Solving time: 13:42
It felt as though I made fairly heavy weather of this; the long answers took longer than they should have, especially 11dn, and answers like MARSH GAS for ‘methane’ should have been instant.
Music (18ac): Achilles Heel by Toploader.
* = anagram, < = reversed, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | ROA(D(S)IG)N |
| 5 | TURBOT; (TO BRUT)< |
| 9 | WA(L(K)OVE)R – like 1ac, a double container. |
| 10 | CHANG + E |
| 12 | R + OAST – ‘for the’ makes the surface but is superfluous to the cryptic reading. |
| 13 | NORTHEAST – very well hidden in ‘spaceman or the astronomer’. |
| 14 | MILL + SAND + BOON |
| 18 | A + CHILL + E(SHE)EL – very good wordplay but the surface reading doesn’t make much sense. |
| 23 | MARCH – which comes before the April showers. |
| 24 | GR(AV)ID – meaning pregnant, from Latin gravis (heavy). |
| 25 | FI(VESTA)R |
| 26 | SITTER (double definition) – ‘dolly’ as in ‘easy catch’. |
| 27 | EGGS + HELL – nice surface (“Spurs’ misery at the finish”), perhaps a reference to this? ‘Eggshell’ is a very thin kind of paint, hence ‘finish’. |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | REWARD; DRAWER< |
| 3 | SHOW TRIAL; (THIS LAW OR)* |
| 4 | GREENSLEEVES (two defs, one cryptic) – probably a more natural choice for today’s music award, but I’m afraid I can’t stand it. |
| 6 | UH-HUH; H in U[ta]H U[ta]H |
| 7 | BUNG + A + LOW |
| 8 | TWEETING; “TREATING”, as spoken by Elmer Fudd. His fellow speech-impediment sufferer Sylvester’s foe was Tweety Pie. |
| 11 | BREATHTAKING (cryptic definition) |
| 15 | DREAMLESS; MALE* in DRESS – as in ‘Above thy deep and dreamless sleep’ from O Little Town of Bethlehem. |
| 16 | MARS + H(G)AS – G as in G-force. |
| 17 | P(H)EASANT |
| 19 | W(R)ITH + E |
| 20 | CH + ORAL |
I’m glad bloggers don’t put solving times any more, and don’t have spoilers (marsh gas) on the list screen.