Good fun yet again from Paul.
Paul continues to hunt for definitions and devices that are a little off the beaten track to keep his puzzles varied and interesting. Thanks Paul, more of the same please!

Across | ||
9 | ARTILLERY |
Arms requiring medication where blood flows? (9)
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10 | ULURU |
Australian place of worship full, church capturing all hearts (5)
fULj chURch captUring (all hearts, middle letters of)
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11 | OMICRON |
Greek character working over Spanish artist, about a hundred (7)
ON (working) containing (over) MIRO (Spanish artist) containing C (a hundred)
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12 |
See 22
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13,23 | SURE THING |
Fine to admit to deviant urges? Yes! (4,5)
THIN (fine) inside (to admit to) URGES* anagram=deviant
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14 | BRANGELINA |
Supporter welcoming spirit in a couple of players (10)
BRA (something that supports) contains (welcoming) ANGEL (spirit) and IN – celebrity actors (players) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
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16 | AINTREE |
Racecourse fair, cryptically? (7)
A IN TREE (fir) gives FAIR – a reverse cryptic clue
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17 | PROCEED |
Continue supporting top tennis player, vocally (7)
PRO (supporting) CEED sounds like (vocally) seed (top tennis player)
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19 | TOOTH FAIRY |
To peep effin’ dangerous, seeing visitor to bedroom in secret (5,5)
TOOT (to peep) then F in (‘effin) HAIRY (dangerous)
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22,12 | LOVE HANDLES |
Nothing takes care of a bulging waistline (4,7)
LOVE (nothing) HANDLES (takes care of)
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24 | OREGANO |
22 12 on a daughter of the Bard added flavour (7)
REGAN (a daughter in King Lear, of the Bard) inside OO (with love handles, one at each side)
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25 | BAHAMAS |
Island nation awarding degree to Islamic organisation (7)
BA (degree) to HAMAS (Islamic organisation)
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26 | DRIVE |
Cricket shot sees opener in Rawalpindi breaking duck (5)
Rawalpindi (opener, first letter of) inside (breaking) DIVE (duck)
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27 | ARLINGTON |
Northern English town wanting the first location for a national cemetery (9)
dARLINGTON (Northern English town) missing (wanting) the first letter – Arlington County Virginia, location of the US national militay cemetery
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Down | ||
1 | FAMOUS LAST WORDS |
Memorable passing comment? (6,4,5)
cryptic definition
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2 | ST MIRREN |
Canonised dame who acts for the team (2,6)
ST (saint, canonised) Dame Helen Mirren (dame who acts) – Scottish football team
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3 | BLURB |
Weep about relegation, initially — something to say for promotion? (5)
BLUB (weep) about R (initial letter of relegation)
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4 | WET NURSE |
Spooner’s gin more damaging for baby-minder? (3,5)
Spoonerism of NET (gin?) WORSE (more damaging) – I can’t see why net=gin
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5 | HYPHEN |
Some high-water mark? (6)
some of high-water
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6 | JUAN PERON |
A Roman emperor seizing power in a month, becoming president in South America (4,5)
A NERO contains (seizes) P (power) all in JUN (a month)
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7 | NUCLEI |
Scalpel shaving odd parts in the middle of genuine central bits (6)
sCaLpEl (missing odd letters) in geNUIne (middle of)
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8 | RUSSIAN DRESSING |
Band consumes starter of seven fresh sardines after American condiment (7,8)
RING (band) contains (consumes) Seven (starting letter of) SARDINES* anagram=fresh following US (American)
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15 | PREHEATED |
The red pea soup is prepared for cooking (9)
(THE RED PEA)* anagram=soup
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17 | PARABOLA |
Horse entering river has left a path following an arc (8)
ARAB (horse) in the River PO with L (left) A
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18 | ENORMITY |
Wickedness a precious thing amid bad blood (8)
OR (gold, a precious thing) in ENMITY (bad blood)
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20 | ONESIE |
I see no problem getting comprehensive cover (6)
(I SEE NO)* anagram=problem – one piece nightwear
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21 | ANORAK |
Raising money in Sweden, inspiring a geek (6)
KRONA (money in Sweden) containing (inspiring, brething in) A
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23 |
See 13
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*anagram
definitions are underlined
definitions are underlined
Thanks for the blog PeeDee – agree with your comments re Paul – good fun. The neologisms at 14 and 20 detained me longest. I assumed ‘net’ at 4D was a reference to a gin trap although, as far as I can tell, such traps are rarely in the form of a net, so it’s a bit of a stretch if this was Paul’s intention.
Hello PeeDee
4 down, a gin is a trap, for example a net, yes?
There are always comments (not yours?!) as to, “I don’t like spoonerisms”). I do, muchly. True, both readings have to make a lot of sense, or be familiar. Which they most most often do? I find the site of one cheering i.e. this is one I might be able to get.
And, good morning
yours
Celia
Crossing in the ether. You are more expert than me but I read ‘gin’ as one of those crosswordisms. As in revolutionary=che et al. No?
Thanks PeeDee. I never did get 14 despite having the first four and last three letters and have reservations about its fairness. It is not a word I have ever encountered or am likely to encounter but I acknowledge that is a commentary upon my dated interests.
