An enjoyable puzzle as always from Neo, to whom thanks. The min-theme is referenced in 12across, but there may be other (hidden) themes that I can’t spot (there is some poetry, some zoology besides the overt theme, but anything else I can’t see). 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 Magistrate at party good in cutthroat competition (3-3-3)
DOG-EAT-DOG : DOGE(formerly the chief magistrate in Venice and Genoa) + AT + DO(a party;a social function) + G(abbrev. for “good”).
6 Quick wit? (5)
SWIFT : Double defn: 2nd: …, an example of which(?) is Jonathan Swift, English satirist.
9 Old man receives a card – get well soon with this? (7)
PANACEA : PA(a term for one’s old man;father) containing(receives) [AN ACE](a playing card with one pip).
Answer: A cure for all illnesses.
10 Raveloe weaver snares one seaman (7)
MARINER : MARNER(Silas, the weaver from the village of Raveloe in George Eliot’s novel) containing(snares) I(Roman numeral for “one”).
11 From Ugarit he takes letter to Greeks (5)
THETA : Hidden in(From) “Ugarit he takes “.
12 Relative of 2, 6 across, 8, 16 & 24, not 4 exactly, but 19 down 10’s victim! (9)
ALBATROSS : Double defn: 1st: A creature from the same zoological class, the Aves, and therefore related to the answers to 2 down, etc.; and 2nd: Not dead as a dodo(answer to 4 down) but dead all the same after being shot by the Ancient Mariner(answers to 19 down 10 across) in English poet S.T. Coleridge’s rime.
14 Tyrant banning Pan’s man (3)
DES : “despot”(a tyrant) minus(banning) “pot”(a pan in the kitchen).
15 Nice motor crashes into Mr Sugar (4,7)
GRAN TURISMO : Anagram of(crashes) INTO MR SUGAR.
Answer: A luxury sports car, from the literal Italian for “great touring”. Nice misdirection in the defn.
17 Cat defeated at last by compiler keeping bird in box (4,7)
SNOW LEOPARD : Last letter of(at last) “defeated ” placed after(by, in an across clue) < { NEO(the compiler of this puzzle) containing(keeping) OWL(a night bird) } contained in(in) SPAR(to exchange blows;to box) } > .
19 Beer lake introduced to hospital department (3)
ALE : L(abbrev. for “lake”) contained in(introduced to) A&E(short for the Accidents and Emergencies department in a hospital).
20 German invader to roast hog without a battle (9)
OSTROGOTH : Anagram of(battle) “to roast hog ” minus(without) “a “.
Answer: A member of the eastern group of Goths, invaders of Germanic origin.
22 This Latin-American trick? (5)
HOCUS : HOC(Latin for “this”) + US(things pertaining to which are called American).
Defn: To trick or to cheat.
24 Love good chap seen with tasty bird (7)
OSTRICH : O(signifying 0;love in tennis scores) + ST(abbrev. for “saint”;a good chap) plus(seen with) RICH(of food, full of taste with much of flavoursome ingredients eg. spices, or fatty ingredients eg. dairy products).
26 In time Italian banker fleeced bank at highest level (7)
APOGEAN : [ AGE(a long period of time) containing(In …) PO(the Italian river;something with banks) ] + “bank” minus its 1st and last letters(fleeced;with covering removed).
Answer: From “apogee”, the highest point.
27 Henry in line with me and Charlie Farley for example? (5)
RHYME : H(in physics, abbrev. for the “henry”, the unit of electrical inductance) contained in(in) RY(abbrev. for “railway”;line) plus(with) ME.
28 Worried by it on the inside, Nazi imprisoned thinks twice (9)
HESITATES : [IT ATE](worried by “it”, as in “it ate at him”) contained in(…on the inside)HESS(Rudolf, Hitler’s deputy, captured and imprisoned in the UK and Berlin).
Down
1 Took much alcohol up in storeroom (5)
DEPOT : Reversal of(up, in a down clue) TOPED(drank too much alcohol).
2 Crowd almost catches people grabbing grub (7)
GANNETS : “gang”(a crowd) minus its last letter(almost) + NETS(catches, say, with traps).
Answer: Slang for greedy or gluttonous persons.
3 Gabriel sees convert in headless man (9)
ARCHANGEL : CHANGE(to convert) contained in(in) “Earl”(a man’s name) minus its 1st letter(headless).
