The puzzle can be printed off here.
A quick blog this morning, as I have to be in work early. A straightforward solve with only my LOI, 4dn and the long entry at 18ac giving me pause, the first because I couldn’t immediately see the parsing and the latter because I had never come across the solution before.
Thanks Redshank.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PHONE-IN | Programme mobile home (5-2) |
| PHONE (“mobile”) + IN (“home”) | ||
| 5 | LOCATED | Found old pet light clothing (7) |
| O(ld) + CAT (“pet”) clothed by LED (“light”) | ||
| 9 | CATCH | Be in time for dismissal at Lord’s (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | PETROLEUM | REME worked with PLUTO to supply this (9) |
| *(reme pluto)
PLUTO stands for “pipeline under the ocean”, so this just about works. |
||
| 11 | FREESTYLE | Stroke releases part of roof, so I’m told (9) |
| FREES (“releases”) + homophone of TILE | ||
| 12 | STEEL | The way fish produces grit (5) |
| ST(reet) (“way”) + EEL (“fish”) | ||
| 13 | ORDINARY SEAMAN | Rating a marine as on dry ground (8,6) |
| *(a marine as on dry) | ||
| 18 | EUTROPHICATION | Coot up in the air, flying from such pollution (14) |
| *(coot up in the air) | ||
| 20 | ETHIC | Break the ice, waiving English principles (5) |
| *(th ice) (“the ice” waiving E(nglish)) | ||
| 22 | LITTER BIN | Youngsters born at home refuse to go here (6,3) |
| LITTER (“youngsters”) + B(orn) + IN (“at home”) | ||
| 24 | EUPHONIUM | Blow this up in home, possibly sticking hairpin in it (9) |
| *(up in home) sticking U (“hairpin”) in it | ||
| 25 | ERASE | Cancel Times before start of evening (5) |
| ERAS (“times”) before E(vening) | ||
| 26 | ODYSSEY | Poem about Ulysses essentially reaching journey’s end (7) |
| ODE (“poem”) about (ul)YSS(es) + (journe)Y and &lit. | ||
| 27 | NUDISTS | They like stripping girl’s fruit stocks (7) |
| NUTS (“fruit”) stocks DI’S (“girl’s”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PACIFY | Calm secretary provided in city suburbs (6) |
| P.A. (personal assistant, so “secretary”) + IF (“provided”) in C(it)Y | ||
| 2 | ON THE TROT | Running article by extremist in a row (2,3,4) |
| ON (“running”) + THE (“article”) + TROT (“extremist”) | ||
| 3 | ETHOS | Distinctive spirit of those close to the top (5) |
| THOSE with the E (close = last letter) moved to the top | ||
| 4 | NAPPY RASH | Baby’s complaint irks many perhaps but not me (5,4) |
| *(any prhaps) (“many perhaps” without ME) | ||
| 5 | LATHE | It shapes articles on both sides of the Channel (5) |
| LA + THE (“articles” in French and English, ie on both sides of the Channel) | ||
| 6 | CROWS NEST | Where to find fledgling 13? (5,4) |
| You might find an ordinary seaman (see 13 ac) in a crow’s nest. | ||
| 7 | THEME | Subject that he means to cover (5) |
| Hidden in “thaT HE MEans” | ||
| 8 | DUMPLING | Throw out fish pudding (8) |
| DUMP (“throw out”) + LING (“fish”) | ||
| 14 | IRON CROSS | Ireland crucified military decoration (4,5) |
| IR(eland) + ON CROSS (“crucified”) | ||
| 15 | YACHTSMAN | Sailor in the Caymans stupidly wasting energy (9) |
| *(th caymans) (“the caymans” with E(nergy) wasted) | ||
| 16 | MOONBEAMS | Nightlights reveal rear timbers (9) |
| MOON (“reveal bottom”) + BEAMS (“timbers”) | ||
| 17 | HERE WE GO | Was it chanted by Hearts before, with pride? (4,2,2) |
| H(earts) + ERE (“before”) + W(ith) + EGO (“pride”)
Almost an &lit. |
||
| 19 | ENGELS | Marx brother, English golfer (6) |
| ENG(lish) + (Ernie) ELS (“golfer”) | ||
| 21 | HAPPY | Member of septet, certainly not grumpy (5) |
| One of the Seven Dwarves (“septet”) | ||
| 22 | LAITY | Old song retains appeal for amateurs (5) |
| LAY (“old song”) retains IT (sex “appeal”) | ||
| 23 | EMEND | Top hack employs staff to do what he does (5) |
| ED(itor) (“top hack”) employs MEN (“staff”) | ||
*anagram
Didn’t know the PLUTO acronym, so thanks for that. 17d is, at best, a semi &lit – not an &lit. The whole clue can be taken as definition but the first 4 words are not part of the cryptic fodder.
Didn’t know 18a, so this was my LOI. Thought 13a was a nice anagram.
Thanks to Redshank and loonapick.
Thanks Redshank and loonapick.
Stared at the two long ones in the middle, before (a) I worked out what 18 could be, and checked online and (b) I realised that I’d written the fodder for 13 down wrong, which didn’t help at all. Solving them released everything else.
10 rang a bell from the way it’s constructed so I used the site search facility. Lo and behold, Redshank clued it in almost exactly the same way in 15341, 9/9/16. Glad he’s into recycling 😉
I also thought it was a bit odd to have ETHIC and ETHOS in the same puzzle.
Simon@3 agree with that but otherwise he’s a pretty consistent setter.
Thanks to Redshank and loonapick. I’m late to the party, partly owing to jet lag after a trip from Heathrow to the US. I got stalled on several of the long items. E.g., I did not know P.L.U.T.O. (though I did eventually spot the anagram) and had not before come across hairpin = the letter u for EUPHONIUM, my LOI.
Thanks Redshank and loonapick
(Did write this up earlier but it disappeared after hitting the Post Comment command)
A good challenge which drew an error from me with EUPHONIUM (where I hadn’t checked the anagram fodder closely enough and written in EUPHORISM). Thought that both long anagrams across the centre were excellent.
Did have trouble with MOONBEAMS for longer than needed .
Finished in the top left corner with PACIFY and PHONE-IN as the last couple.
Came here for the answer to 6d. Wondered whether 17d would be LOVE ME DO before I had all the crossers. Thanks for a nice Saturday solve to setter and blogger.