Not as tricky as Orlando can be, but some lovely cluing – I particularly liked 24ac, 3dn, 16dn and 18dn.
Across
1 Everyone in drag is fat (6)
TALLOW
=”fat”. ALL=”Everyone” in TOW=”drag”
4 Crash after stock’s first issued (6)
SPRANG
=”issued”. PRANG=”Crash” after S[tock]
9 Magazine articles from William Morris (4)
AMMO
=”Magazine articles”. Hidden in [Willi]AM MO[rris]
10 A crude mop’s deployed — that stops water rising (4,6)
DAMP COURSE
=a barrier used in damp-proofing. (A crude mop’s)*
11 Brief encounter, at first, with one in Shropshire location (4,2)
CLUE IN
=”Brief”. E[ncounter] and I=1=”one”, both inside CLUN, a Shropshire town.
12 Unreal Christmas visitors ate outside, refusing starter (8)
IMAGINED
=”Unreal”. MAGI=”Christmas visitors” with [D]INED=”ate” outside minus its starting letter
13 Convert writing? Only text without margins (9)
PROSELYTE
=”Convert”. PROSE=”writing?” plus [On]LY TE[xt] without the outer letters.
15 Skittles as stocking-fillers? (4)
PINS
=”Skittles”; cryptically =legs=”stocking-fillers”
16 School expelling good girl (4)
RUBY
=”girl”. RU[g]BY=”school”, minus G[ood]
17 Hayek, say, giving English company clear conditions (9)
ECONOMIST
=”Economist, say”. E[nglish] CO[mpany] plus NO MIST=”clear conditions”
21 Backing last couple of singers in show (8)
REVERSAL
=”Backing”. The last couple of letters in [singe]RS inside REVEAL=”show”
22 Row made by curious cat with no tail (6)
RUMPUS
=”Row”. RUM=”curious” plus PUS[s]=”cat with no tail”
24 Unison in a collapse (10)
CONCERTINA
=”collapse”. [in] CONCERT=[in] “Unison”, plus IN A
25 1 down with Jack, in a bad way (4)
JILL
Tumbled down a hill with Jack. J[ack] plus ILL=”in a bad way”
26 Going west, panache provided conclusion (6)
FINALE
“conclusion”. reversal (“going west”) of ELAN=”panache” and IF=”provided”
27 Scorched watercolour? (6)
SEARED
=”Scorched”. SEA=”water” plus RED=”colour”
Down
1 Cotton on back of weather glass (7)
TUMBLER
=”glass”. TUMBLE=”Cotton on” plus [weathe]R
2 Free love recurring in college (5)
LOOSE
=”Free”. O=”love”, recurring twice in LSE=”college”
3 One taken in by Orlando anagram? Not last but possibly first (7)
ORDINAL
=”possibly first”. I=”One”, inside (Orland[o])*
5 Jeremy’s 100 for 10 in video game (3-3)
PAC-MAN
=”video game”. Jeremy PA[x]MAN swaps C for x, or 100 for 10 in Roman numerals.
6 Metal I dropped over the Atlantic (9)
ALUMINIUM
=”Metal”. Over the Atlantic from the UK, Americans drop an “I” and call it ALUMINUM
7 Leader of Girl Guides in Wells (7)
GUSHERS
=”Wells”. G[irl] plus USHERS=”Guides”
8 Waters I can omit? (8,5)
AMNIOTIC FLUID
=”Waters”. AMNIOTIC FLUID in crosswordese might indicate an anagram of “amniotic”, or “I can omit”.
14 Junior minister abused working party (9)
SUBDEACON
=”Junior minister”. (abused)* plus CON[servative] “party”
16 Dance away, say, without apparent effort (4,3)
REEL OFF
=”say, without apparent effort”. REEL=”Dance” plus OFF=”away”
18 Seminarian and judge provide commentary? (7)
NARRATE
=”provide commentary”. NAR=half of ‘nar[ian]’, or Semi-‘narian’, plus RATE=”judge”
19 Unpleasant short story accepted by team (7)
SQUALID
=”Unpleasant”. LI[e]=”short story” inside SQUAD=”team”
20 Not quite missing line of stars (6)
ASTRAL
=”of stars”. ASTRA[y]=”Not quite missing” plus L[ine]
23 Most important character in Fawlty Towers (5)
MAJOR
=”Most important”. Major Gowen is a character in Fawlty Towers.
