A cool bright autumnal day and a tussle with Hob awaits.
Also a colourful theme to accompany the autumnal leaves as they turn from green to orange. There are a number of answers which are oranges. I hope I’ve spotted them all – detailed in colour below.
A theme always brightens up any crossword.
Thanks Hob – as to by favourite clue 13dn won it for me.
Key:
* anagram, Rev – reversed; DD Double definition; underline definition
Across
5 Work-shy young winger (7)
Go (work) + shy(sling) = GOSLING
7 Cavalryman that’s died beside Gunner Milligan? (7)
d(died) + ra(gunner) + goon (Milligan) = DRAGOON
9 Hide and seek: extremely popular (4)
sk (skin extremely) + in (popular) = SKIN
10 Character of love, essentially (3)
Hidden loVE Essentially = VEE
12 Strike notice (5)
DD CLOCK
13 Croupier’s profession possibly most suitable? (5)
I deal (Croupier’s profession) = IDEAL
14 Short man finally shaved head for charity (8)
king(man) – g + d(finally shaved) + ness(head) = KINDNESS
16 Arguably the first male architect (4)
DD ADAM
17 Initiate card game in Bangladesh (5)
Loo (card game) in BD (Bangladesh) = BLOOD
18 Bottle setter consumed in the flipping toilet (4)
i (setter) in Rev. Lav (toilet) = VIAL
19 Damn awful rain – bad language as a result (8)
(damn)* + (rain)* = MANDARIN
21 Stop in Caribbean port (5)
DD COLON
22 Port in Germany agreed, following article (5)
Ja (agreed in German) + ff (following) + a (article) = JAFFA
23 Model, short of time, gets soft drink (3)
sit(model) – t (time) + p (soft) = SIP
24 MAD magazine no longer in print (4)
DD NUTS (Nuts was a magazine of sorts)
26 Have fun with me: cause confusion and mischief abroad (4,3)
play (have fun) + Hob (me) = PLAY HOB
27 City in 15 getting two points against town in France (7)
se (two points) + ville(town in France) = SEVILLE
Down
1 Make fun of topless dress (4)
smock(dress) – top = MOCK
2 Spaniel inanely nimble after inhaling helium (8)
(nimble)* around He (helium) = BLENHEIM
3 Nervously ran and hid round a corner initially, seeing this? (8)
(ran + hid)* around a + c (corner initially) = ARACHNID
4 Be employed one of two weekends (4)
W or K (week ends) = WORK
6 Having raised some little vandals, this might be contemplated (5)
Rev. hidden littLE VANdals = NAVEL
8 Beef? Older relative eats duck (5)
Gran (older relative) around o (duck) = GROAN
11 Ken should supply pets, perhaps (9)
(ken should)* = ELKHOUNDS
13 Republic of Ireland’s leading character (5)
I (Ireland’s leading character) = INDIA (represents i in radio communication)
15 One getting into cross-country (5)
i(one) in Span (cross) = SPAIN
17 Pear got cooked with bream (8)
(got + bream) = BERGAMOT
18 Roughly 6 spies in team from 15 (8)
(navel)* + cia (spies) = VALENCIA
20 Crazy bloomer? Duck! (5)
Triple definition = DAFFY
21 Group of trees weighed down by first of easy peelers? On the contrary (5)
e(first of easy) after cops (peelers) = COPSE
22 Taking tops of jars off, leave this jar (4)
Jars Off Leave This (tops) = JOLT
25 Pitch side used in Bristol (4)
l (side as in left) in tit (Bristol) = TILT
CLOCK WORK?
Enjoyed this more and more as it went on. Loved the easy peelers clue, having clocked the oranges just prior.
Thanks Hob, Twencelas
Missed both the theme – as usual, “How could I?” – and PLAY HOB, obstinately sticking to the unparsed ‘play God’ rather than the unheard of correct answer, which even I could see was obvious from the wordplay.
Enjoyable solve in front of the golf on the TV with my favourites being ARACHNID, and ELKHOUNDS as an original ‘pets, perhaps’. I also learnt that DRAGOON(s) were cavalrymen, rather than mounted infantrymen as I’d always believed.
Thanks to Hob and twencelas
Missed the theme (what’s new), but got just about everything. We failed on 26ac; we thought of PLAY HOB first of all but didn’t know the expression and when we looked for it in Chambers, under ‘play’, it wasn’t listed. After seeing the blog we found it under ‘hob’, and think it a bit remiss of Chambers not to give it under ‘play’ even if only with a note to see under hob. So we eventually put ‘play doh’ thinking a child might have fun with it and also cause mischief by leaving it around to get trodden in, etc; not that we were totally convinced.
But lots to like: COLON, ARACHNID and WORK were our favourites.
Thanks, Hob and Twencelas
An interesting and entertaining puzzle. Eventually, after several attempts, solved the SW corner to finish. Had not heard of PLAY HOB, but it had to be that. Took ages to see JOLT for some reason. Liked KINDNESS, DAFFY, VALENCIA amongst others.
Thanks to Hob for the puzzle and twencelas for the blog (any chance you could insert line breaks?)