On the easier end of the FT spectrum without sacrificing the enjoyment. Thank you Jason.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PENCIL CASE | Nice place’s arranged wherein writers are found (6,4) |
| anagram (arranged) of NICE PLACE’S | ||
| 6 | BOSS | Excellent manager (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 9 | ON THE TABLE | Potter’s play is seen here and is still debatable (2,3,5) |
| definition and some form of cryptic definition |
||
| 10 | MERE | Pool nothing more and nothing less (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 12 | TRAFFIC LIGHT | Shocking glitch with tariff that controls toing and froing (7,5) |
| anagram (shocking) of GLITCH with TARIFF | ||
| 15 | CORIANDER | Plant dog with Queen – good to go (9) |
| CORgI (dog) AND (with) ER (The Queen) missing G (good) | ||
| 17 | ERODE | Earl went on horseback to eat away (5) |
| E (earl) then RODE (went on horseback) | ||
| 18 | RAIDS | Such as leader of rebels supports? (5) |
| Rebels (leading letter of) then AIDS (supports) | ||
| 19 | CONTAINER | Junk or ancient box (9) |
| anagram (junk) of OR ANCIENT | ||
| 20 | STANDARD LAMP | This sheds light on classic hit (8,4) |
| STANDARD (classic) LAMP (hit) | ||
| 24 | EMIT | Issue results from upsetting occasion (4) |
| TIME (occasion) reversed (upsetting) | ||
| 25 | STEWARDESS | Who saw dessert dished out? (10) |
| anagram (dished out) of SAW DESSERT | ||
| 26 | TONK | Flipping granny, eg, causes strike (4) |
| KNOT (granny for example) reversed (flipping) | ||
| 27 | GRASSLANDS | Pastures which may be grey behind docks (10) |
| GR (grey) ASS (behind) LANDS (docks) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PLOD | Bobby’s left in school (4) |
| L (left) inside POD (school, of dolphins) – slang words for police | ||
| 2 | NOTE | Become aware of what makes teacher a dear to French! (4) |
| NO TE will make teACHER into A CHER (dear, French) | ||
| 3 | ICE-CREAM SODA | So medic with care stirred a drink (3-5,4) |
| anagram (stirred) of SO MEDIC with CARE then A | ||
| 4 | CHAFF | Banter in church? Answer very loudly (5) |
| CH (church) A (answer) FF (very loudly) | ||
| 5 | SOLDIER ON | Persevere at private playing (7,2) |
| SOLDIER (a private perhaps) then ON (playing) | ||
| 7 | OVERGROUND | On the surface like meal which is too fine? (10) |
| definition and cryptic definition | ||
| 8 | SWEETHEART | Love small, small article on painting, perhaps (10) |
| S (small) WEE (small) THE (the definite article) on ART (painting perhaps) | ||
| 11 | FLEET ADMIRAL | Swift US officer? Soviet one may be a flighty sort? (5,7) |
| a FLEET ADMIRAL (a swift admiral) is a US officer, a RED ADMIRAL (a Soviet one) is a butterfly (a flighty sort) | ||
| 13 | SCORESHEET | Record what’s what with rope (10) |
| SCORE (what’s what) with SHEET (rope) | ||
| 14 | IRRIGATION | Watering is a bind in which first time is good (10) |
| IRRItATION (a bind) where the first letter T (time) is replaced by G (good) | ||
| 16 | DECORATOR | She paints folding door with care – time to get stuck in (9) |
| anagram (folding) of DOOR with CARE contains (to get stuck in) T (time) | ||
| 21 | LEWIS | In France the west is an island (5) |
| LE (the, in France) W (west) IS – the Isle of Lewis. Though an Isle by name Lewis isn’t actually an island. | ||
| 22 | LEAN | Skinny coffee’s head far from guiltless (4) |
| cLEAN (guiltless) missing (with…far from…) C (head of coffee) | ||
| 23 | ASKS | Inquires after topless jobs (4) |
| tASKS (jobs) missing first letter (after topless) | ||
I thought ALADDINS LAMP worked better with no wordplay.
To copmus:
That would have been fun.
Many pretty clues today, including the replacements & deletions in IRRIgATION and NOTE(acher) and the whole-clue definition in STEWARDESS which last – while we’re on off-beat untopical – is a pleasing word to enter via the keyboard whatever your typing skills.
Good puzzle, thanks to both.
What’s the ‘ doing 1ac?
Don’t quite get excellent = boss in 6a – maybe I’m just too old?
Hi Jaydee – I wondered if boss meaning excellent was after my time too. Out of interest I looked it up in the OED and the first usages it gives in the sense of excellence date from the early sixties. So not too old, just had too sheltered a life that’s all.
Nitsuj – I have no idea about the apostrophe either. Just a red herring I think.
Thanks Jason and PeeDee
I think the reference in 9A is to potting on a snooker table.
Simon – snooker, of course! Thanks for that.
Thanks, Jason and PeeDee. 3D “drink” is definition, not “a drink”; “a” is added on to the anagram at the end.
Thanks for explaining ON THE TABLE and the use of PLOD as slang.
Well spotted Jeff. Fixed now.
Thanks to both. As always I come to the party late and do not comment unless it has not been covered. 4d made me wonder as the “in” suggests an inclusion in the CH. but it is after, so perhaps an “at” would have been better. A pleasant solve at any rate.
Mystgore @10 – I took “in” to be a link word: the definition will be found in the following… CH + A + FF
Thanks Jason and PeeDee
Not a bad puzzle with a few that I couldn’t fully work out until coming here. Ended up getting RAIDS wrong by going with a not fully parsed RAILS. Missed the last A in 3d as well and still don’t think that 11a fully works – understand what he’s trying to do, but the second part surely gives RED FLEET ADMIRAL, no ? – maybe the question mark after ‘officer’ cuts the slack.
I had semi-confidently filled in ALADDIN’S LAMP, but had to re-address it.
Thought that ON THE TABLE was very good and enjoyed piecing together SWEETHEART.
Finished in the SW corner with the fixing up STANDARD LAMP, SCORESHEET (tricky definitions of the word play bits) and what turned out to be the error with RAIDS.
Thank you PeeDee and others for a couple of items I had been unable to parse. With respect to 18, I think that the leader of the rebels supporting RAIDS is really a bit too vague.
On the other hand, I liked 7d!