The puzzle is available here.
Hello again from your melting feline correspondent, sadly not POOLSIDE. I can’t pick a sensible number of clues to highlight – it’s just a great puzzle through and through, wordplay and eXternal surfaces alike. Many thanks eXternal!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
Across
1a Weak theory oddly incorporated in system (6)
WATERY
Odd letters of ThEoRy (oddly) incorporated in WAY (system)
4a Little guards accompanying outlaw (6)
BANDIT
BIT (little) goes around (guards) AND (accompanying)
8a Mad fellow in charge drawing in soldiers with trap (8)
FRENETIC
F (fellow) and IC (in charge) containing (drawing in) RE (soldiers) with NET (trap)
10a Attempt from left to shell stronghold (6)
EFFORT
We find the answer from lEFt without its outer letters (to shell, here an intransitive verb) + FORT (stronghold)
11a Swapping knight for rook, alter attack (6)
CHARGE
CHA[n]GE (alter), replacing N with R (swapping knight for rook …, both chess abbreviations)
12a Observing gin and tonic being drunk (8)
NOTICING
GIN and TONIC, anagrammed (being drunk)
13a Ball game team near swimming location (8)
POOLSIDE
POOL (ball game) + SIDE (team)
15a Sound of gas escaping that man’s son (4)
HISS
HIS (that man’s) + S (son)
16a Throw dough in New York (4)
BUCK
A double definition
17a Single wrong accepted by general public as horror (8)
UGLINESS
An anagram of (… wrong) SINGLE inside (accepted by) US (general public)
21a Claim fast is fun (8)
PLEASURE
PLEA (claim) + SURE (fast)
22a Vehicle requiring internal upkeep essentially shuddered (6)
QUAKED
QUAD (vehicle) with the insertion of (requiring internal) central letters of (… essentially) upKEep
24a First person that docked starts to comb an island (6)
ITHACA
I (first person) + THAt without its last letter (docked) + the first letters of (starts to) Comb An
25a Fledgling on me repelled man (8)
EMERGENT
RE (on) and ME all reversed (repelled) + GENT (man)
26a Fugitive climbing plant (6)
RUNNER
Two definitions
27a Strong shelter to west protected by enclosure (6)
STEELY
LEE (shelter) reversed (to west) inside (protected by) STY (enclosure)
Down
1d After brief crush, in love (7)
WORSHIP
After most of (brief) WORSt (crush, defeat), HIP (in)
2d Singer quite normally entertains (5)
TENOR
QuiTE NORmally contains (entertains) this singer
3d They’re horrible river swimmers (7)
ROTTERS
R (river) + OTTERS (swimmers)
5d A good person turned, receiving info for spies (6)
AGENTS
A and the reversal of (… turned) ST (saint, good person) containing (receiving) GEN (info)
6d Democrat powerful releasing one female not working (9)
DEFECTIVE
D (Democrat) + E[f]FECTIVE (powerful) removing (releasing) one F (female)
7d Masses of resistance in underwear (7)
THRONGS
R (resistance) in THONGS (underwear)
9d Birds saw between sticks close to lake (6,5)
CANADA GEESE
ADAGE (saw) in (between) CANES (sticks) + the last letter of (close to) lakE
14d Canoe all over the place, get over (4,5)
ONCE AGAIN
CANOE anagrammed (all over the place) + GAIN (get)
16d Aquatic creature switching ends of beautiful shore (7)
BOLSTER
LOBSTER (aquatic creature) with B and L swapped (switching ends of BeautifuL)
18d We’re told put fluid on bearing for investigation (7)
INQUEST
This sounds like (we’re told) INK (fluid) + WEST (bearing)
19d Seriously back heartless lady (7)
STERNLY
STERN (back) + LadY without inner letters (heartless …)
20d Youngster worried to change form (6)
PUPATE
PUP (youngster) + ATE (worried)
23d A villain dropping old dispute (5)
ARGUE
A + R[o]GUE (villain) without (dropping) O (old)
Busy Kitty this weekend! As you say, plenty to like, little with which to quibble. I was held up by a fixation on MUTATE rather than PUPATE and I never parsed CANADA GEESE – even though I was thinking ‘saying’ rather than ‘cutting’ for saw. The last two to hold out were the interlinked PLEASURE and BOLSTER. No idea why ‘plea’ escaped me for so long and ‘shore’ is a brilliant definition for the latter, making it my COTD.
Thanks eXternal and Kitty
What a great combination on a lovely sunny day: an impeccable puzzle coupled with a delightful review. The cluing was brief but accurate with some nice disguises, and the surfaces were consistently smooth. What’s not to like.
I too initially thought of MUTATE even to the point of looking up MUT in Chambers until the penny eventually dropped.
Many thanks to eXternal and to Kitty.
A victim of PUPATE, for which I did put in ‘mutate’ even though I could see the wordplay didn’t work. A now resolved failure to acknowledge that the letter Q is part of the alphabet held me up at the end with the crossing QUAKED and INQUEST.
I too liked the ‘shore’ definition for BOLSTER and, Q or not, QUAD was an original ‘vehicle’.
Thanks to eXternal for the puzzle and to Kitty for the blog and pics of our feathered and furry friends.
Kitty. Loved the Hiss poster. I’d be rolling about laughing but it’s just too darned hot for such activity. Oh, and the crossword wasn’t too shabby either.
Most enjoyable puzzle, excellent illustrated review – all’s well within crosswordland!
Top three for me were all bunched together – NOTICING, POOLSIDE & HISS – but several others deserved a mention.
Thanks to eXternal for the entertainment and to our melting feline for the ‘words and music’.
I was held up by 16A, not initially seeing buck = throw, but eventually found it in Collins. Thanks Kitty for the usual entertaining blog (I hope your feline friends don’t get the fledglings) and of course eXternal for an excellent puzzle.
Buck = throw was my LOI in too. It’s interesting that odd letters of WEAK THEORY only need a “Y” for 1ac, which puzzled me for a while. Overall this was a really good Sunday puzzle. Thanks to eXternal and Kitty.
What I am saying? Weak is the def! Sorry.
I also noted the same curiosity in 1ac, as Alliacol@7.. fortunately didn’t spend too long before moving forward… excellent puzzle….
Thanks eXternal n Kitty..
BOLSTER is a great clue. Definitely an Aha moment, but CANADA GEESE was excellent too. Thanks both.
One or two hold-ups on the way, but we got there. First guess for 22ac before we got INQUEST was ‘jerked’ (‘er’ from ‘internal) but no way could ‘jd’ equate to a vehicle. And the PLEASURE/BOLSTER cross took ages to see – a d’oh! moment when we got them.
Thanks, eXternal and Kitty.
PLEASURE and BOLSTER were my loi allan_c@11 – nice pdms. Thanks to eXternal for a lovely puzzle and Kitty for the blog.