Thank you to Brummie. Again apologies for the late blog. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8. Disk installed in finished comprehensive (8)
THOROUGH : O(letter representing a circular object/disc) contained in(installed in) THROUGH(finished/done with,, as in “I’m through with you!”).
9. Hum – to set trap (5)
MOUTH : Anagram of(… set) HUM – TO.
Defn: For which “trap” is a slang of.
10. Horse led by Earl? (4)
GREY : That which placed after(led by) “Earl” yields the name of a flavoured China tea.
Defn: A type of … named after its colouring.
11. Came near to rewriting ad hoc paper (10)
APPROACHED : Anagram of(rewriting) AD HOC PAPER.
12. Very faint-hearted, not quite returning salvo (6)
VOLLEY : V(abbrev. for “very”) + reversal of(… returning) [ “yellow”(cowardly/faint-hearted) minus its last letter(not quite …)].
14. One American in multinational company gives a hand (8)
APPLAUSE : [ A(grammatical article for a single quantity/one) + US(abbrev. for the United States, describing things American) ] contained in(in) APPLE(the giant multinational technology company).
16. Irresponsible, filthy cracks about gang leader (7)
FLIGHTY : Anagram of(… cracks) FILTHY containing(about) 1st letter of(… leader) “gang”.
18. Cheer gamer’s device (7)
CONSOLE : Double defn: 1st: To …/comfort someone.
21. One of the Trumps hiding small toe-curling secret (8)
ESOTERIC : ERIC(one of Donald Trump’s children) containing(hiding) [ S(abbrev. for “small”) + anagram of(…-curling) TOE].
23. Order of fish provided by end of day (6)
CODIFY : COD(a food fish) + IF(in case of/provided) plus(by) last letter of(end of) “day”.
Defn: …/To arrange according to a plan or system.
24. House safeguard that makes for heavy going? (4-6)
DAMP-COURSE : [DAMP COURSE](how one might call a heavy going/a wet and muddy racetrack).
Defn: A layer of waterproof material at the bottom of the wall of a house as a safeguard against rising moisture.
26. Mean-sounding voice (4)
BASS : Homophone of(…-sounding) “base”(mean/foul).
Defn: A male singing ….
27. Near the boundless land (5)
EARTH : 1st and last letters deleted from(… boundless) “Near the”.
28. Centaurs cast out of a pre-Roman state (8)
ETRUSCAN : Anagram of(… cast out) CENTAURS.
Defn: Relating to Etruria, a pre-Roman state.
Down
1. What drawers might hold: chain, bow and ring on a length (8)
CHARCOAL : CH(abbrev. for “chain”) + ARC(a curved line/a bow) + O(letter representing a ring shape) placed above(on, in a down clue) A + L(abbrev. for “length”).
Defn: …, drawers of pictures, that is.
2. Harsh sound of underwear rubbing against somebody’s rear (4)
BRAY : BRA(or brassiere, feminine underwear) plus(rubbing against) last letter of(…’s rear) “somebody”.
3. Player supporting the Guardian, perversely, is sweet? (6)
SUGARY : GARY(Player, legendary golfer) placed below(supporting, in a down clue) reversal of(…, perversely) US(self-referential pronoun for the Guardian, the publishers of this crossword).
4. Cat saying ‘tree cutter’? (7)
WHIPSAW : WHIP(a strip of leather or cord with a handle used to inflict a beating/a cat) +SAW(a wise saying).
5. Brief shots of mother, topless doing a twirl (4)
AMMO : Reversal of(… doing a twirl) [“momma”(an American term for one’s mother) minus its 1st letter(topless, in a down clue)].
Defn: Short form of/brief for “ammunition”/shots, ie. bullets and shells for weaponry.
6. Student group in exposed surroundings put in the shade (10)
OUTCLASSED : CLASS(student group in a school) contained in(in … surroundings) OUTED(exposed/made public).
Defn: Surpassed/outshone/….
7. Car is revolutionary (6)
WHEELS : “Wheels”, collectively, are revolutionary things/things that go round.
Defn: An informal term for a ….
(A similar clue construction to 10 across.)
13. Elgar too hip, perhaps, to drop round for this type of work (5,5)
LIGHT OPERA : Anagram of(…, perhaps) “Elgar too hip” minus(to drop) “o”(letter denoting a round shape).
Defn: …, musical work, that is.
And, indeed, Elgar did not compose any operas, light or not.
15. Hapless Republican’s abandoned passed motion (3)
POO : “poor”(hapless/unfortunate) minus(…’s abandoned) R(abbrev. for a member of the Republican Party).
Defn: Motion/stool that has been passed/defecated.
17. Hill’s tale uncovered (3)
TOR : “story”(tale) minus its 1st and last letters(uncovered).
19. Duration of biography’s going to pot (8)
LIFESPAN : LIFE(a biography/life story)’S plus(going to) PAN(a cooking vessel/pot).
20. Mark for each bolt (7)
SCARPER : SCAR(a mark left on something showing where damage was done) + PER(for each, as in “$ per person”).
