Thanks to Brummie. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
7 Irony of lake’s contribution to climate change? (8)
METALLIC : Anagram of(… change) [ L(abbrev. for “lake”) plus(‘s contribution to) CLIMATE ].
Defn: .., as an adjective, like the metal, iron.
9 Settle for about 50″ (6)
CLINCH : C(abbrev. for “circa”/about, when referring to years, time periods, and dates) + L(Roman numeral for 50) INCH(unit of length represented by the symbol ,”).
Defn: To …/confirm, say, a deal or bargain.
10 See 3
11, 24 Red Line Brewery’s exceptional drink (10,4)
ELDERBERRY WINE : Anagram of(…’s exceptional) RED LINE BREWERY.
12 Detective said: ‘Rubbish order!’ (6)
DIKTAT : Homophone of(… said) “dick”(slang for a “detective”) + TAT(rubbish/worthless stuff).
14 Note preceding Martin Luther? (8)
REFORMER : RE(the syllable representing one of the notes in the musical scale) + FORMER(preceding/once before).
Defn: Of which … was an example/? .
15 Reason to speak about Charlie (6)
SANITY : SAY(to speak) containing(about) NIT(a fool/a Charlie, as in “a right charlie he was!”).
17 Dukes wear grand poppets (6)
GLOVES : G(abbrev. for “grand”) + LOVES(poppets/like “loves”, a term of endearment for sweet loveable children).
Defn: What dukes/fists wear.
20 One audibly scared of singular substitute for milk (8)
SCREAMER : S(abbrev. for “singular”) + CREAMER( non-dairy product used as a substitute for milk,, as in coffee, say).
22, 24 down Sarcastic communication that was and is painful to get over (6,4)
BARBED WIRE : BARBED(sarcastic/deliberately hurtful, descriptive of such a remark) + WIRE(a telegram or cablegram – remember those?).
Double defn: 1st: In those old days, such a hurtful communication was painful to get over/forget; and 2nd: In current times, it is painful to climb/get over this device for preventing encroachment.
23, 2 Hi-tec group discussion bears fruit on visit (10,4)
CONFERENCE CALL : CONFERENCE(a variety of the pear, a fruit) plus(on) CALL(a pay a brief visit to).
24 See 11
25 Remove reason for being inside out, maybe (6)
UPROOT : PRO(a reason for, as in “pros and cons”/reasons for and against) contained in(being inside) anagram of(…, maybe) OUT.
26 Fancy urinal is of a certain period (8)
SILURIAN : Anagram of(Fancy) URINAL IS.
Defn: Of a geological period over 400 million years ago.
Down
1 Electronic elements on underside of faux cream pottery (8)
CERAMICS : ICS(abbrev. for “integrated circuits”/printed circuits on small pieces of semi-conducting material, used as components/elements in electronic equipment) placed below(on underside of, in a down clue) anagram of(faux/fake) CREAM.
2 See 23
3, 10 Royal venue in which watch chain is presented to husband with everything (6,4)
ALBERT HALL : ALBERT(a watch chain to be attached it to a buttonhole) plus(is presented to) H(abbrev. for “husband”) plus(with) ALL(everything).
Answer: In full, the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, London, a venue for performances, in particular the Proms.
4 Scoffing second cereal and bulging almost (8)
SCORNFUL : S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation) + CORN(a cereal) plus(and) “full”(bulging/totally filled) minus its last letter(almost).
5 Nap motorist — quite a blow (10)
PILEDRIVER : PILE(the nap/collectively, the projecting hairs on the surface of a fabric) plus(taken by) DRIVER(a motorist).
Defn: …, ie. a very forceful hit/kick/etc.
6 Start hoarding Chilean capital like gold dust (6)
SCARCE : SCARE(start/a sudden attack of fright characterised by a sudden movement) containing(hoarding) 1st letter of(… capital) “Chilean“.
8 Place for making alcohol from fish covered in blubber (6)
CIDERY : IDE(a freshwater fish) contained in(covered in) CRY(to blubber/to cry uncontrollably).
Defn: … in the form of cider.
13 Craft a bit of poetry for a beginner (10)
TENDERFOOT : TENDER(a craft/boat to carry people and supplies to and from a ship) + FOOT(the basic repeating unit that is part of a line of verse).
16 Even reading up about desert shows recklessness (8)
TEMERITY : Reversal of(… reading up, in a down clue) YET(even/still, used to emphasise an increase, as in “he behaved yet more rowdily”) containing(about) MERIT(desert/what one deserves).
18 It’s played using fingers in set order with style (8)
STEINWAY : Anagram of(… order) IN SET plus(with) WAY(a style/a method of doing things).
19 God‘s city, once a star’s retreat (6)
URANUS : UR(a city, once, in ancient Mesopotamia) + A + reversal of(…’s retreat) SUN(the star in our solar system).
Defn: … personifying the sky in Greek mythology.
21 Rough, getting caught having a taste of ale (6)
CHOPPY : C(abbrev. for “caught”, in cricket scores) + HOPPY(having the taste of hops, as ale, which is made from hops, would).
