No particular sticking points today, just a smooth Sunday solve where everything adds up nicely.
I particularly enjoyed the longish charade at 21 across, and there were a couple of nice &lits in there too.
Many thanks to Nitsy once again.
| Across | ||
| 1 | REFUSE | Deny scheme to capture European female (6) |
| (E + F) in RUSE. | ||
| 4 | ACT OF GOD | Freak accident of cat with dog barking (3,2,3) |
| (OF CAT + DOG)*. | ||
| 9 | SPEARS | Sticks earth in boxes (6) |
| E in SPARS. | ||
| 10 | ASSESSOR | Bottoms almost tender, one judges (8) |
| ASSES + SOR[e]. | ||
| 12 | TAKEN | Captured a king in trap when retreating (5) |
| (A + K) in NET<. | ||
| 13 | VIOLATION | Breaking instrument? It’s flipping working! (9) |
| VIOLA + IT< + ON. | ||
| 14 | LOCKER ROOMS | Pants – or more – found in rugby players’ changing areas? (6,5) |
| (OR MORE)* in LOCKS. | ||
| 18 | INCRIMINATE | Grass on blanket after Pluto leaves (11) |
| IN[dis]CRIMINATE. | ||
| 21 | COSTA RICA | Country clubs with old celebrity in charge opening in Aberdeen (5,4) |
| C + O + STAR + IC + A[berdeen]. | ||
| 23 | SINGE | Individual ignoring large burn (5) |
| SING[l]E. | ||
| 24 | RELATIVE | Recall clutching at dad? (8) |
| AT in RELIVE. | ||
| 25 | FAT CAT | Tycoon‘s large Jaguar? (3,3) |
| FAT + CAT. | ||
| 26 | DEMERARA | Editor spins in front of me with sort of skirt? That’s sweet! (8) |
| ED< + ME + RARA. | ||
| 27 | DENTAL | Refusal to have time for one concerned with teeth (6) |
| From DEN[i]AL, with T in place of the “i”. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RESETTLE | Relocate right next to English market town (8) |
| R + E + SETTLE. | ||
| 2 | FREE KICK | Foul, ref! Thrill after ‘e gives this (4,4) |
| REF* + E + KICK and &lit, I think. | ||
| 3 | SERENGETI | Wild tiger seen? Not here (9) |
| (TIGER SEEN)* &lit, because tigers don’t live in Africa. | ||
| 5 | COSMOPOLITAN | Sophisticated male with work in foreign locations (12) |
| (M + OP) in LOCATIONS*. | ||
| 6 | OPERA | Hope Radamès embraces Aida? (5) |
| Hidden in [h]OPE RA[damè’s]. | ||
| 7 | GOSSIP | Extremely large drink after good chat (6) |
| G + OS + SIP. | ||
| 8 | DARING | Challenging sweetheart to drop Latin (6) |
| DAR[l]ING. | ||
| 11 | OVERACHIEVER | Finished almost first in state – one’s exceptionally successful (12) |
| OVER + (CHIE[f] in AVER). | ||
| 15 | SHIPSHAPE | Sends husband article on exercises to get trim (9) |
| SHIPS + H + A + PE. | ||
| 16 | WAINSCOT | Woodwork happened to be holding in bed (8) |
| (IN in WAS) + COT. An old-fashioned term perhaps. I mainly know it from Samuel Pepys. | ||
| 17 | PEDESTAL | Paid Steel lousily? Independent‘s ignored column’s support (8) |
| (PA[i]D STEEL)*. | ||
| 19 | SCARED | Son about to be trapped by rascal, getting frightened (6) |
| S + (RE in CAD). | ||
| 20 | ASYLUM | Area next to slum housing unknown refugee’s goal? (6) |
| A + (Y in SLUM). | ||
| 22 | ACTOR | Player about to lob over hill (5) |
| CA< + TOR. | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations
Good puzzle for a relaxing Sunday. Nothing too difficult or obscure though I missed the ‘dis’ bit of the wordplay for 18. Favourites were WAINSCOT, SERENGETI and DEMERARA – thanks to cryptics I had come across ‘rara’ before despite my total ignorance of all things fashion related.
Thank you to Nitsy and Simon.
Yup, pleasant Sunday solve but not without elegance: ‘slum housing’ in 20 was a smug & heartless bit of misdirection. Well played, sir (& Simon).
Not only a pleasant Sunday solve but an ideal crossword for beginners/improvers. I couldn’t parse INCRIMINATE, though – I’d temporarily forgotten about Pluto being king of the underworld, all I could think of were the (dwarf) planet and the cartoon dog.
Thanks, Nitsy and Simon.