Defn: To run away/bolt.
22. Foreign alcoholic drinks poured over Henry’s cold drinks (6)
SHAKES : SAKES(to some, foreign, in this case, Japanese alcoholic drinks) containing(poured over) H(in physics, abbrev. for “henry”, unit of electrical inductance.
Answer: Short for “milkshakes”, cold drinks of milk and flavouring.
23. Cold? Here’s fishy toast (6)
CHEERS : C(abbrev. for “cold”) + anagram of(… fishy) HERE’S.
Defn: A …, expressing good wishes before drinking.
25. Player’s behind this aspect of polo cheating? (4)
OCHE : Hidden in(aspect of) “polo cheating”.
Defn: Line behind which darts players stand to make their throws.
26. Police work that often gets support (4)
BUST : Double defn: 1st: …, in this case, a raid or search of premises; and 2nd: …, support in the form of brassieres.
Another excellent puzzle from Brummie with a few words that link nicely like VOLLEY of APPLAUSE and CHEERS, CHARCOAL GREY and after watching last night’s launch, FLIGHT(Y) CONSOLE. Lots of favourites, including DAMP COURSE, ESOTERIC, AMMO, OUTCLASSED and LIGHT OPERA.
Ta Brummie & scchua
Someone is probably typing a list of fish (again) so I won’t.
Another puzzle that seemed impenetrable and was far simpler than it first appeared. I liked it.
I liked CHARCOAL, SHAKES and LIFESPAN.
Thanks Brummie and scchua
WHEELS
I think ‘is revolutionary’=WHEELS, considering WHEEL as a verb.
Thanks Brummie and scchua
More fish: RAY, SOLE, BASS, COD. Apologies if I overlap with others.
Very fishy indeed.
Usual high standard from Brummie, nothing controversial.
Thanks Brummie and scchua
ERIC Trump has passed me by – am I fortunate? Apart from that, fairly straightforward. Favourite Elgar’s reluctance to compose LIGHT OPERA.
CHAR & GAR
Very straightforward.
NHO of DAMP-COURSE and OCHE, pleased to expand my vocabulary. 🙂
I reluctantly put in busy for 26 as last one in. Have to admit bust is better
More fish:-HAKE, EEL, CARP & TOPE.
I remembered (the then NHO) oche from Saturday’s quick cryptic. It still took me a while to see the hidden word… I have been impatienty waiting for this blog, as I needed it to parse a few clues (the saw in whipsaw, ammo). I had also not seen who the drawers are in 1d. Never heard of Gary Player, despite working in the Home of Golf… Thanks, Brummie and scchua
[muffin @6 OMG, Eric Trump had passed you by? You are fortunate. Here is what he wrote this week apropos his father’s unveiling of his – ahem – ‘controversial’ plans for a Trump Presidential Library in Miami: “This landmark on the water in Miami, Florida will stand as a lasting testament to an amazing man, an amazing developer, and the greatest President our Nation has ever known,”]
Delightful puzzle, thanks Brummie. I worked from the bottom up, slowed down by several misdirections, enjoying the humour along the way. Last in SUGARY, very nice. Some amusing surfaces eg the toe-curling ESOTERIC, the talking cat in WHIPSAW, the too hip Elgar in LIGHT OPERA -a lovely anagram. Ticks also for the misleading DAMP COURSE and SCARPER.
I hadn’t noticed the fish theme until mentioned by someone on the G thread. Now I see an aquarium full.
Thanks to scchua for the superb illustrated blog.
Nakamova@9. OCHE is a word I have only met in crossword land, having never played Darts.
Very pleasant as usual from Brummie. My favourite was LIGHT OPERA for the lovely surface with Elgar being too hip for this type of work. The fish totally passed me by.
24a I’ve always known as a damp-proof course. Is DAMP-COURSE an alternative?
BUST inevitably brought to mind the scene in one of the Naked Gun films where they raid a sex shop. The shop assistant is a young woman in a low-cut top:
Drebin (showing badge): “Lieutenant Frank Drebin, Police Squad, and this is my Captain, Ed Hocken.”
Shop Assistant: “Is this some kind of bust?”
Drebin: “Yes it’s very impressive miss, but we need to ask you a few questions.”
Many thanks Brummie and scchua.
Many thanks to Brummie and scchua. Another fish: ROACH.
I thought of BUST as the sculptural kind, often supported by a plinth.
Are there extra points for high-mindedness? 🙂
Muffin @6: here in the US, Eric is known as “the stupid one”. I will leave it to your imagination to consider how dumb somebody must be to achieve that sobriquet among the Trump progeny.
Favourite: POO.
Least favourite: ESOTERIC for its reference to a Trump family member. I would prefer my crosswords to be totally Trump-free 😉
New for me: DAMP-COURSE.
After yesterdays fools, are these poissond d’avril?
Earl Grey Tea is named after Earl Charles Grey, British prime minister from 1830 to 1834 and the PM who carried through the Great Reform Act.