I have to admit to this being a rather dozy solve over 24 minutes with a single typo which I should have spotted and (probably) a rather dozy exposition. An impressive five “rounds” appear in the clues all encouraging the same action. Through heavy lidded, dormouse eyes I will endeavour to squint out any typos in the following, while marking clues thus, definitions so, and solutions in THIS FASHION
Across
1 Children keeping dog brought to safety (7)
SECURED In a slightly old fashioned way, children are SEED, familiar enough for people who sing the Magnificat either in Latin “Abraham et semini ejus in saecula” or English “Abraham and his seed for ever.” Be that as it may, keep a CUR dog
5 Zealot to rock around (5)
BIGOT A reversal (around) of TO (in plain sight) and GIB, the big disputed rock on the Southern Spanish coast.
9 Flood having subsided with river contained (5)
DROWN Subsided is DOWN, insert the R(iver)
10 Outdoor job travelling round forest, missing nothing (9)
GARDENING The forest is ARDEN, in Warwickshire and As You Like It. Travelling is just GOING. Remove the O as instructed and put the remnant round the forest
11 Add to workers in holiday month with our lot off (7)
AUGMENT The holiday month is AUGust/ Remove the US (our lot) and add in MEN for workers
12 Fellow holding church party in kingdom once (7)
MACEDON More often seen with the IA on the end. Fellow is MAN, who holds a CE (church) DO (Party)
13 Survey revealing deception: sect’s up for reform (10)
CONSPECTUS Not a word for survey I’m familiar with, but a combination of CON for deception and an anagram (reform) of SECT’S UP
15 Top style in Russian city (4)
PERM Top style as in hairdo. PERM is a city on the banks of the Kama River in the European bit of Russia. I had to look it up
18 Chemist placing vanadium in period (4)
DAVY He of the safely lamp and also an accomplished chemist who isolated potassium and sodium in 1807 and calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and boron. V vanadium in DAY for period of time
20 School with top athlete (4,6)
HIGH JUMPER Rydell High was the school in Grease, but is also the epithet for any number of schools. JUMPER is a top when top means an item of clothing
23 Game men with desire, heading off into dances (7)
BISHOPS You’re looking for chess MEN, so it’s desire: WISH with its heading banished inserted into dances: BOPS
24 Membrane’s wrecked by a puller (7)
PLEURAL The apostrophe in membrane’s suggests you are looking for an adjectival version, an anagram (wrecked) of A PULLER
25 What’s provided by painter, pretty gloss (9)
INTERPRET Today’s hidden, on paINTER, PRETty
26 Guy in cricket side leaving Somerset’s ground (5)
TAUNT So a verbal meaning of guy, constructed from TAUNTON (indeed where Somerset cricketers play) without ON the cricket side
27 City match expecting many away supporters? (5)
DERBY Well, I suppose larger numbers of away supporters because in a Derby match they’re local (unless Manchester United)
28 Give description of fish coming to harbour (7)
PORTRAY RAY coming to PORT. Teehee
Down
1 Military commander admitting oversight finally — one’s fired (7)
SHOTGUN A Japanese military man with the last of oversighT inserting
2 Mockery of politician in debate that hasn’t succeeded (8)
CONTEMPT Debate is CONTEST, from which the S(ucceeded) is removed and MP, your politician, replacing it
3 Reference compiler exposing nonsense about good English (5)
ROGET Of Thesaurus fame. ROT (nonsense) around and about G(ood) E(nglish)
4 Rush to get mug in seaside location (9)
DARTMOUTH a charade of DART: rush and MOUTH: mug. The Devon Home to the Britannia Royal Naval College
5 Quail, being left stuck in seat (6)
BLENCH L(eft) in BENCH: seat. Easy as they some, unless you sre unfamiliar with the word blench
6 Cook requires good little sieve (7)
GRIDDLE Good provides the G again Chambers says a RIDDLE is a large sieve so perhaps the little suggests the diminutive form of good
7 Element hanging round game making one cross (5)
TIGON The Tiger shall lie down with the Lion and produce an random element TIN round GO, a game with pebbles
8 Five in a social event meeting duke, getting on (8)
ADVANCED A social event is A DANCE and five is V. The whole construction meets D(uke)
14 A new shirt PC ordered — I’d retain his helmet? (9)
CHINSTRAP The self aware helmet retainer is an ordered form of A N(ew) SHIRT PC, his referring to the PC doing a bit of double duty
16 Goodness gracious, having to get round exam on modern technology! (8)
MORALITY Split the mild oath. Gracious (!) becomes MY (!) around an ORAL exam and IT for terribly modern technology
17 Roman official’s search round area to get gold (8)
QUAESTOR Rely on the wordplay if you lack encyclopaedic knowledge of Roman officials. Search: QUEST surrounds A(rea) and gold provides the OR
19 Six sandwiches bought up for guest (7)
VISITOR More Latin: Six is VI. The sandwiches are ROTI (I think not really a plural) which are (is) brought up, or reversed
21 Criminal offence of a group in court (7)
PERJURY One of those clues where the innocuous A gives PER and the court group is a JURY
22 Cheer coming from old men in dance (6)
HOORAY O(ld) OR: men both in HAY for dance. I reckon the best known use of HAY for dance is Percy Grainger’s ctchy Shepherds’ one
23 Uncritical learner in tricky situation (5)
BLIND Your L(earner) in a BIND
24 Old man, head on verge of retirement (5)
PATER Even more Latin Head is PATE, and the evrge of Retirement is just the R
I’ve given up on this one and just reading the above now to understand how the clues work further.
Thanks!
🤣
Gosh, that’s a bit mean on so many levels. I completed the grid without looking stuff up, only checking PERM for detail writing up the blog. And “crap”? Really? Not a crossword fan, then? Or just objectionable for effect?
The grauniad had this lovely example ‘ winged overseer in grange loft, hen or thrush ‘ (5,2,3,5).