Monthly Club Special 20,224: Don’t Want None Unless You Got Puns, Hun

Apols for this going out in a somewhat incomplete state earlier – I queued it up a month ago planning later improvements and of course promptly forgot about it entirely. In any case it was a good ‘un – not one but two words containing both Zs and Vs in the first row indicates we’re in for a puzzle that is going to be playful in its vocabulary choices, and there are all sorts of words thereafter that are both breathtakingly silly-looking and rather educational, after research. So, in short I thought this was great. Thanks setter! COD to 16dn just for being an amazing word, and quite a hard one to work out how best to clue, I’d imagine!

1 Bizarrely, bolshevized exiles belie perverted rulers such as Stalin (6)
VOZHDS – (BOLSHEVIZED*) [“bizarrely”] minus (BELIE*) [“perverted”].
The “explosion in a Scrabble tile factory” begins early this month…

5 Tool of little weight I had placed in can, briefly (8)
POZIDRIV – OZ I’D [little weight | I had] “placed in” PRIV{y} [can, “briefly”].
…and continues, with this registered trademark brand name for a screwdriver.

9 Enterprise, possibly akin to corrupt Republican’s introducing Ukrainian (8)
RUSSNIAK – U.S.S. [Enterprise, possibly] + (AKIN*) [“to corrupt”], R [Republican] is introducing
A “Ruthenian, Ukrainian or Little Russian”

10 Leisurely hack once turning in biog and a photo (3-3)
PAD-NAG – hidden reversed in {bio}G AND A P{hoto}
According to my dictionary this is an old word for an “ambling nag”.

11 States that female at home should frame charcoal drawing (6)
FUSAIN – USA [States] that F IN [female | at home] should “frame”

12 Ingredient of perfumes, all blended with no oil (8)
LINALOOL – (ALL + NO OIL*) [“blended”]

14 Girl in Oz, along with French cardinal, were stripped: one posed for minister there (7,5)
DOROTHY DIXER – DOROTHY [girl in Oz] + DIX [French cardinal (number)] + {w}ER{e}
“In Australian politics, a Dorothy Dixer is a rehearsed or planted question asked of a government Minister by a backbencher of their own political party during Parliamentary Question Time.”

17 I’m thinking a note well employed to stop crying game (5,7)
HUMAN BOWLING – UM [I’m thinking] + A + NB [note well], employed to “stop” HOWLING [crying]QUID [

20 Particular local tobacco Greek lad oddly neglected to bring back (8)
QUIDDLER – QUID [tobacco] + reversed {g}R{e}E{k} L{a}D
A quiddler is dialect for a “fastidious person”.

22 Sikh and what he wears five of: article impressing prince (6)
KHALSA – K’S A [what he wears five of | article] “impressing” HAL [prince]
The Sikh’s five worn K’s are Kesh (hair), Kangha (comb for the hair), Kara (iron bracelet), Kachera (sacred underwear) and Kirpan (dagger).

23 By virtue of being German I can present cup at St Andrews? (6)
QUAICH – QUA ICH [by virtue of being | German I]
A cup in St Andrews or anywhere else in Scotland.

25 Shaft for lifting ring, say, with buckles (8)
HOISTWAY – (O SAY WITH*) [“buckles”]

26 Peak summer months, good to go west, saving for after vacation (8)
JUNGFRAU – JUN and AUG are the summer months, send the G left (west), then insert F{o}R.
The Jungfrau is a well known summit in the Swiss Alps.

27 Muse, wasting time on couple I must follow and trap in room (6)
GHERAO – ERA{t}O [Muse, “wasting” T for time] on G H [couple I must follow (alphabetically).
This is an amazing word for to trap e.g. an employer in a room and not let him out until he accedes to your demands!

DOWN
2 Shrub of superior class planted among old beans, mostly (6)
OPULUS – U [of superior class] “planted among” O PULS{e} [old | beans, “mostly”]

3 Holding better half, win (11)
HUSBANDLAND – HUSBAND [better half] + LAND [win]

4 Fashionable new blue clothes and kid’s tight sweater (6-3)
SKINNY-RIB – IN N [fashionable | new] that SKY [blue] “clothes”, + RIB [kid]

5 Rest on box, maybe, when eyeing up the local crumpet (7)
PIKELET – KIP [rest] on TELE [box, maybe], upside down

6 Village governor clown’s cut short, before magistrate intervenes (5)
ZUPAN – ZAN{y} [clown “is cut short”], UP [before magistrate] “intervenes”

7 Hamish’s pet that’s housed in pentagonal structure (3)
DOD – The U.S. Department of Defence is rather famously housed in a Pentagon. And a dod is a Scottish sulk.

8 Displays rapt attention before rival players making introductions (8)
ISAGOGES – IS AGOG [displays rapt attention] before E S [rival players (in Bridge)]

13 Doing my job for G Lansbury’s successor, dispensing tips for beef producers (5,6)
LUING CATTLE – George Lansbury led the British labour party before Clement Attlee. Therefore the setter is {c}LUING C ATTLE{e}, tiplessly.

15 Shouting that has nasty Yogi bear breaking sick Cindy’s heart (9)
YOICKSING – (YOGI*) [“nasty”] “bears” (SICK {ci}N{dy}*) [“breaking”]

16 Junior Civil Service raised with us periodically pressing hazard in S America (8)
SUCURUJU – JR CS [Junior | Civil Service] reversed, with U’s periodically.
A sucuruju being an anaconda, it’s very much a “pressing” hazard in the South American continent

18 NZ fish: last two removed from store (7)
WAREHOU – WAREHOU{se}

19 African capital in role of spouse of pop artist (6)
ASMARA – AS MA RA [in role of | spouse of pop | artist].
The capital of Eritrea, as all quiz list-learners know.

21 Triumphant expression in the case of Labour landslide (5)
LAHAR – AHA! [triumphant expression] in L{abou}R

24 One’s grazed in places: wound, superficially, not wide (3)
ING – {w}ING [wound superficially, minus W = wide].
An ing is a meadow, oop north.