I’m afraid some unsatisfying surfaces and some other nits detracted from the enjoyment of this puzzle for me.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | JACKET POTATO JACKET (cover) POT (pan) TO[p] (a lid, almost). |
| 8 | ENVELOP *(EVEN) before LOP (cut) |
| 9 | ANAGRAM A NAG (badger) RAM (sheep) |
| 11 | COLLIER COL (colonel, therefore officer) L (left) LIE (whopper) R (right). A collier can refer to a ship that carries coal, as well as to a miner EDIT: The first part of the wordplay should be CO=commanding officer |
| 12 | DUNGEON DUN (old debt collector) *(GONE). The definition is “imprison,” but Collins has “imprison” only as a verb and “dungeon” only as a noun; same with COED. I did not have a chance to see if Chambers was different EDIT: Schuchi confirms that Chambers does give “dungeon” as a verb |
| 13 | AUNTS JAUNTS (little trips) minus J (Jack) |
| 14 | TITLE ROLE TITLE (Eg, Major) role (DUTY). I think this was my least favourite clue; the surface makes no sense to me. |
| 16 | DINNER SET *(RESIDENT) around N (noon) |
| 19 | ELBOW EL (LE, “the French,” with a “twist” or reversed) BOW (bend) |
| 21 | SAWYERS SAW (noticed) + R (beginning to reply) in YES (affirmative) |
| 23 | ABUSIVE IVE (I have) after A BUS (coach) |
| 24 | DIOPTER OPT (pick) in *(DIRE). The American spelling of dioptre, which is the measure of refractive power of a lens |
| 25 | ELASTIC *(LACIEST) Is there an anagram indicator? EDIT: Eileen points out that “pants” can mean nonsense and is therefore the anagram indicator |
| 26 | ENTREPRENEUR PR (pair) in ENTREE (course) + RUN reversed around E (European) |
| Down | |
| 1 | JAVELIN JAVELINA (a small pig-like animal) minus A (“finally shot”) |
| 2 | CELSIUS I think the idea of the clue is that Celsius and cold are both abbreviated “C” |
| 3 | EUPHRATES *(HE TEARS UP) |
| 4 | PLAID PL (place) AID (support) |
| 5 | TRAINEE RAIN (bad weather) in TEE (start of course) |
| 6 | TORPEDO dd; a torpedo was a small explosive charge placed in the tracks that would detonate when a train passed over it, thereby alerting the engineer to danger ahead |
| 7 | MERCHANDISED *(CHEDDAR MINE’S) |
| 10 | MONKEY-WRENCH MON (Monday, start of week) KEY (star) WRENCH (turn) |
| 15 | TETE-A-TETE This seems like simply a straight definition to me |
| 17 | NEW MOON M (married) WE, all reversed, in NOON (midday) |
| 18 | ELECTOR E (European) LECTOR (person to read lesson) |
| 19 | EMULATE EMU (long-legged bird) LATE (coming after time) |
| 20 | BLISTER I liked this clue; a second-rate celeb would be a B-LISTER, i.e., someone who is not on the A list |
| 22 | SCRAP SC (scilicet, that is, “that is”) RAP (criticism) |
Hi Agentzero
12a: Chambers does have DUNGEON as “(vt) to confine in a dungeon”.
Hi Agentzero
In 25ac, the anagram indicator is ‘pants’ [nonsense, rubbish] making this an & lit. It made me laugh!
Hi Agentzero
You have too many Ls in the wordplay for 11a. The officer is simply CO.
Thanks A0, especially for the explanation of 1dn – that is a terrible clue IMHO. 6d is pretty weak too. On the other hand I agree with Eileen in thinking 25ac is brilliant.
15dn is, or probably ought to be seen as, a CD using two definitions (1) a sofa designed in an s-shape so that two people may sit more or less face to face, and (2) a private conversation. Unfortunately the marriage of the two presents a sentence that is very close indeed to definition (1), hence the apparent lack of crypticity.
Thanks, everyone. I’ve edited as appropriate above.