A fine puzzle from Peter in the typical IoS style: tractable and with no obscurities. And a result for your blogger this morning too.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Nun providing media coverage of 2016 Olympic venue
PRIORESS
An insertion of RIO for the ‘venue’ in question in PRESS.
9 Destroy cave to get bird
AVOCET
Excellent. Setters have been keeping me on meagre rations recently when it comes to birds. (CAVE TO)* with ‘destroy’ as the anagrind. Here is the obligatory Pierre bird link. The species in the UK was nearly driven to extinction by Victorian egg-hunters, but its comeback was assured after the Second World War when it recolonised the coastal wetlands of East Anglia. It is of course famous for being the bird used on the RSPB logo, and for its curved beak.
10 Look inside ladies’ pyjamas!
ESPY
At my advanced age I try to rule this out of my life. Hidden in ladiES PYjamas.
11 Man gets ill after demolishing whisky
SINGLE MALT
(MAN GETS ILL)*
12 Gastropod with soft elegant shell
LIMPET
A charade of LIMP for ‘soft’ and ET for the outside letters (‘shell’) of ‘elegant’. No aliens were harmed in the production of this clue.
14 Butcher‘s ultimate ruin?
MUTILATE
(ULTIMATE)* Good spot.
15 Old man with attitude protecting Mexico’s last native American youngster
PAPOOSE
A charade of PA and O for the last letter of ‘Mexico’ in POSE. It’s a word that was in my passive vocabulary, but I looked up its origin: it’s from Algonquian papoos, and can refer to either the baby, or to the pouch used to carry it.
17 Leave Virginia with American deer
VAMOOSE
Another loan word, mainly used in US English. A charade of VA and MOOSE, and most often used for ‘leave in a hurry’, I think. It’s ultimately derived from the Spanish ¡Vamos! literally meaning ‘let’s go’.
20 Tongue of Henry VIII’s wife cut by weapon
PARLANCE
LANCE for the ‘weapon’ preceded by Catherine PAR[R] . Or Katherine, Katheryn or Katharine PARR. Who’d give their daughter a name with the potential for such spelling confusion? Thoughtless.
22 Nasty slime covering universal breakfast dish
MUESLI
An insertion of U in (SLIME)* The anagrind is ‘nasty’ and the insertion indicator is ‘covering’.
23 Move to European capital and run into bird
BUDGERIGAR
Peter is looking after me this morning. Another chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link. A charade of BUDGE, RIGA and R, and another loan word, this time from the mid-19th century and of Aboriginal origin, possibly from gijirrigaa. It’s the world’s third most popular pet, after the domestic cat and dog. I never knew that, but it’s going in the GK round of the village pub quiz I’ve set for this week (which will be last week by the time you read this).
24 Fruit stone with hard white inner layer
PITH
A charade of PIT and H, referring the the layer inside the skin of an orange or grapefruit, for example.
25 Pressure warped steel in 22’s partner
PESTLE
Might have been helpful to specify 22 down, but it’s a charade of P and (STEEL)*
26 Raised fluid even breaking metal
LEAVENED
An insertion of (EVEN)* in LEAD. The anagrind is ‘fluid’ and the insertion indicator is ‘breaking’.
Down
1 Artists tucked into basic mashed vegetable
BRASSICA
An insertion of RAS into (BASIC)*
2 Old college‘s talking parrot
POLY
A homophone (‘talking’) of POLLY. Close to a hat-trick, but not close enough (although 23 ac is a type of parrot).
3 Scrap over editors’ accommodation
BEDSIT
An insertion of EDS in BIT.
4 Star wearing cap at centre of Mexican wave
TSUNAMI
An insertion of SUN for our ‘star’ in TAM, a variety of ‘cap’, plus I for the middle letter of ‘Mexican’. TAM is originally derived from Tam O’Shanter, but is used in its own right these days (I discovered this morning).
5 Capital where servant gets to grips with Latin way to express gratitude
VALLETTA
An insertion of L in VALET plus TA gives you the Maltese capital.
6 Maroon fuel spilt in racing championship
FORMULA ONE
(MAROON FUEL)*
7 Setter close to vintner given consignment of wine
MERLOT
A charade of ME (Peter, our ‘setter’), R for the last letter of ‘vintner’ and LOT.
