This was the usual smooth solving experience, but slightly less smooth than usual because there were some unfamiliar words as well as one that looked like a mistake until Collins came to the rescue. So the solving experience was marginally stuttering.
Definitions in maroon, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SWIPES | Socks and shoes ultimately left behind gym near Victoria? (6) |
| SW1 PE {shoe}s — the London postal area | ||
| 5 | BOGOTA | Book to travel around a S American city (6) |
| b (to go)rev. a | ||
| 9 | SLOP CHEST | Stock of tobacco policeman found in dingy hostels (4,5) |
| PC in (hostels)* — not a familiar word: Collins says that it’s a stock of merchandise such as clothing, tobacco etc. maintained aboard merchant ships for sale to the crew; so it’s not definitely tobacco; nor does Chambers say that it is | ||
| 10 | TEMPO | Time to be part of system, possibly (5) |
| Hidden in sysTEM, POssibly | ||
| 11 | AT CLOSE QUARTERS | Locates different rooms nearby (2,5,8) |
| (Locates)* quarters [= rooms] | ||
| 12 | DETAIL | Particular squad set out (6) |
| 3 defs | ||
| 13 | ASPIRANT | Partisan, potentially one with ambition (8) |
| (Partisan)* | ||
| 16 | NOVELIST | Writer giving tally of minor celebs after a month (8) |
| Nov E-list | ||
| 18 | ACACIA | Shrub in areas full of prickly plants, with temperature dropping (6) |
| A (cac{t}i) A | ||
| 21 | VICE-CHAMBERLAIN | In vain reserve room left for royal aide (4-11) |
| v(ice chamber L)ain — again not a familiar word, but I’d failed to get lord chamberlain to work — not ideal clueing I think, since the word ‘chamberlain’ already, through its derivation, has a connotation to a chamber | ||
| 23 | AGNES | After reflection, Salvation Army has welcomed English woman (5) |
| (S(Eng)A)rev. | ||
| 24 | BOULEVARD | Frenchman’s game incomplete very near a road, one in Paris (9) |
| boule{s} v a rd — the definition referring to something in the wordplay, which in the opinion of most is perfectly acceptable | ||
| 25 | DAMSEL | Mother’s accompanying the Spanish girl (6) |
| dam’s el | ||
| 26 | TATTIE | Lacking order, we hear, for vegetable (6) |
| “tatty” | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | WOODCUT | Unconventional duo – two characters originally making piece of artwork (7) |
| (duo two c{haracters})* | ||
| 3 | PICTORIAL | Old Scot has spoken about Independent magazine (9) |
| Pict [= old Scot] or(I)al | ||
| 4 | SEE RED | Feel annoyed about being taken in by children (3,3) |
| see(re)d | ||
| 5 | BATHURST | Stick around one day in town down under (8) |
| ba(Thurs)t — not an Australian town that came readily to mind; my knowledge of Australian towns is rather heavily dependent on test venues, and Brisbane didn’t work | ||
| 6 | GATER | Swallowed … swallowed by grey reptile (5) |
| g(ate)r — it would be tempting to say that this is a mistake, since the word is spelled gator (the end part of alligator), but Collins gives it as a variant that is used rarely. I should have guessed very rarely. Chambers doesn’t even give it. | ||
| 7 | TEMPERA | Short term employee has lots of time for painting (7) |
| temp era | ||
| 8 | HOUSE-TRAINED | He ran outside, unexpectedly not going inside (5-7) |
| (He ran outside) — not going, geddit? | ||
| 9 | SCANDINAVIAN | Study noise of birds from part of Europe (12) |
| scan din avian | ||
| 14 | INCORRECT | One soldier getting right drunk, do you say? Wrong (9) |
| 1 NCO r “wrecked” | ||
| 15 | ISTANBUL | Fifty ejected from Tallin bus travelling in foreign capital (8) |
| (Tallin bus – L)* — last time I blogged ‘capital’ referred to money, so I was being careful this time but didn’t need to be | ||
| 17 | VICENZA | Victor Sharples, say, crosses unknown Italian location (7) |
| Vic. En(z)a — ref. Ena Sharples, of Coronation Street fame — I can’t find any justification in either Collins or Chambers for vic. = victor but no doubt some dictionary has it — z is pressed into service as an unknown because it’s hard to clue z, not because it’s a very common unknown in maths (I’m sure it isn’t) | ||
| 19 | CHAPATI | Bread and some butter served during tea (7) |
| cha(pat)i | ||
| 20 | ABDUCT | Carry off sailor over channel (6) |
| AB duct | ||
| 22 | CASES | Suits, and where to pack them? (5) |
| Law suits, and suits of clothes, which are packed in suitcases | ||
*anagram
Personally, I think the inclusion of GATER is ridiculous, given that the ‘proper’ spelling would fit the grid. I guess SLOP CHEST is OKish but it is not in my (abridged) Collins and is hyphenated in my Chambers which, as you say, has no mention of tobacco. Dac is a great setter and the rest pretty well made up for these misgivings.
So a reserved thanks to Dac and thanks also to John.
Istanbul is a capital place to visit but it’s not the national capital – try Ankara.
A steady solve, but Dac does appear to have been a tad careless today, what with GATER, SLOP CHEST and ISTANBUL. But our Collins just gives ‘gater’ as a variant without qualifying it as rarely used. ‘Vic’ is in Chambers’ appendix of personal names as a diminutive of ‘Victor’.
No quibbles, though, about our favourites, SCANDINAVIAN and HOUSE-TRAINED.
Thanks, Dac and John.
… oh, and TATTIE, another favourite, is Scots for ‘potato’, as in ‘tatties and neeps’ traditionally served with haggis on Burns night.
It is rare for me to take issue with Dac but SLOP CHEST and ISTANBUL took the gloss off this one for me.
I think in Dac’s slight defence Istanbul was once the capital of Turkey, but if so then surely ‘once’ should have been at the end of the clue.
John@6
The place was the effective capital but it was offically Constantinople. Possibly the Greek slang term for the city was adopted after Ankara became the capital. If so Istanbul was never the capital under that name.
I’m no expert – I just like the place.
Thanks to Dac and John. Enjoyed solving this offering although had to work a little harder than Dac usually requires. Probably good for us !
Are some of us being a touch precious ? My knowledge doesn’t run to commenting on the doubts re Istanbul. However slop chest was not a problem. Probably remembered from reading all the Hornblower novels a very long time ago. Was held up slightly by gater but found it as an alternative spelling easily enough. It certainly isn’t the first time an Indie setter has used an obscure ( to me ) alternative spelling.
Just to clarify: I’m not too bothered by obscure spellings but felt it was wholly unnecessary here. SLOP CHEST is OK and was easy to guess with a few crossers but I would have preferred a definition such as ‘seaman’s chest’ say. Whether or not it should be hyphenated I couldn’t say (and couldn’t care less).
..and just to add another (late) minor moan Tallinn has two Ns and thus doesn\’t fit the anagram