Time taken: 12:11, with a lot of that time trying to justify 10 across. Eventually I hit submit and things were correct, but I had to look up part of the wordplay for the blog. I may be an outlier timewise, as several solvers have faster times than me.
Fun puzzle, though I suspect several entries can be biffed from the enumeration or definition.
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Retired city keyboard player, not a mountaineer (8) |
| ALPINIST – LA(city) reversed, then PIANIST(keyboard player) minus A | |
| 6 | Scandinavian pirate’s female leader (6) |
| VIKING – VI is the female and a leader is a KING | |
| 9 | Legal-minded don loses nothing cracking up the shires (6,7) |
| MIDDLE ENGLAND – anagram of LEGAL-MINDED DON minus O(nothing) | |
| 10 | Petulant model ringing a London hospital (6) |
| TOUCHY – TOY(model) surrounding UCH(University College Hospital). At least I presume this is what is meant, it seems the hospital goes by UCLH now | |
| 11 | Shot during news broadcast (8) |
| BULLETIN – BULLET(shot), IN(during) | |
| 13 | Aussie possibly opposed to work, backing head of faculty (10) |
| ANTIPODEAN – ANTI(opposed to), then OP(work) reversed, and DEAN(head of faculty) | |
| 15 | Brittle BBC boss welcomed by the old in retirement (4) |
| EDGY – DG(Director General, BBC boss) inside YE(the, old) reversed | |
| 16 | With which a fencer may score record points? (4) |
| EPEE – EP(record) and E,E(easts, points) | |
| 18 | Eg Man Ray in county mostly associated with top people (10) |
| SURREALIST – SURREY(county) minus the last letter, then A-LIST(top people). I’ve thought of him more as pop art than surrealism | |
| 21 | A human made it: a truth Irish broadcasters accepted (8) |
| ARTEFACT – A, FACT(truth) containing RTE(Radio Telefis Eireann, Irish broadcasters) | |
| 22 | Scottish prosecutor, female, is about fifty (6) |
| FISCAL – F(female), IS, CA(about), L(fifty). I have seen this as procurator fiscal | |
| 23 | Daydreaming? Shearers may be doing it (13) |
| WOOLGATHERING – a shearer may be GATHERING WOOL | |
| 25 | Ultimately hostile in a sense, practising a form of discrimination (6) |
| AGEIST – last letter of hostilE in A, GIST(sense) | |
| 26 | Creator of placard nibbled by ruminants (8) |
| DESIGNER – SIGN(placard) inside DEER(ruminants) | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Knock Indian city briefly in burlesque (7) |
| LAMPOON – LAM(knock) then POONA(Pune, city in India) minus the last letter. Edit: apologies for any confusion, I had originally underlined Knock as the definition. | |
| 3 | Asian working in co-ed: he’s popular to begin with (11) |
| INDOCHINESE – anagram of IN, CO-ED, HE’S with IN(popular) at the top | |
| 4 | Current authority protecting large part of Scotland (5) |
| ISLAY – I(current), SAY(authority) containing L(large) | |
| 5 | Quake when young chorister crosses minister at first (7) |
| TREMBLE – TREBLE(young chorister) surrounding the first letter of Minister | |
| 6 | One watching Roman poet leaving right before (9) |
| VIGILANTE – VIRGIL(Roman poet) minus R(right), then ANTE(before) | |
| 7 | Parrot Eliot initially pinched from another poet (3) |
| KEA – remove TS (Eliot) from KEATS(another poet) | |
| 8 | Dropping off, like some acquaintances? (7) |
| NODDING – double definition | |
| 12 | Undying Latin verse recollecting gods primarily (11) |
| EVERLASTING – anagram of LATIN,VERSE then the first letter of Gods | |
| 14 | Attack cricket side’s mirth without hesitation (9) |
| ONSLAUGHT – ON(cricket side) ‘S then LAUGHTER(mirth) minus ER(hesitation) | |
| 17 | Old hairpiece found in cable over in Tamworth? (7) |
| PERIWIG – WIRE(cable) reversed inside PIG(tamworth is a type of pig) | |
| 19 | Went round gallery, visiting bar (7) |
| ROTATED – TATE(gallery) inside ROD(bar) | |
| 20 | Special slant identifying clothing ornament (7) |
| SPANGLE – SP(special), ANGLE(slant) | |
| 22 | After fine, daughter leaves city — does a runner! (5) |
| FLEES – F(fine) then remove D(daughter) from LEEDS(city) | |
| 24 | Sash former pupil originally introduced (3) |
| OBI – OB(former pupil), then the first letter of Introduced | |
15’01” – should definitely have been quicker except the missus kept asking me about holiday dates in May. The confusion over Kea is presumably because the word Kia exists too – one half of Kia Ora which is how the nice people at Radio NZ sign off their email messages to me. So it either means good or day, I’m guessing. And isn’t there a juice called Kia Ora? Lots of biffing.
This solve had perforce to be spread over the day, unusually, so no time, but it didn’t present too many hiccups, except ARTEFACT and that sense of FISCAL. Always happy to have one that I nearly finish, at least. CODs to SURREALIST ( had trouble thinking of him as other than a photographer) and KEA, for the clever construction.