Apologies for this very late blog. This wasn’t that easy, as there some definitions that were uncommon, and quite a few double definitions. Thanks to Hamilton. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Outline plan to visit right-wing heartlands (7)
CONTOUR : CON-TOUR[a visit to “Con”(abbrev. for “Conservative”/right-wing, as an adjective) country/heartlands).
Defn: A map showing contour lines.
5 Is coming over to catch affected fish (6)
SCAMPI : Reversal of(… coming over) IS containing(to catch) CAMP(affected/theatrical).
8 Starts university and is able to take back control, which is more unexpected (9)
UNCANNIER : 1st 2 letters of(Starts) “university” plus(and) CAN(is able to) plus(to take) reversal of(back) REIN(to control/to limit).
9 Relationship, note, with one in Germany (3-2)
TIE-IN : TI(note on the sol-fa musical scale) plus(with) EIN(numeral “one” in German).
11 Benjamin Britten oratorio starring Luciano Pavarotti (5)
TENOR : Hidden in(… starring) “Britten oratorio“.
12 A business that indicated vocal co-operation (9)
ALIGNMENT : A + LINE(business/trade, as in “What line are you in?”) + homophone of(… vocal) “meant”(indicated/stood for).
13 Bear to push hard on the motorway (8)
SHOULDER : Double defn: 2nd: That which is described as “hard” on the motorway.
15 Aggressive person from suburban Tamworth (6)
BANTAM : Hidden in(from) “suburban Tamworth“.
17 Poet worked tirelessly else will be forgotten (6)
LYRIST : Anagram of(worked) “tirelessly” minus(… will be forgotten) “else“.
19 Swirling refrain whose content begins to rouse, then impress (8)
VORTICAL : VOCAL(refrain/a piece of music that is sung) containing(whose content) 1st letters, respectively, of(begins to) “rouse, then impress“.
22 Prison heads want Tory politician to service 50% of vehicles (9)
GOVERNORS : GOVE(Michael, a Tory politician) plus(to) RN(abbrev. for “Royal Navy”, one of the military services in the UK) + last 3 letters of(50% of) “motors”(vehicles).
23 Rise up when wine overwhelms one (5)
HOICK : HOCK(a dry white wine) containing(overwhelms) I(Roman numeral for “one”).
24 Fabric before all else that unskilled ladies like embroidering (5)
TULLE : 1st letters, respectively, of(before all else) + “that unskilled ladies like embroidering“.
25 Soldier, 15, gets confused in bed (9)
COMBATANT : Anagram of(… gets confused) BANTAM(answer to 15 across) contained in(in) COT(a small bed, especially for infants).
26 Puzzles over bits that are left (6)
STUMPS : Double defn.
27 Draconian limit (7)
EXTREME : Double defn.
Down
1 Fitting giving fair consideration to vehicle users (8,5)
COURTESY LIGHT : COURTESY(consideration/politeness to vehicle users) LIGHT(fair/not dark).
Defn: A fitting in the interior of vehicles.
2 Unable to help Donna & co, regrettably (2,3,2)
NO CAN DO : Anagram of(…, regrettably) [DONNA plus(&)CO].
3 Proprietor not wholly in state of depression (5)
OWNER : Last letter from(not wholly) “downer”(a state of depression).
4 Not good-natured; I was wrecked (8)
RUINATED : Anagram of( … was wrecked) NATURED; I.
5 Screen tax (6)
STRAIN : Double defn: 1st: To screen/to subject to passing through, well, a strainer; and 2nd: force to make an unusual y great effort.
6 Related to waiter (9)
ATTENDANT : Double defn: 1st: Related to/associated with.
7 See 10
10, 7 Telephone men strike; it unfortunately puts a stop to procrastination! (2,4,4,3,7)
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT : Anagram of(… unfortunately) TELEPHONE MEN STRIKE; IT.
14 Official goes up with son in support of Ray (5,4)
LASER BEAM : Reversal of(… goes up) [REAL(official/actual) plus(with) S(abbrev. for “son”)] + BEAM(a structural support).
16 Clear initial course is to study battle (8)
CONSOMME : CON(to study) + SOMME(a battle in the 1st World War, named after the river where it took place).
Defn: A clear soup served as a first course in a meal.
18 Stream game, holding a number by restraint (7)
RIVULET : RU(abbrev. for “Rugby Union”, a game) containing(holding) IV(Roman numeral for the number 4) plus(by) LET(restraint/a hindrance, in racket sports which requires a service to be retaken).
20 Halfway to the highest point, friend is on trend (7)
CLIMATE : 1st 3 letters of(Halfway to) “climax”(the highest point) + MATE(a friend).
Defn: Prevailing trend, as in “the current economic trend”.
21 Influences the military (6)
FORCES : Double defn.
23 Feeling that auditor’s in deserted haunt (5)
HEART : EAR(an auditor/something that hears) contained in(…’s in) inner letters deleted from(deserted) “haunt“.
For 4d RUINATED I took “wrecked” to be the definition and “not good” as the anagram indicator.
THANKS. A very challenging one. Even after getting the 2 long ones, 1d and 10d/7d , I could not finish the bottom half . In 112a there are 2 homophones i.e. that of “meant” and that of “line”.
Yes, very tough and I ended up failing on the unheard of VORTICAL which I doubt I ever would have been able to solve. The double homophone in 12a was tricky along with plenty of others.
I liked HOICK and STUMPS, the latter for describing my experience with this one!
Thanks to Hamilton and scchua
Tough, but enjoyable! There’s a handful that were beyond me. Thanks for the clues and the solutions.
For 13A I had shoulder as a triple definition, with “push” meaning to shoulder one’s way through a crowd, for example. The clue might have been better as “hard by the motorway,” because I think of the shoulder as more beside the road rather than on it. I agreed with 1@passerby on 4D. Thanks for the blog and to Hamilton for a tough workout.
Failed on ‘vortical’ and ‘climate’.
Thanks to Hamilton and scchua. Tough going for me as well. I struggled with HOICK, RUINATED, and LYRIST – all new to me.
Thanks Hamilton and scchua
Took the train ride, a tram ride and the first bit of lunch to finally get this one out – hard but enjoyable. Found it almost a master class in misdirection and the use of the more uncommon definition of words in common use. I actually chuckled out loud when CONSOMMÉ presented at 16 as a prime example of the misdirection with most of the double definitions forming examples of the latter.
Whilst VORTICAL was a new word, I knew ‘vortex’ was a whirlpool or the spinning centre of a tornado – so once the R T I penny dropped, it wasn’t a big step to see VOCAL as the finishing bit. Out of the two 50%-ers, was able to find CLI[MAX] but couldn’t find [MOT]ORS until coming here – so thanks for that.
Finished in the ‘midriff’ of the puzzle with the subtraction anagram of LYRIST, the doubly homophonic ALINEMENT and the triply defined SHOULDER as the last few in.
Oops … the doubly homophonic ALIGNMENT of course ….
I got 5a from the letters I had, although I did not know CAMP meant affected/theatrical; however, I object because SCAMPI are seafood, but not fish!