Yet another refreshingly clever challenge from a much welcome setter. Thanks Redshank!!
FF: 9 DD: 9
| Across | ||
| 1 | TRAMPOLINE | Bouncer to bar artist and politician entering (10) |
| [TO LINE (bar) ] containing RA (artist) MP (politician) | ||
| 6 | LIMA | This writer’s visiting one city or another (4) |
| I’M (this writer’s) in LA (city) – answer is another city | ||
| 9 | FLOWER GIRL | Eliza, Violet or Daisy (6,4) |
| FLOWER (eliza, musician) GIRL (~violet) | ||
| 10 | KILT | Clothing etc covering top of legs (4) |
| KIT (etc) around L (top of Legs) | ||
| 12 | SOMNAMBULIST | I am lost and numb, wandering around top of stairs? (12) |
| semi &lit, I AM LOST NUMB* around S (top of Stairs) | ||
| 15 | BRAINWAVE | Bishop drops gesture? Good idea! (9) |
| B (bishop) RAIN (drops) WAVE (gesture) | ||
| 17 | LATIN | The plebs picked this up in Palatine (5) |
| hidden in “..paLATINe” | ||
| 18 | OCTET | Group backed feature of concert etc occasionally (5) |
| hidden, reversed in “..concerT ETC Occasinally” | ||
| 19 | HIGH-FIVES | Celebrates noble game, clapping hands (4-5) |
| HIGH (noble) FIVES (game) | ||
| 20 | PREDOMINATED | Ditzy dame in red top stole the show (12) |
| DAME IN RED TOP* | ||
| 24 | IDOL | Favourite partner’s response, central feature of wedlock (4) |
| I DO (partner’s response) L (central feature of wedLock) | ||
| 25 | STRONGROOM | Burly bouncer primarily manages safe area (10) |
| STRONG (burly) ROO (bouncer) M (Manages, primarily ) | ||
| 26 | NUTS | Crazy nights in Paris one’s forgotten (4) |
| NUiTS (french for nights, without ‘I’ – one) | ||
| 27 | SCAREDY-CAT | Wimp bothered Yankee in small boat (7-3) |
| [CARED (bothered) Y (yankee)] in [S (small) CAT (boat) ] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TOFU | Substitute meat in cost of upkeep (4) |
| hidden in “..cosT OF Upkeep”. | ||
| 2 | AMOK | Wild morning, fine later (4) |
| AM (morning) OK (fine) | ||
| 3 | PRECOGNITION | Quiet appreciation for forecaster’s skill (12) |
| P (quiet) RECOGNITION (appreciation) | ||
| 4 | LOG ON | Start using computer, brand new (3,2) |
| LOGO (brand) N (new) | ||
| 5 | NUREMBERG | Water bird run over, crossing motorway in German city (9) |
| [GREBE (water bird) RUN ] reversed around M (motorway) | ||
| 7 | INITIATIVE | Start penning fourth scheme (10) |
| INITIATE (start) containing IV (~fourth) | ||
| 8 | ASTUTENESS | Old king seen randomly poking behind craft (10) |
| [TUT (old king) SEEN*] in ASS (behind) | ||
| 11 | FULLY-FLEDGED | Ready to go, replete, fly off side, dropping at first (5-7) |
| FULL (replete) YFL (FLY*) EDGE (side) D (Dropping, at first) | ||
| 13 | ABSORPTION | Occupying soldiers follow sailor’s original point (10) |
| [OR (soldiers) after AB’S (sailor’s)] POINT* | ||
| 14 | LAST RESORT | When all else fails, make do with this salt possibly? (4,6) |
| cryptic clue; if you RE SORT LAST, you get SALT | ||
| 16 | ATHEISTIC | Lacking faith, he lives in top floor (9) |
| [ HE IS (lives) ] in ATTIC (top floor) | ||
| 21 | AMOUR | King abandons knight’s protection for affair (5) |
| ArMOUR (knight’s protection, without R for king) | ||
| 22 | TORC | Finish off light necklace once (4) |
| TORCh (light, without the end) – didnt know this one. | ||
| 23 | EMIT | Spout English with German (4) |
| E (english) MIT (german for with) | ||
*anagram
Thanks, Turbolegs.
I don’t understand your parsing of 9ac: I think the definition is Eliza, the flower girl heroine of ‘Pygmalion’/’My Fair Lady’, with ‘Violet or Daisy’ as the wordplay.
Another lovely puzzle from Redshank, with some clever anagrams [SOMNAMBULIST, PREDOMINATED] and witty surfaces throughout. I particularly liked NUTS.
Many thanks, Redshank – most enjoyable.
Eliza is not a flower as far as I know, so that must be it.
There was an Eliza Flower, a British musician in early 19th century. Hadnt heard of her but googled to lock in the parse.
Nice puzzle.NE held out a good while-but they turned out to be favourites.
Thanks all.
I took 10a to be an &lit, sort of, with KIT being ‘clothing etc’, rather than just ‘etc’ as in blog.
Lovely crossword and for the second time this week our setter gets my Puzzle of the Day award!
There’s so much to like here, 12ac (SOMNAMBULIST) to name one.
Why a semi &lit, why not a full-blood &lit?
Redshank’s crosswords are often just a tad more adventurously clued than the ones by his alter egos.
As I see it, today was no exception.
Of course, I agree with Eileen about Eliza Doolittle, the famous flower girl.
Thanks TB and Redshank, in particular, for the fun.
My reading of 1a was that Eliza (Doolittle) is a flower girl whereas the other two are both flowers and girls. Thank you, Redshank, your style is right up my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed your work.
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
I’m another who parsed 9a as did Sasquach and others. Mixed my European languages and words, writing in EDIT at 23d and then having an unparsed STRONGHOLD at 25 (doubly embarrassing for not seeing our kangaroo involved).
That was the only downside of a very enjoyable puzzle as usual from this setter. Finished with the two short ones up in the NE corner – LIMA and KILT.