I don’t know what has happened to PeeDee today but something has prevented him from being with us. I found this to be somewhat easier than a lot of Monk’s offerings but no less enjoyable.
To seed the grid, Monk used the title of a song which was used in a film of the same name, see the first column, the centre row and the last column.
Across
1 Betrayed, / in the end, as love letters may be (6-7)
DOUBLE-CROSSED – def./cryptic def.
8 Top-level racing judge, one in a state (4)
FIJI – F1 (top-level racing) J (judge) I (one)
9 In which local drunk without house is ultimately grim (10)
ALCOHOLISM – an anagram (drunk) of LOCAL around (without) HO (house) IS [gri]M (ultimately grim) – (near) &lit
10 European port in which everything’s sparse? (6)
ODENSE – O DENSE (in which everything’s sparse)
11 Deliveries by a river remain too long (8)
OVERSTAY – OVERS (deliveries) TAY (a river)
12 Genuine article is switched (9)
REALISTIC – an anagram (switched) of ARTICLE IS
14 Note minute chest (4)
MARK – M (minute) ARK (chest)
15 Knock the majority of boring documents (4)
BUMP – BUMP[h] (the majority of boring documents)
16 Remaining around English duke, independently providing support (9)
STEADYING – STAYING (remaining) around E (English) and D (duke) – ‘independently’ indicating that the E and D are not consecutive
20 Again touring Uist in a storm in which you’d get wet (8)
MOISTURE – MORE (again) around (touring) an anagram (in a storm) of UIST
21 One must leave platforms outside a grand temple (6)
PAGODA – POD[i]A (one must leave platforms) around (outside) A G (a grand)
23 Face wound regularly pumped in hospital department (10)
ESCARPMENT – SCAR (wound) P[u]M[p]E[d] (regularly pumped) in ENT (hospital department)
24 Hammer gold medal, having lost heart when touring (4)
MAUL – M[eda]L (medal having lost heart) around (when touring) AU (gold)
25 Wild sabre-tooth tiger, mostly not good, reacted when provoked (4,2,3,4)
ROSE TO THE BAIT – an anagram (wild) of SABRE-TOOTH TI[g]E[r]
Down
1 Decline victory in second half of high jump (7)
DWINDLE – WIN (victory) in [stra]DDLE (second half of high jump)
2 Combination often going after European / credit company (5)
UNION – double def.
3 Shoes for sale, brand-new (7)
LOAFERS – an anagram (brand-new) of FOR SALE
4 Intruder chickens out, note, when disturbed (6,2,3,4)
CUCKOO IN THE NEST – an anagram (when disturbed) of CHICKENS OUT NOTE
5 Yellowish old church on River Ely left deserted (6)
OCHREY – O (old) CH (church) R (river) E[l]Y (Ely left deserted)
6 Rep extremely shady about drinks with boy (9)
SALESLADY – S[had]Y (extremely shady) around (about) ALES (drinks) LAD (boy)
7 Reveal identity of chap about to break into memory device (7)
DISMASK – SAM (chap) reversed (about) in (to break into) DISK (memory device)
13 Meat brands in a plant (5,4)
LAMBS EARS – LAMB (meat) SEARS (brands)
15 Viewer runs into tanker (7)
BROWSER – R (runs) in (into) BOWSER (tanker)
17 Grounds for university to be exposed over support for Pistorius, perhaps (7)
AMPUTEE – [c]AMPU[s] (grounds for university to be exposed) TEE (support)
18 Surely bound to change (2,5)
NO DOUBT – an anagram (change) of BOUND TO
19 Preachers appeal to chase flesh (6)
PULPIT – IT (appeal) after (to chase) PULP (flesh)
22 Female game involved catching male (5)
GEMMA – an anagram (involved) of GAME around (catching) M (male)
Thanks Gaufrid- and that lovely lady, Nina with whom Monk has been having a long affair.
Many thanks Gaufrid and Monk.
I enjoyed this one and I think it is the first Monk puzzle I have completed.
Having had the pleasure of meeting Monk for the first time yesterday at the S&B, and discussed Ninas and themes with him, I was delighted to see that he’d given us an ‘easy to spot’ Nina today.
Thanks to Monk for the very enjoyable puzzle and Gaufrid for standing in to provide the explanations.
Thanks for blog Gaufrid, and to bloggers one and all. If I may tweak copmus@1: ” … and that lovely lady, [down] with whom [across] has been having a long affair“. 😉 Finally, lovely to meet CS and many other new crucies yesterday.
Thanks Monk and Gaufrid
Found this a bit easier than normal from this setter until I hit the SW corner which I found pretty tough and a nina that I forgot to check for at the end. Did find it a bit ‘bitsy’ with the subtraction of letters in quite a few clues though.
A couple of new terms in LAMB’S EARS and BUMPH. Missed parsing PAGODA – more about forgetting to go back to it than not knowing.
Interesting choice of definition by example of AMPUTEE …
(I think PeeDee had another cataract op coming up … )
Thanks Gaufrid and Monk.
……and yet another Nina passes me by dammit!
I must try to remember those who seed their puzzles with such things?
Good fun all the same.