My first blog of a Gila puzzle. This might be a bit easier than a typical Gila. Thanks to Gila. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 A panel of judges trying to eat a cake (8)
TRIBUNAL : TRIAL(trying as a noun, I guess) containing(to eat) BUN(a cake).
5 Bits of green veg and small green fruit (6)
SPEARS : S(abbrev. for “small”) + PEARS(green fruit).
Defn: …, viz. asparagus.
9 The place from which sports reporters watch crowd fight (5,3)
PRESS BOX : PRESS(a crowd;a throng) + BOX(to fight with your fists, or if you’re in Thailand with your legs as well).
10 Chest complaint treated again with nitrates, primarily (6)
ANGINA : Anagram of(treated) AGAIN plus(with) the 1st letter of(…, primarily) “nitrates“.
11 Most terrifying racists struggling to grasp English (8)
SCARIEST : Anagram of(… struggling) RACISTS containing(to grasp) E(abbrev. for “English”).
12 Cut right into fish (6)
TRENCH : R(abbrev. for “right”) contained in(into) TENCH(a freshwater food fish).
14 It accurately measures organised computer crime without using CPU (10)
MICROMETER : Anagram of(organised) [ “computer crime” minus(without using) “CPU“].
18 Drunken teens principally dance as if spellbound (10)
FASCINATED : Anagram of(Drunken) [ the 1st letter of(… principally) “teens” + DANCE AS IF ].
22 Work hard to introduce a new catchphrase (6)
SLOGAN : SLOG(to work hard) plus(to introduce) A + N(abbrev. for “new”).
23 Company – possibly Apple – initially agrees to take a lesser charge (3,1,4)
COP A PLEA : CO(abbrev. for “company”;a commercial firm) + anagram of(possibly) APPLE + the 1st letter of(initially) “agrees“.
24 Canny, like someone learning to finish early (6)
ASTUTE : AS(like, as in “hard as nails”) + “tutee”(someone learning, being taught by a tutor) minus its last letter(to finish early).
25 A penalty is OK (8)
SANCTION :
Defn: 1st: As in “sanctions against North Korea”; and 2nd: To OK as in “the action was sanctioned by the UN”. One of those Janus words.
26 Bear dying alongside a river (6)
ENDURE : END(dying as a noun) plus(alongside) URE(a river in N. Yorkshire, England).
27 One getting infiltrated by large weapons manufacturer (8)
FLETCHER : FETCHER(one who is getting;fetching) containing(infiltrated by) L(abbrev. for “large”).
Defn: …, viz. of arrows.
Down
1 Office worker is endlessly kind – and is on time (6)
TYPIST : “type”(a kind;a sort) minus its last letter(endlessly … –) plus(and) IS placed above(on, in a down clue) T(abbrev. for “time”).
2 The top parts of it could easily conceal Arctic permafrost (6)
ICECAP : The 1st letters, respectively, of(The top parts of) “it could easily conceal Arctic permafrost“.
Defn: The “it” in the clue. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
3 Peacekeepers’ help is not delivered (6)
UNSAID : UN(abbrev. for the United Nations Organisation, keepers of the peace amongst its members)‘S + AID(help).
Defn: … orally.
4 A firm on St Lucia working without electricity? (10)
ACOUSTICAL : A + CO(abbrev. for “company”, a commercial firm) placed above(on, in a down clue) anagram of(… working) ST LUCIA.
Defn: .., when referring to a musical instrument that does not produce nor enhance sound electrically, commonly applied to a non-electric guitar.
6 Picture of Dad (and not a Mum) (8)
PANORAMA : PA(like “dad”, a term of address for one’s father) + NOR(and not, as in “neither this nor that) + A + MA(like “mum”, a term of address for one’s mother).
7 Turn away foreigner at entrance to embassy (8)
ALIENATE : ALIEN(a foreigner, to a country or even planet) + AT + the 1st letter of(entrance to) “embassy“.
8 Beach ‘shoes’ are flip-flops! (8)
SEASHORE : Anagram of(… flip-flops) SHOES’ ARE. A nice surface.
13 Fight, or quickly drop to the ground for cover (4-3-3)
FREE-FOR-ALL : OR contained in(… for cover)[FREE FALL](to drop quickly and unrestrainedly to the ground).
15 Out of sight of the house, kill an animal with butt of rifle (8)
OFFSTAGE : OFF(slang for “to kill”) + STAG(a male deer) placed above(with) the last letter of(butt of;
bottom, in a down clue) “rifle“.
Defn: …;audience in a theatre.
16 Various addicts extremely well equipped with drugs (8)
ASSORTED : The 1st and last letters of(… extremely) “addicts” + SORTED(well provided with something, especially illegal drugs). Another nice surface.
17 Criminal tried taking in soldiers, resulting in tragedy (8)
DISASTER : Anagram of(Criminal) TRIED containing(taking in) SAS(abbrev. for Special Air Services, a special forces unit in the British Army).
19 Lucky charm bringing millions to Andy Murray? (6)
MASCOT : M(abbrev. for “millions”, or, strictly, “million”) plus(to) [A SCOT](an example of which;? Is Andy Murray). And mascot or no, it’s pretty sure he’s worth millions now.
20 It’s fairly rude, and I go red outwardly (6)
BLUISH : I containing(… outwardly) BLUSH(to go red, with embarrassment, shame or shyness). Another nice surface.
21 Angry scientist portrayed by Aussie actor in audition (6)
BANNER : Homophone of(… in audition) “Bana”(Eric, Australian actor who portrayed the lead in the movie, Hulk. The character is the scientist Dr. Bruce Banner who turns into a green monstrous hulk when he is angered). Another WIWD clue.
Thanks scchua and Gila.
This was just right for a Sunday offering. I liked FLETCHER and BANNER, though I imagine the latter may have been hard to get even with the crossers if you weren’t aware of both the movie and the actor.
I initially had PRESS ROW instead of PRESS BOX. Both fit the clue so it was impossible to figure out which was intended.
Well, I knew the film and actor and still failed to get 21d. Drat! Other than that, a quick solve. btw, a minor typo in parsing of 3D – it should be UN’s not just UN.
Thanks Hovis. Typo corrected.
A mild Sunday morning workout apart from BANNER which I think was ungettable without knowledge of the film, grump.
But FLETCHER was good and OFFSTAGE nice and gratuitously bloodthirsty.
Thanks to Gila and scchua.
Thought this was above average difficulty for a Sunday. LOIs, like others, were FLETCHER and BANNER.
Thanks to Gila and scchua – I wonder if you would consider inserting the normal space before opening brackets? It looks unpleasantly cluttered without it when reading.
Great stuff, I thought, with nice surfaces, fun and misdirection too. I got beat by 27a and 21d but might’ve nailed them had I not been drinking all day yesterday at the Nottingham do. Fave clues were 15d & 20d so thanks to The Monster for the puzzle and to Scchua for the blog.