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GUY kicks off the week…
Good Monday morning fun. I thought 6d was particularly good.
Thanks GUY!
ACROSS
1. Sorry end for Paul Pogba’s Italian course (4,3)
SPAG BOL
([pau]L (end for) POGBAS)* (*sorry)
5. Married couple’s introduction occupying studio, perhaps making this? (6)
ROMCOM
(M (married) + C[ouple] (introduction)) occupying ROOM (studio) &lit
8. Fed outside shot then arrested (9)
PICNICKED
PIC (shot) then NICKED (arrested)
9. Fortune-teller is returning via Luxembourg (5)
SIBYL
(IS)< (<returning) + BY (via) + L (Luxembourg)
11. Island guarded by fat landowner (5)
LAIRD
I (island) guarded by LARD (fat)
12. Snitch disclosed something unique (9)
SINGLETON
SING (snitch) + LET ON (disclosed)
13. Reformed Goth does what was promised (3,5)
THE GOODS
15. A dry American general, WWII deputy (6)
ATTLEE
A + TT (dry) + LEE (American general)
17. Now curtain’s opening late in act one (2,4)
AT ONCE
ACT ONE (with C[urtain] (opening) late – i.e. moved along)
19. Defence experts muse without haste (8)
MODERATO
MOD (defence experts) + ERATO (muse)
22. Organise vet as herd brought in to the barn? (9)
HARVESTED
(VET AS HERD)* (*organise)
23. Use tupperware boxes to get things organised (3,2)
SET UP
[u]SE TUP[perware] (boxes)
24. Carpet burn (5)
ROAST
25. An erstwhile entertainer (9)
PERFORMER
PER (an) + FORMER (erstwhile)
26. Wicket maybe taking your spin (6)
GYRATE
GATE (wicket) taking YR (your)
27. No touching, fellow states on far side of pool (7)
REFUSAL
RE (touching) + F (fellow) + USA (states) on [poo]L (far side of)
DOWN
1. Plastery cup he mixed filler in (6,7)
SUPPLY TEACHER
(PLASTERY CUP HE)* (*mixed)
2. Young prince holds five records (7)
ARCHIVE
ARCHIE (young prince) holds V (five)
3. Lecturer’s sent an invoice for construction project (5)
BUILD
"billed" = BUILD (sent an invoice, "lecturer's")
4. Large sea dike affected shore (8)
LAKESIDE
L (large) + (SEA DIKE)* (*affected)
5. Racket among equipment for sport (6)
RIDING
DIN (racket) among RIG (equipment)
6. You’d say girl will pull, standing under this? (9)
MISTLETOE
"miss'll tow" = MISTLETOE (girl will pull, "you'd say") &lit
7. Section in exam relating to planetary movement (7)
ORBITAL
BIT (section) in ORAL (exam)
10. Fresh clean pink trousers upset professional soldier (5,8)
LANCE CORPORAL
(CLEAN)* (*fresh) + CORAL (pink) trousers (PRO)< (professional, <upset)
14. Company at desks all doing the same work (9)
ORCHESTRA
16. Stranger intrudes on the German party over the hill (8)
DODDERER
ODDER (stranger) intrudes on DER (the, German)
18. Roman virgin playing Ludo with Ray (3,4)
OUR LADY
(LUDO with RAY)* (*playing)
20. Greek virgin from Meganisi met Ray on the rebound (7)
ARTEMIS
([megani]SI MET RA[y] (from))< (<on the rebound)
21. Tramp exercises in large grassy area (6)
STEPPE
STEP (tramp) + PE (exercises)
23. Utter disbelief at fare (5)
SCOFF
Good one. I took a while to get going but completed this and enjoyed it. Thanks Guy & Teacow.
I agree that MISTLETOE was very good. I also liked the construction for SET UP amongst others. Reading the blog, I realise that I should have spent a little more time to parse SINGLETON. I just saw (sn)IT(ch) (‘disclosed’) giving single (I) ton (T) and went on to the next clue. Your parsing is much better.
Could anyone help me understand the parsing of 14d, please?