22 Maybe Paul’s articulated vehicle (6)
BEETLE : Homophone of(…’s articulated) “Beatle”(a member of the Beatles pop group, one of which/maybe was Paul McCartney).
Defn: Iconic car/… produced by Volkswagen.
24 See 22 across
Good to get the ball rolling. A very enjoyable solve. Nothing too strenuous but still a good brain stretch. I always spell diktat wrong but hey no it fit. 22 down was a favourite. Thanks to Brummie and Schuua
And apologies to Scchua for the mis_spell!
Thanks both. My reading of 22a, 24d was that WIRE = “communication that was”, as in old way of communicating.
I slowed myself down by confidently entering ‘appeal’ at 25a because it parsed so well.
I could not parse TEMERITY.
New for me were ALBERT watch chain, TENDERFOOT.
My favourites were METALLIC, CHOPPY, UPROOT.
Thank you Brummie & scchua
What I am trying to say is that “that was” isn’t part of the definition
I parsed 22a, 24d the same way as Shirl @3
WIRE = “communication that was”, as in old way of communicating.
Very enjoyable. Interestingly there were a couple of echoes of yesterday’s Crucible: then we had OURANOS, today URANUS; and “Paul” in 22d today suggested the setter, while ARACHNE featured yesterday.
Many thanks Brummie and scchua.
Thanks Brummie and Scchua. I found this very loosely clued in many instances and, therefore, not an enjoyable solve. There’s a difference, to my mind, between being misled or misdirected and just having weak examples. “Beetle” was particularly bad as a (VW) Beetle is an example of a vehicle but if we are to include models as well as makes (and of vehicles, not just cars) the list is ridiculously long. It took all crossers to see this and I was still uncertain with it. Why is a “conference call” a hi-tec group discussion? They’ve existed since the beginning of telephony pretty much. Why “certain period” other than to smooth the surface? Ditto “taken” in 5d which actually implies an envelope that is not there. “foot” as a “bit of poetry”…hmm. Enough…not to my taste though “cidery” worked surprisingly well, as did temerity with its clever use of “merit”
In “barbed wire” I thing the “that was” refers to wires being a form of communication from the past.
I am sure the editor could’ve done something about (O)uranus appearing two days in a row.
A choppy effort here, spelling diktat with a c as did Dutchman, bunging in barbed word not wire, and failing to parse pro inside out* and the ICs below ceram. Ah well. Enjoyed it nonetheless. Wondered about the bears in 23,2 (‘discussion group has..’ might be better), and couldn’t think exactly how to interchange merit and desert. The Albert and the pear took a bit of disintering, though they do turn up from time to time. Fun workout, thanks Brummie and Scchua.
Shirl @3 and Michellle @7 sorry – I crossed with your comments as I went off to tend to some bread in the middle of typing mine!
Also did anyone else try “direct” for 12A? “DI” = detective and “rect” = homophone of “wrecked” = rubbish (as in something wrecked is now rubbish). It fitted as well as anything else for me…
Enjoyable solve which gradually gave up its secrets. Yes, TheZed @11, my solving time was not helped by originally entering ‘direct’, with exactly the parsing you proposed, for DIKTAT at 12a. Thanks to our blogger for explaining the parsing of SANITY, which I just could not see, and for the ICS bit of 1d.
I liked the “What the?” surface for UPROOT, the &littish STEINWAY (I know, not a true &lit) and ‘… Paul’s articulated vehicle’ at 22d.
Thanks to Brummie and scchua
Thanks both,
The misdirection in 17 – ‘wear’ often being an inclusion indicator – was clever.
And, never forget the ide, best beloved.
Yes TheZed, I tried to justify DIRECT.
Also I agree with your comments re looseness although I had no problem with foot
Wrongfooted myself, thinking that 24 down must be “word”, and therefore couldn’t get 22ac, so that meant the SE corner was the last bit solved…
TheZed @9: re OURANOS / URANUS – I mentioned this @8 and personally I don’t see any problem with it. It’s not the same clue or the same answer. As I said, it’s just an echo which helps make things interesting.
With thezed@11 on direct for 12a. Good clues, especially liked irony in 7a. Felt a right charlie not getting 15a until Ms_Ch pointed the way.
Re comments re 22d, beetles (as in the little 6 legged things) are also articulated, so give another layer. That realisation prompted to the musical Paul and finally to displace the cruciverbalistic Paul.
Thanks Brummie and Sccchua.
I was hopeless today and had to be baled out by Mrs Job with several solutions. I do find Brummie’s definitions hard to pick although top marks for IRONY and CHOPPY which raised rare smiles. Ticks as well for REFORMED a very succint clue, and BARBED WIRE. However George Clements (above – my machine doesn’t show numbers) came up with the day’s best parsed, albeit incorrect solution. Thanks to all concerned
Thanks Brummie and scchua.
A good workout but I ground to a halt in the SE corner. Having assumed 24d was WALL, my anagram for 26a would not work. However, Mr pvb (aka Job) put me right with BARBED WIRE and I was away again.
Favourites were METALLIC and REFORMER (for the brevity of the clue).