Thanks, manehi, for the blog.
As you say, some lovely cluing, as always from Orlando. My ticks were for 9ac, 15ac, 3dn, 5dn, 8dn, and 18dn. And I liked the misleading ‘say’ in 16dn and ‘backing’ in 21ac. [Please tell me, has anyone, ever, come across ÉLAN outside crosswords? I’d love to hear it pronounced!]
I found the bottom half much trickier than the top but couldn’t see why when I’d finished. When I had only the R of 20dn, I wanted it to be ASTRAL but, of course, for too long I was looking for a word meaning ‘not quite’ from which to subtract an ‘l’.
Many thanks, as ever, Orlando – a lovely start to the day.
[Looking forward to seeing many friends tomorrow.]
Thanks manehi and Orlando
I too found the bottom a lot harder than the top.
I thought two of the clues illustrated the opposite extremes of clueing. Though I have heard of “amniotic fluid”, of course, I never would have got it simply from the clue; it required the crossers to make it inevitable. On the other hand I have never heard of Hayek, but the solution flowed very easily from the clue.
Too many nice clues to select favourites.
….but I must make special mention of “seminarian” for NAR!
Most enjoyable, with some clues that were not difficult but gave a lot of pleasure, like 25a & 27a. I solved ‘finale’ correctly even though I parsed it wrongly – I won’t embarrass myself by explaining how. I held myself up by trying to fit ‘translate’ in at 13a when I had only a couple of the checking letters, but, of course, I couldn’t make it work. Eventually saw the light.
Hi George @4
“I held myself up by trying to fit ‘translate’ in at 13a when I had only a couple of the checking letters…”
Me too. 🙁
Hi Eileen and George @4 . . . me too!
But all very enjoyable.
Eileen, George and drofle …. and me!
….and me!
Slight question mark over MAJOR – it would have been just about impossible without knowledge of “Fawlty Towers”, I would have thought.
Many thanks Manehi & Orlando.
This was a great puzzle and, like all great minds, i.e. Eileen, George, drofle, Crumlint & Muffin, I did what they did.
I struggled with 23d thinking it would be either Basil or Sybil but the solution eventually appeared.
I have now added Orlando to my list of Great Setters.
muffin @8 – I got it from the def and J. A write-in.
My problem was 11a – doubly handicapped by never having come across “clue in” as an expression and never heard of CLUN.
Yes, held up with ‘translate’ too. I also had ‘espousal’ at 21 ac but I couldn’t parse for obvious reasons. But got there in the end. Mnay thanks for blog and delightful crossword.
Thanks Orlando and manehi. I enjoyed this but didn’t fully understand the ins and outs before coming here.
Mac Ruaraidh Ghais – you’re obviously not into A.E. Housman (but who is nowadays?) See this (although there appears to be a typo in the title):
http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/Classic%20Poems/Housman/clunton_and_clunbury.htm
cholecyst @ 13
Probably best remembered as one of the six poems of Housman set by Vaughan-Williams in “On Wenlock Edge”
I’m familiar with poem 50 of “A Shropshire Lad”. What I’ve never met is “clue in” as an active form. I’ve only ever met it as “clued in”.
Eileen @ 1
You never got a drive in a Lotus Élan?
Got to the ta da moment eventually.
Re the US and ALUMINUM, does anyone actually know why they drop the I? I mean, I know we do some pretty peverse things with language ourselves, but when every other element ending in IUM doesn’t get the I dropped where is the justification?
Derek @ 17
They think it takes too long to say!
Isaac Asimov wrote a “Black widowers” story in which they had to solve a problem set by an American chemistry professor. I can’t remember the exact phrasing, but it was something like “Which element is the most unique?” (it would take an American to use a phrase like “most unique”).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widowers
I’ll leave you to decide on the solution, though “aluminum” is a clue.
Eileen @ 1 -It is pronounced “A -lann”. Funny enough, even though I am not that young, the first Hayek I thought of was Salma! Thanks, Orlando and manehi.
