Easier to guess the solutions than to explain them. Thanks to Wanderer for a very enjoyable tussle.
There were several clues that seemed to be a bit slapdash but on closer inspection turned out to be deviously exact. I hope there is a similarly precise explantion for 25 across, but if there is I can’t find it.
| Across | ||
| 1, 5 | SHOPPING CENTRE |
One place to buy two pianos? (8,6)
the centre of shoPPing is PP (piano, twice) |
| 10 | LATHI |
In Nepal, a thick stick (5)
found inside nepaL A THIck – an Indian policeman’s baton |
| 11 | REDEEMING |
Once again making judgment that is compensatory (9)
definition and cryptic definition |
| 12 | ESPLANADE |
Flat place to walk in E Andes, winding round about mountain (9)
anagram (winding) of E ANDES containing (about) ALP (mountain) reversed (round) |
| 13 | THROW |
It’s worth changing chair cover (5)
anagram (changing) of WORTH |
| 14 | BEATLE |
Liverpool’s finest thrashed the French (6)
BEAT (thrashed) LE (the, French) – one of The Beatles |
| 15 | BLIGHTY |
Times crossword solution found in this English soldier’s home? (7)
BY (times) containing (…found in this) LIGHT (crossword solution, a sequence of non-blacked squares in the grid) |
| 18 | ENDURED |
Stop by river, at middle of tidal bore (7)
END (stop) by URE (river, in Yorkshire) then tiDal (middle letter of) |
| 20 | ARCADE |
Source of amusement, having pulled a cracker a bit back (6)
found reversed (back) inside (a bit of) pullED A CRAcker |
| 22 | GRASP |
Get a little grapefruit (5)
Grape (first letter, a little of) and RASP (fruit) – grapefruit = grape + fruit |
| 24 | NEVERMORE |
Woman meeting Romeo or me, possibly all afternoon? Not even once again (9)
EVE (woman’s name) with (meeting) R (Romeo, phonetic alphabet) then (OR ME) anagram=possibly all following (after) N (noon) |
| 25 | REST CURES |
Health treatments doing no good then? (4,5)
|
| 26 | EXIST |
Be discriminatory? Not initially (5)
sEXIST (discriminatory) missing intial letter |
| 27, 28 | EVERLY BROTHERS |
Duo very sober, with the drunk holding hands (6,8)
anagram (anagram) of VERY SOBER with THE containing (holding) R and L (hands) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | SPLEEN |
Organ spotted outside public library (6)
SEEN (spotted) containing P (public) L (library) |
| 2 | OUTSPREAD |
Openly gay array of food unfolded? (9)
OUT (openly gay) SPREAD (array of food) |
| 3 | PHILANTHROPICAL |
Benevolent approach? Hint, and I’ll come round (15)
anagram (come round) of APPROACH, HINT and I’LL |
| 4 | NOR GATE |
Logic circuit in organ, switching bottom to top note (3,4)
ORGAN (switching N from bottom to top) then TE (note, of the scale) – the negation of an OR gate, the output is high when both inputs are low |
| 6 | ELECTRIC CURRENT |
There must be a charge for this flower (8,7)
cryptic definition – litterally a flow of charge |
| 7 | TRIER |
One attempting to find German city (5)
double definition |
| 8 | EDGEWAYS |
One could get word in this side street: bit of secrecy is needed (8)
EDGE (side) WAY (street) Secrecy (a bit of, first letter only) – one could (or more likely couldn’t) “get a word in edgeways” |
| 9 | ADVERB |
Braved storms courageously? (6)
anagram (storms) of BRAVED – question mark indicates definition is an example of an adverb |
| 16 | HYDROXIDE |
Base compound partly in centre of Soho (9)
sOHo (centre of) – an alkaline (base) compound, Sodium Hydroxide NaOH for example. Partly indicates that OH is only part of the chemical formula. |
| 17 | KEDGEREE |
Bad egg reeked? Not good in breakfast dish (8)
anagram (bad) od EGg REEKED missing G (good) |
| 19 | DONORS |
Those giving number within group (6)
N (number) in The DOORS (rock group) |
| 20 | ADVISER |
Counsel one son in 9, endlessly (7)
I (one) S (son) in ADVERb (9 down) endless |
| 21 | TESTIS |
Model fixed up for formal ball? (6)
SIT (model) SET (fixed) reversed (up) – formal indicates a medical term rather than common speech, usually found in pairs |
| 23 | AISLE |
Passage from Mordecai’s letter (5)
found inside (from) mordecAI’S LEtter |
definitions are underlined
Thanks PeeDee – in 25a I thought the idea was that if one treatment doesn’t work the the REST of them do CURE you, but it seems a bit tenuous..
Thanks, PeeDee – I couldn’t manage NOR GATE nor the parsing of HYDROXIDE.
Lots of clues to like – and I do admire the way Wanderer’s multi-word answers follow on in the grid.
I smiled at SHOPPING CENTRE – Redshank last month had
“It’s bustling at weekend, yet implicitly very quiet (8,6)” – both very neat.
My take on REST CURE was ‘doing’ is no good but rest cures.
Thanks to Wanderer for the puzzle – I really enjoyed it.
You definitely have the correct explanation for REST CURE Eileen. Glad that it is all tidied up now!
Wanderer had me here: as PeeDee says, it was often much easier to guess a solution than to parse (e.g. BLIGHTY). A good romp, though. Thanks, Wanderer.
Thanks Peewee and Wanderer, I enjoyed this one. Missed a few in the right hand side because I was convinced that 15a was Brixton (times = X in Briton…) though not sure why the soldier was living there.
Sorry, PeeDee. .. stupid autocorrect…
Thanks Wanderer and PeeDee
Did this one yesterday, but only got to check it off today. Found it a solid challenge, but very enjoyable. A wide variety of devices and particarly liked NEVERMORE, BEATLE and BLIGHTY.
Finished in the SE corner with BLIGHTY, HYDROXIDE and the tricky reverse hidden answer, ARCADE the last few in.
Thanks PeeDee and Wanderer.
This was high quality stuff.
Lots of creative clueing.
I hadn’t heard of ‘light’ for part of a crossword puzzle until this week – it also turned up in Paul 26,751 in the Guardian.
NOR GATE was new for me but clearly gettable.
TESTIS raised a titter!
Thanks again.
Possibly a complete coincidence, but we have the Everly Brothers Phil and Don at the starts of 3D and 19D.
Little Sue – very interesting! From their asymmetrical positions in the grid I suspect this is just chance, but who knows?
Personally, I would not have been able to resist clueing these two as DOLPHIN* somewhere in the puzzle.