13 Fragile pot damaged with rake
PROFLIGATE
(FRAGILE POT)* for ‘rake’ in its sense of ‘debauched, immoral person’. PROFLIGATE can be a noun as well as an adjective (I discovered this morning).
16 Guards found in small passageways between houses
SENTRIES
A charade of S and ENTRIES. It is given in Collins as this definition, marked as dialect. They’re called JITTIES or GINNELS round here, but there are other local variants, I know.
18 Topping of signature dish making a splash
SPLATTER
A charade of S for the first letter of ‘signature’ and PLATTER.
19 Grape trained around sides of oval framework for plants
PERGOLA
An insertion of OL for the outside letters of ‘oval’ in (GRAPE)*. The anagrind is ‘trained’ and the insertion indicator is ‘around’.
21 American drug smuggler going to Thailand for protection from harm
AMULET
A charade of A, MULE and T.
22 Roman’s capsized sailor’s vessel
MORTAR
Since it’s a down clue, it’s ROM reversed and TAR. The ROM abbreviation is biblical, I fancy.
24 Quick look up and down
PEEP
Again, since it’s a down clue, Peter is referencing the fact that the solution is a palindrome.
Many thanks to Peter for this Sunday’s puzzle, and a special thanks from his namesake for ending the bird drought.
Thanks Peter for a most enjoyable puzzle, and thanks to Pierre for the blog. Accrington has some interesting avifauna I gather, if your travels take you there next season.
Not too challenging for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I still learnt a couple of new meanings for words in PAPOOSE and PROFLIGATE. The birds were good and I liked the surface of 22a. Porridge for me tomorrow morning.
Thanks to Peter and to our chirpy blogger.
I agree with baerchen about the puzzle and the blog.
Accrington? I recall Kenneth Cope’s encomium for Accrington Stanley on one of the Saturday night satire shows.
And I used to drop off there at the pub of an Irishman called Louis for lunch whenever I was on my way to Blackburn.
IMO a single malt is a health drink, so ‘man gets ill’ is a disturbing anagram find.
As for 10 across – does Peter know Harry? I think we should be told.
In 14ac, might not the anagram indicator be ‘butchers’ and RUIN the definition?
AdamH@4, unlikely, for one you’d the the imperative butcher without the ‘S.
I liked papoose/vamoose across the centre
Perhaps like Pierre, I did wonder what on earth muesli’s partner was, then I realised I’d been given the answer to 20d.
Seems to me there is something strange in 9a, either “to” is doing double duty or it ought to be “getting”, or ” destroying … gets..”, but that knackers the surface.
I liked prioress, single malt, tsunami,mprofligate most of all but there were many more clues I liked
Many thanks Peter for a most entertaining puzzle, and thank you Pierre for the blog.
A bit of a slog. We were held up for ages in the NW corner, chiefly on 8ac having guessed it was -RIO—- but unable to think of the media coverage: a real facepalm moment when we got it!
We too weren’t immediately sure which 22 needed a partner and there was no compelling reason (such as the wordplay depending on the actual number) why it couldn’t have been indicated as 22dn.
But overall an enjoyable challenge. Thanks, Peter; merci Pierre.
Thanks for all the comments – it’s nice to get some for the IoS, which doesn’t have many contributors.
baerchen, I’m looking forward to Fleetwood Town personally, for the fish rather than the avifauna. Please follow house rules and keep your comments on-topic, please …
Sorry Pierre, but if you are going to have a pop at baerchen, you need to have an even bigger one at me.
Bike sheds at playtime!
Very late calling in but just to say thank you to both Peter and Pierre – a most enjoyable puzzle and an equally enjoyable blog, not to mention an outing for one of my favourite birds.
I found this gentle and fun at first … but some chewy bits at the end (unusually none crossing each other) did have to be given some thought before they would yield.
A new definition of PAPOOSE for me (I’m only familiar with the carrier), though a logical one. Don’t like owning up to yet more geographic fails, but having got VALLETTA from wordplay I had to look up where it was.
Spent a little time wondering how the lim of LIMPET could be clued by with …
TAM (TSUNAMI) was a new cap, and I was surprised at the “between houses” part of SENTRIES.
I think my favourite would have to be one of the first few across clues. Will choose 10a because it made me smile.
Thanks to Peter and Pierre.