I enjoyed this one, polishing it off in fifteen minutes with some BIFfing, then going back to see the parsing and learn why Rotten Row was rotten. I’m not convinced how 1a works, and it was nice to see an antelope appearing, we haven’t seen one for a while.
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, DD = double definition, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | Style originally associated with Louis Armstrong perhaps? (4) |
| SCAT – I think this is a reference to Ella Fitzgerald, who sang jazz in the scat style and was associated with Louis Armstrong more than others. Or is there more to it? I didn’t think it was S (style originally) then CAT referrring to the Tin Pan Alley CATS, as that was Fats Waller not Satchmo, who AFAIK wasn’t called the cat. Discuss. | |
| 4 | Going off plant with concerning smell (10) |
| PUTRESCENT – PUT (plant), RE (concerning) SCENT (smell). | |
| 9 | What mostly went west? A nation travelling with GWR (5,5) |
| WAGON TRAIN – (A NATION GWR)*. | |
| 10 | Painter of big rooms, but not large (4) |
| HALS – HALLS loses an L for large. Franz Hals, Dutch painter. EDIT sorry, Frans, not Franz, says Andy below. | |
| 11 | Cook turned item on menu slightly fishy (6) |
| ODDISH – DO (cook) reversed, DISH = item on menu. | |
| 12 | Staid manner affected by Tories (8) |
| SOBRIETY – (BY TORIES)*. | |
| 14 | Quiet Concorde? Listen! (4) |
| PSST – P (quiet) SST (supersonic transport). | |
| 15 | Things for washing fabric meeting more than one test (10) |
| TOILETRIES – TOILE (a fabric), TRIES (more than one test). | |
| 17 | Insect present in most undomesticated antelopes (10) |
| WILDEBEEST – BEE inside WILDEST. | |
| 20 | In head’s absence, did jam for school snack (4) |
| TUCK – [S]TUCK = jam losing its head. | |
| 21 | Pudding is second rank, not finished in the main (8) |
| SEMOLINA – MO (second), LIN[e] = rank not finishing, inside SEA the main. | |
| 23 | Kitchen utensil is one used to beat? (6) |
| PEELER – double definition; reference to “peelers”, Sir Robert Peel’s original police force, so “on the beat”. | |
| 24 | Flattering and scheming, getting ring for wife (4) |
| OILY – WILY changes the W to an O. | |
| 25 | I had one rooftop rebuilt, with no chance of failure (5-5) |
| IDIOT-PROOF – I’D (I had) then (I ROOFTOP)*. | |
| 26 | One running revolutionary unit in House of Representatives (10) |
| MARATHONER – MARAT (French revolutionary), ONE (unit) in HR. | |
| 27 | Is it that Henry could have been flush? (4) |
| WASH – WAS (is it that?) H[enry]. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Secret family keep for a purpose (11) |
| CLANDESTINE – CLAN (family), DESTINE (keep for a purpose). | |
| 3 | Corrupted outside of tough American (3-6) |
| TWO-FISTED – TWISTED (corrupted) has OF inserted. Apparently two-fisted means virile or tough in American English. | |
| 4 | Unjustified criticism’s the reason for dropping cooked food? (7) |
| POTSHOT – you could drop the food if the POT’S HOT. | |
| 5 | Narration titles rewritten for complete change of text (15) |
| TRANSLITERATION – (NARRATION TITLES)*. | |
| 6 | Honour the Spanish nursemaid with a raise? (7) |
| ENNOBLE – EL (the in Spanish), BONNE (housemaid in French) all reversed. | |
| 7 | Stay away from most ancient woman cuddling her partner? Not half (5) |
| EVADE – EVE has half of ADam inserted. | |
| 8 | Cross River Wye (5) |
| TESTY – TEST (river in Hampshire), Y (sounds like Wye, another river). | |
| 13 | Oscar drunk with chartreuse is undependable (11) |
| TREACHEROUS – (O CHARTREUSE)*. | |
| 16 | Go round not using a hackneyed raised riding track (6,3) |
| ROTTEN ROW – ROTATE (go round) loses its A > ROTTE, then WORN (hackneyed) reversed. A riding track in Hyde Park, the name a corruption of Route du Roi as William III established it. | |
| 18 | Our country’s Brexit is hard — missing European times (7) |
| BRITISH – BREXIT loses E and X (times), IS H[ard]. How sad but true. | |
| 19 | One giving hope for better time in LA in bank (7) |
| TIPSTER – TIER (bank) has PST (Pacific Standard Time) inserted. | |
| 21 | What’s formed by tempest or monsoon? (5) |
| STORM – hidden as above. | |
| 22 | One visibly happy disposing of small racehorse (5) |
| MILER – SMILER (someone visibly happy) loses S[mall]. | |
My Merriam Webster CM. published 1997 lacks two fisted, so gave up and came here for enlightenment. So thanks for the blog, erudite and amusing.
Thanks setter, my favourite was peeler, great misdirection.