18 minutes precisely, taking time to make sure I’d correctly interpreted the wordplay, which varied between the bizarre and the really quite easy.
A couple of celebrities put in an appearance, one living, one not, both (probably) well enough known to qualify for inclusion. I gained the impression that our setter was aiming for a record number of first/last/middle/outer letter inclusions and exclusions, but that might be just me. There is an excellent &lit.
Definitions underlined in italics, and I (mostly) show deletions and unused letters with []. Everything else should explain itself.
| Across | |
| 1 | Monotonous speaker curtailed by “Cor blimey, naked bird” (6,6) |
| DRONGO SHRIKE – Bet you didn’t know drongo is a Madagascan word, and the bird is any of 20 or so types scattered all over Africa and Asia. The “shrike” bit appears to identify the birds as shrike-like. The wordplay is almost as much fun. Monotonous speaker, DRONE is curtailed (lose the E), cor gives rise to GOSH and then blimey translates to CRIKEY, which you denude of its outer letters. | |
| 8 | State of motion, ultimately, in a tiny particle spinning (7) |
| MONTANA – The last letter (ultimately) of motioN inside AN ATOM, a tiny particle, reversed (spinning). | |
| 9 | Acting to prevent illness, colonist provided essential pieces of alum (7) |
| ANTIFLU – Colonist: ANT, provided: IF, and the essential, middle letters of aLUm | |
| 11 | Source of anger studied then overlooked, reportedly (3,4) |
| RED MIST – Aural wordplay (reportedly): studied “READ” and overlooked “MISSED”. | |
| 12 | Drunk happiest when son scratched inscription (7) |
| EPITAPH – Remove S[on] from HAPPIEST and anagram (drunk). | |
| 13 | Singer Vincent claiming head of investment lamped servant? (5) |
| GENIE – Cute definition. The required singer is GENE Vincent, insert first of Investment | |
| 14 | Cut Jack up in disgust in assessment (9) |
| APPRAISAL – Jack up (ignore the capital) is RAISE, cut the end off and insert in APPAL from disgust. | |
| 16 | Immediately name boring American “Pierce” (2,1,6) |
| AT A GLANCE – Name is TAG, which bores its way into A[merican] LANCE, not Pierce the name (again ignore the capital) but pierce the action. | |
| 19 | Glimpse location for audition (5) |
| SIGHT – Aural wordplay (for audition) of “SITE”, location. | |
| 21 | Strip of land is so close for naturism breaks (7) |
| ISTHMUS – IS in plain sight, then THUS for so, into which the last of naturisM breaks. | |
| 23 | Rest of America always entertained by partner (7) |
| LAYOVER – Equivalent on this side to stopover. AY for always is embraced by LOVER for partner. | |
| 24 | Blessed, perhaps in retirement, one receives zero capital (7) |
| NAIROBI – BRIAN Blessed is hinted at. Reverse (in retirement), add I, one, and insert O, zero. | |
| 25 | Allure of love affair started by girl on vacation (7) |
| GLAMOUR – Girl on vacation gives GL, love affair is AMOUR. | |
| 26 | Check clothing for second venture? (12) |
| REINVESTMENT – REIN for check and VESTMENT for clothing. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Clamour to support nude dancing in New Zealand city (7) |
| DUNEDIN – From the Gaelic for Edinburgh, apparently. DIN for clamour under and anagram (dancing) of NUDE. | |
| 2 | Like precious stone from old friend in Eton, originally (7) |
| OPALINE – O[ld] friend: PAL IN Eton’s first letter (originally) | |
| 3 | Method to transfer power damaged great source of water (4,5) |
| GEAR TRAIN – An anagram (damaged) of GREAT plus RAIN as source of water. | |
| 4 | Criticise some Tesla technicians (5) |
| SLATE – Hidden in TeSLA TEchnicians | |
| 5 | Wine box is upside-down, but not cold (7) |
| RETSINA – The box is a CANISTER, turned upside-down with its C[old] missing. | |
| 6 | Dresses Kelvin behind a northern station’s entrance (7) |
| KAFTANS – K[elvin] plus AFT for for behind, then A N[orthern] and the first of Station. | |
| 7 | Way to conceive of painting More novel (12) |
| IMPREGNATION – An anagram (novel) of PAINTING MORE | |
| 10 | They restore plush fitting? (12) |
| UPHOLSTERERS – &lit. An anagram (fitting, as in shaking in a fit) of RESTORE PLUSH. | |
| 15 | Official stopping trouble before departure (9) |
| PREFLIGHT – Official is REF, plugging a gap in PLIGHT for trouble. | |
| 17 | Endure starting late journey with legs apart (7) |
| ASTRIDE – Endure gives LAST, but the L is a late non-arrival. Journey is RIDE. | |
| 18 | Satirise a politician interrupting simpleton (7) |
| LAMPOON – A simpleton is a LOON, insert A MP for a politician. | |
| 19 | Yellow, after spilling guts in emergency? It’s possibly a nasty infection (7) |
| SPYWARE – Remove the “guts” from Y[ello]W and insert into SPARE, which for now I’ll count as an emergency inasmuch as a spare tyre is an emergency replacement. | |
| 20 | Stop working, as setter’s restricted by painful condition (4,3) |
| GIVE OUT – One of the versions of setter’s is I’VE. Insert into the painful condition of GOUT. | |
| 22 | Diet energy gunk (5) |
| SLIME – SLIM for diet plus E[nergy]. | |
First pass on the across clues yielded very little, fortunately the down clues (including gear train) were much more aligned with my train of thought. NHO the bird and couldn’t parse it but I knew a Shrike and could see Drone and Gosh so went with it. LOI SPYWARE for same reason as many: didn’t really get Spare.
Not sure having to find alternates for three words, messing about with two out of the three then stitching them together to make an obscure solution makes a great clue (1 a)?
And seeing as canisters tend to be cylindrical, describing them as boxes seems a bit iffy.
Managed this all without aids, so it must have been easy!
Held up here by not knowing the bird ( got as far as DRONGO SH…) or the American for rest-stop, and confidently writing in RED FLAG ( surely more of a source of anger, than mist?), and also NHO GEAR TRAIN. But enjoyable ride, nevertheless. COD UPHOSTERERS for the good anagram.