4 Like project that never gets off the ground? (4,2,1,4)
DEAD AS A DODO : Cryptic defn: Descriptive of a project that is doomed from the start and never takes off, or, literally, the flightless bird that is extinct.
5 Setter might bed this perfect specimen (3)
GEM : Double defn: 1st: A precious or semi-precious stone that is embedded by a setter into jewellery; and 2nd: Something or someone regarded as a perfect example.
6 Fish and rook in quarrel (5)
SPRAT : R(abbrev. for a rook in chess) contained in(in) SPAT(a brief quarrel).
7 As some rocks are eg in jerry-built house without walls (7)
IGNEOUS : Anagram of(jerry-built) EG IN + “house ” minus its 1st and last letters(without walls).
Answer: Descriptive of rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of molten lava or magma.
8 Wader heads for Geordie region (9)
TURNSTONE : [TURNS TO](heads for;go towards] NE(abbrev. for the north-east of England, Tyneside, where Geordies reside or originate from).
Defn: A wading bird.
13 Motorists in Bath on travels as in frog and toad? (11)
BATRACHIANS : RAC(abbrev. for the Royal Automobile Club of motorists in the UK) contained in(in) BATH placed above(on, in a down clue) anagram of(travels) AS IN.
Answer: The zoological order of amphibians which includes frogs and toads.
14 Stunner contributing to FT’s shame (9)
DISHONOUR : DISH(a good-looking person or sight;a stunner) + ON(contributing to) OUR(possessive pronoun for “us”, the FT, the entity that provides this crossword).
16 Flyer to revise that order (9)
REDTHROAT : Anagram of(to revise) THAT ORDER.
18 Remain beyond public support (7)
OUTSTAY : OUT(in the open;public) + STAY(a support or brace as found in corsets).
Defn: … the period you’re welcome.
19 Old Shakespearean standard-bearer (7)
ANCIENT : Double defn: 2nd: A flag-bearer in Shakespearean times and mentioned in his works, eg. Othello. Derived from the alteration of “ensign”.
21 Have say in teashop in Esher (5)
OPINE : Hidden in(in) “teashop in Esher “.
23 Verse in which child gets eviscerated (5)
SONGS : SON(one’s child) + “gets ” minus its inners letters(eviscerated;with guts removed)
25 Husband brought to posh hospital for what? (3)
HUH : H(abbrev. for “husband”) placed above(brought to) U(indicating upper-class behaviour, etc.) + H(abbrev. for “hospital”).
Answer: An interjection expressing an interrogation (“What?” or “Huh?”) or disbelief (“What!” or “Huh!”).
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Thanks Scchua, not overly difficult but one or two tricky parses, Neo I hope you’re feeling a bit better today.
Hello Flash. Not too bad, still coughing for England, but probably something to do with the scope that went in like Roy Keane. Just the rotten cold to deal with now!
Many thanks to scchua, especially for the various ornithological pix, though the blog too was absolutely spot-on.
Thank you, Neo, for a rollicking ride. Well, it was rollicking until the SE corner, which had us in consternation for a couple of hours. And thanks, scchua, for your masterly mustering. Our problem/ opportunity is that we’re not allowed any external aids except for Chambers in hard copy, so 13dn held us up.
Thanks Neo for a very enjoyable crossword and scchua for the blog.
13dn: I think for the cryptic grammar to work here, “on travels” needs to be the anagram lead. I would not be happy with “travels” on its own as an anagram lead placed before the anagram fodder. Lovely idea of combining motorists with frog and toad as themselves not rhyming slang.
Yep, ‘on travels’ is intended as the ind.
Thanks, scchua and Neo.
[[1: Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, who had a UK #1 with “ALBATROSS” in 1969.
2: “The Class Sketch” from the Frost Report, but I can’t connect it to the puzzle.
3: Quote from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; again, I can’t connect it.
4: Mauritius, the home of the DODO (which appears on the nation’s coat of arms).]]
Thanks for dropping by Neo – hope nothing serious.
[[Right Keeper. A couple of hints (if you’re still awake): It’s the one on the right (together with the one in the middle). And it’s a sister novel.]]
Re the anagram signal in 13d.
I can understand “X on travels” for anagrammatizing X. But “on travels X”?
In the present clue “as in on travels” won’t work. Any thoughts?
It could have been any of a number of headless men in 3D ie (E)arl or (C)arl or (K)arl.
Thanks to Scchua and Neo