Tees once again to start the week when it’s my turn, not that I’m complaining
I quite enjoyed this, despite the hangover after bithday celebrations yesterday….
Thanks Teaser
Across
1 Summon boy in knight’s service (4)
PAGE
A double definition
3 Money laid out for military blockade (10)
INVESTMENT
Double defintion again but I did try and synonym for money & anagram of LAID for a while
10 Nonsense lines kept inside work desk (4-3)
ROLL-TOP
2 * L(ine) inside ROT for nonsense & OP(us) for work
11 Lass when love involved is jewel (7)
GIRASOL
It’s a type of opal, AS for when & 0 for love inside GIRL for lass
12 Old relative sheds pound in weight (5)
OUNCE
O(ld) & L for pounds removed from UNC(L)E
13 Variable directions mountaineers take? (2-3-4)
UP-AND-DOWN
definition & cryptic def
14 Monroe met excitable creature (9)
MONOTREME
Egg laying mammals: an excited [MONROE MET]*. Pity I immediately saw METRONOME as the anagram
16 Mad to have Scouse mate round (5)
WACKO
WACK – liverpudlian mate & O for round
18 Revitalise Scots town priest leaves (5)
RENEW
FR for father removed from REN(fr)EW – Scottish town just outside Glasgow
19 Universal martyrdom virtually destroyed monarch (4,5)
MARY TUDOR
[U(niversal) & most of MARTYDO(m)]* destroyed. Rather apt surface for Bloody Mary, well done Tees.
21 Manned craft — small steps with it? (9)
SPACESHIP
S(mall) & PACES – steps & HIP – with it. Shades of the Moon landing in the surface
22 New World eschewed by a married girl (5)
ERICA
A & M(arried) removed from the new world (am)ERICA
24 Liberal encased in concrete? That’s lenient! (7)
CLEMENT
L(iberal) inside CEMENT. Clement Freud perhaps?!
25 Concealment the last resort (7)
STEALTH
A resorted [THE LAST]*
26 Lebanese man almost upset sailors (4,6)
ABLE SEAMEN
An upset [LEBANESE MA(n)]*
27 Wake up in prison (4)
STIR
Double defintion
Down
1 Entertainer going through paper for meronyms (9)
PERFORMER
Nicely hidden answer, I spent a while pondering on meronyms before spotting it hidden in paPER FOR MERonyms
2 Physician: adult learner steeped in knowledge (5)
GALEN
A greek philospher and physician: A(dult) & (Learner) both inside GEN – crosswordese for knowledge
4 One writing about air in distant planet (7)
NEPTUNE
PEN -something that writes reversed – about inside TUNE for air
5 Avenger moved to impress deeply (7)
ENGRAVE
AVENGER* moved
6 What maids do is decline place to sleep (4,4,3,3)
TURN DOWN THE BED
Def & cryptic def
7 Established measures nearly all acknowledge (9)
ENSCONCED
ENS – and EN is the size of the letter “n” & most of CONCED(e) for acknowledge
8 Short story being broadcast — gripping one (5)
TALON
A short TAL(e) & ON for being broadcast
9 We clear way for anagram setters and sad people (6,8)
STREET SWEEPERS
An anagram of SETTERS* & WEEPERS – sad people
15 Unrivalled forward, trim, inhibited by nothing (9)
NONPAREIL
ON for forward & PARE – to trim – all inside NIL
17 Primitive note appears in extra supplication (3,6)
OUR FATHER
UR – primitive & the note FA inside OTHER for extra
19 Sage Derby perhaps consumed by mother (7)
MAHATMA
HAT for derby perhaps inside MAMA for mother
20 East German comes in ready to make reply (7)
RIPOSTE
OST – east in German inside RIPE for ready
21 Bones in bag used by artist (5)
SACRA
SAC for bag & R.A. crosswordese for an Artist
23 Opening some chain letters (5)
INLET
Hidden in chaIN LETters
Thanks Tees and flashling – belated happy birthday.
The builders merchant in me bristles at 24. Concrete and cement are not synonymous, the latter is an ingredient in the former.
Surprisingly easy for a Tees, I thought. Mind you, I couldn’t parse RENEW, having never met the Scots town in question. Also saw METRONOME as an anagram in 14a and even checked that it wasn’t also some creature. Alas no, and never heard of MONOTREME either. ENSCONCED was my LOI.
There’s a small error in blog for 4d. NEP is not “inside” TUNE. Thanks to Tees and flashling.
Tees never disappoints – although I’d have got on better with this one if I’d been using my best handwriting as in a couple of places I had letters that looked like something else and that held me up
Thanks to Tees and the birthday boy
A steady solve with no real problems, though we had to check GALEN – fortunately we found ‘Galenic’ in Chambers. And we were puzzling how to parse 22ac as ‘Eliza’ until the penny dropped that we were looking for a different girl.
We did wonder when we got SPACESHIP and NEPTUNE if there was going to be a theme marking the centenary of Holst’s The Planets, but two entries do not make a theme.
We also pondered the meronym idea for a while. A meronym, btw, (we looked it up in Chambers) is a word related to another as part to whole – for example ‘cement’ in relation to ‘concrete’, as Simon S points out @1.
Plenty to like; favourites include the aforesaid SPACESHIP, with PERFORMER and ENGRAVE.
Thanks, Tees and flashling.
Not entirely straightforward, with some GK required, and for me the most enjoyable of today’s cryptics.
@ Hovis yep OK you got the deliberate non proofread mistake ? thanks for the birthday wishes hope to see some of you in York
Jointly solving most of this week’s Indies, and this one slipped down as smoothly and pleasantly as would have any of the beers I’m not having this month. (Not calendar month. Started a Sober October early because I certainly plan to end it early.)
We were thrown off rhythm briefly by the metronome mixed up in MONOTREME, and in a couple of other places, but it was all work-out-able and very pleasant indeed.
I hope to remember meronyms.
Thanks Tees and Flashling. More belated birthday wishes from me.