I have not returned to the sunlit uplands of speedy solving yet, so will be content with the 34 minutes it took. I did think actually parsing some of the longer ones took more time that strictly necessary for completing the grid, but then I’m on duty. Those who merrily biffed their way through can find the proper solutions here.
Since keeping a window open is necessary to cool the heat oppresséd brain my writing has been accompanied by suicidal moths dive bombing the more exposed bits of me, engendering frequent rather rude outbursts. If this has affected spelling and/or coherence I can only apologise. Otherwise I have attempted to preserve the general clue definition SOLUTION outine
Across
1 Artist performing without one is communicating via waves (8)
RADIOING Artist RA, who is DOING, possibly the simplest form of performing. Together without (outside) I for one
5 Aware of having to follow voting system forthwith (6)
PRONTO ONTO aware (M Maigret was onto the villain immediately) and P(roportional) R(epresentation) the voting system.
10 Quartet depart endless hosts to finally play for one (5,10)
SPLIT INFINITIVE Quartet is IV, or four, which SPLIT (depart) and INFINITE (endless) “host” for the no-longer-solecism.
11 Tatty article you left on sink (4-2-4)
DOWN-AT-HEEL You equates to the antique THEE, Left contributes its L. Both are tacked on to DOWN for sink, as in drink. As also is A for article: Thanks McT
13 Burning bible with papers (4)
AVID the Bible here is the Authoristed Version, AV for short and the papers ID
15 Rather like petrol alternative? One could give it a whirl! (7)
DERVISH DERV, for the acronym for diesel engine road vehicle, is another version of plain diesel, an alternative to petrol, now dropping out of favour (again). Whimsically, a bit like puts the ISH on the end. Dervishes are noted for whirling (see “The Jewel of the Nile”)
17 Re offer, fabulous? (3,4)
FOR FREE I take it that the conceit of this clue is that an offer “for free” would indeed be fabulous. Double tracking, fabulous is the anagram indicator for RE OFFER
18 Film director to take stock of soundtrack? (7)
RUSSELL To my knowledge, Bertrand failed to release the History of Western Philosophy as a movie, but Ken made lots of films of varying decadence and wonder, in one of which, for example, the former MP for Hampstead and Highgate rolls around on the floor a railway carriage in a state of undress. Oh, his name also sounds like rustle, to take cattle.
19 Happier having smallest coins in a line (7)
TIPSIER In which you must assume that tipsier means more drunk and drunk is represented by happy. You need some of the smallest coins which are 1PS, after the period in which there were ha’pennies to challenge for the smallest (in value) crown. Place them inside TIER for line.
21 Joshua’s father’s sisters (4)
NUNS Joshua, who fit the battle of Jericho had a dad called NUN. Add the apostrophe S without the apostrophe.
22 Match in Kew moved here? (10)
TWICKENHAM It being unwise to play Rugby in the venerable gardens, move the letters of MATCH IN KEW for the more suitable Cabbage Patch venue about 4 miles down the A316
25 Have bags of authority? (4,3,8)
WEAR THE TROUSERS Especially Oxford style trousers are known as bags. A cryptic definition of the assessment of domestic arrangements, harking back to the days when the lady of the house didn’t but did.
27 Disc behind something attached to vehicle (1-5)
L-PLATE Disc is LP, and behind LATE, and not the apprentice crossword solve who would L-PARSE (that nearly works too).
28 Smoother variety of PE shorts (3-5)
HOT-PRESS has to be an anagram, and is of PE SHORTS In Chambers, the device has no hyphen, but the action does.
Down
1 Part evidently owing was settled (7)
RESIDED I think this is SIDE as a part of something, in the RED, so seen to be owing.
2 Pulse of boy rising (3)
DAL The simplest way of spelling the pulse, and LAD backwards
3 Excluded boy I transport very upset (10)
OSTRACISED everything in DES (boy) I (I) CART (transport) SO (very) is reversed.
4 Streak of lightning over part of golf course (5)
NINTH Streak means a bit of and over means reversed. In ligHTNINg.
6 Bust of Caesar finally placed on support (4)
RAID As in a drugs bust. R from the end of Caesar and AID for support.
7 PIN to disappear without right digital application (4,7)
NAIL VARNISH ignore the capitals, and PIN is NAIL. Disappear gives vanish, and for the second time without means outside, in this case R(ight)
8 Outstanding bit of cricket shortened contest (7)
OVERDUE The bit od cricket is an OVER, and a contest a DUEL which is shortened by removing the L.
9 Uncertain if I voted for this concoction of features (8)
VIDEOFIT Identikit for the TV age. Anagram (uncertain) of IF I VOTED.
12 Drawing grains in brickwork, showing every imperfection (5,3,3)
WARTS AND ALL Famously Oliver Cromwell’s instruction. ART (drawing) SAND (grains) inside WALL (brickwork).
14 Jolly English judge participating in mass event (6,4)
TRIPLE JUMP A jolly is, in this case, a works outing or some such, and therefore a TRIP. LUMP is a mass, into which you insert your E(nglish) J(udge)
16 Utterly unconvincing in speech days before Easter (4,4)
HOLY WEEK Sounds like wholly weak.
18 Frenchman with directive put up extension (7)
RENEWAL Apparently all Frenchmen are called RENE by decree of the Académie, directive is LAW which needs to be reversed.
