As Roger explained a couple of months ago, Richard Rogan was the compiler of alternate Monthly Club specials and that one was his last before his untimely passing. So I think this must be from a new setter to replace him. Quite different in style with the same quirky selection of words to make the answers, but with rather less intricacy in the wordplay. Despite writing in the answer wrong for 24A… it’s a hidden answer so I’ve no excuse for getting the letters in the wrong order, I finished this in less than 2/3 my usual time, but still had plenty of fun along the way. LOI was 18D where I failed to parse the clue at first and my other hold-up was trying to make 17A start with TICKLING, but who tickles with spoons? Thank-you clever setter. How did you all get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Boat led by Kazakh emptied, I see, in Slavic city (7) |
| KHARKIV – K{azak}H [emptied], ARK (boat) I V (videlicet; see). | |
| 5 | Angelic husband leaves, devoted to an ancient god (7) |
| SERAPIC – SERAP{h}IC (angelic) without the H (husband). | |
| 9 | Metathetical speech, in essence, by broadcaster (9) |
| MARROWSKY – MARROW (essence) SKY (broadcaster). Better known as a spoonerism. I had to look up metathetical as I didn’t know it before I could even start on the clue. | |
| 10 | Ancient soldier carried this hammered plate (5) |
| PELTA – (plate)* [hammered]. | |
| 11 | Ex-president keeps working, needing return fare from Japan (5) |
| ENOKI – ON (working) in IKE (ex-president) all returned -> ENOKI. | |
| 12 | French art including irrational, banal bits of verse (9) |
| EPITRITES – PI (irrational number; 3.1415926535…) TRITE (banal) in ES (French for (you singular) are; archaically art in English… as we all know from crosswords). | |
| 14 | Girl rocking a cot, one with artistic covering perhaps stimulating for breast-feeding mother (14) |
| GALACTOPOIETIC – GAL (girl), (a cot)* [rocking] -> ACTO, I (one) in POETIC (artistic). We had the related word GALACTORRHOEA in the first MCS I blogged in October 2022. | |
| 17 | Means to catch school members provoking people by golf clubs (8-6) |
| TROLLING-SPOONS – TROLLING (provoking people online) SPOONS (the old clubs equivalent to a modern fairway wood). | |
| 21 | Lamb tailing goat, ultimately, around stake – they may have three legs (9) |
| TRISKELIA – RISK (bet; stake) in, last letter of goaT ELIA (the pen name of Charles Lamb) | |
| 23 | What Scot uses before bowing to king, swallowing drugs from the east (5) |
| ROSET – ES (drugs) in TO R (rex; king) all reversed -> ROSET, a Scottish name for ROSIN, used by a string player on their bow. | |
| 24 | Part of bloodline I verified for ancient duke (5) |
| NEIVE – Hidden in bloodliNE I VErified. Duke as in fist rather than the noble. | |
| 25 | Old rag-trader following someone who tears clothing hero stripped off (9) |
| FRIPPERER – F (following) RIPPER (someone who tears clothing), {h}ER{o} without the outer letters. | |
| 26 | Answer dear friend half-heartedly, showing Rose’s denuded state? (7) |
| APETALY – A (answer) PET (dear) AL{l}Y (friend) missing one of the two middle letters., [half-heartedly]. | |
| 27 | Pounds invested by Nationwide’s banks – boss gets Lotus, perhaps (7) |
| NELUMBO – Outside letters of N{ationwid}E, L (pounds), UMBO (boss on a shield). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Make out hem of enormous Arab garment (6) |
| KAMEES – (Make)* [out] and outside letters of E{normou}S. | |
| 2 | Soldiers zip inside Caesar’s hall for crown (7) |
| AUREOLA – RE (Royal Engineers; soldiers) O (zero; zip), in AULA (a Latin, hence Caesar’s, word for hall). | |
| 3 | Minor eminence’s absorbing humour, a bumptious so-and-so (4-2-3) |
| KNOW-IT-ALL – WIT (humour) A, in KNOLL (hillock; minor eminence). | |
| 4 | Scooter circling awfully inert learner in the evening (11) |
| VESPERTINAL – (inert)* [awfully] in VESPA (scooter), L (learner). | |
| 5 | Canadian channel‘s new, boring screenplay without content (3) |
| SNY – N (new) in outside letters of S{creenpla}Y. The fifth time we’ve had to take the outside letters of a word! | |
| 6 | Track a group of grouse (5) |
| RYPER – RY (railway; track) PER (a; for each). The plural of RYPE, a ptarmigan. | |
| 7 | Coat of child deprived of sunshine (7) |
| PALETOT – If a child was deprived of sunshine they wouldn’t get a tan and be a PALE TOT. Ho ho! | |
| 8 | Nun almost wasted cash getting item for Celtic players (8) |
| CLARSACH – CLAR{e} (Nun) without the last letter, (cash)* [wasted]. A Celtic harp. | |
| 13 | Putting thick coat on the writer’s assistant Victoria? (11) |
| IMPASTATION – I’M (the writer’s) PA (assistant) STATION (Victoria?). | |
| 15 | Radical I really support, close to loony left (9) |
| ISOPROPYL – I SO (really) PROP (support), last letter of loonY, L (left). | |
| 16 | A son with kit off saving time – it’s spent in the Balkans (8) |
| STOTINKA – T (time) in (a son kit)* [off]. A monetary unit of Bulgaria. | |
| 18 | Police put in picture, wanting tip for Leicester killing? (7) |
| OVICIDE – CID (police) in {m}OVIE. I thought, at first, there was maybe an error here and we should have had something like Manchester rather than Leicester to specify the M to be removed, until I realised Leicester is a breed of sheep. | |
| 19 | Possible reason bibulous pirates complained about peace scheme that’s dubious (7) |
| NOSTRUM – ST (hush; peace) in NO RUM (possible reason bibulous pirates complained). Ho ho. | |
| 20 | Forbidding old cooking fuel (6) |
| STERNO – STERN (forbidding), O (old). | |
| 22 | Pack leader drinking whiskey, wanting a jazzy kind of music (5) |
| KWELA – W (whiskey) in the phonetic alphabet) in {a}KELA (pack leader) without the A | |
| 25 | Loud greeting from American turning up regional gift (3) |
| FOY – F (forte; loud), YO (American greeting) [turning up] -> OY. | |
Agreed that it was a bit easier than usual – for which much relief – but good fun. Spoilt by a typo in 7d.
As you say, a tad easier than usual. Many thanks for the blog.