Times 26,417: Sir Topham The Morning To You

Smarting from ulaca‘s quip that, based on my performances earlier this week, I am the John Aldridge of crosswords (with my limited knowledge of sports I’m not sure who that is, to be honest – perhaps only the fifth man to play golf on the moon?), I’d determined to do better on “my” Friday puzzle. But things did not get off to an auspicious start when I nodded off reading tales of lovely Ludwig Van, G.F. Handel and aversion therapy in A Clockwork Orange and woke with a startled thought of “crossword blog!” at 1am and tottered blearily downstairs. Throughout my solve a far-distant electronic device was making a pained buzzing sound which was very distracting, and let me tell you, my clue-droogies, I did not think this would be a week in which I would cover myself in any glory.

Fortunately it does seem as though my 13 minute time was at least reasonable – it’s still top of the leaderboard 8 hours later, anyway. I thought this was a lovely crossword, full of some very cleverly concealed stuff and just as importantly some very funny stuff. I don’t know if Dean Mayer had anything to do with it but I felt a lot of the same admiration/fear as when I set to work on a Sunday puzzle with his name on it: so let’s just say it felt a little bit Anaxesque. I mean just glancing at the finished grid you can see it’s a fun one: FAT CONTROLLER, WHEELIE-BIN and so on. The inevitable sporting references, well, as usual I don’t know what on earth they mean, but they have the great virtue today of sounding completely filthy: TOUCH JUDGES and WRIST-SHOT? I could talk about unusually lateral devices and brilliant definition parts (“members meeting at centre”, ha) for quite a while I’m sure, but let’s save that for the comments as there’s little girls to be dressed.

I’ll nominate 7dn as my COD though, for the lovely “jogging things” – fun also that it crosses with the equally crafty “running things clue”. My LOIs were in the SE corner, where the D of KNOCK-KNEED allowed me to get 28ac at which point I could finally be sure that 26dn was not (somehow) IRK. Really good puzzle, tumultuous applause to the setter!

Across

1 Cross after heading for beach to find litter (5)
BROOD – ROOD [cross] after B{each} [“heading for”]
4 Apt to rise fast, perhaps, when crossing motorway (4-5)
WELL-TIMED – WELL TIED [to rise | fast, perhaps] when crossing M [motorway]
9 Rock fan maybe after excitement googles it (9)
GEOLOGIST – (GOOGLES IT*) [“after excitement”]
10 Athlete doing marathon initially wearing running things (5)
ADMIN – A{thlete} D{oing} M{arathon} [“inititally”] + IN [wearing]
11 Station master in fact not moving posh car (3,10)
FAT CONTROLLER (FACT NOT*) [“moving”] + ROLLER [posh car]
14 Work, as non-drinkers do, after retirement (4)
OPUS – reverse [“after retirement”] of SUP O == “sup nothing”, as non-drinkers do
15 Joyful exclamation: morning in bed devouring book that’s trashy? (7,3)
WHEELIE BIN – WHEE [joyful exclamation] + LIE IN [morning in bed] devouring B [book]
18 CO perhaps to run out of things to say? (7,3)
EXHAUST GAS – (CO as in carbon monoxide) double def with EXHAUST GAS [to run out of | things to say]
19 Group to stop broadcasting (4)
BLOC – homophone of BLOCK [to stop “broadcasting”]
21 Active early Liberal plugging slogan in support of wildlife sanctuary? (2,4,3,4)
UP WITH THE LARK – L [Liberal] plugging UP WITH THE ARK! [slogan in support of wildlife sanctuary]
24 Winter Olympian’s weapon? (5)
LUGER – double def with LUGER [one who luges]
25 Poor condition of rhino and crocodile (9)
BREADLINE – BREAD [rhino] + LINE [crocodile]
27 Offensive street drawings that could get you going! (4-5)
PUSH-START – PUSH ST ART [offensive | street | drawings]
28 One left evidently indebted and annoyed (5)
RILED – I L [one | left] “evidently indebted”, i.e. in the RED

Down

1 Malnourished patient possibly doctor’s particular interest? (3,2,5)
BAG OF BONES – a BONES is a doctor, and a BAG someone’s particular interest…
2 Horse wearing pair of spectacles? That’s a surprise! (3)
OHO – H [horse] wearing OO [pair of spectacles]
3 Court case involves uplifting music (3-3)
DOO-WOP – reverse [“uplifting”] of WOO [court] (that) POD [case] involves
4 Stroke women’s T-shirt so wantonly (5-4)
WRIST-SHOT – (W T-SHIRT SO*) [“wantonly”]
5 Still life’s half mounted on print (5)
LITHO THO [still], (with) LI{fe} mounted on
6 Wake, taking hobnob for energy snack (5,3)
TRAIL MIX – TRAIL [wake] + MIX [hobnob]
7 I love 1AM ramble, after changing into jogging things? (11)
MEMORABILIA – (jogging things as in things that jog the memory) (I O IAM RAMBLE*) [“after changing”]
8 As cellar, maybe, was sinking, last of beer removed (4)
DANK – D{r}ANK [was sinking, “with {bee}R removed”]
12 Sports officials are concerned with book (5,6)
TOUCH JUDGES – double def with TOUCH JUDGES [are concerned with | book]
13 Members meeting at centre criticise poverty vocally (5-5)
KNOCK-KNEED – KNOCK [criticise] + homophone of NEED [poverty “vocally”]
16 Stick up marquee perhaps to accommodate mass staging (9)
ENACTMENT – reverse of CANE [stick “up”] + TENT [marquee perhaps] to accommodate M [mass]
17 Contents of cask — raw lubricant — tipped over ramparts (8)
BULWARKS – “contents of” {ca}SK RAW LUB{ricant} “tipped over”
20 Person selling part of cooker with two rings missing (6)
VENDOR – {o}VEN D{o}OR [part of cooker “with two rings missing”]
22 Bill and Al on reflection the pair to beat! (5)
TABLA – (as in a pair of drums to beat) TAB [bill] + reverse of AL [“…on reflection”]
23 Small round cuff (4)
SLAP – S LAP [small | round]
26 One’s going to some trouble (3)
ILL – double def with I’LL [one’s going to…]