This was a very good effort with a lot of work having gone into making the definitions none too obvious (as in 1 across and 10). There was a decent mix of clues with enough easy starter clues to allow anyone to get going but a few harder ones which required some work. My only quibble was with 26.
| Across | |||
| 1. | Work by writer that contains recent issue?(7) | ||
| Playpen | Play + pen | ||
| 5. | Drive politician round, collecting papers(6) | ||
| Libido | ID in lib + o | ||
| 9. | With attractive clothing, hot figure may be displayed here(5) | ||
| Niche | H in nice – the surface reading is better than the cryptic reading. | ||
| 10. | Might Farage initially knock down immigrants’ transport?(9) | ||
| Mayflower | May + F[arage] + lower | ||
| 11. | Folk wisdom about weather in French region(8) | ||
| Lorraine | Rain in lore | ||
| 12. | What I did wrong, eating zero protein(6) | ||
| Myosin | 0 in my + sin | ||
| 14. | Right Parisian girl with hair back, one putting on pretty coat(9) | ||
| Enameller | (R(ight) + elle + mane)< | ||
| 16. | Pep wants speed on ball doubled(5) | ||
| Oomph | MPH after O + O | ||
| 18. | Sports grounds maybe suffering loss of English tennis player(5) | ||
| Venus | Venu[e]s – Venus Williams | ||
| 19. | Close to evening, donning tailored thing, have this?(9) | ||
| Nightgown | &lit – [evenin]g in thing* + own | ||
| 20. | Right back maintains composure, a poser(6) | ||
| Teaser | Rt< around ease | ||
| 22. | Separate articles from Robespierre covering revolution(8) | ||
| Uncouple | Coup in un + le | ||
| 25. | Audacious prosecutor bloody quick to retreat(9) | ||
| Daredevil | DA + red + live< | ||
| 26. | Characters from Bel Air, transvestites twirling in drag(5) | ||
| Trial | Hidden, rev in “beL AIR Transvestites”. I initially put trail for this and I do slightly wonder if that was what it was meant to be. The only justification I can come up with for trial is under “drag races”, which is a sort of trial, but one of the contributors may have a better explanation. | ||
| 27. | Unproductive censor allows boob back in(6) | ||
| Barren | Err< in ban | ||
| 28. | Guy with craft said why the car’s broken down(7) | ||
| Yachter | Y + (the car)* | ||
Down |
|||
| 1. | Value President’s merry time with Labour?(5,9) | ||
| Penal Servitude | (Value president)* | ||
| 2. | Discover sectarian revolts(9) | ||
| Ascertain | Sectarian* | ||
| 3. | Religious art‘s power absorbed one turning to heaven(5) | ||
| Pieta | P + (ate + I)< | ||
| 4. | Migrant touring Poles left a northern war zone(2-4-4) | ||
| No Man’s Land | (N + S + L + A + N) in nomad | ||
| 5. | Do nothing when reciting poems(4) | ||
| Lays | Hom of laze | ||
| 6. | Club acquired keeps American making a buck(5,4) | ||
| Billy goat | Billy + a in got | ||
| 7. | Clues like this provide unpleasant experiences(5) | ||
| Downs | DD | ||
| 8. | Press happen to wind up German leader(4,10) | ||
| Iron Chancellor | Iron + chance + roll< | ||
| 13. | First mate follows old doctor home(10) | ||
| Originally | Ally after o + rig + in | ||
| 15. | One in soap aisle finally getting a special offer(9) | ||
| Eastender | [Aisl]e + a + s(pecial) + tender | ||
| 17. | It’s debatable low Italian river is in shade(4,5) | ||
| Moot Point | Moo + Po in tint | ||
| 21. | Song cheers up Nero’s halls(5) | ||
| Atria | (Air + ta)< | ||
| 23. | Looker‘s plump, with vice for stripping off(5) | ||
| Optic | Opt + [v]ic[e] | ||
| 24. | Terrible individual vehicle from Apple?(4) | ||
| Ivan | CD/DD – ref to Ivan the Terrible and a theoretical van that Apple might produce i.e. an iVan. | ||
Thanks NealH.
Great stuff, as ever from this setter. Favourites: UNCOUPLE, DAREDEVIL, YACHTER, PENAL SERVITUDE, ORIGINALLY and IVAN.
I think if you include ‘figure’ in the definition for 9ac, the cryptic reading is fine – Collins: ‘a recess in a wall, especially one containing a statue’.
Re 26ac: ‘that was a bit of a drag’ – Chambers: ‘a tedious, dreary occupation or experience’.
Many thanks to Rodriguez – very enjoyable.
another great puzzle, as we have come to expect. I really liked OOMPH, with its coded warning to Raheem Sterling, but my favourite is the brilliant clue for PENAL SERVITUDE.
Thanks to S&B
Olé.
About the right level of difficulty for a Monday puzzle – not too easy and with some v. good clues including the bookends of PLAYPEN and IVAN. Didn’t know BILLY in the sense of a ‘club’ and MYOSIN is also not a word I’ve come across in cryptics before, though was possible from the wordplay.
Overall a pleasure to work through and satisfying to complete.
Thanks to Rodriguez and NealH.
Quite a long time, methinks, since the last appearance of Rodriguez. I enjoyed this, with its quite ingenious cluing in places. 5dn was one of those homophones where the answer could be either of the two possibilities until you get some crossing letters; fortunately 10ac soon settled which was correct. As an aside, I always thought of a LAY as a primarily a song, with ‘poem’ as a secondary meaning, but I see Chambers gives ‘poem’ as the primary meaning.
Thanks, Rodriguez and NealH
The OED has “A short lyric or narrative poem intended to be sung” for a lay.
I got tripped up on 5d, entering “IDYL” instead of “LAYS.”
I found this quite hard. It took me a long time to get on its wavelength. I thought for a long while I might only get a few answers before running out of time but I finally completed it, without aids, although I’m not sure if I actually enjoyed it in the end.
Nice crossword from Rodriguez the Pirate.
Allan @5: ‘since the first appearance’ of Rodriguez’!
This is only his second one for the Indy, the first being published about two months ago.
Many thanks, Neal for the blog, and I must agree that 26ac was perhaps a mistake.
Very unusual for such a precise setter.
The only clue I was not fully happy with was 5d (LAYS).
The indicator is in the middle so it could just as well have been LAZE.
Apart from that no grumbles from me.
Not the hardest of crosswords that this setter (mainly as his alter ego) has produced so far.
Certainly a lot ‘easier’ than his debut here at the Indy.
Bearchen, not a coded warning to just Raheem Sterling, I’m afraid.
Very late to this one, printed it off to try in the pub last night but got stuck and finished it this morning. I found this one of his most difficult – certainly much harder than as Picaroon yesterday, but probably started on the wrong wavelength. Plenty to enjoy.
Thanks to Rodriguez and NealH
‘As we have come to expect’. ‘As ever from this setter’. ‘One of his most difficult’.
Eh? It’s his second puzzle for the Indy, so where else have these commenters met him?
Cornick@11: beery hiker’s comment @10 implies he’s also Picaroon – although the ‘setters’ page doesn’t give any aliases for Picaroon.