The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3641.
I started off with the odd answer here and there, which means that few were obvious, but it all came together satisfactorily in the end.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CAMSHAFT | Minutes consumed by change to the rear part of engine (8) |
| I spent a while wondering why an anagram of M plus ‘the rear’ was not yielding anything sensible. The clue is an envelope (‘consumed by’) of M (‘minutes) in CASH (‘change’) plus AFT (‘to the rear’). | ||
| 5 | FRILLS | Father with problems making additions (6) |
| A charade of FR (‘father’, particularly in a religious sense) plus ILLS (‘problems’). | ||
| 9 | WISTFULNESS | Melancholy? Fantastic news lifts us (11) |
| An anagram (‘fantastic’) of ‘news lifts us’. | ||
| 11 | TEN | Number in catch returned (3) |
| A reversal (‘returned’) of NET (‘catch’). | ||
| 12 | LARD | Note by doctor about fat (4) |
| A charade of LA (‘note’ of the sol-fa) plus RD, a reversal (‘about’) of DR (‘doctor’). | ||
| 13 | BOILER SUIT | One in trouble is ordered to get garment for work (6,4) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of I (‘one’, Roman numeral or the impersonal personal pronoun) in BOILERSUT (or BOLERSUIT if you prefer), an anagram (‘ordered’) of ‘trouble is’. | ||
| 15 | PARROT-FASHION | Standard form filled with nonsense automatically (6-7) |
| An envelope (‘filled with’) of ROT (‘nonsense’) in PAR (‘standard’) plus FASHION (‘form’ as a verb). | ||
| 18 | DIFFERENTIATE | Distinguish fat-free diet in broadcast (13) |
| An anagram (‘broadcast’) of ‘fat-free diet in’. | ||
| 20 | BACKSLIDER | Poor clerk is bad one returning to sinful ways (10) |
| An anagram (‘poor’) of ‘clerk is bad’. | ||
| 21 | SPIN | Revolution bites back (4) |
| A reversal (‘back’) of NIPS (‘bites’). | ||
| 24 | OWL | Bird in line following duck west (3) |
| A charade of O (‘duck’) plus W (‘west’) plus L (‘line’). Three letters, three components to the wordplay. | ||
| 25 | ANGLO-SAXONS | An explanation about a vote concerning Germanic people (5-6) |
| An envelope (‘about’) of ‘a’ plus X (‘vote’) plus ON (‘concerning’) in ‘an’ plus GLOSS (‘explanation’). | ||
| 26 | GADGET | Device wrongly tagged (6) |
| An anagram (‘wrongly’) of ‘tagged’. | ||
| 27 | STRICKEN | Wounded from time with resistance in revolt (8) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of T (‘time’) plus R (‘resistance’) in SICKEN (‘revolt’). | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | COWSLIPS | Bully declines flowers (8) |
| A charade of COW (‘bully’ as a verb) plus SLIPS (‘declines’). | ||
| 2 | MISER | Some caviare simply upset skinflint (5) |
| A hidden (‘some’) reversed (‘upset’) answer in ‘caviaRE SIMply’. | ||
| 3 | HUFF | Temper hot before strike, not cold (4) |
| A charade of H (‘hot’) plus [c]UFF (‘strike’) minus the C (‘not cold’). | ||
| 4 | FELLOW FEELING | Cutting down, accepting small payment, getting sympathy (6,7) |
| An envelope (‘accepting’) of LOW FEE (‘small payment’) in FELLING (‘cutting down’). | ||
| 6 | RESTRAINTS | Bonds with tutor during periods of relaxation (10) |
| An envelope (‘during’) of TRAIN (‘tutor’) in RESTS (‘periods of relaxation’). | ||
| 7 | LITHUANIA | Heartless person, one disrupting settled area in country (9) |
| An envelope (‘disrupting’) of HU[m]AN (‘person’) minus its middle letter (‘heartless’) plus I (‘one’) in LIT (‘settled’) plus A (‘area’). | ||
| 8 | SANITY | Fool imprisoned by state for reason (6) |
| An envelope (‘imprisoned by’) of NIT (‘fool’) in SAY (‘state’). What about the sanity clause? | ||
| 10 | ELLESMERE PORT | Place in Cheshire magazine’s story occupied by me (9,4) |
| An envelope (‘occupied by’) of ‘me’ in ELLE’S (‘magazine’s’) plus REPORT (‘story’). Not a part of Cheshire with which I am familiar. | ||
| 14 | CONFISCATE | Seize facts I once distorted (10) |
| An anagram (‘disordered’) of ‘facts I once’. | ||
| 16 | RIDICULED | Upset about inspector and copper being mocked (9) |
| An envelope (‘about’) of DI (detective ‘inspector’) plus CU (chemical symbol, ‘copper’) in RILED (‘upset’). | ||
| 17 | TENNYSON | Poet in New York amid anxiety missing one (8) |
| An envelope (‘amid’) of NY (‘New York’) in TENS[i]ON (‘anxiety’) without the I (‘missing one’). | ||
| 19 | OBLONG | Old online journal assuming new shape (6) |
| An envelope (‘assuming’) of N (‘new’) in O (‘old’) plus BLOG (‘online journal’). | ||
| 22 | PLONK | Put down cheap wine (5) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 23 | BALI | Part of Indonesia vital to global industry (4) |
| A hidden answer (‘vital to’) in ‘gloBAL Industry’. | ||
Same here. Slow start, but steady solve.
Thank you Everyman and PeterO.
I found this relatively difficult, but luckily ELLESMERE PORT came to my mind from the crossers, cannot think how since I only lived in England for 10 years, and that as a girl over 50 years ago in the South-East, I would never have got the answer from the clue.
FRILLS, LITHUANIA – got LITHUANIA based on the other crossers, but needed to confirm it with FRILLS
Thanks, Everyman and PeterO.
Oops, posted that before I finished editing …
I meant to agree that it required a bit more effort than on most weeks, and mention that my last two were FRILLS and LITHUANIA.
Peter – re your comment for 8d, in the words of the immortal Marx brothers:
“You can’t fool me, there ain’t no Sanity Clause”
🙂
Never heard of Ellesmere Port. Is it really sufficiently well known to warrant inclusion in this crossword?
Other quibbles were Lit for Settled and Gloss for Explanation: I’d be interested to see sentences where they can be exchanged without a change in meaning.
That apart another nice hour-and-a-bit workout.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
found this hard too particularly as aWay for weekend so hv no resources. no idea lit/settled – reference could it be related to literal? but still can’t see a connection …look fwd to someone’s clever outing of the reason
or could there be any ref to ‘lit’meaning bed in French. ..still a stretch. ..
Sorry but the clue for Lithuania is way way too nonsensically convoluted.
A couple of steps back to where he began for this setter as of late In my opinion.
Barrie @6
LIT as the past tense of light, in the sense of alight, dismount, so perhaps: “I found 7D difficult, but I finally lit/settled on the right gloss/explanation”.
Remember seeing the turnoff to Elllesmere Port off the motorway near Liverpool, but didn’t get it in this crossword. Too many difficult clues for me this week. Didn’t finish and didn’t enjoy.
Late as usual here but south east had me flummoxed. Parsing of Lithuania (which I guessed) and Anglo Saxons (which I didn’t) were tricky. I’ve never heard the term “gloss” in reference to “explanation”. No matter.
Plonk and Stricken were good clues though.