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle even though it wasn’t a long solve.
I confess that NARRATE went in from the definition because I didn’t see the semi-narian trick. Very clever. CLUE-IN was my LOI after I decided there really must be a place called Clun, and my apologies to any readers who hail from there.
Eileen@1 – I heard elan spoken in history lessons at school when we were being taught about the mindset of the French troops at the outbreak of WW1. Their horrendous losses in the Battle of the Frontiers in 1914 certainly made the French generals reevaluate their strategy in hurry, although that reevaluation sadly didn’t stop the slaughter.
Finally, I’m puzzled by muffin@8’s comment about 23dn. With “most important” forming part of the clue and checkers of M?J?R I agree with rhotician@10 that the clue is a write-in even if one knows nothing about Fawlty Towers.
Andy B @20
In retrospect you are of course correct. I made the comment as I entered MAJOR having only the M (as I knew, though didn’t enjoy, Fawlty Towers – minority of one, probably). Obviously with the J as well, it would be obvious – Jill however was my LOI.
……..though that doesn’t alter the point that half of the clue depended on a very restricted knowledge-base (i.e. of Fawlty Towers).
Sue and I nipped over the road to the local, to do this over a couple, amongst the revelry of the first of, in effect, five Christmas Eves. We found it satisfyingly, quite consistently, robust in its clueing, and pleasing too, in its freedom from any need for developed specialist knowledge.
AMNIOTIC FLUID was our favourite (ah, that device again) but there were several on a par.
There are quite a few odd placenames in Shropshire I notice, perhaps English folk spellings of Welsh words? (I’d make a stab at Clun = Llan).
Many thanks Orlando, manehi and posters.
Thanks manehi and Orlando
Delicious cluing as others have noted. I think my favourite was 11a for its misleading ‘Brief Encounter’. I also liked 8d and 18d.
As an American, I smiled at muffin’s theory (@ 18) of why we prefer “aluminum” to “aluminium” (my LOI, incidentally). We also prefer “specialty” to “speciality” for probably the same reason. 🙂 But I got curious about whether there might be a more precise explanation, and found one at http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm. In a nutshell, the English chemist who named the metal vacillated on an official spelling for five years, when he settled on “aluminium.” But “aluminum,” the second of his three candidates, somehow became the only spelling used in Webster’s Dictionary, the most popular dictionary in the USA. So, some time around the start of the 20th century when the metal became more widely used and thus needed to be cited frequently in the popular press, journalists who consulted Webster’s found only “aluminum” and it took off from there. (That’s quite a large nutshell; apologies.)
As for the crossword, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was apparently one of the fortunate few who had PROSELYTE and CLUE IN from the start – though for quite a while I seriously entertained something called a DAMP CRUSOE at 10ac.
Many thanks to manehi and Orlando, and I hope all of you who participate tomorrow enjoy the centenary celebration.
Nice one dagnabit, ta for that! It makes a nice change to have a definite reason.
I can’t add much, but agree with all the positive comments about surfaces, and the balanced mixture of devices. I was another who spent too long trying and failing to justify translate – proselyte was last in. I thought seminarian was clever. On 23d, the j was the first crosser which suggested major before I’d even read the clue, and Clun was familiar from a family holiday in the dim and distant past…
Eileen – although the French pronounce it ae-lon the English motor trade settled on ee-lann when Lotus produced its famous sports car. Though I did once hear a dealer call it the Lotus Eland.
My guess was wrong:
Clun takes its name from the river upon which it stands. Deriving from an earlier Colun, it shares its very early British root with the two rivers Colne, in Lancashire and Essex.
For anyone who is still interested, the “most unique” element turned out to be PRASEODYMIUM – the only six-syllable name.
Besides the “elan vitale” thing that comes up when you’re talking French morale during World War I, the word also appears in a line in Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Inspector Hound.” The two critics are exchanging meaningless remarks about the show, and one of them says, “It has elan without lacking eclat,” or something like that. (I played Hound in a production at university many years ago…so heard the word spoken daily for six weeks! Can’t vouch for the other actor’s pronunciation, however.)