The SW quadrant wasn’t so easy as the others. Thanks to Vlad for the challenge. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1, 13 Villain gesturing angrily unlikely to be this (6,10)
VIRTUE SIGNALLING : Anagram of(… angrily) VILLAIN GESTURING.
A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
4 Over 50 the end of the line? They’re having you on! (8)
BLUFFERS : L(Roman numeral for 50) contained in(Over … the …) BUFFERS(those things at the end of a railway track;line that absorbs the shock of a collision).
9 What it costs to keep new royal (6)
PRINCE : PRICE(what something costs) containing(to keep) N(abbrev. for “new”).
10 Finished with a thousand — unfortunate it’s too much (8)
OVERKILL : OVER(finished;done with) plus(with) K(abbrev. for “kilo”, prefix specifying a thousand of, as in “kilograms”) + ILL(unfortunate;unfavourable, as in “it’s an ill wind that blows nobody good” – twisted somewhat to describe the French horn as “the ill wind that nobody blows good”).
11 Become dispirited and stop working (4,2,3,5)
GIVE UP THE GHOST : GIVE UP(to be without;dis-, as in “disadvantaged”) + THE GHOST(the spirit).
Defn: Metaphor to describe, say, an appliance such as your computer, that stops working;functioning.
13 See 1
14 Rubberneckers going round city (4)
BERN : Hidden in(… going round) “Rubberneckers“.
Defn: Capital of Switzerland.
16 Young British journalist attached to Times (4)
TOBY : TO(indicating two things are attached;linked, as in “toe is to foot as finger is to hand” – in this case the connection is not just linguistic, but physical as well) + BY(times;the arithmetic operation of multiplication, as in “two by tow is four”).
Answer: …, surname Young, a British journalist.
18 Walks near sea and sand — please get dressed! (10)
ESPLANADES : Anagram of(… get dressed) SAND — PLEASE.
Defn: …, as a phrasal noun.
21 Sculpted arse with enthusiasm but lack of skill (14)
AMATEURISHNESS : Anagram of(Sculpted) [ARSE plus(with) ENTHUSIASM].
23 Men taking the bait and ringing (8)
ORBITING : OR(abbrev. for “other ranks”, men in the army without commission) + BITING(taking the bait, as in “the fish are not biting today”, or “if the sales price is too high, the buyer won’t bite”).
Defn: Not sounding the bells, but encircling someone or something.
24 Qualities beginning to hold one back (6)
TRAITS : Reversal of(… back) [ START(the beginning) containing(to hold) I(Roman numeral for “one”) ].
25 Fiercely determined Spice Girl takes part in this (off-key) (8)
TIGERISH : GERI(Halliwell, one of the Spice Girls) contained in(takes part in) anagram of(… (off-key)) THIS.
26 Notice May’s supporters keeping close to Boris does make sense (4,2)
ADDS UP : AD(short for “advertisement”, a promotional notice) + DUP(abbrev. for the Democratic Unionist Party of N. Ireland, which has agreed to support UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s minority government in Parliament) containing(keeping) last letter of(close to) “Boris“. The latter could be a reference to Bojo.
Down
1 Smoke (sort of) seen rising in the pavilion (4)
VAPE : Hidden in(seen … in) reversal of(rising) “the pavilion“.
Defn: An electronic cigarette, sort of a smoke.
2 Complaining one side’s weak (7)
RAILING : R(abbrev. for “right”, one of two sides) + AILING(‘s weak;is weak from suffering in mind or body).
3 Pulled a muscle touring North America (5,3)
UNCLE SAM : Anagram of(Pulled) A MUSCLE containing(touring) N(abbrev. for “North”).
Defn: Nickname for the USA.
5 Fat doll? Heavens, that’s unusual! (4,7)
LOVE HANDLES : Anagram of(…, that’s unusual) DOLL? HEAVENS.
Defn: …, specifically the bulges of fat on the sides of one’s waistline.
