I really enjoyed this one from Tees. All carefully thought out and constructed, and a fine example of gracefully letting the solver win.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Rich cake meal in ancient region not finished
GATEAU
An insertion of TEA in GAU[L] Is a gâteau necessarily rich? Discuss.
5 Teenager toyed with gunpowder for example
GREEN TEA
Together with ORCHESTRA/CARTHORSE, TEENAGER/GREEN TEA is one of the best known anagrams in crosswordland, so the enumeration suggested the answer immediately. I needed to check that ‘gunpowder’ is indeed a tea variant, though.
9 Good results the setter has one after another
SUCCESSIVE
A charade of SUCCESS and I’VE (‘the setter has’).
10 Bachelor to throw up small round mass
BLOB
A charade of B and LOB.
11 Finch allowed to circle pub
LINNET
Result. The common linnet is indeed a small member of the finch family. Here’s the obligatory Pierre bird link. In the down clues, Tees takes us into Scots dialect, so to prepare you, here’s a verse from Robert Burns’ Now Westlin Winds, which features the linnet as well as lots of other birds (some of which are given their Scots names):
The paitrick lo’es the fruitfu fells;
The plover lo’es the mountains;
The woodcock haunts the lonely dells;
The soaring hern the fountains:
Thro lofty groves, the cushat roves,
The path o man to shun it;
The hazel bush o’erhangs the thrush,
The spreading thorn the linnet.
Oh, and it’s an insertion of INN in LET.
12 Talk at bar as storms penetrate shelter
LEGALESE
Another insertion: of GALES in LEE.
13 3 abandons delta for low dam
WEIR
3d is ECCENTRIC, a synonym for WEIRD. Take D for the phonetic alphabet ‘delta’ out of that and you’ve got your solution: WEIR[D]
14 Style points gained by doctor
DRESS SENSE
I think this is a charade of DR and ESSSENSE, with the explanation being that all the characters after the first two are ‘points’ of the compass. Any road up, that works for me.
16 Bar committee needs something to write on
BLACKBOARD
A charade of BLACK and BOARD. ‘Black’ in this verbal sense is most used when referring to Trade Unions, I fancy.
19 Bother minister eschewing religious studies
PEST
P[RI]EST RI stands for ‘religious instruction’, but is a bit dated (1944 Education Act, since you ask). In UK schools, it’s now referred to as RE (Religious Education) and if the latest proposal to Government is taken on board, will become ‘Religion and Worldviews’ (which might be less helpful to setters).
21 Roles one changed in warm-up act
LOOSENER
(RULES ONE)* I can imagine that the word means this, but I can’t directly find it in my Collins. I know it from cricket, but that definition doesn’t fit.
23 Separate daughter left in charge of minister
CURDLE
An insertion of D and L in CURE.
24 Moor by river bank
TIER
Great surface. A charade of TIE and R.
25 What might be stuffed poultry she spoiled?
UPHOLSTERY
(POULTRY SHE)*
26 Square bench placed in higher position
SETTLE UP
A charade of SETTLE in its ‘bench’ sense and UP.
27 Secretive person beheaded and buried in mystery?
OYSTER
I need some help with this, please. I see that YSTER is the middle letters of [M]YTER[Y], but I don’t see the O. It surely can’t be [S]O or [ALS]O, can it? Anyone?
Down
2 Foul-mouthed American quartet in Lincoln?
ABUSIVE
An insertion of US and IV for the Latin numeral ‘four’ in ABE [Lincoln].
3 Card has entire county cricket club in uproar
ECCENTRIC
(ENTIRE CCC)*
4 Having advantage over storm god brings surprise result
UPSET
A charade of UP and SET, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, the desert, storms, disorder, violence, and, er, foreigners. A Brexiteer before his time, evidently.
5 Scots guide in Highlands to offer enclosing upland
GHILLIE
Crivens, such stuff we solvers are supposed to know. An insertion of HILL in GIE. GIE is Scots dialect for ‘give’ or ‘offer’, as in ‘I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug!’