A slow solve; I also tried direct for 12A at the beginning.
I liked the irony of METALLIC and CHOPPY.
Thanks Brummie and scchua.
I also thought about direct at 12a, but fortunately never had enough confidence in it to write it in. Not being familiar with the pears, I was slow to enter CONFERENCE CALL, and I agree with TheZed @9 that such calls are not especially hi-tec. Nobody has mentioned so far that the clue for 22d could have pointed to either beetle or Beatle. I guessed right, figuring that 23a was unlikely to end in a, but I still consider it a weak clue. On the other hand, I liked METALLIC and GLOVES for their misdirection, as well as REFORMER, BARBED WIRE, and TEMERITY. Thanks to Brummie and Scchua.
TheZed @ 2 ‘of a certain period’ because it dates to the Silurian period specifically rather than any one of the many periods, ‘taken’ is probably just there for the surface (but nap and pile are different and often taken to be the same so it’s possibly a case of two wrongs making a right), foot as a unit of poetry seems straightforward, ‘that was’ works as part of either definition or wordplay.
Found this to be yet another step up in quality from Brummie and most enjoyable.
Is there a typo in 23,2 or am I just out of touch? (Thought ‘Hi-Tec’ was a footwear manufacturer), and whilst I was familiar with ‘cidery’ from my travels I much prefer the traditional ‘cider mill’.
Thanks to Brummie and scchua.
Initially got stuck with this one with a rather rapid and over-confident entry of COOLNESS for 1a. I was thinking CO2 and L(och) NESS, with the irony stemming from something being cool in a period of climate change. Of course, it doesn’t quite work, so lesson learned there…
DaveinNCarolina @ 21 I was going to post that the wordplay in 22d leads to Beatle but on reflection decided it could be read either way, I had no issues with vehicle=beetle as when I started driving pretty much every available car that wasn’t a mini was a beetle.
Didn’t get on with this one. Apart from anything else, archaic measurements where you have to remember the difference between a single and a double quote should have been dead and buried long ago.
Howard at 25: Which brings to mind the wonderful Spinal Tap 18″ Stonehenge error.
Robert @22: I can see why certain words are there – my objection is when they are just there for the surface, especially when words used are also indicators of envelopes etc. I don’t mind a classic misdirection where a word serves a role other than that you expected (Charlie in “sanity” was a great example…I am sure I was not alone in trying to fit the letter C in for that, as was “irony”), but when it serves no role and is typically a part of wordplay I feel that is poor cluing. Re “Silurian” I guess the definition is pointing to the adjective (of the Silurian period) rather than the name of the period itself. Fair enough, and I missed that reading of it, but a little confusing given they are the same word! You are right re “hi-tec” which should be “hi-tech” or “high-tech” according to dictionary searches.
LordJim @16: One man’s echo is another man’s repeat. Let us beg to differ.
All quite entertaining, and a little easier than yesterday.
Thanks to Brummie and scchua
Am I the only one who tried to fit a C (Charlie) somewhere into 15a?
Thanks to Brummie and scchua. It looks like I found this a bit tougher than most. Generally slow going but got there in the end. The SW was the last to fall with screamer, temerity and uproot last ones in. Favourites for me were metallic, reformer and choppy and thanks again to Brummie and scchua.
Some puzzles are too easy; some are too hard; this one was just right. I’m sure Brummie has confounded me in the past, so maybe I am improving. Thanks both setter and solver.
I liked the way all the four letter words were second parts of longer clues (I just did, no particular reason).
Some clever misdirection such as ‘irony’, and ‘start’ for SCARE. -ICS was unfamiliar in CERAMICS, but all fair.
Maybe the only quibble was BEETLE, which could also have been Beatle, until the E was confirmed, though ‘articulated vehicle’ was nice.
An enjoyable struggle. I took ‘cidery’ to be a place where cider is made, as with ‘brewery ‘.
Some real old chestnuts here! Foot, Ide, Conference. COD was METALLIC, loved the irony. Nearly got my just deserts with TEMERITY. Caught out with DIKTAT, never can remember that spelling. LOI UPROOT.
Thanks to Brummie and Scchua.
All fine after revealing 23,2, which with only a few crossers in 23 I convinced myself was ELECTRONIC MAIL. Thanks to setter and blogger.
Quite enjoyed this although it wasn’t an especially easy solve. liked CIDERY- never heard of it though- and CHOPPY but I thought GLOVES was the pick of the bunch. CLINCH had to be right but the ” eluded me and it was a guess.
Thanks Brummie.
Wrote in 12a with a c, not k. COD 7a.
16d, isn’t just desserts spelt with double s?
Pop @36: That’s a common misconception, an error derived from the correct version “just deserts”. The term “desert” in philosophy, meaning deserving of something (hence having merit) has the same etymology as “deserve” and a distinct etymological root (and route!) from its homonym/homograph which comes from a Latin word meaning “waste”.
“Dessert” bizarrely comes from French meaning to take away (de-serve), suggesting, I guess, that it is a course that happens once other courses are taken away. Perhaps that’s why the English prefer puddings!
Hope that helps!
The zed, many thanks