% on Peto’s wavelength. Still, I got there in the end. Thank-you, Peto.
| Across | ||
| 1 | OUTRIGHT | Not allowed redress immediately (8) |
| Out [not allowed] right [redress (?)] | ||
| 5 | ACCEPT | Swallow’s stomach (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | DOWNCAST | Head of department to confess to fling: feeling despondent (8) |
| D(epartment) own [confess] cast [fling] | ||
| 10 | REHEAR | Listen to soldiers before getting to try again (6) |
| RE [Royal Engineers, soldiers] hear [listen to]; ‘try’ is meant in the legal sense | ||
| 11 | ELECTRIC | Man without permit to possess cocaine gets charged (8) |
| C [cocaine (?)] within let [permit] within Eric [man] | ||
| 12 | GROTTO | Got tipsy drinking moonshine in cave (6) |
| Rot [moonshine] within anagram of got | ||
| 14 | MANIPULATE | Handel in conversation with doctor (10) |
| Double definition; Handel sounds like handle | ||
| 18 | ARTICULATE | Talk about recital at university (10) |
| Anagram of recital at U [university] | ||
| 22 | SULTAN | We object over student getting hit with a ruler (6) |
| Reversal of us [we, as object] L [learner, student] tan [hit] | ||
| 23 | DISASTER | Revolutionary tried to implicate soldiers in tragedy (8) |
| SAS [soldiers] within anagram of tried | ||
| 24 | NEARBY | Close organ bank originally established in New York (6) |
| Ear [organ] b(ank) within NY [New York] | ||
| 25 | SUPPLANT | Replace Austin essentially to cover over scheme (8) |
| Up [over] plan [scheme] within (Au)st(in) | ||
| 26 | TITFER | Row over measurement around hat (6) |
| Reversal of ft [foot, measurement] within tier [row] | ||
| 27 | SENTINEL | Deposit left to secure new metal guard (8) |
| N [new] tin [metal] within reversal of lees [deposit] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | OODLES | Poet beheaded in front of the French masses (6) |
| (H)ood [poet Thomas] les [French for ‘the’] | ||
| 2 | TOWHEE | How to break in support of a winger (6) |
| Anagram of how within tee [support] | ||
| 3 | INCITE | Encourage view heard at home earlier (6) |
| In [at home] cite [sounds like sight, view] | ||
| 4 | HOSPITABLE | Welcoming points raised by sailor caught in an awkward situation (10) |
| Reversal of tips [points] AB [sailor] within hole [awkward situation] | ||
| 6 | CLEAR-CUT | Easy to understand king getting cross after hint of conspiracy (5-3) |
| C(onspiracy) Lear [king] cut [cross (?)] | ||
| 7 | EVENTUAL | Happening to fellow supporting United in final (8) |
| Event [happening] U [united] Al [man’s name, fellow] | ||
| 8 | TURNOVER | Start having extra pie (8) |
| Turn [start (as in a shock, a “funny turn”?)] over [extra] | ||
| 13 | DISTRIBUTE | Princess’s praise is spread around (10) |
| Di’s [(Princess) Diana’s] tribute [praise] | ||
| 15 | MASSENET | Composer’s mother seen wandering in street (8) |
| Ma [mother] anagram of seen within st [street] | ||
| 16 | STALWART | Committed in support of second search set up by volunteers (8) |
| S [second] TA [Territorial Army, volunteers] reversal of trawl | ||
| 17 | SCRABBLE | Caught by mob after Sunderland’s opening game (8) |
| S(underland) c [caught] rabble [mob] | ||
| 19 | CARPET | Catholic priest in drink upset by reprimand (6) |
| C [Catholic] Pr [priest] within reversal of tea [drink] | ||
| 20 | ATTAIN | Get letters from Kenyatta insured (6) |
| Hidden in kenyATTA INsured | ||
| 21 | BRUTAL | Starts to uncork the Asti after British debut of Lily Savage (6) |
| Br [British] initial letters of u(ncork) t(he) A(sti) l(ily) | ||
It looks like some gremlin has crept into your answer to 2D.
It should be an anagram of HOW in TEE (support)
Thanks AID – not sure what happened there, but I’ve corrected it now.
I think 2d TOWHEE has a wrong anno. It needs proper breakup: OWH (anag of HOW) in TEE (support).
Thanks ,Ringo.I never heard of towhee before although I knew it had to be some bird.favourite 17d.
Ringo – thanks for blogging. You left a couple of ?s so not sure if these are helpful:
1ac right = redress as in to right/redress the balance.
6 dn cross = cut as in intersect at a point.
Thanks Ringo. Not quite as down on the constructions as you; I thought there were some good surfaces too. To redress is to put right, or to right, I think (1ac). I think C for cocaine (11ac) is quite frequently used, but agree that it’s not really ‘currency’ and probably hasn’t ever been, except, probably, in coded communications between a certain kind of city worker and his dealer – and in other addictive pursuits like crosswords!
Sorry – crossed with Chrisw. And I agree with his suggestion for 6dn
Sorry, Peto, I agree with Ringo that some weren’t much fun. But I’m not blaming you for my wavelength being slower than yours — thanks.