It would appear that Turbolegs is not going to be with us today so here is a quick analysis of the clues.
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Across
1 Hostile European male in charge of a learner (9)
POLEMICAL – POLE (European) M (male) IC (in charge of) A L (a learner)
6 Opposing editor, I start to criticise old-style language (5)
VEDIC – V (opposing) ED (editor) I C[riticise] (I start to criticise)
9 Lack of inhibition of a music group performing (7)
ABANDON – A BAND (a music group) ON (performing)
10 The first woman to criticise another (7)
PANDORA – PAN (to criticise) DORA (another) – the first woman in Greek mythology
11 Match of supreme quality (5)
EQUAL – contained in (of) ‘supremE QUALity’
12 Illumination feeble, inadequate – tricky situation (9)
LAMPLIGHT – LAM[e] (feeble, inadequate) PLIGHT (tricky situation)
14 Youngster for whom older woman lacks yen (3)
LAD – LAD[y] (older woman lacks yen)
15 More than one wise man on street thinks highly of judges (11)
MAGISTRATES – MAGI (more than one wise man) ST (street) RATES (thinks highly of)
17 Subordinate types support stars (11)
SECONDARIES – SECOND (support) ARIES (stars)
19 Island producing salad component (3)
COS – double def.
20 Vegetable from experimental station about to be put in box (9)
CALABRESE – LAB (experimental station) RE (about) in (to be put in) CASE (box)
22 Forbidden city, alas, terribly hard to enter (5)
LHASA – H (hard) in (to enter) an anagram (terribly) of ALAS
24 Annoyance of university doctor followed by fury (7)
UMBRAGE – U (university) MB (doctor) RAGE (fury)
26 Operatic work presented by the fellow in Herts town (3,4)
THE RING – HE (the fellow) in TRING (Herts town)
27 Leave river by rear half of boat (5)
EXEAT – EXE (river) [bo]AT (rear half of boat)
28 Thinks that could be estimated (9)
MEDITATES – an anagram (that could be) of ESTIMATED
Down
1 Tree that ascends to the heavens (5)
PLANE – def. plus cryptic indicator
2 Put into a group and given guidance about fever (7)
LEAGUED – LED (given guidance) around (about) AGUE (fever)
3 Trader terribly small-minded when losing pounds and shillings (9)
MIDDLEMAN – an anagram (terribly) of [s]MAL[l]-MINDED
4 Get fired up with study, then flop with speed (11)
CONFLAGRATE – CON (study) FLAG (flop) RATE (speed)
5 Drink making chum upset (3)
LAP – PAL (chum) reversed (upset)
6 Dishonourable archdeacon, liar regularly shown up (5)
VENAL – VEN (archdeacon) L[i]A[r] (liar regularly) reversed (shown up)
7 Shortage that could help make ground rough then? (7)
DROUGHT – contained in (that could help make) ‘grounD ROUGH Then’
8 Stock market operators seen as folk demanding reform (9)
CHARTISTS – double def.
13 Maiden is dreadful, having performed topless – given wrong advice? (11)
MISDIRECTED – M (maiden) IS DIRE (is dreadful) [a]CTED (performed topless)
14 Scout sale turning out to be unsuccessful enterprise (4,5)
LOST CAUSE – an anagram (turning out) of SCOUT SALE
16 One right to be taking break outside, being able to get back to normal (9)
RESILIENT – REST (break) around (to be taking … outside) I (one) LIEN (right)
18 Quality of safe-keeping probed by old-style politician (7)
CALIBRE – CARE (safe-keeping) around (probed by) LIB (old-style politician)
19 Tea party going wild on account of “low swinger”? (7)
CHARIOT – CHA (tea) RIOT (party going wild)
21 Copper’s round of duty, nabbing second nasty person (5)
BEAST – BEAT (copper’s round of duty) around (nabbing) S (second)
23 For Scot it’s no good being stuck in Australia (5)
ANGUS – NG (no good) in (stuck in) AUS (Australia)
25 Your setter is upset, getting lost in wood (3)
ELM – ME (your setter) reversed (is upset) around (getting … in) L (lost)
Thanks Bradman and Gaufrid (for stepping in)
A pretty straightforward but fun puzzle from the Don. Didn’t know the vegetable and forgot that LHASA was known as the ‘forbidden city’. Took a while for the ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ penny to drop and it brought a wry grin when it did.
Finished in the NW corner with LEAGUED (which I hadn’t seen as a verb before) and PLANE as the last couple in.
Thanks to [Don] Bradman and Gaufrid! I made 12a LIM[p],ELIGHT and got stymied. i had to look up CHARTIST to convince myself of the stock market definition and in fact there it is in Chambers (lesson: never doubt Bradman!) “”a person who makes … charts of… stocks and shares…”
Thanks Gaufrid for stepping into the breach
This was fun: thanks to Bradman and to the blogger!
I got CALABRESE from the crossings but, althoough I am Italian, I had never heard this name for a type of broccoli.
I liked 12ac. Embedded words are not usually that great, but I thought 11ac was also excellent.
I have a minor complaint about 27ac. EXEAT in Latin does not mean “leave”, but rather “let him/her leave”; and I see from English dictionaries that it was used with precisely this meaning when giving to clerics permission to leave. I think it was enough for the clue to say “Permitted to leave river by rear half of the boat”.