ORENSE, for a change, kicks off the week…
A fairly straightforward start to the week (and my birthday). Mild grumbling at the use of editor = ED twice, but otherwise all good. Had never heard EXTRINSIC used before, though guessed at its existence, and NETSUKE was new to me.
Thanks ORENSE!
Across
1 Dexterity shown by the French in view of worker (7,2,4)
SLEIGHT OF HAND
LE (the, French) in SIGHT (view) + OF + HAND (worker)
9 Withdraw from race, disheartened with deal (7)
RETREAT
R[ac]E (disheartened) with TREAT (deal)
10 Head off speechless with anger and annoyance (7)
UMBRAGE
d[UMB] (speechless, head off) + RAGE (anger)
11 Beer needs to be about right for picture (5)
PRINT
PINT (beer) needs to be about R (right)
12 United chasing European record with new side being praised (9)
EULOGISED
U (united) chasing E (european) + LOG (record) with (SIDE)* (*new)
13 England is a sterile environment for such misfortune (8)
DISASTER
[englan]D IS A STER[ile] (environment)
15 Relative from America stopping strike (6)
COUSIN
US (america) stopping COIN (strike)
18 Wrap up argument against accepting chef finishing early (6)
COCOON
CON (argument against) accepting COO[k] (chef, finishing early)
19 Excited ecologists go off for a day in June (8)
SOLSTICE
(ECOL[og]ISTS (go off))* (*excited)
22 Failed fool oddly reporting to editor (9)
FOUNDERED
F[o]O[l] (oddly) + UNDER (reporting to) + ED (editor)
24 Theatre in church must be material (5)
CREPE
REP (theatre) in CE (church)
25 A fool will accept evil is funny (7)
AMUSING
A + MUG (fool) wil accept SIN (evil)
26 Japanese object, being unusually tense about part of Europe (7)
NETSUKE
(TENSE)* (*unusually) about UK (part of Europe)
27 Tense after landlord has everything totally correct (6-7)
LETTER-PERFECT
PERFECT (tense) after LETTER (landlord)
Down
1 Bare all in front of editor, like a tiger (7)
STRIPED
STRIP (bare all) in front of ED (editor)
2 Actor mostly at home, thus not forming an essential part (9)
EXTRINSIC
EXTR[a] (actor, mostly) + IN (at home) + SIC (thus)
3 Person who’s invited by judge in hearing (5)
GUEST
“GUESSED” (judge, “in hearing”) ???
4 Section of quartet here dutifully tied to the spot (8)
TETHERED
[quar]TET HERE D[utifully] (section of)
5 Unfairly and completely outside ring (6)
FOULLY
FULLY (completely) outside O (ring)
6 A timid person shortly crossing large university is confused (9)
AMBIGUOUS
(A + MOUS[e] (timid person, shortly)) crossing (BIG (large) + U (university))
7 The attractions of revolutionary large area of grass (5)
DRAWS
(SWARD)< (large area of grass, <revolutionary)
8 Dull guide must have name for river (6)
LEADEN
LEADE[r]N (guide, with N (name) for R (river))
14 Shifting down first as a result of blizzard (9)
SNOWDRIFT
(DOWN FIRST)* (*shifting)
16 Law supporting transparency in device for mathematicians (5,4)
SLIDE RULE
RULE (law) supporting SLIDE (transparency)
17 Fish will take line and bite in such weather (4,4)
COLD SNAP
COD (fish) will take L (line) and SNAP (bite)
18 Terribly fat in prison garb (6)
CAFTAN
(FAT)* (*terribly) in CAN (prison)
20 Clientele mention stocking silver, perhaps (7)
ELEMENT
[client]ELE MENT[ion] (stocking)
21 Oxford accent (6)
BROGUE
Double definition
23 Normal university student around Australia going north (5)
USUAL
(U (university) + L (student, learner)) around (AUS)< (Australia, <going north)
24 Two queens supply what is needed (5)
CATER
CAT ER (two queens)
*anagram
Happy Birthday Teacow.
I guess, to be pedantic, “everything” should also be underlined in 27a.
Like you, 3d confused me. Upon googling, I find that David Gest was a Judge on Soapstar Superstar, so that must be it.
Thanks to Orense and Teacow.
Perhaps Orense had in mind Gest’s longer stint as a judge on Simon Cowell’s show where people competed to be the leads in a West End production of Grease.
That was the one that I didn’t parse, so thanks to Teacow for the blog. A good puzzle for relative beginners, I’d say. I particularly liked CAFTAN and COLD SNAP.
Thanks Orense and Teacow
Ultra quick solve for me with no holdups except for the homophobic GUEST (if it is that gentleman, it is a pretty obscure person to be using in a daily puzzle).
Lots of good, if straightforward clues elsewhere. Finished with CATER as the last one in.
Sorry, should have thanked Hovis in my first post for coming up with David Gest!
Incidentally, I’ve only just realised that Orense is currently filling Colin ‘Everyman’ Gumbrell’s role as the cryptic setter in The Oldie (as El Sereno). Some very entertaining puzzles already.
Bruce @3, there are typos and typos.
Homophobic?
Haha Sil… was posting from my newish Samsung mobile on the train this morning – auto-correction is a painful ‘helper’ sometimes .. I had typed homophonic!!
… and to Teacow … Happy B’day for your yesterday !!
Auto-correct is often auto-incorrect and I try to disable it on all my devices. Speaking of trains, I solved this crossword on a train returning from a family reunion and I still didn’t get COUSIN, maybe because I’m LEADEN, the only other answer I failed to see. Happy Birthday Teacow and thanks as always to Orense for a fine puzzle.
Apparently the man who invented auto-correct died last week. His funfair is on Thursday.
Teacow. I recommend you read the book “The Hare with the Amber Eyes” by Edmund de Waal. It is where I came across Netsuke. It is a wonderful book, a family memoir covering many generations, triggered by his grandfather’s (?) collection of netsuke. (Mrs Logoch)