I wondered about net and gin too but find the OED defines gin as ‘a contrivance for catching game, etc.; a snare, net, trap, or the like.’
Thanks Paul and PeeDee.
I read 9a as ILL being “required” by ARTERY to make the answer.
Great variety of clues here – I liked the all-encompassing onsie.
For 9a, how about — blood flows in an artery, and that’s where “ill” is.
Thanks for the blog.
I enjoyed this one a lot. Like others I wasn’t sure about GIN = NET. And it took me a long time at the end to get 14a even though I knew the “word” – it was a real “doh” moment when the penny dropped; cross and amused at the same time.
Thanks for the blog. I thought 9a had an implied containment indicator – “where blood flows?” is ‘in the artery’, so you have to put ILL (“requiring medication”) in ARTERY.
I hadn’t realised that a gin was a kind of trap, but will know for the future!
@4 – I had always thought that a gin being a sort of mechanical device would have to be a mechanical trap, but if the OED says net then fair enough.
Guidice & DuncT – I get it now. I was trying to make it into a cryptic definition.
Thanks all
Very small point but PD has omitted “in” from the PRS. I noticed this because 14 was my only failure!
@10 – IN is now in. Thanks for pointing this stuff out, I cannot see these things no matter how many times I check the post before publication.
Thanks Paul & PeeDee, good fun.
I liked the A IN TREE, although I puzzled for a while about AINT REE. 🙁
I liked BRANGELINA and TOOTH FAIRY. I eventually found gin=net in a dictionary.
I failed on 5dn and came to the blog hoping for elucidation – but “some of high-water” does nothing more than repeat the clue and leaves me none the wiser. Can someone put me out of my misery?!
Enjoyed the rest of it, nice to see St Mirren get a run out.
Hi Letzbefair
‘Some’ often indicates part of the following word(s) so what is near the middle of ‘high-water’?
@13
High-water contains a hyphen between the h and w! (Infuriating, isn’t it.)
Sorry – Gaufrid’s hint is probably preferable to my cross-posted giveaway.
This was one of Paul’s best I thought. I agree with Peedee’s comments pretty well entirely. BRANGELINA took a while but the rest were fine-I didn’t have any problem with GIN.
Thanks again Paul.
Thanks Paul and PeeDee,
Like Peter Asplnwall @17 I had no problem with ‘gin’, however the HYPHEN in high-water caught me out as it did Letzbefair @13 and BRANGELINA was quite beyond me!
Favourites HYPHEN, PARABOLA, WET NURSE and FAMOUS LAST WORDS.
Thanks, Gaufrid and Herb. Consider me infuriated (I’ve never liked clues where the words used are entirely irrelevant to the answer) but at least I’ve been put out of my misery!
Celia @3, agree with you, the same goes for WET NURSE being not strictly equivalent to a baby minder.
I took HYPHEN to be High Fen, with fen as a wetland but the actual hyphen makes more sense although I feel a bit cheated by it.
I quite agree with naomi @21. The queston mark permits ‘high’ = ‘hi’, and fen for water; surely the hyphen in the clue is a bonus.
Sorry! I meant ‘high’ = ‘hy’
Do non-UK solvers need it explained that ‘fair’ is pronounced something like ‘fir’ by the folk who live in the Aintree district? I got the answer but have only now twigged (oops). My resort to an online clue solver for 20d was unproductive – ‘onesie’ was unknown to it.
dougal @24 – I think the clue works however you choose to pronounce fair or fir. Interesting that “fair” sounds like “fir” though, something that I had not noticed. I wonder if Paul spotted this, or indeed did it intentionally?
Gaufrid is quite correct in that 16A actually has nothing to do with the pronunciation of “fir” and “fair”.
As I hail originally from Preston I can confirm that these two words are exact synonyms for residents of that city. However I am not so sure that this would be the case for the residents of Aintree! I believe the tree would sound a little like the Prestonian version whereas the other would have likeness to the “southern softie” pronunciation.
Perhaps a Scouser could enlighten us “Woolybacls”?
This was definitely one of Paul’s trickier offerings, but as always enjoyable. Last in was ONESIE, most obscure probably ULURU
Thanks to PeeDee and Paul
As a scouser who grew up very close to Aintree, I can confirm that FAIR= FIR.
Thanks Paul and PeeDee
What a ripper puzzle to which I only got to this morning.
Home ground gave me ULURU as almost a write-in, although I was a little bemused to it being a ‘place of worship’. It was a traditional sacred place for the Anangu people, but is now one of our most famous tourist destinations with these folk acting as guides. It used to be known as Ayer’s Rock.
Some really OMG moments, such as when the penny dropped with ‘effin dangerous’ at 19a, the reverse cryptic with A in TREE and the two unusual words – BRANGELINA and ONESIE (which together with ST MIRREN were my last three in).
Didn’t find DARLINGTON, but was confident I had the right answer – spent time trying to replace the L (first location) with something – obviously without much success.
Many other clues to rave about.
St Mirren was a top class clue
thank you Paul and Pee dee