Had to resort to the dreaded aids to finish this one off – I’m putting it down to the jet-lag as it’s not a difficult puzzle. That said, the north-east (taken to include 17ac) has some tricky stuff, though why I struggled so with 6ac will remain one of the great mysteries, like how Disney can keep making mush like Frozen. If you haven’t seen it, think Shrek with a reindeer instead of a donkey…
ACROSS
1 ALLIGATOR – A + GILL reversed + A + TOR
6 PIQUE – sounds like ‘peak’; to pique is to aggravate.
9 LOSE ONES FOOTING – LOOTING around an anagram* of FEES + SO + ON
10 TUBING – [Alan] TURING with a B[lack] for the R.
11 PARTAKEN – the literal is ‘shared’, derived from P(ART)A + KEN .
13 VITUPERATE – not a word I use every day; ‘worried about’ needs to be subject to a bit of lifting-and-separating, since it indicates that VIPER + ATE go round TU (‘Trades Union’)
14 FILM – double definition, one starring either Caine or Law, depending on your generation
16 ROOM – ‘moor’ reversed
17 HEBRAISTIC – definitely the toughest of the bunch, as evidenced by the fact I was working around HE and IC – oh yes, and ITS reversed - and still managed an epic fail. Literal ‘of Semitic culture’; wordplay HE (male) + BRA (supporter) + IC (in charge) around ITS reversed.
19 UNLOADED – two definitions, one jocular
20 STUDIO – STUD (boss – as on a shield) + I + O
23 STATE DEPARTMENT – STATEMENT about LEAVE
24 CATER – CARTER minus his first R
25 THEORISER – RIOTS HERE*
DOWN
1 ALLOT – sounds like ‘a lot’
2 LAST BUT NOT LEAST – the literal is ‘ultimately still important’, the wordplay an indication that LAST is spelled like LEAST but without the E. I think. But maybe there are hidden depths which I cannot plumb.
3 GROWN-UPS – in case anyone is wondering about the W, it stands for ‘with’; so, W + N (last letter of parson) in GROUPS
4 TEEN - hidden
5 REFRACTORY – I like both the clue and this very Stephen Fryish sort of word; RE + [spanne]R in FACTORY
6 PRONTO – PRO + NOT*
7 QUICK-WITTEDNESS – ‘astuteness’; some won’t like the undifferentiated use of TED for ‘male’ in QUICK (‘once living’, ie old word for living) + WIT[h] (‘mostly with’) + TED + NESS
8 ERGONOMIC – ‘of work efficiency’; GO (‘spirit’) in NO CRIME*
12 IRREVERENT – ‘impious’; IR (‘Irish’) + RENT about EVER, where ‘that’ refers back to the word ‘permanently’ – a device not often seen in crosswords.
13 VIRTUOSIC – ‘showing great skill’; TOURS* + I in VIC (as in the Old Vic Theatre)
15 DICTATOR – CID reversed + TA + TO + R
18 CAREER – double definition. Does the question mark indicate that a career is not a job? Perhaps we should be told.
21 OTTER – ‘fish-eater’ is the – to me – perfectly acceptable literal; from OTT (over the top) + ER
22 WAKE – ‘late vigil’ is a nice description of a wake; a boat produces a wake or wash as long as you remember to start it.
ACROSS
1 ALLIGATOR – A + GILL reversed + A + TOR
6 PIQUE – sounds like ‘peak’; to pique is to aggravate.
9 LOSE ONES FOOTING – LOOTING around an anagram* of FEES + SO + ON
10 TUBING – [Alan] TURING with a B[lack] for the R.
11 PARTAKEN – the literal is ‘shared’, derived from P(ART)A + KEN .
13 VITUPERATE – not a word I use every day; ‘worried about’ needs to be subject to a bit of lifting-and-separating, since it indicates that VIPER + ATE go round TU (‘Trades Union’)
14 FILM – double definition, one starring either Caine or Law, depending on your generation
16 ROOM – ‘moor’ reversed
17 HEBRAISTIC – definitely the toughest of the bunch, as evidenced by the fact I was working around HE and IC – oh yes, and ITS reversed - and still managed an epic fail. Literal ‘of Semitic culture’; wordplay HE (male) + BRA (supporter) + IC (in charge) around ITS reversed.
19 UNLOADED – two definitions, one jocular
20 STUDIO – STUD (boss – as on a shield) + I + O
23 STATE DEPARTMENT – STATEMENT about LEAVE
24 CATER – CARTER minus his first R
25 THEORISER – RIOTS HERE*
DOWN
1 ALLOT – sounds like ‘a lot’
2 LAST BUT NOT LEAST – the literal is ‘ultimately still important’, the wordplay an indication that LAST is spelled like LEAST but without the E. I think. But maybe there are hidden depths which I cannot plumb.
3 GROWN-UPS – in case anyone is wondering about the W, it stands for ‘with’; so, W + N (last letter of parson) in GROUPS
4 TEEN - hidden
5 REFRACTORY – I like both the clue and this very Stephen Fryish sort of word; RE + [spanne]R in FACTORY
6 PRONTO – PRO + NOT*
7 QUICK-WITTEDNESS – ‘astuteness’; some won’t like the undifferentiated use of TED for ‘male’ in QUICK (‘once living’, ie old word for living) + WIT[h] (‘mostly with’) + TED + NESS
8 ERGONOMIC – ‘of work efficiency’; GO (‘spirit’) in NO CRIME*
12 IRREVERENT – ‘impious’; IR (‘Irish’) + RENT about EVER, where ‘that’ refers back to the word ‘permanently’ – a device not often seen in crosswords.
13 VIRTUOSIC – ‘showing great skill’; TOURS* + I in VIC (as in the Old Vic Theatre)
15 DICTATOR – CID reversed + TA + TO + R
18 CAREER – double definition. Does the question mark indicate that a career is not a job? Perhaps we should be told.
21 OTTER – ‘fish-eater’ is the – to me – perfectly acceptable literal; from OTT (over the top) + ER
22 WAKE – ‘late vigil’ is a nice description of a wake; a boat produces a wake or wash as long as you remember to start it.