Lots of fun provided by Guy today.
Liked SPAGBOL (for the surface; not the ugly word!), THE GOODS, MISTLETOE, LANCE CORPORAL and ‘Ray’s messing around with those ‘virgins’ (18d and 20d).
Thanks to Teacow and Guy.
Kevin@4: A desk is a music stand. The clue translates to: A group sitting behind music stands all performing the same composition.
I found this tough going in a few spots, but the clues are all perfectly OK.
For those who don’t follow football, the surface of 1a is neatly topical, as the French national – who plays for the Italian club, Juventus – has been suspended by an Italian anti-doping body for taking drugs. A sorry end, indeed.
Thanks, Guy and Teacow!
Liked ROMCOM, SINGLETON, MISTLETOE and DODDERER a lot.
Thanks, Diane@6 for the context to 1a (SPAG BOL).
Thanks Guy and Teacow
Diane@4,6: Thank you for the additional information. Just to note that spag bol is not an ugly word: the enumeration as two words (4, 3) is supported by both Chambers 2016 and ODE 2010.
Thank you, Cineraria@5
Yes, Pelham, of course! I overlooked that as I’d always imagined it as one word when spoken. Unappealing in any case, and what’s more, the mayor of Bologna says spahetti bolognese doesn’t even exist!!
Thanks
I found it tough going in parts, partly due to me being on a different wavelength to Guy and in some places due to Guy speaking different English to me. Never heard of SPAG BOL, for example, and I would never have called it a course. Never heard of a music stand called a desk and never heard of a SUPPLY TEACHER. I had to look up ARCHIE, and 23d was a mystery until now, as I had never heard SCOFF used to mean meal. No-one has mentioned these as odd, so my guess is it must either be UK English or crossword language I do not know. Much to learn in these pages!
Thanks to setter and blogger
Superb – many smiles while solving this one. Particularly liked SET UP and SPAG BOL – both with very clever surface readings, in different ways. Thanks, Guy and Teacow.
Thanks Guy for an excellent crossword. My top picks included SINGLETON, SET UP, REFUSAL, BUILD, and MISTLETOE, the latter being one of the better homophone clues in awhile. I revealed DODDERER and couldn’t fully parse a few others but generally this went in fairly smoothly. Thanks Teacow for the blog.
Thanks for the blog, really enjoyed this and it greatly improved my mood after the Guardian. Diane@4 has picked my favourites.
Tough going in places, but all gettable. Liked 14dn – nice to see setters avoiding the carthorse anagram.
Thanks, Guy and Teacow.
Nice late evening stroll..
Martyn@11 SCOFF is ‘discounting vehemently’ hence SHOCK, also in UK SCOFF = eat .. so probably alternative def is ‘at fare’ as in ‘at table’ = eat? Well that’s my take anyway..
Ps SCRAN would be vernacular for “fare” by itself.. one might SCOFF one’s SCRAN… may come in handy one day…
Oops.. I mean ‘disbelief’ not ‘shock’
Finally worked out dodderer. Party=person ?
A person is often a third party, especially in insurance.
Diana@4, re 1a, we go even uglier in our household – we use rotini instead of spaghetti, and call it ROT BLOG.
I’m not a football fan, so didn’t know Paul Pogba. I liked the clue, but didn’t realize how brilliant the surface was until I read the blog.
14d ORCHESTRA was another favourite, for the novel clueing of this crossword staple.
Thanks Guy and Teacow for the fun.
Yes indeed to the one or two commenters above who spotted what a faultless (not one single quibble to be found), elegant, amusing and, above all, entertaining puzzle this is. Clearly this is a setter who cares about their art. I’ve been catching up on FT crosswords (having done but few in recent years) and, though I found this a relatively straightforward solve, it has probably been, imo, one of the most enjoyable of its twenty or thirty immediate predecessors that I’ve rattled through during my spare time in the last week or so. Some super clues – REFUSAL, ORCHESTRA, SPAG BOL, ROM COM, THE GOODS, PERFORMER all made me smile. Luvverly stuff…
Many (belated) thanks, both and all …..