6 Friend of Trump supposedly following a trend (6)
FARAGE : F(abbrev. for “following”) + A + RAGE(the trend;the current fashion, as in “that haircut is the rage”).
Answer: …, Nigel, former leader of the UK Independent Party and supporter of the POTUS.
7 Not concise from the outset — War and Peace, perhaps, a good example (7)
EPITOME : 1st letter of(… from the outset) “concise” deleted from(Not) “epic tome”(an epic book, an example of which;perhaps is Tolstoy’s War And Peace).
8 Croatian goals causing shock outcome? (5,4)
SPLIT ENDS : Could be interpreted as the goals;ends;objectives of someone from Split, the second largest city in Croatia.
Defn: What could be the end result;outome with one’s shock;mass of hair.
12 Use influence to withdraw fleeces worn by king (4,7)
PULL STRINGS : PULL(… out;to withdraw from) + STINGS(fleeces;scams;swindles) containing(worn by) R(abbrev. for “rex”, Latin for “king”).
13 Ready to turn round when attack begins (4,5)
SETS ABOUT : SET(ready to act, as in “all set to take off”) + reversal of(to turn round) AS(when, as in “as you enter the room”) + BOUT(an attack of illness or emotion as in “a bout of depression”).
Defn: …;starts doing something with vigour or determination, as in “the dog sets about chewing on his bone”.
15 Caught Courtois finally taking a breather in goal (8)
ENSNARED : [ Last letter of(… finally) “Courtois” plus(taking) NARE(the nostril;breather found in a bird’s beak) ] contained in(in) END(a goal;an objective – cf. 8 down).
17 Habitually complain about second-class seat (7)
BEANBAG : [BE A NAG](habitually complain at someone) containing(about) B(letter signifying second-class, second in quality, as against A;first-class).
19 Sack young lady after insult (7)
DISMISS : MISS(a young lady) placed below(after, in a down clue) DIS(to insult;to severely criticise).
20 Move top one, right? (6)
BESTIR : BEST(to top;to surpass) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + R(abbrev. for “right”).
22 Don’t hang around! It’s a step up (4)
ASAP : A + reversal of(… up, in a down clue) PAS(a step performed in ballet).
Defn: Acronym for “as soon as possible”.
Thanks both. Struggled with TOBY and SETS ABOUT. Not sure how “going round” indicates a hidden word in 14a
Couldn’t fathom out 16 across at all…
Wow! Can’t believe I’m first to comment. Good stuff, not as hard as usual for Vlad, to whom many thanks, also to scchua for the thorough explanations. Good weekend to all.
Somehow I knew I wouldn’t be first! Ronald@2: GK pushed a bit far, perhaps, in expecting us to know Toby Young.
Thanks to both. lovely puzzle
I think 25A is GERI (Halliwell) in anagram of THIS.
Thanks Vlad and scchua
I think 25 is (THIS)* around GERI (Halliwell as was, Ginger Spice).
Possibly the parsing of 16 is a little simpler: ‘attached’ are TO (from the clue) and BY (times).
Thanks Torus and Simon S, and apologies to Vlad. Blog corrected
Simon S,
I had thought of the parsing you suggested for 16 across, but then that would require another “to”, ie. “attached to to Times”.
Thanks Vlad and scchua
Very similar – quite easy for a Vlad, apart from the SW (though I had to look up NARE for “breather”). Favourites were ESPLANADE and UNCLE SAM.
What a boon the Tory/DUP pact has been for compilers!
Can’t stand the man or his party but isn’t Farage (6d) Nigel?
scchua @8
Thanks. I think you can interpolate “Attached(:) TO (+) BY”.
TOBY at 16a was just a guess – only word that seemed to fit. No idea really. Couldn’t parse 12d PULL STRINGS. I liked 11a GIVE UP THE GHOST, 5d LOVE HANDLES , 7d EPITOME, and 9d SPLIT ENDS. Thanks to Vlad and scchua.
