A straightforward offering from Sleuth
Nothing much to say about this puzzle – generally good surfaces and tight cluing, with only one niggle (see 16dn).
Thanks, Sleuth.
| Across | ||
| 1 | HUSBAND | Partner beginning to hate The Eagles? (7) |
| H(ate) + U.S. BAND | ||
| 5 | BEHAVE | Pair of auxiliaries act correctly (6) |
| BE + HAVE (“auxilary” verbs) | ||
| 8 | AUTOPILOT | Ideal place almost in a group for flight aid (9) |
| UTOPI(a) in A LOT | ||
| 9 | DROOP | Sad duke recalled in decline (5) |
| <=POOR D | ||
| 11 | TIPSY | Untidy place steadily emptying is affected by drink (5) |
| TIP (“untidy place”) +S(teadil)Y | ||
| 12 | CALIBRATE | Mark positions of a sign in ground etc (9) |
| A LIBRA (“sign”) in *(etc) | ||
| 13 | VENALITY | Corruption? There’s vital yen for reform (8) |
| *(vital yen) | ||
| 15 | DURESS | Constraint for all to see in outfit (6) |
| U (“for all to see”) in DRESS | ||
| 17 | SICKIE | Period for dealing with disorder? (6) |
| Cryptic definition? | ||
| 19 | HARD CASH | Brandish card when in mess – or ready money (4,4) |
| *(card) in HASH (“mess”) | ||
| 22 | TURBULENT | High-powered car, mostly refined and fast, producing commotion (9) |
| TURB(o) + U (“refined”) + LENT | ||
| 23 | THIEF | Criminal connection trapped hard fellow (5) |
| TIE (“connection”)+ F (“fellow”) “trapped” H(ard) | ||
| 24 | RINSE | Wash nightwear in separated clothing (5) |
| Hidden in “nightweaR IN SEparated” | ||
| 25 | MILLSTONE | Philosopher’s style becoming a bugbear (9) |
| (John Stuart) MILL’S TONE | ||
| 26 | CRAYON | Carbon material? It’s used for drawing (6) |
| C(arbon) + RAYON (“material”) | ||
| 27 | EARBASH | Scold a Republican infiltrating English party (7) |
| A R(epublican) “infiltrating” E(nglish) BASH (“party”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HEALTH VISITOR | A TV Irish hotel replaced for nurse (6,7) |
| *(a tv irish hotel) | ||
| 2 | SET UPON | Organisation with number mounting attack (3,4) |
| SET UP (“organisation”) + <=No. | ||
| 3 | APPLY | Put to use couple of pages and line in a back of diary (5) |
| PP (“couple of pages”) + L (“line”) in A (diar)Y | ||
| 4 | DELICATE | Discriminating place for foreign food and provision (not half) (8) |
| DELI (“place for foreign food”) + CATE(ring) | ||
| 5 | BOTTLE | Preserve courage (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | HIDEBOUND | Bigoted devotee defending limited plan by bishop (9) |
| HOUND (“devotee”) “defending” IDE(a) + B | ||
| 7 | VIOLATE | Abuse in Spanish city not good after hours (7) |
| VI(g)O + LATE (“after hours”) | ||
| 10 | PRESS THE FLESH | Journalists with article on revolutionary writer start to hope to solicit support? (5,3,5) |
| PRESS (“journalists”) + THE (“article”) + <=SELF (“writer” of this clue) + H(ope)
Politicians often “press the flesh” (ie shake a lot of hands) when out on the campaign trail. |
||
| 14 | LEISURELY | Garland for certain befitting a holiday? (9) |
| LEI (“garland”) + SURELY | ||
| 16 | PASTILLE | Sweet temp’s work ending in office (8) |
| PA’s TILL +(offic)E
A PA and a temp are not the same though. |
||
| 18 | CORONER | Legal figure with circle entering predicament (7) |
| O(“circle”) “entering” CORNER | ||
| 20 | ARIZONA | US state region largely featuring in part of opera (7) |
| ZON(e) in ARIA | ||
| 21 | SERMON | Address given weekly in advertiser monotonously (6) |
| Hidden in “advertiSER MONotonously” | ||
| 23 | TASER | Stunning device underwent new testing on reflection (5) |
| <=RESAT | ||
*anagram
Thanks Loonapick. If your niggle about 16 dn was pa = temp, then I agree. Otherwise all good. Particularly liked 1 ac. Thanks Sleuth.
Isn’t 16d ”pastille”? ” till” being a type of work.
Thanks Sleuth and loonapick
I must admit that I thought the revolutionary writer in 10 was Will Self: it works either way.
jmac@1 – yes, that was my niggle, although for some reason, I didn’t save my parsing and comment (thanks for noticing, john@2 – now edited.
Simon S – yes, both work, but I didn’t think of Will Self, so thanks.
U meaning “for all to see” and “refined”? Explain. Liquid courage might do for “bottle”, but just courage? And “sickie” might be a person but not a period where I come from. Didn’t care for these. Otherwise satisfying.
Peter Monk@5
U – in movie classification U means suitable for all ages, and is also short for “upper class”, therefore refined.
“Bottle” and courage are interchangeable as in having the bottle to do something, and the double definition refers to “bottle” also being a synonym for “preserve”.
A sickie is a colloquial term for time off work, although it has connotations of “pretending to be sick to get time of work, which is known as “throwing a sickie”.
Thanks Sleuth and loonapick
Found this one pretty plain sailing with neat crisp clueing throughout. Can remember back in the 1980’s when most temps that I saw in the workforce were indeed PA / secretary type workers where nowadays it does range across every type of work – professional and trade. (and in many cases for salaried workers who didn’t think that they would be temps)
Did not know the Spanish town, VIGO. Finished in the NE corner with HIDEBOUND, VIOLATE and BEHAVE (where I had to remind myself what ‘auxiliary verbs’ were again) were the last few in.