I’m not really sure what to make of this one. You tell me.
It’s not a bad puzzle by any means, but there were a few that were difficult to parse, for me at least. Only one full anagram in a puzzle that’s intended to be accessible, and one or two definitions that were a bit distant. So not my favourite ever eXternal – but that said, there were a couple of clues that I really liked.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Company venture around north achieves successful outcome
CONQUEST
An insertion of N between CO and QUEST.
5 Having shifted trendy clothing
IN GEAR
A charade of IN and GEAR, with the definition alluding to the American English use of ‘shift’ for ‘gearstick’.
9 Setter’s admitting alcoholic drink knocked back without end is drug
MEDICINE
From my personal experience, alcohol is the drug of choice for crossword setters, but that’s by the by. This is an insertion of CIDE[R] reversed in MINE.
10 Silver, hoofed animals returned and settled
AGREED
AG for the chemical symbol for ‘silver’ followed by DEER reversed.
11 Criminal stateside, losing tail, causes revulsion
DISTASTE
(STATESID[E])* with ‘criminal’ as the anagrind.
12 A kid free from anxiety
AT EASE
A TEASE. My favourite clue this morning.
14 Teenager emptied wine-rack, drunken disaster
TRAIN WRECK
Great surface. It’s TR for the outside letters of ‘teenager’ and (WINE RACK)*
18 Partly nervous university worker’s to avoid the classroom
PLAY TRUANT
A charade of (PARTLY)* U and ANT for the correct way to say bunking off school.
22 Counsel old flame angry about end of affair
EXHORT
A charade of EX and R inserted in HOT. EXHORT, for me, is stronger than ‘counsel’, but I’m not going to argue about it.
23 A container like this for plant
ACANTHUS
A charade of A, CAN and THUS.
24 Party with king and everyone coming from east – American’s ready
DOLLAR
A charade of DO, and R ALL reversed. ‘Coming from east’ is the reversal indicator. ‘Ready’ is a slang word for money.
25 Sibling with constant abdominal pain failing to finish vegetable
BROCCOLI
A charade of BRO, C and COLI[C]. It’s mostly babies who suffer from COLIC, and it’s a pain in the arse because they won’t settle. Nurse Harvey’s Gripe Water is your man.
26 Day lodge on island is far from ideal
DIREST
I think this is I inserted in D and REST, but I’m not mad about ‘on’ as the insertion indicator.
27 Avoided late purchase, leaving centre
PASSED BY
A charade of PASSED and B[U]Y.
Down
1 Timid getting in sea, it’s meant to be fun
COMEDY
An insertion of MED in COY.
2 Inspector’s arrested by head – he reveals it all
NUDIST
Another insertion: of DI’S in NUT.
3 Frenchman’s one cold boy without clothing
UNCLAD
A charade of UN for the French number ‘one’, C and LAD.
4 Transported airman to US hospital
SANATORIUM
(AIRMAN TO US)*
6 One who puts off retirement due to wife leaving primarily
NIGHT OWL
A charade of NIGH for ‘due’, TO, W for ‘wife’ and L for the first letter of ‘leaving’. I’m more of a lark myself.
7 Exhilarated and happy about upcoming day of celebration
ELEVATED
An insertion of VE day, reversed, in ELATED. I’m not sure I’d use ELEVATED and ‘exhilarated’ interchangeably.
8 Fashion designer in beamer upset simple folk in America
REDNECKS
This is a bit too tricksy for my liking, but you may disagree. The ‘beamer’ is SENDER; the ‘fashion designer’ is Calvin Klein, or CK. Put the latter inside the former reversed and you have a derogatory word in American English for a poor, rural, working-class person from the southern US. And for those who aren’t petrolheads like me (not), ‘beamer’ is slang for a BMW, which forgives the surface.
13 Child’s play surface outside place to eat
PICNIC AREA
PICNIC is slang for an easy task or ‘child’s play’. AREA is ‘surface’, ish. So that’s how you get your ‘outside place to eat’.
15 Grand loan to be invested in revolutionary sinks
SPLENDID
An insertion of LEND in DIPS reversed.
16 Composer rejected job – he has no ties
BACHELOR
I liked this one. It’s BACH (take your pick, since there were several of them) and ROLE reversed.
17 Film campaign to get into headlines
STAR WARS
An insertion of WAR in STARS, which needs to be read in its verbal sense. ‘She’s headlining/starring at Glastonbury this summer.’
19 Performs with half-open book
ENACTS
[OP]EN plus ACTS for the ‘book’ of the Bible. More precisely THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, authored – it is thought – by Luke and giving an account of the early Christian church.
20 Screen died after hours wasted on it
SHROUD
Since we’re into Christianity, think of the TURIN SHROUD. A charade of (HOURS)* and D. The anagrind is ‘wasted’, a slang word for ‘drunk’.
21 Make rigid ship provided with extremely oily outer protection
OSSIFY
An insertion of SS for ‘ship’ and IF for ‘provided’ in OY for the outer letters of ‘oily’.
Many thanks to eXternal for this morning’s puzzle.
I was doing this whilst watching the Superbowl last Sunday, so probably not giving it my full attention. In the end, the crossing pair of 16dn and 22ac defeated me. I had wild guesses for both, but unfortunately they were incompatible. In the end, both guesses were wrong.
Also couldn’t parse 13dn. Thanks for the explanation.
Thanks to eXternal for a rather gentle puzzle. Some clues do have iffy definitions or wordplay, but quite enjoyable on the whole. Thanks to Pierre for the blog, especially for the parsing of REDNECKS.
Re. DIREST: I don’t see an insertion there. D from day, and then REST (lodge) on I(sland). Seems fine to me.
Re. 8d: I remembered the BMW reference as “beemer”, not beamer. Some googling revealed that the motorcycles are “beemers”, while the cars are “bimmers” (go figure!) – no “beamer” in sight.
There were things here which could be used to show people the kind of misdirection a devious compiler can use. Just what you need for a Sunday.
Examples:
18 across. ‘Partly’ at first sight suggests a hidden word when it is in fact the anagram fodder.
13 down. ‘Outside’ at first sight suggests a container and contents clue, when it is in fact part of the definition.
I was delighted by this puzzle: eXternal definitely gets the nod from me. Sorry Pierre.
No need to be sorry, Conrad. I did say ‘You tell me’. I admired the two clues you have cited; it’s just that I was less impressed elsewhere.
Knowing ‘beamer’ (however you want to spell it) as slang for a BMW had me trying to fit B M and W into 8dn. So no wonder I only got the answer from crossing letters and couldn’t parse it. Otherwise it was fairly straightforward.
Thanks, eXternal and Pierre.
If ‘beamer’ equates to ‘sender’ (8d), then the synonym relationship is pretty obscure. But I suppose Capt. Kirk’s timeless instruction “beam me up Scottie” has a flimsy ‘send’ connotation. Otherwise a great Thursday ‘I’ puzzle!