PS Missed saying 15d ENSNARED was another guess. NARE was a new thing I learned today. This is my least favourite grid, four almost independent quadrants (that sounds tautological but you know what I mean). I like and need crossers!
BTW Had also never heard of VIRTUE SIGNALLING 1, 13a.
Very stubborn SW, needed help to get tigerish, after which beanbag fell out, so an impaled dnf sadly. I read 16a as per Simon S, simply to and by attached (tho dnk the journo). As for the said tigerish, I suppose it could work Scchua’s way if the ‘off-key’ applies to both the ‘this’ and to the ‘e gir’ inside it, but geri inside (this)* is more elegant. Either way it was too clever for me.
17d could be partial &lit if you don’t like beanbags (!)
Thanks to Vlad for the challenge and to Scchua for fhe lovely illustrated blog.
I took 11a as a simple double definition – one literal (“become dispirited…”).
Toby Young I knew from some years back when MrsT returned disgruntled from a conference. Mr Young had been hired as the guest speaker, and ended up insulting his audience. He seems to make a living from controversy…
Thanks Vlad and Scchua (lots of pictures today!)
Oleg@10, you’re right of course. Blog corrected.
Thank you Vlad for a gentle puzzle and scchua for the illustrated blog.
I found the parsing challenging, but got there in the end even though I had never heard of TOBY Young. As for JinA @14, VIRTUAL SIGNALLING was also new to me.
The clue for PRINCE made me smile – it brought to mind a Louis.
Great blog, scchua on a seemingly innocent little puzzle with a few banana skins thrown in.Great clues from Vlad.
PS, that should be VIRTUE SIGNALLING, though I guess it is rather virtual, not existing as such but made to appear so.
So, is VIRTUE SIGNALLING a well known phrase? Not really getting what it means either.
Didn’t know TOBY and couldn’t work it out. Googling Courtois informed me he was a footballer which explained why he was in the clue. I guess he’s famous.
Liked ORBITING for the misleading use of ringing.
Thanks Vlad and Scchua.
Thanks to Vlad and scchua. Tough going for me. I’m another not familiar with TOBY Young and VIRTUE SIGNALLING and I took a long time spotting BERN and BEANBAG, my LOI.
Thanks both,
Like some others I was at a loss to parse 16a and didn’t know ‘nare’. 7d was my favourite when I eventually got it.
Like a few others, I’d never heard of 1/13a and 16a. There’s a good article about the former in Wikipedia and plenty of examples now spring to mind.
Otherwise I found this a bit gentler than the usual Vlad. Some good clues though, including the ‘shock oucome’ and BEANBAG. Remember all those little polystyrene balls rolling about on the floor?
Thanks to Vlad and scchua
I was delighted with 21a — I love a good anagram!
Thanks to Vlad for the puzzle and scchua for the blog and the pictures.
I assumed 1,13 was supposed to be 13,1, which seems to make more sense to me as it says ‘… be this.’
All very enjoyable as always from Vlad – on his easier side but plenty of nice misdirection, especially in the SW corner. BESTIR was last in.
Thanks to Vlad and scchua
Thanks WordPlodder @24. Now I get 1/13a.
I always thought the singular of nares was naris, but Collins gives nare.
I had not heard of virtue signalling either although Wordplodder @24 is right – Google finds it very quickly!
I found this hard today – thought a Toby might be a term for a young journalist and needed the blog to understand ASAP. Nare was also a new word for me.
Liked bluffers and orbiting.
Thanks to all.
Another Friday Vlad! Cue his “walk-up music“! (Apologies for the American baseball reference, but that song is in fact exactly what popped into my head when I saw his name atop the puzzle, so I had to play it as I dove in.) I really enjoyed this, although in the end I was stumped by TOBY and needed to resort to trial-and-error on the check function on the Guardian site to finally get it, and only then did the mists finally part on my LOI, SETS ABOUT. (I would say it was a TTM, not a PDM, as discussed earlier in the week.)
