I don't know yet whether I woke up thicker than yesterday, or this was hard. I certainly struggled to get going, littering bits of the grid with a few of the easier solutions, instead of the usual more orderly progression. It took me the bones of an hour and I have to say, I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually enjoy tricky puzzles; had it not been a blog day, I'd probably have given up and read someone's entertaining blog.
On review, there are only two words I didn't know and one expression I found obscure, but some of the word play verged on the tedious, I thought. The redeeming feature for me was 11a - as far as I know, an original and witty clue to an everyday word.
| Across |
| 1 | KANSAS - KAN sounds like prison (CAN), SAS are crack troops; D State. My FOI, closely followed by 4d. |
| 5 | GENERATE - GEN = information, E = evidence, initially, RATE = judge; D produce. |
| 9 | MAY APPLE - I had the notion it was some sort of apple, from early on, but I'd never heard of a May apple. Eventually I guessed it from the wordplay and then found it - more usually spelt as one word - and it's not an apple at all, it's a mandrake or whatever. MAPLE = tree, around YAP = bark. |
| 10 | WEEVIL - WEE = tiny, VIL(E) = horrid, truncated; D bug. |
| 11 | POSTER - Elizabeth 1 died in 1603, so the years after would be POST ER. D bill. If this is the first time this has appeared, it's brilliant IMO. |
| 12 | FUNCTION - F = force, UNION = agreement, insert odd letters of CUTS = C T; D work. A bit clunky. |
| 14 | BATTLEGROUND - BAT = cricketer, T = left finally. LEG = stage, ROUND = applause, put at the end. D = field. Another clunky bit of wordplay. |
| 17 | PROOF-READING - PROF = academic, insert O (old), READING is a university (one of many!); D correcting scripts. The definition gives the answer away, saving you from the need to run through a list of universities. |
| 20 | BESSEMER - This is an obscure answer with a dodgy bit of wordplay? BEE = worker maybe, 'hole over' must be MESS reversed, and R = entrance to roadway; D engineer. I remember the 'Bessemer Converter' was invented by this chap, for converting pig iron to steel, so I suppose he was an engineer, amongst other things. I think 'MESS' for HOLE could be something like 'help us out, we're in a hole here' where mess would be a fair synonym. |
| 22 | LITTER - Ah, a double definition, at last, as in a litter of pups, and cat litter which cats 'go' on. Not in my house, they don't, they go on my vegetable plot. |
| 23 | SEX-POT - Tempting to think the definition could be 'wife, once', but that would be non-PC. No, the wife once is EX, inserted into SPOT = pickle, and the D is dish, another not very PC expression still used in crosswords. |
| 25 | LIMBER UP - CLIMBER is mountaineer, avoid cold = delete his C, UP = at reat height; D train. Or it could be &lit. |
| 26 | KNIGHTLY - K for king, NIGHTLY = regularly in the dark (!), D chivalrous. |
| 27 | TESTER - SET = class, repelled = TES, TER(M) = almost all of time at school; D examiner. |
| Down |
| 2 | ACAJOU - Start wth A. Then a Louisiana native is a CAJUN (although I thought this was the food not the people eating it). Delete the N (nameless). Insert O for round, D wood. I knew acajou was the French for 'cashew' but it's also apparently a name for a variety of mahogany. |
| 3 | SMARTY-BOOTS - Anagram of MOST BOYS with ART = skill, 'intrinsic' i.e. inserted. I knew of smarty-pants but had never heard smarty-boots, perhaps it's a Northern thing. I had to have B-O-S before believing it was the answer. |
| 4 | SUPERSTAR - (PASTURES)*, R (right); D top performer. |
| 5 | GLEEFUL - GUL(L) = fool, shortly, insert FEEL = appear, reversed = upset; G (LEEF) UL; D happy. |
| 6 | NO-WIN - Hidden in K(NOWIN)GLY; D a hopeless situation. Easy once you see it, but until then, annoying. |
| 7 | RYE - Double definition; grain some whiskies use, and coastal town in East Sussex. |
| 8 | TRICORNE - Another one I couldn't get until I had crossers. TRIE(D) = put on, briefly, around CORN = ears; D hat. I'd never seen it spelt with a final E in English although I see it is a fair alternative. |
| 13 | THOUGHTLESS - Double definition, one whimsical (philosopher without thoughts) one 'so remiss'. |
| 15 | GUILLEMOT - GUILE = cunning, insert L for large, reverse TOM = cat; D bird. Easy once you have it ending in M-T. |
| 16 | TREE FERN - T(YCOO)N = tycoon's case, insert REEFER a drug-filled cigarette, D plant. Fortunately I knew what a reefer was, from a mis-spent youth. |
| 18 | AURALLY - A, U(nion), RALLY = march; D so we hear. |
| 19 | SECURE - S(hilling), ECU (foreign coin), RE (on); D safe. The European Currency Unit was never a note or coin, but there was once a small French coin called an écu, I guess that's what the setter intended. |
| 21 | MOTET - M for mass, O(C)TET is a composition which loses its C (start of curious); D vocal piece. Dreaming up OCTET as a sort of composition is best done once you know the answer to the clue. |
| 24 | PEG - P for piano, EG for say, D fix. |