Independent on Sunday 1664 Tees

Thank you to Tees. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Hit hard — huge anticlimax (6)

BATHOS : BAT(to hit, with, well, a bat) + H(abbrev. for “hard”) + OS(abbrev. for “oversize”/huge).

Defn: … created by an unintentional change in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

5. Infatuation as fellow gathers everyone round female (4,4)

CALF LOVE : COVE(slang for a man/fellow) containing(gathers) [ ALL(everyone) containing(round) F(abbrev. for “female”) ].

Defn: …/puppy love.

9. 2 team expanded to restrict heat and carbon (6,4)

GROUND CREW : GREW(expanded/became larger) containing(to restrict) [ ROUND(a heat/ in a competition to determine who goes into the next stage) plus() C(symbol for the chemical element, carbon).

Defn: Airport(solution to 2 down) team, which takes care of one aspect of operations on the ground.

10. Wander across where the last shall be first (4)

ROVE : OVER(across/extending from one side to the other of, say, an area) with its last letter(the last) moved to the beginning(where … shall be first).

11. Single month — November or August? (6)

SOLEMN : SOLE(single/by oneself) + M(abbrev. for “month”) + N(letter represented by “November”, in radio communication).

12. One going round on this bike? (8)

UNICYCLE : Cryptic defn: A sort of bike for a single person ride around on, and it has only one wheel that goes round and round.

13. Name for German unchanged by revolution (4)

OTTO : Palindromic(… unchanged by revolution) name for a German male.

14. Fine results in going beyond this potentially simple diet (5,5)

SPEED LIMIT : Anagram of(potentially) SIMPLE DIET.

Defn: “Fine” as in “penalty”, and not “good”.

16. Show with questions flower maiden memory (10)

MASTERMIND : [ ASTER(a flower) + M(abbrev. for “maiden overs” in cricket scores) ] contained in(keeps in) MIND(a person’s memory, as in “the name slips my mind”).

Defn:  … on TV.

19. Huntsman has to go by lake (4)

PEEL : PEE(to go/to urinate) plus(by) L(abbrev. for “lake”).

Answer: John, an English huntsman who is the subject of the 18th century song “D’ye ken John Peel”.

21. Brought in from anchorage in one sea (8)

IMPORTED : PORT(an anchorage for marine craft) contained in(in) [ I(Roman numeral for “one”) + MED(informal term for the Mediterranean Sea) ].

23. Have mine where there’s no time for seafood (6)

SCAMPI : SCAM(to have/to swindle) + “pit”(an open mine) minus(where there’s no) “t”(abbrev. for “time”).

24. Greeks initially beat back bloodsucker (4)

GNAT : 1st letter of(… initially) “Greeks” + reversal of(… back) TAN(to bean repeatedly/to wallop).

25. Good drive coming to nothing — call for old player (10)

GRAMOPHONE : G(abbrev. for “good”) + RAM(to drive/to roughly force into) plus(coming to) O(letter representing 0/nothing) + PHONE(to call using, well, the telephone).

Defn: … of records.

26. Accountant trained recalled scholastic life (8)

ACADEMIA : ACA(abbrev. for “Associate Chartered Accountant”, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) + reversal of(… recalled) AIMED(trained on a target, as with a firearm, say).

27. Partly processed food to become solid in batter? (6)

CUDGEL : CUD(partly processed/digested food in ruminants/cows and such returned to the mouth for further chewing) + GEL(to become solid/to set from a liquid or semi-liquid state).

Down

2. Character seen with drink — John Lennon for one (7)

AIRPORT : AIR(the character/quality or manner of someone or something as seen/apparent to the observer) plus(with) PORT(a fortified wine drunk as a dessert wine).

Defn: An example of which/for one, is that named after John Lennon in Liverpool.

3. Manage large snake accommodated in sweltering mobile home (9)

HOUSEBOAT : [ USE(to manage/to treat in a particular way, as in “use your resources wisely”) + BOA(a large constrictor snake) ] contained in(in) HOT(sweltering/uncomfortably hot).

4. Extremely sensitive judoka provides chair (5)

SEDAN : 1st and last letters of(Extremely) “sensitive” + DAN(a judoka/one proficient in judo).

5. Make merry in saloon on river? (7)

CAROUSE : CAR(a type of which is a saloon, with a closed body, and a closed boot partitioned from driver and passengers) placed above(on, in a down clue) OUSE(the river in Yorkshire, England).

6. Wild demon possibly displaying crude character (3-6)

LOW-MINDED : Anagram of(… possibly) WILD DEMON.

7. Truck coming from Ayr rolled over (5)

LORRY : Hidden in(coming from) reversal of(… over) “Ayr rolled“.

8. He composed line put in exam papers for sending back (7)

VIVALDI : [ L(abbrev. for “line”) contained in(put in) VIVA(short for “viva voce”/an oral exam) ] + reversal of(… for sending back) ID(abbrev. for “identity papers”).

Answer: Antonio, Italian Baroque composer.

14. Plan to have precious stone beneath rock layers (9)

STRATAGEM : GEM(a precious stone) placed below(beneath, in a down clue) STRAT(rock layers in the ground).

15. Force endlessly hurt when called into question (9)

IMPEACHED : “impel”(to force/to ram into) minus its last letter(endlessly) + HURT(ached/felt pain).

17. Gangster and nutter — one put out diary (7)

ALMANAC : AL(Capone, American gangster) plus(and) “maniac”(a nutter/one exhibiting wild behaviour) minus(… put out) “I”(Roman numeral for “one”).

18. Jones for one cool with divine huntress (7)

INDIANA : IN(cool/trendy) plus(with) DIANA(divine huntress/the Greek mythological goddess who was the patroness of hunders).

Defn: An example/for one, with the name Jones.

Answer: Fictional character in a series of films.

20. Flat-bottomed vessels in Devon river region (7)

EXPANSE : PANS(flat-bottomed vessels, used mainly in the kitchen) contained in(in) EXE(river in Devon, England).

22. Four pairs in old court given notice (5)

OCTAD : O(abbrev. for “old”) + CT(abbrev. for “court”) plus(given) AD(short for “advertisement”, a promotional notice/material).

23. Philosophical sort almost shut in thus (5)

STOIC : “top”(to cover/shut, say, a bottle with a lid?) minus its last letter(almost…) contained in(in) SIC(thus/indication that a text is reproduced exactly as it was originally written).