Thank you Filbert. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Deputy leader of National Rally drops article in dock (9,3)
SUBMARINE PEN : SUB(short for “substitute”/someone’s stand-in/a deputy) + “Marine Le Pen”(leader of the National Rally party in France) minus(drops) “le”(French for “the”, an article in grammar).
Defn: …/base for submarines that also provides protection from bombs.
9. Kindly take time out from dealing with reproduction (6)
GENIAL : “t”(abbrev. for “time”) deleted from(take … out from) “genital”(dealing with/relating to human or animal reproduction)
10. Article encountered inside back of neck? (8)
NAMETAPE : [ A(article in grammar) + MET(encountered/came across) ] contained in(inside) NAPE(back of a person’s neck).
11. The way Americans pay for Go Fish (8)
TURNPIKE : TURN(go/the opportunity to do something that comes successively among a number of people) + PIKE(a freshwater fish with a pointed snout and large teeth).
Defn: In America a motorway on which a toll is charged.
12. Bone the last of half a dozen chickens, you’re told (6)
COCCYX : Homophone of(…, you’re told) “cock six”(numerical reference to the last of half a dozen chickens).
13. Silence bird with musket shot (6,4)
STRIKE DUMB : Anagram of(… shot) [BIRD plus(with) MUSKET ].
Defn: To ….
15. Worm’s inside bull’s balls (4)
ORBS : Inner letters of(…’s inside) “Worm” + BS(abbrev. for “bullshit”/bull/nonsense)
17. Large beer put back in carrier (2,2)
EL AL : Reversal of(… put back) [ L(abbrev. for “large”) + ALE(a sort of beer) ].
18. Leaving tip to date, not the usual policy (3-7)
OFF-MESSAGE : OFF(leaving/going) + MESS(the dirty and untidy state of a place/a tip) + AGE(to date/to determine how old something is).
Defn: Describing something said publicly that is different from the policy/the party line of the organisation that speaker belongs to.
20. Minister’s assistant keeps touching food laid out (6)
SPREAD : SPAD(informal term for a person who is to give political advice to a government minister/a minister’s assistant, from “special advisor”) containing(keeps) RE(with reference to/touching on).
22. New café with area upfront where waiters are? (8)
ANTEROOM : [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + [TEA ROOM](a café serving tea and other light refreshments) ] with its “A”(abbrev. for “area”) moved to the first position(with … upfront).
Defn: …, ie. a waiting room.
24. Blue American given part in Avatar, comedian recalled (8)
DEMOCRAT : Hidden in(part in) reversal of(… recalled) “Avatar, comedian”.
Defn: An American who is a member or votes for the Democratic Party which is associated with the colour, blue, in contrast to red for the Repulbicans.
26. Retiring cricketer allowed a small cake (6)
TABLET : Reversal of(Retiring) BAT(a cricketer, specifically a batsman) + LET(allowed/permitted).
27. Theatrical dame ordered sardine sandwiches, expensive dishes (7,5)
DRESDEN CHINA : DENCH(Dame Judi …, an English actress in the theatre as well as onscreen) contained in(… sandwiches) anagram of(ordered) SARDINE.
Down
2. Bulb changed high up by you for wedding (5)
UNION : “onion”(the edible bulb of this particular plant) with its 1st letter changed to(changed high up by) “u”(“you” in texting).
3. Victorian philosopher cracked codes in very little time (11)
MILLISECOND : MILL(John Stuart …, Victorian/19th century philosopher) + anagram of(cracked) CODES IN.
4. Novel or Auden poem (7)
RONDEAU : Anagram of(Novel) OR AUDEN.
Defn: … of a certain construction.
5/25. Hunter counting game with stick (6)
NIMROD : NIM(a counting game where 2 players take turns removing objects from separate piles/rows) plus(with) ROD(a stick/a straight bar).
Defn: A biblical figure who was a mighty ….
6. Ship whales ram from below to communicate (3,6)
PUT ACROSS : Reversal of(… from below, in a down clue) [ SS(abbrev. for “Steamship”, used in the names of such ships) + ORCA(whale/whales?) + TUP(a ram) ].
7. Cold drink partly drained (5)
NIPPY : NIP(a drink of a small quantity or sip of spirits) + “partly” minus all its inner letters(drained).
8. Argument against violent use of head to break concrete (8)
REBUTTAL : BUTT(a blow given with the head/a violent use of the head) contained in(to break) REAL(concrete/actual).
12. More or less happy with reason to scratch ropy design (5-6)
CABLE-STITCH : CA(abbrev. for “circa”/approximately/more or less) + BLEST(blessed/happy/having received pleasure or relief) plus(with) ITCH(a reason to scratch/a sensation that requires scratching to relieve).
Defn: … in knitting.
14. Arrive after Bill cycled back from late show in bad light (3,6)
ILL BECOME : COME(to arrive/to reach a specific place) placed below(after, in a down clue) [ 1st letter of “Bill” moved to last position(… cycled) + last letter of(back from) “late” ].
Defn: To …, as in “it ill becomes you to do that”).
