A reasonably gentle end to the working week, with only a couple of relatively obscure words (18a and 11d). OK, 18a isn’t perhaps all that obscure because I knew it from previous crosswords but I had not come across 11d before.
I was unable to confirm the phrase in 6d and I had a slight query with regard to the definition in 7d since ‘Anglican’ is not included in the Chambers definition for ‘episcopacy’ and its derivatives. However, COED does include an entry for ‘Episcopal Church’ which is defined as ‘the Anglican Church in Scotland and the US’.
Across
1 SCHOONER C (about) H[arbour] in SOONER (ahead of time)
5 MISERS ER (hesitation) in MISS (avoid)
9 CARTHAGE ART (sculptures maybe) HAG (old woman) in CE (church)
10 ATRIUM U (university) in A TRIM (a cut)
12 ROWER ROW (line) ER (queen)
13 RECHERCHÉ RE (about) CHER (dear, in French) CHE (revolutionary)
14 DREAMY DR (medic) E (eastern) AMY (girl)
16 PROSPER S (son) in PROPER (respectable)
18 ECHIDNA CHI (Greek character) in EDNA (woman) – a member of the genus Tachyglossus of Australian toothless, spiny, egg-laying, burrowing monotremes (also called spiny anteater)
20 BATTLE TT (against booze) in BALE (old evil)
22 LIP READER cd
23 GHANA hidden in ‘rouGH ANAchic’
24 EVINCE EVI[l] (endless wickedness) N[i]CE (gratifying with no one)
25 SEDATION *(ONE STAID) &lit
26 DIGEST DIG (sarcastic remark) EST (is, in French)
27 INNER MAN hidden in ‘dINNER MANaged’
Down
1 SECURE SE (home counties) CURE (the answer) – ‘answer’ = ‘cure’ is not directly supported by the definitions in the three usual references but it is in everyday use in the sense of ‘remedy’ or ‘solution’ so I am not going to quibble about this one
2 HERO-WORSHIPPING cd
3 OTHER [b]OTHER (trouble)
4 EAGERLY GE[t] in EARLY (before starting time)
6 IN THE POST cd – I am assuming this is the right answer, it is the only phrase I can think of that remotely fits the clue
7 EPISCOPALIANISM *(A MANS PI POLICIES) – why ‘Anglican principle’, don’t other religions have Bishops?
8 SYMMETRY *(MY REST MY)
11 SCUP [net]S CUP (vessel) – the northern porgy, a common marine fish of Atlantic coastal waters of N America
15 AUDIENCES *(CID UNEASE)
17 WELL READ cd
19 AIDA AID (financial assistance) A – that opera, so beloved by crossword setters, yet again! There are other words that would fit the pattern ‘A_D_’ , such as ‘awdl’.
20 BARGE IN BAR (forbid) homophone of ‘gin’ (drink)
21 CANNON ANN (woman) in CON (study)
23 GRAVE G (good) RAVE (party)
Gaufrid
As an Anglican myself, with a late Scottish Presbyterian [i.e. not Episcopalian] husband, I won’t enter your debate re 7dn. [It was a clever anagram and surface, though.]
I just wanted to say that I liked 15dn, with its unusual and misleading use of ‘we hear’.
I can’t make head or tail of 6dn.
It might not be something that hits you immediately, but suggest CD for 6dn. If in the post, a communication is ‘going along (being delivered) with much (a lot) that has been written’.
Hi Paul
Yes, that is the way I read it. I was just a little concerned that this clause did not appear to be supported by any of the standard references and that I might be missing something obvious (or obscure 🙂
A person of your abilities would not miss much, I reckon!