This one seemed to take a little longer than usual but, with hindsight, I’m not sure why because, as usual, the cluing is impeccable.
Across
1 Revolutionary spies keeping dry in upper room (5)
ATTIC – CIA (spies) reversed (revolutionary) around (keeping) TT (dry)
4 Behind because rent changed (6)
ASTERN – AS (because) plus an anagram (changed) of RENT
9 Sheep mostly in field by road on the sheltered side (7)
LEEWARD – EW[e] (sheep mostly) in LEA (fieild) plus RD (road)
10 Fit in trick with style (7)
CONFORM – CON (trick) FORM (style)
11 Fret if town in chaos is damaged beyond repair (7,3)
WRITTEN OFF – an anagram (in chaos) of FRET IF TOWN
12 Church backing popular measure (4)
INCH – IN (popular) CH (church)
14 Painter writes about development of pure blue art (5,4,6)
PETER PAUL RUBENS – PENS (writes) around (about) an anagram of (development of) PURE BLUE ART
15 Property of a lens moulded into ideal shape initially (8,7)
PERSONAL EFFECTS – an anagram (moulded) of OF A LENS in (into) PERFECT (ideal) S[hape] (shape initially)
18 Projection in line with honour (4)
LOBE – L (line) OBE (honour)
19 Relish film about lake with sinister island (10)
PICCALILLI – PIC (film) CA (about) L (lake) ILL (sinister) I (island)
22 Beat overwhelming desire for pepper (7)
CAYENNE – CANE (beat) around (overwhelming) YEN (desire)
23 Pair avoid introduction (7)
PRELUDE – PR (pair) ELUDE (avoid)
24 Party put back by one inhibited by rival gourmet (6)
FOODIE – DO (party) reversed (put back) I (one) in (inhibited by) FOE (rival)
25 Attend to / source of pleasure (5)
TREAT – double def.
Down
1 Admit everything with cry of pain (5)
ALLOW – ALL (everything) OW (cry of pain)
2 Notion about game without wicket lads play (3,7,4)
THE HISTORY BOYS – THEORY (notion) around (about) [w]HIST (game without wicket) plus BOYS (lads)
3 Crew member interrupted by terrible brat, the talkative type (10)
CHATTERBOX – COX (crew member) around (interrupted by) an anagram (terrible) of BRAT THE
4 Lawyer after anger releasing thousand extra items (7)
ADDENDA – [m]ADDEN (anger releasing thousand) DA (lawyer)
5 Diplomatic fault badly restricting court (7)
TACTFUL – an anagram (badly) of FAULT around (restricting) CT (court)
6 Absolute / order (4)
RANK – double def.
7 Number raised money and distorted true bohemianism? (14)
COUNTERCULTURE – COUNT (number) LUCRE (money) reversed (raised) plus an anagram (distorted) of TRUE
8 Different ship, same weight (8)
EMPHASIS – an anagram (different) of SHIP SAME
13 Satisfaction following start of unusually fast, gripping movie (10)
FULFILMENT – F (following) U[nusually] (start of unusually) plus LENT (fast) around (gripping) FILM (movie)
14 Inhabitants set about endless work (8)
POPULACE – PLACE (set) around (about) OPU[s] (endless work)
16 Flavouring, first of all, is in demand (7)
ANISEED – A[ll] (first of all) plus IS in NEED (demand)
17 Fugitive in eastern spot receiving cover (7)
ESCAPEE – E (eastern) SEE (spot) around (receiving) CAP (cover)
20 Clumsy point supporting penalty without force (5)
INEPT – [f]INE (penalty without force) PT (point)
21 Round outlet partly open (4)
UNDO – hidden in (partly) ‘roUND Outlet’
My favourites were PETER PAUL RUBENS, FULFILMENT & COUNTERCULTURE
Thank you Gaufrid and Everyman
Thanks for the blog, Gaufrid. I also took longer than normal with this. The long ones held me up the most: I didn’t know Rubens’ first names; PERSONAL EFFECTS was a guess-then-parse; I needed your blog for THE HISTORY BOYS; and it took awhile to see COUNTERCULTURE as a synonym for bohemianism (in fact I’m still not sure about this one).
Thank you Everyman and Gaufrid.
I rushed in with THE WINTERS TALE at 2d, the first two words fitted all the crossers, but 18a had to be LOBE and 22a CAYENNE, serves me right, I got into a bad habit with Saturday’s prize – I had not heard of THE HISTORY BOYS.
PICCALILLI was a delight to see, I had been waiting for ages for it to turn up, on checking I find it still has not in a Guardian Cryptic.
Quite tricky again after last week’s easy offering. I liked the misdirection for EMPHASIS. I got COUNTERCULTURE from the crossing letters but it’s not very solvable from the clue alone especially LUCRE for money. Enjoyable as ever though. Thanks Gaufrid and Everyman.
Definitely on the trickier side, with the painter and play needing at least bits of the wordplay. Regarding the former, I don’t think I’ve heard his first names before. The latter I knew vaguely, but couldn’t bring to mind. Everyman seems to be edging forward in difficulty towards the level of the other Sunday cryptics.
Didn’t finish the lower right corner. Some tricky words here.
I found some of this really hard, some really easy and clever and others totally stumped me, would never have got counterculture and stared at it for ages.
Piccalilli caught me and I should have got it, was sure there was an island with i on the end, Caught good and proper.
favourites were 22ac 14d and even 4d was clever though a bit maddening
This one stumped me too. Got 3/4 then nothing. Could probably have finished if I’d resorted to aids but that was yesterday and the thing’s been binned and I’m all gloomy after the yacht racing.
I don’t understand why TT means dry in 1 across.
Rob @9
Sorry for the delayed reply but I had other issues to attend to yesterday. TT is the abbreviation for teetotal or teetotaller, ie someone who doesn’t drink alcohol/someone who is dry.