Much tougher than the previous week - solved on paper in about 20 mins. Looked like it was going to be a pangram as I was solving it, but there was no Y or Z. Very good puzzle, apart from the slight faux pas with 2dn.
| Across | |
| 1 | Unconnected notes placed on record (8) |
| DISCRETE - RE, TE (notes) next to DISC (record). | |
| 5 | Grant for recruit (6) |
| ASSIGN - AS (for) + SIGN (recruit). | |
| 8 | Not all returned from Irish border (3) |
| RIM - hidden reversed in "from Irish" | |
| 9 | Fool endlessly pleading not to be taken (2,1-7) |
| GO A-BEGGING - GOA(t) (fool endlessly) + BEGGING (pleading). | |
| 10 | Hospital's nurses moving around country (8) |
| HONDURAS - H(ospital')S around (around)*. | |
| 11 | Hands get better fast (6) |
| SECURE - S,E (hands, e.g. in bridge) + CURE (get better). | |
| 12 | Seeing red, not silver, item of jewellery (4) |
| RING - RAGING (seeing red) minus AG (silver). | |
| 14 | Falsification of tax is no sin for US confederacy (3,7) |
| SIX NATIONS - (taxis no sin)*. Nothing to do with rugby - this is another name for the Iroquois Confederacy of Native American peoples. | |
| 17 | Son's squealing after jumping across parallel bars (6,4) |
| EQUALS SIGN - S(on) inside (squealing)*. | |
| 20 | Benefit payment an attempt to take in the taxman, once (4) |
| GIRO - GO (attempt) around IR (Inland Revenue, taxman once). | |
| 23 | Regret bribe taken the wrong way affected one (6) |
| POSEUR - RUE SOP (regret bribe), reversed. | |
| 24 | Busy with oxygen in supply tap (8) |
| STOPCOCK - PC (busy) + O(xygen), inside STOCK (supply). | |
| 25 | Story of Napoleon's rise, using brute force and power (6,4) |
| ANIMAL FARM - ANIMAL (brute) + F(orce) + ARM (power). George Orwell's 1945 allegorical novel about the Soviet revolution, in which the pig Napoleon is based on Stalin. | |
| 26 | Tongue is bright orange, first of all (3) |
| IBO - first letters of Is Bright Orange. | |
| 27 | Headgear concerned with stopping hazards (6) |
| BERETS - RE (concerned with) inside BETS (hazards). | |
| 28 | Check report of end of dry spell on radio? (4,4) |
| REIN BACK - sounds like "Rain back" (end of dry spell). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | One surprisingly successful / alternative clue to 15? (4,5) |
| DARK HORSE - double definition. | |
| 2 | French writer not one to put up with computer game (7) |
| SIMENON - NONE (not one) reversed, next to SIM (computer game). As a few pointed out on the Forum, Georges Simenon was Belgian, but the setter is reprieved if you take it to mean he wrote in French. My guess is that nobody bothered to check. | |
| 3 | Rib available for stew (6) |
| RAGOUT - RAG (rib) + OUT (available). | |
| 4 | Bluish article goes out in Brewers (3,6) |
| TEA LADIES - TEAL (bluish) + A (article) + DIES (goes out). | |
| 5 | State capital— something valuable to blow on centre for trade (7) |
| AUGUSTA - AU (gold, something valuable) + GUST (to blow) + (tr)A(de). State capital of Maine (not Georgia). | |
| 6 | Rock covers are irritating, then diverting (9) |
| SWITCHING - SWING (rock) around ITCH (are irritating). I spent a long time on this clue, thinking ITCHING=irritating and SW somehow denotes "rock covers". | |
| 7 | One memorably sent up doting father, finally, at home (7) |
| GAGARIN - GAGA (doting) + (fathe)R + IN (at home). Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. | |
| 13 | What's given pear, extraordinarily? (9) |
| GRAPEVINE - (given pear)*. | |
| 15 | A thing to disturb, with REM? (9) |
| NIGHTMARE - (A thing, REM)*, &lit. Could also be described as a DARK HORSE (see 1dn). | |
| 16 | Show offender using smack consuming wine with judge (5,4) |
| SHOCK JOCK - SOCK (smack) around HOCK (wine), J(udge). Howard Stern springs to mind as an example. | |
| 18 | Mention about academy being not short of members (7) |
| QUORATE - QUOTE (mention) around RA (Royal Academy). | |
| 19 | Cap is right on old man, filling figure out (7) |
| SURPASS - R(ight) + PA (old man), inside SUSS (figure out). | |
| 21 | Island one female short for holding dance: not good! (3,4) |
| IWO JIMA - I(one) + WOMA(n) (female short) around JI(g) (dance not good). Tricky wordplay, but the island should be familiar enough to biff and work out later! | |
| 22 | Rising pop celebrity upset old primate (6) |
| APEMAN - PA (pop) reversed + NAME (celebrity) reversed. | |