AMATEURISHNESS was great, for its long anagram and its laugh-out-loud surface. And as much as I enjoyed that clue, I liked EPITOME better, and BEANBAG even better still. I also had ticks for PULL STRINGS, GIVE UP THE GHOST, and UNCLE SAM. It was slightly unfortunate to see “goal” used to clue END in two nearby clues (8d and 15d). I came here expecting that someone would have objected to ASAP being clued as (4) instead of (1,1,1,1). I was prepared to defend it (given that it is now not uncommon, at least here in the US, to hear it used in conversation as a single word, rhyming with hay-sap), but I’m glad to see that there is no need!
Many thanks to Vlad and scchua and the other commenters. What a nice puzzling week it has been! Wishing a happy weekend to all.
Well, I didn’t think it was easy for a Vlad. I failed on the SW. ORBITING was a guess although I should have seen OR=men. I couldn’t parse BEANBAG or TIGERISH,although I spotted GERI and I did see TOBY but only after the crossers were in. I am,unfortunately,well aware of Toby Young. He is one of the most obnoxious right wing berks I’ve ever come across.He makes FARAGE look like one of the good guys!
Thanks Vlad.
Sadly straightforward since, on seeing Vlad’s name, I feel alerted to a bit of a tussle – but such not really forthcoming today. My own fault really for harbouring expectations; had this been by a setter known to write gentler puzzles I’d have been less disappointed. Though I agree that the SW was more engaging than the rest. Like beery (now there’s a surprise!) I also slowed for BESTIR.
I agree with scchua’s parsing of 11ac. With 16ac I think I had “attached” referring to the coupling of forename and surname with “to Times” = “to by” though not too happy with that so your parsing may be more apt. I don’t think the clue was all that precise (unlike the rest) which is a shame as it was a lovely idea (if not such a lovely subject!).
Overall it was an excellent crossword so many thanks to Vlad. (I just wish it had lasted longer).
And scchua – how do you keep doing it? Such an exemplary blog. It is a generous thing you do (along with our other bloggers) for the future of cryptic crosswords. Thank you.
Surprised more people have not heard of VIRTUE SIGNALLING, as it is a slur that has been used on this site against persons objecting to the inappropriate use of derogatory words relating to mental health and mental illness, in the sense that anyone cannot be offended by this but must just be trying to shine some reflected virtue on themselves.
For a more accurate illustration of the concept, let me express outrage at Vlad’s insensitivity for the departed in relation to 21a and this news story … https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/16/wrong-sort-of-cosmetic-silicone-cost-woman-her-life-court-hears
I thought this was an excellent puzzle with lots of great clues and misleading or just brilliant surfaces – the two political ones especially. NARE was a TILT, TOBY unparsed and BESTIR not thought of so a dnf. It was every bit as much of a tussle as yesterday’s Brummie but much more enjoyable for me, once again showing how puzzles land differently with different people.
Many thanks to Vlad and I’d echo William FP’s comment on the efforts of scchua and his/her fellow bloggers – although not about the “sadly straightforward” nature of the puzzle!
Like others above, I took “Become dispirited and stop working” as a brilliant double definition (one I have since shared). I also really liked Split Ends, which reminded me of Earth Girls are Easy and Julie Brown’s (hairdresser) comments to her hirsute alien visitors: “Lost in space with no conditioner? Well I see split ends are universal”.
Thanks to scchua for the nicely illustrated blog and to others who took the trouble to comment.
Paulus @ 36 – A reference to Earth Girls are Easy and Julie Brown in this erudite blog! Bless your fabulous heart – I love you forever!
No doubt you’ve heard Julie’s paean to Sarah Palin “The Ex-Beauty Queen’s Got a Gun”. And to think – at the time we thought that things couldn’t possibly get any worse!
I may be clutching at straws but TOBY Young once RAILed against being accused of VIRTUE SIGNALLING when he posted a picture of his son going to school dressed as Goldilocks for a bet on World Book Day (with three bears – great costume). He also used the term AMATEURISHNESS in reviewing FARAGE’s book.
Am I on to something?