Garry Gillard > crosswords > solutions > 27176

Times 27176

ACROSS

Definitions in italics - N.B. 11a

1 Club redeployed subtle means to move campaigners (9)
BATTLEBUS - BAT + (subtle)*

6 Split blades (5)
GRASS - dd

9 Understand a minimum of government file (5)
G,RASP

10 Hit head (6,3)
NUMBER ONE - dd

11 Having stolen kiss, on camera, ma fiddling with kilt! (11,4)
EXCLAMATION MARK - X + (on camera ma kilt)*

13 Run through gardens before accessing sacred hollow (8)
SKEWERED (past participle) - KEW + ERE inside S(acre)D

14 Strong liquor: relative's also knocked out by a pint, initially? (6)
GRAPPA - GRandPA with the 'and' replaced by A P

16 In a state, I'm surprised current nation has squandered millions (6)
OHIAN - OH,I,O(m)AN

18 After U-turn, a top politician procrastinating (8)
DILATORY - LID rev. A TORY

21 Fractured no more, I care to protect bone, whatever happens (4,4,2,5)
COME RAIN OR SHINE - SHIN inside (no more i care)*

23 Evergreen song by artist breaking Chaucer's heart (9)
ARAUCARIA - AUC is the 'heart' of ChAUCer; it's surrounded by RA (artist who is a member of the Royal Academy) + ARIA; it's the 'monkey puzzle' tree, and also the nom de plume of arguably the best setter ever, John Graham >>

25 One‘s plotted revenge, primarily, in break with French at last (5)
GRAPH - R in GAP + H

26 Meeting fate, male serf (5)
HELOT - HE + LOT (fate); he was a slave in the Athenian 'democracy'

27 Being obscene about right, comic insisted (9)
DIRTINESS - R inside (insisted)* - same type of clue as 15d

DOWN

1 Heading for bar, make eyes at spirit (5)
B,OGLE - it's a Scottish bogeyman

2 Right policy with which revolutionary is splitting room (11)
THATCHERISM - THAT (which) + CHE (Guevara) inside + IS inside R(oo)M

3 Mathematician to overtake doctor (7)
LAP,LACE - LACE as in spike a drink >>

4 Rockers, perhaps old, getting plastered? (8)
BAND,AGED

5 Top marks repeated in match (6)
SU(MM)IT

6 Bottom of bag has more spare, one gathers (7)
G,LEANER

7 A journey back (3)
A,GO

8 Unlicensed bar, getting tip to stop the drink, suddenly emptied (9)
SPEAKEASY - PEAK (tip) inside SEA (the drink) + S(uddenl)Y, 'emptied'

12 A m-monkey, say, with caged beast getting loose (11)
APPROXIMATE - the OX is the beast, inside a P-PRIMATE, an example being a monkey

13 One teaching a pig, possibly, to catch large snail (9)
SLOWCOACH - L(arge) inside SOW + COACH (one teaching)

15 Shape is round about a square (8)
DINOSAUR - A inside (is round)* where 'shape' is the anagind

17 A vessel containing mostly lush fruit (7)
APRICOT - RIC(h) inside A POT

19 Weapon transported to the north in carriages safely (7)
ASSEGAI - incl. rev. - carrIAGES SAfely

20 In the Bible he hunted game with stick (6)
NIMROD - NIM is a card game we've all forgotten about

22 Character reference fraudulent, with no truthfulness, all concluding (5)
ETHOS - last letters of the first five words

24 Trouble when leader vacates post (3)
(m)AIL

Also blogged here at BST 0300 - just ten minutes before I finished the above.

Garry Gillard | New: 23 October, 2018 | Now: 23 October, 2018