Garry Gillard > crosswords > solutions > 27175

Times 27175

This was easy enough except for the crossing 16a and 17b.
The first isn't usually one word, and the second is obscure.

Definitions in italics

ACROSS

1 Depart at speed following bishop’s abrupt dismissal (5-3)
BRUSH OFF - B(ishop) + RUSH OFF

5 Save pounds ultimately, meeting accountant over wine (6)
BARSAC - BAR (save) + (pound)S + AC (chartered accountant - rev. - 'over') it's a type of wine>>>

9 Study lines on creative work from East? That’s awkward (8)
CONTRARY - ART rev. inside CON (study) + RY (railway lines)

10 First of Iraqi kings locked up by crazy old emperor (6)
MIKADO - I K inside MAD + O

12 Isolation unsettling Spenser at sea (12)
SEPARATENESS - (spenser at sea)*

15 Inferior liquor husband loves — cold and hot (5)
HOOCH - H(usband) + O + O + C + H

16 Result of boring climb amusing to Spooner? (9)
DRILLHOLE - the Spoonerism would be 'hill droll' - a very poor clue

18 Leap dancer made at last before talk with hospital department (9)
ENTRECHAT - ENT is the department: (E)ar, (N)ose, and (T)hroat + dance(R) and mad(E) + CHAT - it's a ballet thing, but nothing to do with cats >>>

19 Pearl’s mother, a credit in the Sunderland area? (5)
NACRE - aka 'mother of pearl' (ha ha) - A CR inside NE, where Sunderland is, northeast England

20 Wide boy’s lookalike, one distributing diamonds etc? (6-6)
DOUBLE-DEALER - where the 'diamonds' are cards

24 Claim member pitched into porter, say (6)
ALLEGE - LEG inside ALE

21 Reasonable, in a word, to do a runner (3,2)
LEG IT - which if joined as one word is ... short for 'legitimate'

25 Trivial piece rejected by Ted Heath, for one? (8)
NUGATORY - GUN (piece, in old American gangster slang) + A TORY - Edward Heath was the leader of the Conservative Party

26 Phoney European hotel with appeal for lrish leader (6)
ERSATZ - E(uropean) + RITZ with SA (sex appeal) replacing I(rish)

27 After exercise, rings cook about game for children (8)
PEEKABOO - PE (physical exercise) + BAKE rev. + O, O (in 15 they were loves, here they are rings)

DOWN

1 Male animal enterprising Americans may make fast? (4)
BUCK - dd

2 Bone up primarily on article supporting London’s banks (4)
ULNA - LN (first and last letters of 'London') inside U(p) + A (article)

3 Possible hack’s garden implement, a token of good luck (9)
HORSESHOE - a HORSE may be a 'hack' + 'S + HOE

4 Starchy doctors alter ego with notes on pungent gas (12)
FORMALDEHYDE - FORMAL is 'starchy', D and E are musical notes - as are any letters A-G + HYDE (not Dr Jekyll)

6 Delicate priest’s left up displaying nimbleness (5)
AGILE - fr(AGILE) where Fr is short for 'father' = priest

7 Vehicle for men only on green next to a church (10)
STAGECOACH - STAG as in party + ECO(logical) + CH(urch)

8 Sheltered girl appearing in court before duke (10)
CLOISTERED - the girl is LOIS; she's inside CT (court) + ERE (before) + D(uke)

11 Wise men's true art excited law administrators (12)
MAGISTRATURE - MAGI are your wise men (pl. of 'magus') + (s true art)*

13 Ragged crowd, they say, digesting poster over pub  counter? (10)
THREADBARE - AD + BAR inside THREE (is a crowd, they say)

14 Left to reduce size of one’s protective grating (10)
PORTCULLIS - PORT is left on a ship + CULL + I (one) + (')S

17 Soldier caught in narrow passage, held up by sailor (9)
LANCEJACK - perhaps the last word put in by the desperate setter; I've never heard of it, tho it's doubtless in Chambers and/or Collins; JACK is the sailor - he's holding C inside LANE

22 Search valley, missing centre (4)
COMB - there's a COOMB in Mosman Park WA, tho spelt with an elitist E on the end; the setter's getting tired

23 One who lacks experience in quality roofing (4)
TYRO - the exhausted setter leaves the inclusive until last; see qualiTY ROofing

KEY

to abbreviations/terms/symbols which may have been used

(raga man)* = anagram of 'anagram'
cd = cryptic definition
dd = double definition
incl. = inclusive (hidden word)
def. = definition (synonym, literal)
rev. = reversed
anagind = anagram indicator
homophind = homophone indicator
surface - the apparent meaning of the clue, disguising what's really going on
&lit. - a clue in which the whole clue is the 'definition'
COD = clue of the day (imo); FOI, LOI, first/last one written in

Entrechat - from Italian intrecciata, 'intertwined.') "A step of beating in which the dancer jumps into the air and rapidly crosses the legs before and behind." In an entrechat quatre ('four'), starting from fifth position, right foot front, a dancer will jump up with legs crossed, execute a changement beating the right thigh at the back of the left thigh, then bring the right leg in front again beating the front of the left thigh, and land in the same position as started. In an entrechat six ('six'), three changes of the feet are made in the air, ultimately changing which foot is in front. Even-numbered entrechats indicate the number of times the legs cross in and out in the air: a regular changement is two (one out, one in), entrechat quatre is two outs, two ins; six is three and three; huit is four and four. Odd-numbered entrechats refer to the previous number, but done landing on one foot with the other in coup-de-pied: for example, an entrechat cinq (five) is the same as an entrechat-quatre, but done landing on one leg.

Garry Gillard | New: 22 October, 2018 | Now: 22 October, 2018