A little more tricky than your average Everyman if my solving time is anything to go by but I’ve no complaints about that.
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Across
1 Much less room sadly for supplementary course of study (6,6)
SUMMER SCHOOL – an anagram (sadly) of MUCH LESS ROOM
9 Cutting back, cutting total level (7)
STRATUM – TART (cutting) reversed (back) in (cutting) SUM (total)
10 Hotchpotch in newspaper in Portuguese city (7)
FARRAGO – RAG (newspaper) in FARO (Portuguese city)
11 Plants survive beginnings of rough weather, bad sort (10)
LIVERWORTS – LIVE (survive) R[ough] W[eather] (beginnings of rough weather) plus an anagram (bad) of SORT
12 Valley in jungle neglected (4)
GLEN – contained in ‘junGLE Neglected’
14 Experience, not fine for fish (3)
EEL – [f]EEL (experience, not fine)
15 Hint about art not treated critically (11)
IMPORTANTLY – IMPLY (hint) around (about) an anagram (treated) of ART NOT
17 Do pioneering work in club containing lounge and bar (5,1,5)
BLAZE A TRAIL – BAT (club) around (containing) LAZE (lounge) plus RAIL (bar)
19 Music quiz, first to last (3)
SKA – ASK (quiz) with the A moved to the end (first to last)
20 Former line put away (4)
LATE – L (line) ATE (put away)
21 Firm receiving tips from usual adviser (10)
CONSULTANT – CONSTANT (firm) around (receiving) U[sua]L (tips from usual)
24 Unsightly building in Spain certainly rushed, short of time (7)
EYESORE – E (Spain) YES (certainly) [t]ORE (rushed, short of time)
25 Silo we rebuilt, about right, not towering (3-4)
LOW-RISE – an anagram (rebuilt) of SILO WE around (about) R (right)
26 Series for children located around unchanging southern bay? (6,6)
SESAME STREET – SET (located) around SAME (unchanging) S (southern) TREE (bay)
Down
2 Work out near avenue in middle of July (7)
UNRAVEL – NR (near) AVE (avenue) in [j]UL[y] (middle of July)
3 Moving some kit around globe in vehicles (10)
MOTORBIKES – an anagram (moving) of SOME KIT around ORB (globe)
4 Capital old lover (5)
ROMEO – ROME (capital) O (old)
5 Broadcast account written up about fund-raising event in restaurant (9)
CAFETERIA – AIR (broadcast) AC (account) reversed (written up) around (about) FETE (fund-raising event)
6 Nothing good about monster (4)
OGRE – O (nothing) G (good) RE (about)
7 Flyer fast losing energy south of field (7)
LEAFLET – FLE[e]T (fast losing energy) under (south of) LEA (field)
8 Structure for play with unknown actors in club one organised (6,6)
BOUNCY CASTLE – Y (unknown) CAST (actors) in an anagram (organised) of CLUB ONE
9 Change of rules, I’ll bet, securing very wonderful solution (6,6)
SILVER BULLET – an anagram of (change of) RULES, I’LL BET around (securing) V (very)
13 Large fellow blundering into conflict one ignored at party? (10)
WALLFLOWER – L (large) plus an anagram (blundering) of FELLOW in (into) WAR (conflict)
16 Oil painter initially silent, upset about job (9)
PETROLEUM – P[ainter] (painter initially) MUTE (silent) reversed (upset) around (about) ROLE (job)
18 Sincere, not caring? Not he (7)
ARTLESS – [he]ARTLESS (not caring? Not he)
19 Coast said to be rocky coming into view (7)
SEASIDE – an anagram (to be rocky) of SAID in (coming into) SEE (view)
22 Disposes of small rooms according to report (5)
SELLS – sounds like (according to report) ‘cells’ (small rooms)
23 Chief / ornamental carving (4)
BOSS – double def.
Great fun, just about the perfect level of difficulty for me ! Many nice clues there.
Is my imagination or has “bouncy castle” come up a few times in various recent Guardian puzzles ?
Thank you Everyman and Gaufrid.
This was enjoyable, even though a little tricky – seem to remember I spent some time searching for an “Oil painter” beginning with S, and SILVER BULLET was new to me.
I liked the clue for BOUNCY CASTLE – salsaman @1, Paul clued it recently, 27,160 April 2017, and also in 2014, 26,399.
Definitely on the tricky side for Everyman, but as enjoyable as always. Another vote for BOUNCY CASTLE.
It took me a while to get started, but once I did everything worked out smoothly, and all the clues were fair. EYESORE annoyed me – or rather I annoyed myself, as the clue itself was not at fault. I saw the answer very early (possible my first clue solved), but it ended up being almost my last one entered as it took me so long to see the construction.
I liked BOUNCY CASTLE too, with other favourites being SUMMER SCHOOL and SESAME STREET.
Thanks, Everyman and Gaufrid.
Never heard of SKA but I had SEASIDE only pencilled in as I couldn’t parse it – kept looking for a homonym for ‘rocky’.
Everything else good, I rather liked the cluing for Blaze a Trail and also Stratum.
Thanks Gaufrid and Everyman. I think the last three or four Everymen (?) have been excellent.
STRATUM was a good clue. Didn’t get BOSS, guessed EYESORE but couldn’t parse it. An OK crossie.
I found this tricky too though got there in the end. However there were quite a few that I couldn’t parse and just guessed. I liked Romeo and cafeteria.
Thought this was the hardest for a while and got stuck on lots. I had Sarcasm for 9ac which totally threw out 3d..
and I still cannot really understand the reasoning behind Seaside.
Bouncy Castle was a beauty tho and I DID get that one without help.
I would never ever have managed liverworts without device help.
was sure Eyesore was right so wrote it in but could not explain anything other than unsightly.
kind of get it now..
Found this one very hard and had to use a wildcard dictionary. I would
never have got “boss” for ornamental carving otherwise.
Could not parse “eyesore”.
Not the hardest everyman but did take me some time to research liverworts. I also could not parse eyesore because I had never heard of Spain referred as E
Tough one , but some great clues.
Got stuck with Ska , blaze a trail and stratum ( but got thete in the end with a bit of help )