20 Pharaoh, from memory, repeated verse periodically (7)
RAMESES Fortunately the best known in familiar spelling. RAM memory (take the back off your computer) and add the alternate letters of vErSe. Twice.
23 Blackguard over the moon finding collector’s item (5)
CURIO IO is our favourite crossword moon, so the blackguard must be CUR
24 Figure American’s left standing (4)
STAT as in istic. STATUS is your standing, from which persuade the US American to leave.
26 Present that’s not been opened before (3)
ERE Present being HERE (sir) from which the opening isn’t. Um- Present
Great puzzle all round. Had the feeling of an Anax to me, but others are much better at spotting these things.
Huge thanks and a round of applause to the setter, and to our poor heat-struck blogger.
Agree with Gals that 4dn is clever. But then so is 17ac.
Our Colonial friends never got a day-off so ‘Jolly’ is perhaps not within their vocabulary.
LOI 14ac TRIPLE JUMP courtesy of IKEA.
FOI 2dn DAL.
I did not really ever get on the wave length with 26758. I think it was me rather than the puzzle but it was somewhat ‘vanilla’ in my opinion.
Time about 50 minutes in three sessions.
COD 4dn NINTH WOD DERVISH
Sorry to niggle.
The final straw came when I had only 10ac still unsolved and I wasted about 15 minutes on it before giving up and revealing the answer at Times on-line. I was convinced that it was something unknown because my previous attempt to cheat using a word finder had come up with nothing to match the checkers which I knew were correct. I then found the reason for my difficulty was having stupidly mark the grid up as (4,11) instead of (5,10). I ask you!!!
Amongst my unknowns were NUN as Jonathan’s father, HOT-PRESS, DAL spelt DAL.
There’s a lot of rugby played on the immediate vicinity of Kew Gardens without going all the way down the 316 to TWICKENHAM. London Welsh have their home ground at the Old Deer Park adjoining the Gardens, and right next door to that is the Richmond Athletic Ground, home to London Scottish.
Edited at 2017-06-22 05:33 am (UTC)
Too many top-notch clues with neat surfaces for me to pick a winner. Compliments to the setter.
And thanks, Z8, for blogging while under insect attack. I had a June bug the size of a bat come down the chimney the other night while I sat watching television — like something out of a Hitchcock movie. It then launched a frenzied attack on the walls, light fittings, me … what’s with that? When did June bugs start coming down chimneys? Are they getting smarter?
And yes. Very beautiful, though I find them hard to appreciate when they’re throwing themselves at me in the dark.
Now I read the description on Buglife, I see they’re often called May bugs here, which I now remember from childhood. I guess it’s a reflection of the later spring in Canada that over there they’re June bugs.
I dithered for ages at the end over 6dn: it just had to be RUIN, but I couldn’t see why, and as so often the wrong answer took such a hold in my mind that the right one couldn’t get in. There isn’t much room in there, to be fair.
Edited at 2017-06-22 06:36 am (UTC)
This took about 35 mins last night, and then about 5 mins this morning for the last 6 or 7. But even with this morning’s renewed energy, I couldn’t get past ruin at 6dn. I knew it was wrong, but, as Keri says, it had such a hold that there was no space for any alternative…
Edited at 2017-06-22 09:40 am (UTC)
Welcome back. Sounds like a great trip. Hope it hasn’t left you pinin’ for the fjords.
P.S. Sorry about the insect bombardment Z. I don’t know if this tops Sotira’s june bug but we once had a bat come down the chimney in our NYC apartment (our building is old enough to have fireplaces). We turned off the lights and my husband ushered it out into the hallway where our neighbour chased it into the stairwell with a tennis racket. What followed we don’t know.
Re tipsier it probably didn’t help that happy/tipsy and line/tier aren’t the first associations one would come up with.
Re ostracised, please tell me I wasn’t the only one looking to stitch together OUT {boy} I {transport} to get a word like outraged.
STAT looks like it might catch a few biffers going for STET on the basis of “left standing”.
Thanks all round. Z, here are a couple of Viz top tips that might help you in your current predicament:
Catch moths using a mousetrap baited with a jumper.
Play “Moth Aircraft Carriers” by floating a shoe box in the bath with a torch attached. Leave a window open for ten minutes, then turn off the room lights and watch as the moths attempt to make their dramatic and dangerous landings.
I was making ( for me ) quite steady progress with this until I biffed HOLST VARIATIONS for 10ac.
Well, what else could it be – I already had –L-T for the first word and the clue included QUARTET, PLAY and a bit of anagram fodder ( endless HOSTS ).
This, of course, is why I why I will never, ever, ever enter the Championship Contest. Sigh.
Had to come here for clarification, with the bottom half finished and the top half looking like a dog’s breakfast.
Time: DNF in about 40 minutes. Thank you to setter and blogger.
PS Yes, I know the Holst Variations is (are?) not a quartet, but when did common sense ever come into it?
I don’t have a time because, well, I didn’t time it. I’m unfamiliar with UK auto identification, so ‘L-PLATE’ took a while, but it led to my LOI, RENEWAL, which I should have seen earlier. Learned about Joshua’s dad today, heretofore unknown. Regards.
Lots of clever clueing here but 3d is my COD because, despite having all the crossers correctly in place, like several others I spent too long thinking it had to be OUT…. (something) before the penny finally dropped.