I found this is an easier puzzle to solve than to blog, some of these clues were tricky to parse. Thanks Artexlen for an enjoyable puzzle.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BRIBED | Bought furniture to hold kid (6) |
| BED (furniture) contains (to hold) RIB (kid) | ||
| 5 | POOLSIDE | Poodle is going nuts near water (8) |
| anagram (going nuts) of POODLE IS | ||
| 9 | OPEN-EYED | Aware of Cockney’s ambition, yen to stop inadequacy (4-4) |
| ‘OPE (hope, ambition in Cockney accent) then Y (yen) inside (to stop, like a cork) NEED (inadequacy) | ||
| 10 | CAESAR | Roughly take down revolutionary leader (6) |
| CA (circa, roughly) then RASE (take down) reversed (revolutionary) | ||
| 11 | DEMODE | Not in show, dame discontented (6) |
| DEMO (show) than DamE (outer letters of, discontented, with no contents) – not in, out of fashion | ||
| 12 | INSOLENT | Bust heaving very brazen (8) |
| INSOLvENT (bust) missing (heaving out) V (very) | ||
| 13 | ROSE GERANIUM | Plant hybrid more are using (4,8) |
| anagram (hybrid) of MORE ARE USING | ||
| 17 | CULMINATIONS | Note, after slaughter, reduced countries for final stages (12) |
| CULL (slaughter) missing final letter (reduced) then MI (note) and NATIONS (countries) | ||
| 20 | ULTIMATE | Best lute I am playing with time inside (8) |
| anagram (playing) of LUTE I AM containing T (time) | ||
| 23 | ENVIED | Coveted object receives bid (6) |
| END (object) contains (receives) VIE (bid) | ||
| 24 | STRAND | Fibre to remain rigid, having internal resistance (6) |
| STAND (remain rigid) containing (having internal…) R (resistance) | ||
| 25 | MAINLINE | Spooner’s minor road excavation on major route (8) |
| Spoonerism of “lane mine” (minor road, excavation) | ||
| 26 | INFERNOS | Popular plant, very big, for hostile locations (8) |
| IN (popular) FERN (plant) OS (out-size, very big) | ||
| 27 | SKEWER | Kebab comes from this dirty place around end of block (6) |
| SEWER (dirty place) contains (round) blocK (end letter of) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | RAPIER | Back up when pierced by Greek character’s sword (6) |
| REAR (back) reversed (up) containing (when pierced by) PI (Greek character) | ||
| 3 | BONGO DRUM | Musical instrument carried by idol in Birmingham (5,4) |
| ON (carried by) GOD (idol) in BRUM (Birmingham) | ||
| 4 | DRY SEASON | One’s yard’s tidied for period of bright weather (3,6) |
| anagram (tidied) of ONE’S YARD’S | ||
| 5 | PADDING | Waffle not turnover taken from London station (7) |
| PADDINGton (London station) missing NOT reversed (turnover) | ||
| 6 | ORCAS | Main residents of Windsor Castle (5) |
| found inside (residents of) windsOR CAStle – the main is the ocean | ||
| 7 | SWELL | Second place containing oil to blow up (5) |
| S (second) WELL (place containing oil) | ||
| 8 | DRAWN OUT | Dragging around two short jockeys (5-3) |
| anagram (jockeys) of AROUND and TWo (shortened) | ||
| 14 | ROOKERIES | Men on board circling lake to find breeding-places (9) |
| ROOKS (men on chess board) contain (circling) ERIE (lake) | ||
| 15 | NASHVILLE | Van is hell travelling round US city (9) |
| anagram (travelling around) of VAN IS HELL | ||
| 16 | BULLETIN | Shot home for some news (8) |
| BULLET (shot) and IN (home) | ||
| 18 | THERMOS | Minute drops in parent’s drinks container (7) |
| MOTHERS (parents) with MO (minute) dropping down the word | ||
| 19 | MEANIE | This writer disheartened orphan, the rotter (6) |
| ME (this writer) then ANnIE (orphan) missing middle letter (disheartened) | ||
| 21 | IRATE | Very angry buccaneer heading off (5) |
| pIRATE (buccaneer) missing first letter (heading) | ||
| 22 | AUDEN | Top praise – People’s Poet (5) |
| lAUD mEN (praise, people) missing first letters (topped) | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
Thanks PeeDee and Artexlen.
A lot of seriously good stuff here. And some head scratching, for which I was grateful. 8 down and 10 across were my last ones in. At one point I thought I would be a DNF on this one.
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee
In 2D, I think the wordplay is just REAR (back as noun) UP (reversed), containing PI, otherwise there’s no reversal indicator.
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee
Really enjoyable puzzle with, as you say, some tricky word plays to unravel. Found that DRAWN OUT was the toughest one to see through and was the last one to parse.
I parsed 10a a little differently – had it as “SEIZE” sounds like (roughly) to ‘take down’ or arrest then with R for revolutionary. Think that the blog is the intended way though.
SKEWER was the last one to be written and found that pretty tough to see the word play at first as well.
Simon S – quite so, fixed now.