Very brisk solve today, the surfaces all unforced and faultless.
Mere dust beneath the chariot wheels of most solvers this morning, I should think, but you do have to admire how seamlessly virtually every clue seems to read in this one. Thanks to Armonie.
| Across | ||
| 1 | STENCH | The smell of Sunday’s fish (6) |
| S[unday’s] TENCH (‘fish’). | ||
| 4 | STYMIE | Block major road going through 12 (6) |
| M1 (‘major road’) included in STYE (solution to 12 across). | ||
| 8 | RECOUNT | Describe what may happen when the voting is close (7) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 9 | MIMICRY | Burlesque makes Bohemian girl howl (7) |
| MIMI (‘Bohemian girl’, doomed heroine of Puccini’s La Boheme) + CRY (‘howl’). | ||
| 11 | ILLITERATE | Dunce’s unfortunate to say it again (10) |
| ILL (‘unfortunate’, as in ‘ill wind’) + ITERATE (‘say it again’). | ||
| 12 | STYE | We hear beastly home is an eyesore (4) |
| Homophone (‘we hear’) of ‘sty’ (‘beastly home’). | ||
| 13 | GREED | Voracity is permitted, first off (5) |
| aGREED (‘permitted’), first letter deleted. | ||
| 14 | DEBONAIR | Gracious girl coming out and being broadcast (8) |
| DEB[utante], (‘girl coming out’) + ON AIR (‘being broadcast’). | ||
| 16 | REFERRED | Consulted an umpire having made a mistake (8) |
| REF (‘umpire’) + ERRED (‘having made a mistake’). | ||
| 18 | DICED | Risked being cut to bits (5) |
| Double def. | ||
| 20 | GASP | Fight for breath while doctor comes round (4) |
| AS (‘while’) with GP (‘doctor’) around it. | ||
| 21 | ANTAGONIST | Opponent created stagnation (10) |
| Anagram (‘created’) of STAGNATION. | ||
| 23 | FIESTAS | It’s safe to break up for holidays (7) |
| Ang. (‘to break up’) of ITS SAFE. | ||
| 24 | REQUIRE | Demand soldiers get some paper (7) |
| RE (Royal Engineers, (‘soldiers’) + QUIRE (‘some paper’). | ||
| 25 | RIDDEN | Travelled to get free study (6) |
| RID (‘free’) + DEN (‘study’). | ||
| 26 | ASLEEP | Like skin that’s turned numb (6) |
| AS (‘like’) + LEEP (= PEEL or ‘skin’, reversed) to give ‘asleep’, as in ‘my foot’s gone to sleep’, i.e. is ‘numb’. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SHELL | Case husband found in market (5) |
| H[usband] in SELL (to ‘market’). | ||
| 2 | EMOTIVE | Earl has reason to be touchy (7) |
| E[arl] + MOTIVE (‘reason’). | ||
| 3 | CONTENDER | Rival is against the proposal (9) |
| CON (‘against’) + TENDER (‘proposal’). | ||
| 5 | TRIPE | Note about epitaph is nonsense (5) |
| TE (7th ‘note’ of the sol-fa scale) around RIP (‘epitaph’). | ||
| 6 | MEISSEN | China seems in fashion (7) |
| Anagram (‘fashion’) of SEEMS IN. | ||
| 7 | EARLY BIRD | Barry lied about being the first up (5,4) |
| Ang. (‘about’) of BARRY LIED. | ||
| 10 | CANDIDATE | Frank’s fed up being an examinee (9) |
| CANDID (‘frank’) + ATE (‘fed up’). | ||
| 13 | GRENADIER | Dearer gin upset guard (9) |
| Anag. (‘upset’) of DEARER GIN. | ||
| 15 | BY DEGREES | How undergraduates advance a bit at a time (2,7) |
| Cryptic def. | ||
| 17 | EXPOSED | Former partner modelled naked (7) |
| EX (‘former partner’) + POSED (‘modelled’). | ||
| 19 | CENSURE | Clubs guarantee condemnation (7) |
| C[lubs, (card-suit) + ENSURE (‘guarantee’). | ||
| 21 | AWARE | Informed of fighting in A&E (5) |
| WAR (‘fighting’) in A+E. | ||
| 22 | SCRAP | Break up a fight (5) |
| Double def. | ||
*anagram
Thanks Armonie and Grant
It was a very gentle challenge to do over lunch with his trademark crisp clueing and his wont every so often to throw in the borderline definition. Today it was ‘Dunce’ for ILLITERATE – it can be so, but somebody who hasn’t had the chance to learn can certainly be the latter without being the former.
That was my second to last in – SHELL was last.
Thanks for the succinct introduction on the home page, which tempted me to have a go.
My only suggestion is that 15 down might be regarded as a double definition: undergraduates advance to become graduates when they gain their degrees.