6 Stimulated and seeing red when riled
ENERGISED
(SEEING RED)*
7 Merry time collecting book for chemist
NOBEL
An insertion of B in NOEL. Only 35 sleeps till the c-word.
8 Self-interested people say it’s so ridiculous
EGOISTS
A charade of EG for ‘say’ and (ITS SO)*
14 Security has to exist when entering false set
DEBENTURE
An insertion of BE for ‘exist’ in DENTURE.
15 What about high charges current in Middle East?
EUPHRATES
An insertion of UP for ‘high’ in EH for ‘what?’ followed by RATES gives you the famous river.
17 One torn to shreds among family of lions
LEONINE
An insertion of (ONE)* in LINE. Nice surface and misdirection towards using ‘pride’ somewhere.
18 Zeppelin songs really cool
AIRSHIP
Indeed they are. A charade of AIRS and HIP.
20 Extravagance: there’s sudden increase around place
SPLURGE
An insertion of PL in SURGE.
22 Fish brings rook into quarrel
SPRAT
An insertion of R for the chess ‘rook’ in SPAT.
23 Little chamber orchestra’s first instrument
CELLO
A charade to finish off: of CELL and O for the first letter of ‘orchestra’.
Many thanks to Tees for the Monday morning entertainment (and welcome from me to our two new Indy bloggers, Kitty and Quirister – good to have you on our little team).
Struggled and ultimately failed with this, I’m afraid. Had to cheat with DEBENTURE & SPLURGE to open up the SE and also cheated with GHILLIE which I didn’t know.
Also unsure about parsing OYSTER. Best I can come up with is that if OYSTER is beheaded you get the interior of ‘mystery’.
Thanks to Tees and Pierre.
I think that’s probably it, Hovis – thank you.
Do oysters have heads? Either way, I think Hovis is right. This clue was the only one that held me up so I’m glad others were mystified too
Thanks to Tees and Pierre
I have to admit to liking this. The zeppelin clue swayed me. Not sure about oyster-no mention of card.
Hovis is probably right re 27A. However a close relative closing on on teen land has a standard questioning posture whilst saying “and……so……..?
Enjoyed solving this with its good surfaces and no resorting to slang ( especially American variety) and no puerile references to bodily functions. Hoskins IMO is the only compiler who gets away with including the latter as it is usually done wittily.
I found this relatively easy-going. Like other, I struggled to parse OYSTER. Thanks Hovis for explaining. I did try and use a LOO in 21d, but I found the instrument my son plays soon enough. DNK the god SET, so I learned something new, and I see I neglected to parse EUPHRATES having seen it from the definition and checkers. Thanks Tees and Pierre.
Well, oysters may not have heads but secretive people do. Sometimes.
Weird construction, but the idea is that OYSTER is what’s seen ‘beheaded’ in MYSTERY.
Thanks Pierre, nice one, and all contribs. 18D is the most true clue ever written by anyone anywhere in the Universe, and I was just a channel.
Copmus, are you sure you’re okay? This is most unlike you! But cheers all the same.
In the end I needed a word search to get 27ac as I’d forgotten that meaning of OYSTER. I don’t recall ever coming across the GREEN TEA/TEENAGER before, although I did know gunpowder was a variety of tea.
I enjoy crosswords by this setter in this slot, and this did not disappoint.
Also had to check the green tea variant (well, ok, I just came here to check with the 225 guru of the day). Learned a new storm god too, but have a strange feeling I’ll be seeing him everywhere now.
Thanks Tees and Pierre.
Thanks for the welcome too, Pierre. 🙂
Thanks Pierre for the amusing blog. We’d heard of SETH but not the alternative used by Tees.
A good start to the week – much to enjoy throughout. Chambers has GATEAU as a rich cake and that’s how we always think of it too. Not that Bert can partake of it anymore due to the cream!
Thanks Tees.