Second time out for the setter. I suspected it was a new setter but Gaufrid blogged one back in May.
Actually with the CDs and DDs it was more like Rufus of another place but it seemed just a gentle warm up for the week. The grid is one that screams Nina around the perimeter, but it’s a fiendish one if there is.
There’s a bonus ghost theme if you feel driven to find it.
Across
8 Rate paid for expert within range (8)
REPROACH
Looks like PRO(a paid for expert/tutor for example in golf or tennis) inside REACH for RANGE.
9 Agreement about backing fabric (6)
ACCORD
C(irc)a reversed & CORD
10 Old Vauxhall seen in no museum (4)
NOVA
NO & the V&A museum
11 Made unsure settlement without calculation (10)
UNMEASURED
[MADE UNSURE]* settled
12 Good meals out, eaten regularly over in Spanish city (6)
TOLEDO
Odd letters of gOoD mEaLs OuT reversed
14 Makes venerable promise in church, then lies about first of sins (8)
IDOLISES
I DO (wedding promise) & start of S(ins) in LIES* about
15 Show staff new respect (7)
SCEPTRE
respect* newly
17 Good map magazine one frequently browses (7)
GAZELLE
G(ood) & A – Z (map) & ELLE (magazine)
20 Gasolier lit up Topkapi Palace (8)
SERAGLIO
GASOLIER* lit up. I guess the palace was used in such a fashion at one time or another.
22 Someone warning Capone in mob (6)
HERALD
AL (capone) in HERD (mob)
23 American in car sprayed silver with endless guano (10)
NICARAGUAN
[IN CAR]* sprayed & AG & (G)UAN(o) endlessly
24 Voice School place (4)
STOW
Sounds like Stowe school
25 Blot out Napoleon’s summer light, possibly heading west (6)
DELETE
ETE french for Summer & L.E.D. all reversed (heading west in an across clue)
26 Old claim recombined divided sum (8)
AVERAGED
AVER (claim) & AGED (old) – re-combined
Down
1 Zico playing with some rock groups (8)
MESOZOIC
[ZICO SOME]* playing. Don’t really like this clue the Zico (who, what, why?) bit really sticks out as weak to me
2 Hungarian setting of Nessun Dorma for one? (4)
ARIA
hidden in hungARIAn
3 Famous Italian sculptor interrupted by cruciverbalists (6)
CARUSO
US (‘cos we’re cruciverbalists) in (anthony) CARO – an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ‘found’ industrial objects
4 Window cleaner found in kid gloves? (7)
CHAMOIS
Double definition of sorts, you can see what the setter’s getting at anyway.
5 Soldiers maybe, cut off when reining in island uprising, felt dread (8)
PARANOIA
IONA (island) reversed (uprising) inside – reined in by – PARA(s) soldiers cut short.
6 Inspector heard warden over imperfect listening device (10)
SCRUTINEER
Sounds like [SCREW (warder) & TIN EAR]
7 Easily move clipped bezel holding rhinestone’s edges (6)
BREEZE
R(hineston)E inside BEZE(l) clipped
13 The last of Dolomite mountains rising over car going up coastal roads (10)
ESPLANADES
End of (dolomit)E & ALPS reversed & SEDAN (car) reversed
16 Made slacker put out records (8)
RELEASED
Double definition
18 Clumsily moved screen post cut boy (8)
LOLLOPED
I think it’s L.O.L. (a post on a mobile screen say) & LOP (cut) & ED (boy)
19 Caught you in old London borough with numerous friends (7)
POPULAR
Heard you – “U” in POPLAR
21 Rearranged articles? (6)
EDITED
Crypticish defintion
22 Hillman once, perhaps a follower of fortune? (6)
HUNTER
Double definition
24 Short section of bike race for men only? (4)
STAG
a short STAG(e)
No Nina, but a theme…
I count ten of ’em, tho’ you may have to be of a certain age to remember a few of ’em.
Good puzzle: SCRUTINEEER was favourite, excellent homophone.
Thanks to both.
Whoops, you have it already. Are there more than ten/
Thanks flashling for parsing 3d and 18d. 24 was difficult for me and I’m English so probably tougher on others.
A very welcome puzzle on a day when not much else was around.
And I didnt find it a 7 at all.And I’ve only spotted 9 themesters so far.
Great stuff!
STOW last one in, couldn’t see it for ages. Now it’s been pointed out, I guess I see the ghost theme, but not yet allowed to identify it.
Liked GAZELLE, which held me up for a while.
23A you have to take both ends (“endless”) off {g}UAN{o}.
[Fixed thanks]
Thanks to S.Park and flashling.
Warder would have been better in 6. Warden means something different. I’m not keen on clues based on proper names. Having never heard of the sculptor (or if I had, having forgotten about him) I had to hope there wasn’t another valid answer that fitted the intersecting letters.
For the uninitiated, Zico was a fabulous Brazilian footballer of the 70/80s. He could make the ball swerve through the air by using the outside of his foot.
My favourite today was NICARAGUAN;at last a different sort of American.
Good puzzle, giving several pauses for thought and head-scratching; aren’t crossword islands always MAN? And a difficult sum for the Captcha. Please be gentle with me, it’s a Monday!
No idea of themes, just glad to get it done with a small bit of assistance.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Grant @2
I make it a round dozen. My list can be seen here.
I think you’ve got the lot, Gaufrid. Not quite a ghost theme, I would say – a couple of clues are definitely thematic. Great stuff though.
Re 20ac, “The Seraglio” may refer specifically to the Topkapi Palace, according to wikipedia.
Thanks, S.park and flashling
Thanks for the kind words folks.
Gaufrid has named them all (in the answers). I had Dolomite, Capri, Orion and one other (lost now in amnesia) in my first draft clues but good sense prevailed and only Dolomite survived.
Where are my manners? Thanks flashling, btw we have met a couple of times, you know me as brigster
It’s late,I know. Five stars for consistency in the `solvability’ level of each clue (-24ac)and a perfectly threaded theme. Such clear memories of lovely words.
Thanks.