With only five entries after my first, very quick, pass through the clues I thought this one might take a lot longer than it actually did. Fortunately two of these entries were 1dn and 2/24 so I had plenty of help for solving the left-hand side of the grid.
As it turned out, the NW quadrant was the first to be filled and I then went anticlockwise round the remaining three finishing up with the central 17ac. As you will see below, I was unable to parse part of 1dn but fortunately help was at hand.
Across
8 Bend round to put in plug (5)
STOOP – O (round) in (to put in) STOP (plug)
9 In operation, order paper outlining a hundred prominent letters in this (5,4)
UPPER CASE – an anagram (order) of PAPER around (outlining) C (a hundred) in USE (operation)
11 While Hansel ___, Gretel has her ‘G’ for ‘grass‘ (7)
HASHISH – HAS HIS H
12 Second from the back, filly dropping head (7)
ENDORSE – END (back) [h]ORSE (filly dropping head)
13 Make 27 of 3, say, as old measure (5)
CUBIT – a homophone (say) of ‘cube it’ (make 27 of 3 {literally, not clue numbers})
14 Sharp about-turn in recovery, in an extreme manner (9)
RADICALLY – ACID (sharp) reversed (about-turn) in RALLY (recovery)
16 To a rower it’s essential? (3)
OAR – hidden in (it’s essential) ‘tO A Rower’ &lit
17 Guide home with King Edward in retreat (7)
INDEXER – IN (home) plus REX (king) ED (Edward) reversed (in retreat)
19 Letter from Greece starts to talk about Ulysses (3)
TAU – initial letters of (starts to) T[alk] A[bout] U[lysses]
20 Winged god changing direction, one at home on the range? (6,3)
FRYING PAN – FLYING PAN (winged god) with R replacing L (changing direction)
22 Second fruit? Straight up! (5)
PLUMB – PLUM B (second fruit)
23 Hellish fire, no heaven ultimately? (7)
INFERNO – an anagram (hellish) of FIRE NO [heave]N &lit
25 Second American man rubbing out the second hoodlum (7)
MOBSTER – MO (second) B[u]STER (American man rubbing out the second)
26 Indulge female with no work, back among children (5-4)
SPOON-FEED – F (female) NO OP (no work) reversed (back) in (among) SEED (children)
27 Children’s author almost retired, becoming playwright (5)
IBSEN – NESBI[t] (children’s author almost {E. Nesbit}) reversed (retired)
Down
1 Straight away, boy cries wolf, falsely (2,3,4,5)
AS THE CROW FLIES – an anagram (falsely) of CRIES WOLF gives the CROW FLIES but for the life of me I cannot see how ‘away, boy’ can give AS THE – ‘away’ could be A and ‘boy’ could clue HE but that still leaves the ST. Edit: After an email equivalent of ‘phone a friend’ I have been enlightened (thanks Eileen!). It is a Playtex (lift and separate) clue. The ‘away’ needs to be split into ‘a way’ to give A ST which is then followed by HE (boy).
2/24 Sweet idiot in the redundant third party? (10,4)
GOOSEBERRY FOOL – GOOSEBERRY (redundant third party) FOOL (idiot)
3 Heading off speedily, run off! (6)
SPRINT – S[peedily] (heading off speedily) PRINT (run off) &lit
4 Anyone can see, God is beneath a writer (6)
AUTHOR – U (anyone can see) THOR (God) after (is beneath) A
5 Extra material in process (8)
APPENDIX – double def. – Chambers explains the second one: “a process, prolongation or projection from an organ (anatomy)”
6 Stage director puts staff in the shade with first in repertoire (8)
PRODUCER – ROD (staff) in PUCE (shade) R[epertoire] (first in repertoire)
7 2-1 in expected score (4)
PAIR – I in PAR (expected score)
15 General indication a necessity among revamped titles (6,4)
LITMUS TEST – MUST (a necessity) in (among) an anagram (revamped) of TITLES
17 Clueless, I allow no breaks (8)
IGNORANT – NO in (breaks) I GRANT (I allow)
18 Condemned building eroded, including parallel walls (8)
DEPLORED – an anagram (building) of ERODED around (including) P[aralle]L (parallel walls)
21 Boy holds barrier up for itinerants (6)
NOMADS – SON (boy) around (holds) DAM (barrier) reversed (up)
22/10 Most wanted / a hit for a hip-hop band? (6,5,6,3)
PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE – double def. – the second one is rather confusing. According to Wikipedia the hip-hop (and heavy metal) tunes are all titled ‘No. 1’ or ‘#1’. The only tune that has its title spelt out in full is a song from the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. Furthermore, the two bands listed as having recorded a song with this title are both heavy metal, the hip-hop versions have been by a solo artist. However, my knowledge of popular music is minimal, or less, so Punk may well be right with his second definition. Edit: see comment #1 – thanks Muffyword.
22/10 – there is a band called Public Enemy. If they had a number one, it would be a hit for them.
I hate hip-hop.
Thanks Muffyword
Bands post the late ’60s are definitely not within my area of expertise.
I completed the left side of the puzzle much more quickly than the right side and it was only when I managed to guess 22/10 that I was able to get going there. I also didn’t follow 1 down and I can’t say I’m really keen on this type of clue. Where does it end ? Do we need to look at every single word with the view that it might really be two words or, in this case, a word and abbreviation? To make the clue fair, I think there needs to be some sort of indicator that the word is split.
Entertaining and repaid persistence. Also dubious about 1D, pleased enough to get it not to worry about the full parsing. As with @3NealH, puzzle opened up after 22/10 solved.
Particularly liked the device in 11A, don’t think I’ve seen it before though greyer beards may well have.
Thanks to Punk and Gaufrid.
When we solved 1d we thought of Eileen straight away! We also expected some negative comments about the clue. If the answer is fairly straightforward, we’re not too worried.
Thanks Gaufrid, nice to see you blogging although we realise you are standing in.
Thanks Punk for an enjoyable Monday challenge with a couple of ‘smiley’ clues.
I rather enjoyed this (Punk does taste a little different from Paul, or am I kidding myself?) There were two gaps in my parsing. I hadn’t realised the that process could mean projection as in APPENDIX. And my feet and legs are well bruised now I see the splitting of ‘away’ in 1dn (a super clue). I think using this device is more than fair, particularly when the answer is certain, for it affords an extra smile (or a good self-kicking) on its realisation.
(Not sure if I’ve heard Public Enemy but certainly heard of them – another nice clue)
Thanks to Punk, Gaufrid (and Eileen!)
I’ve just seen the A-WAY atrocity. Ugh. What is that doing in the Indy? I thought we were being protected!
Like hedgehoggy (and perhaps some others) I was also surprised that to see that “a/way” slipped through the Indy Filter.
This is a kind of thing Guardian solvers are more than used to. Even Rufus does it – remember yesterday’s “Finish roadwork (4)”? It also creeps up (but only every now and then) in the FT, for example in a recent Redshank (“Frank’s workspace (4)”) or in Goliath’s puzzles.
Yet most setters keep far away from it as do The Times and The Independent, usually.
But, actually, when one’s so exposed to these things, they automatically become more or less accepted.
Therefore, I wouldn’t call it an ‘atrocity’.
One doesn’t have to like it but the world around us is changing and so is the world of crosswords, slowly but it is.
2019 April, the i, probably ok for the Independent in 2014. If I had taken up the option of “stuck on a clue” at 80 p a time, this puzzle would have cost me at least £32, unfortunately I will have to stay with the 17 down fraternitiy, this is another regurgitated toughie for the intelligentsia only. 80p what a joke.
27 clues @ 80p a go = £21.60