For me, a bit of a mixed bag this morning. I’ve given up on the Monday Indy being ‘the easy one’, and of course apart from custom, there’s no reason why it should be. This was certainly accessible in the sense that there were enough straightforward clues, especially anagrams, to get you going; but the last few took me a long time to see. There are a couple I am uncertain about, and I think one of the clues has a typo.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Erstwhile bar served up snack
WELSH RAREBIT
(ERSTWHILE BAR)* for posh cheese on toast. Don’t forget the Worcester Sauce and paprika. Apparently used to be called WELSH RABBIT, but no-one is sure why.
8 Coach of the highest quality
PRIME
A dd. One’s a verb; one’s an adjective.
9 This compiler’s to follow atrocious court ruling
DIRECTIVE
A charade of DIRE, CT and I’VE for ‘this compiler (has)’.
11 A bit or Latin or the astronomy course?
NORTHEAST
This is a typo, at least in the version that I’m solving. It should surely be ‘A bit OF Latin or the astronomy course?’ In which case it would be hidden in LatiN OR THE ASTronomy course, with ‘a bit of’ as the hidden indicator.
12 Cushion concerning member of the Spanish Inquisition perhaps
PADRE
No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition! Religious people imposing their views on non-believers through violence and summary execution? Wouldn’t happen today, would it? A charade of PAD and RE.
13 Niece and aunt trained to talk with precision
ENUNCIATE
(NIECE AUNT)*
16 Clumsy half-nephew breaking that object
INEPT
An insertion of NEP for half of ‘nephew’ in IT.
18 Broadcast introduction to isolated nation
INDIA
I’ve stared at this long enough, and I’m afraid I have no idea. A homophone of some sort, I suspect.
19 Aromatic herb‘s a disappointment with minced lamb
LEMON BALM
A charade of LEMON and (LAMB)* LEMON is indeed a slang term for ‘a disappointment’, but I have no idea why.
20 Gossip about Middle East sporting event
GAMES
An insertion of ME in GAS.
22 During trial I navigate vacated section of canal
INTESTINE
The gut not the cut. A charade of IN, TEST, I and NE for the outside letters of ‘navigate’.
25 After two notes, alto fine to assess again
REMEASURE
A charade of RE, ME, A and SURE.
26 Wise, after university, to gain employment
USAGE
A charade of U and SAGE.
27 Most of legal battle’s complex in Georgia – it might get extended
GATELEG TABLE
I think this is ([L]EGAL BATTLE)* in GE for European ‘Georgia’ rather than the US state. Never come across the phrase before.
Down
1 Wife attached to groovy skirt collection
WHIP-ROUND
A charade of W, HIP and ROUND for ‘skirt’. Not sure about the last bit. ‘Skirt’ is ‘go round’ perhaps.
2 Despicable person from the south welcomes cold advantage-seeker
LEECH
An insertion of C in HEEL reversed.
3 Tips from harpy with a way to upset monster
HYDRA
A charade of HY for the outside letters of ‘harpy’ and A RD reversed.
4 Rare mats I transformed to be current
AIRSTREAM
(RARE MATS I)*
5 Former prisoner hiding record, before it raised anomaly
EXCEPTION
A charade of EX and an insertion of EP and IT reversed in CON for prisoner. A bit convoluted for a Monday puzzle? I think so, but you may beg to differ.
6 Italian’s the one with a date to produce poem
ILIAD
A charade of IL for one of the words in Italian to mean ‘the’, I and A and D. The ancient poem, attributed to Homer.
7 Piece of cake to wipe better holding end of rag
SPONGE FINGER
I don’t do cake, so this was pretty much my last one in. A charade of SPONGE and G in FINER.
10 Never deem pet bats to be placid
EVEN-TEMPERED
(NEVER DEEM PET)* with ‘bats’ as the anagrind.
14 Girl with hat upside-down in church is for fellow student
CLASSMATE
An insertion of LASS and TAM reversed in CE. TAM for TAM O’SHANTER, I think.
15 Use a tiler for refurbishment whenever is handy
AT LEISURE
(USE A TILER)*
17 Completely destroy crate, working with aide
ERADICATE
(CRATE AIDE)* with ‘working’ as the anagrind.
21 Reptile farm ambassador goes around
MAMBA
Hidden in farM AMBAssador.
23 Potential danger after hydrant’s lost handle
TREAT
T[H]REAT. H for ‘hydrant’ is the yellow sign you’ll see on the marker by the roadside, which is to indicate to the fire services that they can tap into the supply in cases of emergency.
24 Son almost dropped second-rate firework
SQUIB
A charade of S, QUI[T] and B for ‘second-rate’.
Many thanks to eXternal for this morning’s puzzle.
‘WHIP ROUND’ in the sense ‘collection’ was new to me.
As ‘collection’ is a noun, the solution has to be hyphenated. So the enu must be (4-5), I think.
Thanks, Rishi. The compiler did indeed give us (4-5) as the enumeration. I carelessly missed out the hyphen. Corrected now.
Hi Pierre
Re 16ac: in the NATO phonetic alphabet, INDIA represents I – introduction to I[solated].
Thanks, Eileen. Would have stared at that for the rest of the week and never seen it.
Apart from INTESTINE and TREAT, my last two in, I found this all quite easy. Some write-ins but others that required a bit of thought. I agree about a typo in the clue for 11ac. ENUNCIATE was my CoD.
Thanks, eXternal and Pierre.
Thanks eX and Pierre, in the dead tree version 11 says of not or. Found this a bit tricksy for a Monday.
I found this difficult to finish off – couldn’t seem to think of the word for wipe in 7, partly because I over-complicated 8 across and was convinced it had to be something like A-line. India completely lost me as well.