(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Thanks to Armonie for a crossword that didn’t present too much trouble. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Is unable to get a glass for fruit (10)
CANTALOUPE : CAN’T(contraction of “cannot”;is unable to) plus(get) A + LOUPE(a small magnifying glass used by, say, watchmakers).
6 Boy and girl lied (4)
SONG : SON(a boy) plus(and) G(abbrev. for “girl”).
Defn: … , from German.
9 Amber helps reformed profaner (10)
BLASPHEMER : Anagram of(… reformed) AMBER HELPS.
10 Tory leader in charge of function (4)
FETE : The 1st letter of(… leader) “Tory” contained in(in) FEE(a charge for services, usually of the professional kind).
Defn: An elaborate, often outdoor, party.
12 Gold casket marked and scored (12)
ORCHESTRATED : OR(the colour of gold in heraldry) + CHEST(a casket) + RATED(marked;assessed).
Defn: … musically.
15 Coat that’s excellent with one class of animals (9)
CRUSTACEA : CRUST(a coat;a hard crisp outer layer) + ACE(excellent;of top quality) + A(one;singular).
17 Dress up when about to be introduced to writer (5)
PREEN : RE(about;with reference to) contained in(to be introduced to) PEN(a writer;a writing instrument).
18 Almost let slip and do without (5)
FORGO : “forgot”(to let slip out of one’s memory) minus its last letter(Almost …).
19 Weaken a club with debts? That’s wise? (9)
SAGACIOUS : SAG(to weaken;to lose firmness) + A + C(abbrev. for “club”, as in CFC, Chelsea Football Club) + IOUS(written promises or reminders of debts).
20 Put one over on unpopular fellow’s work (12)
OUTMANOEUVRE : OUT(unpopular;antonym of “in;fashionable”) + MAN(a fellow) + OEUVRE(a work of art, literature, music, etc.)
24 Cross over the threshold (4)
DOOR : Reversal of(… over) ROOD(a cross;a crucifix).
25 Ne’er-do-well boycotts Dickensian clerk (5,5)
BLACK SHEEP : BLACKS(boycotts specified goods, jobs, etc. in support of labour union action) + HEEP(Uriah, the clerk in Dickens’ David Copperfield).
26 Impulsive soldier’s quiet (4)
RASH : RA(abbrev. for a soldier in the Royal Artillery) + SH!(an interjection urging silence).
27 Yesterday, troubled about Romeo being quixotic (6-4)
STARRY-EYED : Anagram of(…, troubled) YESTERDAY containing(about) R(the letter represented by “Romeo” in the phonetic alphabet).
Down
1 Trainee meets one in the country (4)
CUBA : CUB(a trainee;a novice, especially in newspaper reporting) plus(meets) A(one;singular).
2 It’s bread whichever way you look at it (4)
NAAN : A palindrome(… whichever way you look at it).
Defn: An Indian leavened bread.
3 Ambitious and venomous reptile – one that’s intelligent (12)
ASPIRATIONAL : ASP(the venomous snake) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + RATIONAL(intelligent;reasoned).
4 Honour with a hard form of sorcery (5)
OBEAH : OBE(abbrev. for “Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”, an honour conferred by the British monarch) plus(with) A + H(abbrev. for “hard”).
Defn: … practised in Jamaica, other parts of the West Indies, and the southern U.S.
5 English ship initially getting into accident? Use force! (5-4)
PRESS-GANG : [ E(abbrev. for “English”) + SS(abbrev. for a steamship) + the 1st letter of(initially) “getting” ] contained in(into) PRANG(an accident or crash in an aircraft, car, etc.).
Defn: Originally, to force persons into military service.
7 Alien in public dance is lacking restraint (4-3-3)
OVER THE TOP : ET(abbrev. for “extra-terrestial”;an alien from outer space) contained in(in) [ OVERT(public;out in the open) + HOP(a dance party, especially one with popular music) ].
8 Sergei ends disorder of gluttony (10)
GREEDINESS : Anagram of(… disorder) SERGEI ENDS.
11 Bob produces arty design (4,1,7)
DROP A CURTSEY : Anagram of(… design) PRODUCES ARTY.
Defn: To make a brief curtsy.
13 Special eating place, commonly shabbier, for building worker (10)
SCAFFOLDER : S(abbrev. for “special”) + CAFF(an informal;commonly used term for “café;eating place”) + OLDER(more aged and hence, presumably, more worn;shabbier).
14 Teachers’ recipe – it promises to be wholesome (10)
NUTRITIOUS : NUT(abbrev. for the National Union of Teachers) + R(abbrev. for “recipe”) + IT + IOUS(written promises to pay debts).
16 Accountant put spirit in stock for stew (9)
CASSOULET : CA(abbrev. for “Chartered Accountant) + [ SOUL(one’s spirit) contained in(put … in) SET(stock;established by convention or agreement, as in “set;stock procedures”)
21 Awfully cruel medical condition (5)
ULCER : Anagram of(Awfully) CRUEL.
22 Be sure – run and see (4)
RELY : R(abbrev. for “run”, in cricket scores) plus(and) ELY(the diocese;see centred around Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England).
Defn: … enough to have or place faith or confidence in.
23 Vegetable commonly found in Christmas pudding (4)
SPUD : Hidden in(found in) “Christmas pudding “.
Defn: Informally;commonly, a “potato”, botanically classified as a vegetable.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks Chifonie and scchua
This one started off quite easily in the NW corner but I did run into some blockers in the SW corner though. Writing in a lazily unparsed CASSEROLE instead of CASSOULET didn’t help the cause at all.
Had thought of C – club more along the lines of the card suit – but they all work I guess.
Finished with CRUSTACEA, SCAFFOLDER (probably the toughest clue in the grid) which then showed that I had the DOOR / rood clue going the wrong way round.
Thanks Armonie and scchua.
I too pondered Casserole for a while but happily didn’t enter it until I’d properly parsed one of my favourite dishes – and of course I always remember the Del & Rodney joke about French being a difficult language, “what’s French for duck?”
OBEAH was my new it’d of the day. Clearly clued so straightforward to get.
And that just about sums it up. Elegantly and precisely clued.
So thanks again.