An enjoyable start to the week from SLORMGORM…
As one expects from this setter, a solid set of clues with good surfaces. A very satisfying solve.
Thanks SLORMGORM!
ACROSS
1. Look good with jacket from Ecuador (6)
GANDER
G (good) + AND (with) + E[cuado]R (jacket from)
5. Piratical type shot by a skipper at noon (8)
PICAROON
PIC (shot) by A + ROO (skipper) at N (noon)
9. Republican avoiding Buds and bad spirits (6)
FIENDS
F[r]IENDS (buds, R (republican) avoiding)
10. The setter of this crossword is right rude (8)
IMPROPER
IM (the setter of this crossword) + PROPER (right)
11. Tory Euro MP in race shows disdain (8)
CONTEMPT
CON (Tory) + ((E (Euro) + MP) in TT (race))
12. Criminal released by half-cut solicitor (6)
OUTLAW
OUT (released) by LAW[yer] (solicitor, half-cut)
13. Ring around large piece of lagging (4)
CALL
CA (around, circa) + L (large) + L[agging] (piece of)
15. New monarch and I like barbershop quartets (8)
HARMONIC
18. Orang playing with rat with a big head? (8)
ARROGANT
(ORANG with RAT)* (*playing)
19. Eat at home with contrary editor coming round (4)
DINE
IN with (ED)< (editor, <contrary) coming round
21. Genuine young lady in The States? (6)
REALMS
REAL (genuine) + MS (young lady)
23. Welsh lock tackling first-class attendant (8)
WAITRESS
(W (Welsh) + TRESS (lock)) tackling AI (first class)
25. Ex-pupil, 23, could be one who is studying (8)
OBSERVER
OB (ex-pupil, old boy) + SERVER (23, waitress)
26. A place some people might go to see actors (6)
AGENTS
A + GENTS (place some people might go)
27. Dames rue bust being determined by dimensions (8)
MEASURED
28. A small and kind group (6)
ASSORT
A + S (small) and SORT (kind)
DOWN
2. Comrade in a Soviet plane heading to Omsk (5)
AMIGO
A + MIG (Soviet plane) + O[msk] (heading to)
3. Academic with a report on old sculptor (9)
DONATELLO
DON (academic) with A + TELL (report) on O (old)
4. Carry on about problem getting ecstasy (6)
RESUME
RE (about) + SUM (problem) getting E (ecstasy)
5. New point that changed communist party (5,3,4,3)
PAINT THE TOWN RED
(NEW POINT THAT)* (*changed) + RED (communist)
6. Trophy on table in storage unit (8)
CUPBOARD
CUP (trophy) on BOARD (table)
7. Sailor entering rubbish place to sleep (5)
ROOST
OS (sailor, ordinary seaman) entering ROT (rubbish)
8. Work with energy helping campaign (9)
OPERATION
OP (work) with E (energy) + RATION (helping)
14. A naive brief getting competent is nice (9)
AGREEABLE
A + GREE[n] (naive, brief) getting ABLE (competent)
16. Disorganised solderers needing organising (9)
ORDERLESS
(SOLDERERS)* (*needing organising)
17. Go to see festival (8)
PASSOVER
Double definition
go = pass over = die
20. Scoundrel breaking American spies’ bug (6)
CICADA
CAD (scoundrel) breaking CIA (American spies)
22. English football team is ahead, I’m told (5)
LEEDS
“LEADS” (is ahead, “I’m told”)
24. Fabulous beast seated by vacuous youngster (5)
SATYR
SAT (seated) by Y[oungste]R (vacuous)
I agree, Teacow; some lovely surfaces including 5d and 20d among my favourites, along with DONATELLO.
There were a few which this blog helped to explain or confirm so thanks to Teacow and Slormgorm for the fun.
Isn’t 5A pica (type) + roo + n?
Me @2 I see now; I guess you need “type” for the definition and pic=photo.
Most answers went in steadily enough but “die” for ‘Go’ didn’t occur to me so I couldn’t parse PASSOVER at 17d satisfactorily and I spent a while thinking of different sorts of ‘actors’ at 26a before realising that AGENTS fitted the wordplay nicely.
The amusing surface for MEASURED was my pick of the day.
Thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow
Thanks for the blog, highly enjoyable , I will just add AGREEABLE to those mentioned above.
Thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow. Lots of fun. I needed help parsing PICAROON and especially enjoyed 5 down.
Many thanks to TC for the usual great blog and to all who solved and commented.
Hope to see you all next time around, but until then its cheers and chin chin from me. 🙂
Somehow I never got that the states could realms. And so instead of passover I thought there must be some British festival called the makeover, or walk over or even the hangover! But the rest was very enjoyable with my favorite being Donatello
Thanks Slormgorm and Teacow
Gone are the days of the write-in Monday puzzles – wasn’t overly difficult but with enough grist in it to keep one busy for about the average time. A lot of lovely charades and enough misdirection to keep one on one’s toes. Particularly liked PICAROON and sorting out the long anagram at 5d.
Finished in the NW corner with GANDER, RESUME and FIENDS – all of which were simple enough in hindsight but cleverly made to not be beforehand.
Ms is a woman of any age, not a ‘young lady’.