A very pleasant Monday offering with a smattering of European clues with the potential to stretch the grey matter of those who cry with Aguecheek that they wish they had followed the arts! My favourite was 3 down for the cunningly concealed definition of a very serviceable word, even if it is too frequently associated with those who enjoy the sound of their own voice more perhaps than others do. 5 down was also rather good, I thought, as an example of a charade that had you looking for the definition at the wrong end of the clue. I'm not sure about you, but as I get more experienced at these things, I find the charade type of clue perhaps the hardest. 21 minutes.
ACROSS
1. DOWNRIGHT - DOWN + [f]RIGHT; already the setter has got some of us looking for the answer at the wrong end.
6. COWES - 'port in island [of Wight]'; 'of Jersey' might be taken, in context, to stand for "cow's", which sounds like the town.
9. GOING FOR A BURTON - 'making final exit'; if you criticised Richard Burton's performance in, say, The Sandpiper, you might be accused of 'going for a Burton'. The derivation of the expression may be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_for_a_Burton
10. SUPPLY - SUP + PLY.
11. SEA TROUT - S + [R in EAT OUT].
13. PIRANDELLO - OP reversed around IRAN + DELL for the Italian writer best known, in the English-sparking world, at any rate, for the play 'Six Characters in Search of an Author', which I have seen, but forgotten, as I do most plays.
14. STAB - a hidden clue.
16. SINE - S[h]INE.
17. CONTRIBUTE - CO[i]N + TRIBUTE.
19. HAPSBURG - a reversal of GRUBS + PAH (Blackadderese for ugh!)
20. LEASED - A in an anagram* of LEEDS.
23. SPEECH THERAPIST - PS THIS PE TEACHER*.
24. EASES - [t]EASES.
25. CONCERNED - CONCERN + ED.
DOWNS
1. DEGAS - EG (for one) in SAD (blue) reversed.
2. WHIPPERSNAPPERS - WHIP + PER (a) + SNAPPERS.
3. REGALING - E + GAL in (wearing) RING.
4. GOOD - O in reversed DOG.
5. TRADE PLATE - 'early number features on it' (the temporary number plate given a vehicle before it is registered); TRAD + EP + LATE.
6. CRUSTY - a double definition, one referring to bread, the other to a cantankerous individual.
7. WITHOUT QUESTION - 'certainly'; well, I think a poll can consist of statements, but obviously the setter doesn't!
8. SAND TABLE - STABLE around (clothing) AND (with) for the sort of thing one can imagine General Melchett using to show approximate positions of expected slaughter zones.
12. DEMOCRATIC - 'popular' in the sense that representatives are elected by the people, if in no other; another charade: DEMO + C ('about' - that most versatile ingredient in the setter's kitchen) + RAT + IC.
13. POSTHASTE - POS (Petty Officers) + H in TASTE.
15. LIVEWARE - L + A REVIEW* for a particularly ugly word to describe nerdish types by analogy with software.
16. ABACUS - A + C in A BUS; 'one flew east, one flew west, one flew out of the Quickie nest...'
21. DATED - alternate letters in DeAd TrEnDy.
22. BEAN - BEA[t] (as in 'dead beat') + [maratho]N.
ACROSS
1. DOWNRIGHT - DOWN + [f]RIGHT; already the setter has got some of us looking for the answer at the wrong end.
6. COWES - 'port in island [of Wight]'; 'of Jersey' might be taken, in context, to stand for "cow's", which sounds like the town.
9. GOING FOR A BURTON - 'making final exit'; if you criticised Richard Burton's performance in, say, The Sandpiper, you might be accused of 'going for a Burton'. The derivation of the expression may be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_for_a_Burton
10. SUPPLY - SUP + PLY.
11. SEA TROUT - S + [R in EAT OUT].
13. PIRANDELLO - OP reversed around IRAN + DELL for the Italian writer best known, in the English-sparking world, at any rate, for the play 'Six Characters in Search of an Author', which I have seen, but forgotten, as I do most plays.
14. STAB - a hidden clue.
16. SINE - S[h]INE.
17. CONTRIBUTE - CO[i]N + TRIBUTE.
19. HAPSBURG - a reversal of GRUBS + PAH (Blackadderese for ugh!)
20. LEASED - A in an anagram* of LEEDS.
23. SPEECH THERAPIST - PS THIS PE TEACHER*.
24. EASES - [t]EASES.
25. CONCERNED - CONCERN + ED.
DOWNS
1. DEGAS - EG (for one) in SAD (blue) reversed.
2. WHIPPERSNAPPERS - WHIP + PER (a) + SNAPPERS.
3. REGALING - E + GAL in (wearing) RING.
4. GOOD - O in reversed DOG.
5. TRADE PLATE - 'early number features on it' (the temporary number plate given a vehicle before it is registered); TRAD + EP + LATE.
6. CRUSTY - a double definition, one referring to bread, the other to a cantankerous individual.
7. WITHOUT QUESTION - 'certainly'; well, I think a poll can consist of statements, but obviously the setter doesn't!
8. SAND TABLE - STABLE around (clothing) AND (with) for the sort of thing one can imagine General Melchett using to show approximate positions of expected slaughter zones.
12. DEMOCRATIC - 'popular' in the sense that representatives are elected by the people, if in no other; another charade: DEMO + C ('about' - that most versatile ingredient in the setter's kitchen) + RAT + IC.
13. POSTHASTE - POS (Petty Officers) + H in TASTE.
15. LIVEWARE - L + A REVIEW* for a particularly ugly word to describe nerdish types by analogy with software.
16. ABACUS - A + C in A BUS; 'one flew east, one flew west, one flew out of the Quickie nest...'
21. DATED - alternate letters in DeAd TrEnDy.
22. BEAN - BEA[t] (as in 'dead beat') + [maratho]N.