I would describe this as a bunch straightforward clues hiding in a forest of misdirection. Easy, if only one could see the wood for the trees. Thank you Artexlen.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PURSUE | Sound like pet with no tail and carry out action for dog (6) |
| PURr (sound like a pet) missing end letter (with no tail) and SUE (carry out action) | ||
| 5 | TRAILING | Behind bars after arrest, ultimately (8) |
| RAILING (bars) following arresT (last letter of, ultimately) | ||
| 9 | DOUBLE UP | Show signs of enjoying comedy pair (6,2) |
| double definition | ||
| 10 | INGOTS | Castings? When penniless, opt to appear in half of them (6) |
| OpT (penniless, P=penny) inside (to appear in) castINGS (half of them) | ||
| 11 | CELERY | Vocal vendor introducing unknown vegetable (6) |
| CELER sounds like (vocal) seller (vendor) coming before (introducing) Y (an unknown, maths) | ||
| 12 | INSISTED | Maintained tidiness after having a shift around (8) |
| TIDINESS* anagram=after having a shift around | ||
| 13 | CLOVEN HOOFED | Experimental noodle chef possesses nothing very like goat (6-6) |
| anagram (experimental) of NOODLE CHEF contains (possesses) O (nothing) and V (very) | ||
| 17 | GRANNY ANNEXE | Sort of angry about knight, princess returned former lover’s share of property (6,6) |
| ANGRY* anagram=sort of contains (about) N (knight, chess) then ANNE (princess) and EX (former lover) reversed (returned) | ||
| 20 | PATHOGEN | Zero information on course for virus, say (8) |
| O (zero) GEN (information) on PATH (course) | ||
| 23 | AMBUSH | Bishop in a hurry makes you jump (6) |
| B (bishop) in A MUSH (hurry) – “makes you” is an instruction to the solver, “and you will find…” | ||
| 24 | DANUBE | Name covering a north European river (6) |
| DUB (name) contains (covering) N (northern) then E (European) | ||
| 25 | TECTONIC | Refresher on origins of this exotic crockery, like some plates (8) |
| TONIC (refresher) following (on) first letters (origins) of This Exotic Crockery | ||
| 26 | REM SLEEP | Retired copper hugs unmarried girl some time after crashing (3,5) |
| PEELER (copper) reversed (retiring) contains (hugs) MS (Ms – unmarried girl) – to crash is to fall asleep. I always understood Ms to avoid indicating either married or unmarried, that was the point of its coinage. | ||
| 27 | YANKEE | American wrench inside of jeep (6) |
| YANK (wrench) then jEEp (inside letters of) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | UNOPEN | After change in direction, tennis competition is closed (6) |
| US OPEN (tennis competition) with S replaced by N (change of direction) | ||
| 3 | SUBDEACON | Minister used bacon in a strange way (9) |
| anagram (in a strange way) of USED BACON | ||
| 4 | EVERYBODY | All English, mighty lot (9) |
| E (English) VERY (mighty) BODY (lot) | ||
| 5 | TOPSIDE | Cut some weed, is pothead around? (7) |
| found reversed (around) inside (some of) weED IS POThead – a cut of beef | ||
| 6 | AMISS | Up in the morning, snog toplessly (5) |
| AM (in teh morning) and kISS (snog, topless) | ||
| 7 | LAGOS | 1,000 in Asian country reaching African port (5) |
| G (grand, 1,000) in LAOS (Asian country) – ‘reaching’ is another instruction to the solver, ‘you will arrive at the answer…’ | ||
| 8 | NATTERED | Gassed wine inferior to coffee that’s new for line (8) |
| RED (wine) below (inferior to) LATTE (coffee) with N (new) replacing L (line) | ||
| 14 | HIERARCHY | Making hay, richer can get up this (9) |
| anagram (making) of HAY RICHER. Possibly the definition is ‘can get up this’ or just ‘up this’ – take your pick. | ||
| 15 | OVERBLOWN | Working to pen part of speech, mean to be pompous (9) |
| ON (working) contains VERB (part of speech) LOW (mean) | ||
| 16 | BREAKAGE | Opportunity to get on Casualty (8) |
| BREAK (opportunity) with AGE (to get on) | ||
| 18 | NONSTOP | Constant work to support regulars in ongoing way (7) |
| OP (opus, work) underneath (to support) oNgOiNg (regular selection from) ST (street, way) | ||
| 19 | ASPIRE | Aim spear high to pierce first person? On the contrary (6) |
| I (first person) inside (to pierce) anagram (high, drunk) of SPEAR | ||
| 21 | HOURS | Egyptian god’s heart sinks for some time (5) |
| HORUS (Egyptian god) with R (heart, middle letter of) moving down the word (sinks) | ||
| 22 | GREBE | Go without duck, mostly one revolting bird (5) |
| Go missing O (duck, zero score) then REBEl (one revolting, mostly) | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
Thank you for the blog, PeeDee – you’ve put my feelings into words exactly!
I did enjoy the misdirection, though, so many thanks for that, Artexlen. Favourites were 13, 17 & 26ac; 16d.
I second absolutely what June says. For me this was the biggest challenge of the six puzzles I have done today. And the most enjoyable.
So muchas gracias ArteXlen and thanks PeeDee for the blog.
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee
26ac: I had exactly the same thoughts about MS as PeeDee has expressed in the blog.
14dn: I would take the whole clue as the definition, with the interpretation that making hay is a means of rising up the hierarchy that is available to richer people – and it does not bother me that the means is also available to anyone else.
Thanks PeeDee and Artexlen.
Hear, hear!
Enjoyed the misdirection and surfaces.
My favourite was AMBUSH.
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee
Did this on the day, but for some reason only just checked it off now. Lucky that I did because was able to find an error that I had with the LAGOS / INGOTS crossers.
Agree that it was a very well crafted puzzle with man traps of misdirection all through it.
Finished in the NW corner with LAGOS (corrected), NATTERED and INGOTS (also corrected) as the last few in.