16. My bingo stake ultimately turning into this? (3,5)
BIG MONEY : Anagram of(… turning) [MY BINGO + last letter of(… ultimately) “stake”” ].
Defn: …, ie. what my stake will give me if I win.
19. Level 50? Prepare for slaughter tackling that (7)
FLATTEN : L(Roman numeral for 50) contained in(… tackling that) FATTEN(to prepare an animal for slaughter by feeding it).
Defn: To ….
21. Allege lessee emptied cushion covers (5)
PLEAD : All inner letters deleted from(… emptied) “lessee” contained in(… covers) PAD(to cushion/to cover something with soft material to protect it).
Defn: To …/to present and argue for a case, say, in a court of law.
23. Visitor in the garden cut short tedium going around home (5)
ROBIN : Reversal of(… going around) [last letter deleted from(cut short) “bore”(tedium/a tedious situation or activity)]+ IN(home/not out).
25. See 5
Thanks scchua and Filbert.
Splendid, I thought.
Liked: ANTEROOM, DRESDEN CHINA, PUT ACROSS, CABLE STITCH, and FLATTEN
The present tense of struck dumb I’ve not seen in captivity before. Ditto the singular of ‘ill becomes’; ‘it would ill become you ‘ ‘it would show you in bad light’ works ok i guess, though you have to shift the ‘you’. Meanwhile, although that’s the second appearance of (JS) Mill recently, it waa again a post-parse aha. As for 15ac, shudder!:All good fun,, ta Filbert and scchua.
Superb blog, on a superb puzzle. Filbert on his A-game, which is as good as cryptic setting gets, for me.
So blooming clever, and the surfaces are wonderful.
I confess, “SPAD”, part of 20(ac), was unknown, but the clue was nevertheless accessible.
This grid layout is not usually a kind one for solvers, but it’s a tribute to the setter, I hardly noticed it.
Big thumbs up, Fil & scchua
I think the definition for TURNPIKE might be ‘The way Americans pay for’. Without the ‘for’ it’s not quite a definition of a toll road and I don’t believe this setter would publish a clue with the structure ‘Definition for wordplay’.
Some very slick cluing in this puzzle – as per. I liked loads including SUBMARINE PEN, NAMETAPE, COCCYX (ha ha!), STRIKE DUMB, ANTEROOM, DEMOCRAT, DRESDEN CHINA, PUT ACROSS, REBUTTAL, BIG MONEY and FLATTEN. I note scchua has a QM in the blog for the plural of ‘whales’ but I believe ORCA is one of those words which can stand for both singular and multiple.
Thanks Filbert and scchua
Lovely puzzle. Superb blog.
Great combo. Thanks Filbert and scchua.
My top faves: SUBMARINE PEN, NAMETAPE, COCCYX, OFF-MESSAGE, ANTEROOM, PUT ACROSS and BIG MONEY.
Thanks to PostMark for explaining TURNPIKE, which now makes sense. Too many great clues to pick a favourite. I briefly had a teg instead of a tup to give me GET ACROSS. I think that’s the only time Marine Le Pen has put me right.
Thanks both. I fairly quickly got the impression this was a Filbert puzzle, so knew to persist through what may have been their most difficult yet best offering. Certain unknowns held me up, including SUBMARINE PEN, blest in CABLE-STITCH, nim in NIMROD, spad in SPREAD. TABLET I know in cake-form as something a Scottish friend occasionally makes, which has that much sugar one should seek medical advice before eating any.
Admirable puzzle with “Nametape” for me the star.
I got my sheep mixed up, so had GET ACROSS instead of PUT ACROSS (teg instead of tup), which caused no end of grief. Maybe I need to find an internship at a sheep farm somewhere in the north of England.
I liked Go Fish for TURNPIKE. By the way, here, Go Fish is a card game for children. Do they have that over there, too? (I played it for the first time in years recently; my father’s decline has reached the point where on some days, Go Fish is the most complicated game he can manage.)
[Fun fact: it is possible, though not advisable, to travel from New York to Chicago entirely on toll roads, most of them called turnpikes. Take the Holland Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge (both tolled) from Manhattan; they both directly connect to the New Jersey Turnpike. Then hang a right just north of Camden to connect directly to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which becomes the Ohio Turnpike when you get there. Indiana calls its ssegment the Indiana Toll Road, then you pay one last toll on the Chicago Skyway. When this was completed in the 50s, it was the fastest route (despite dipping almost as far south as Philadelphia before heading west); it’s since been superseded by a more direct route with fewer tolls. (Today, once you’ve paid to cross the Hudson, your next toll is in northeastern Ohio, if you’re doing it right.)]
Great stuff. Kudos to setter and blogger. For me, 11 works only if “Go” is shared between defn and wordplay. TURNPIKE can’t be construed as a US method of paying, or paying for, something in general. “Go” properly narrows the sense to “(road) travel”. This would also handle PostMark’s “defn for WP” concern @4.
I think, in 10, you should take turnpike as a ‘way as in highway. That way, it is the ‘way’ that Americans pay for.
Ah, of course. Thanks JP.