I found this one quite hard work and needed 55 minutes to complete it, but thankfully without resort to aids as there were no difficult words or references.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | Classify large mammal (5) |
| RATEL – RATE (classify), L (large) aka the honey badger, apparently | |
| 4 | Saw lagers being put out in this? (9) |
| GLASSWARE – Anagram [put out] of SAW LAGERS | |
| 9 | Reddest stain, in which nothing fades (9) |
| BLOODIEST – 0 (nothing) + DIES (fades) in BLOT (stain) | |
| 10 | Man pulling back stone getting sweaty? (5) |
| MOIST – I O M (Man – Isle of) reversed [pulling back], ST (stone) | |
| 11 | Interested by journalist with abnormally shaped feet (6) |
| INTOED – INTO (interested by), ED (journalist). Not a word I knew but simply means having toes turned inwards. Some sources have it with a hyphen. | |
| 12 | Cross, but not quite to the end, note (8) |
| CROTCHET – CROTCHET{y} (cross) [not quite to the end]. Known across the pond as a quarter note. | |
| 14 | Greeting quietly? In house, men always cheer (3,3,6) |
| HIP HIP HOORAY – HI (greeting), P (quietly), HIP (in), HO (house), OR (men), AY (always). Phew!! | |
| 17 | Revolting group of children under guard after week occupying a playground? (7,5) |
| AWKWARD SQUAD – WK (week) + WARDS (children under guard) contained by [occupying] A + QUAD (playground). According to Wikipedia this has its origin in military slang “for a group of recruits who seemed incapable of understanding discipline or not yet sufficiently trained or disciplined to properly carry out their duties”. Quad, short for quadrangle, is used particularly in academic circles where it’s the open space surrounded by college buildings. As a playground it’d be more likely to be in a private school such as Greyfriars, the one attended by the Fat Owl of the Remove in today’s user pic. | |
| 20 | Disposed, ie, to bend? (8) |
| OBEDIENT – Anagram [disposed] of IE TO BEND. The definition is &lit. | |
| 21 | Put out / toy (6) |
| RATTLE – Two meanings | |
| 23 | Miss, possibly, I lament on reflection (5) |
| NAOMI – I + MOAN (lament) reversed [on reflection] | |
| 24 | Top quality speaker’s self-reproach was slow to shift (4-5) |
| GILT-EDGED – GILT sounds like [speaker’s] “guilt” (self-reproach], EDGED (was slow to shift) | |
| 25 | Priest leading female PE disturbs family (9) |
| CLERGYMAN – ER (leading female – HMQ) + GYM (PE) is contained by [disturbs] CLAN (family) | |
| 26 | Exchange of tips on choral composition’s symbol (5) |
| TOTEM – MOTET (choral composition) swaps its end letters [exchange of tips] | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Mistake wearing jewel that’s cheap? (8) |
| RUBBISHY – BISH (mistake) contained by [wearing] RUBY (jewel) | |
| 2 | Dances taking you most of the way to heaven? (3-5) |
| TWO-STEPS – A straight defintion and a cryptic one with reference to the song “Three Steps To Heaven” from the 1960s when it was a hit for Eddie Cochran who wrote it with his brother. It was a hit again in 1975, this time for Showaddywaddy. | |
| 3 | For those attending Royal gala: wine isn’t one I’d fancy! (6-2-7) |
| LADIES-IN-WAITING – Anagram [fancy] of GALA WINE ISN’T I (one) I’D | |
| 4 | Fellow colonel gasps, lifting exhibits (4) |
| GLEN – Reversed [lifting] and hidden [exhibits] in {colo}NEL G{asps} | |
| 5 | Looking for what we have broadcast late (5,5) |
| AFTER HOURS – AFTER (looking for), HOURS sounds like [broadcast] “ours” (what we have) | |
| 6 | Not entirely clear, possibly, father of Irishman’s eaten most of joint (15) |
| SEMITRANSPARENT – SEAN’S PARENT(possibly father of Irishman) contains [’s eaten] MITR{e} (joint) [most of] | |
| 7 | Don’t get on / like a house on fire? (6) |
| ALIGHT – Two meanings with the first more of a cryptic definition as ALIGHT in that sense means ‘get off’ which isn’t quite the same as ‘don’t get on’. | |
| 8 | Body: it’s what was right inside doorway (6) |
| ENTITY – ENT{r}Y (doorway) with R replaced by IT [IT’s what was Right] | |
| 13 | Roughly chopping stick in preparation for working with trap (7,3) |
|
CHEWING GUM – C (roughly), HEWING ( |
|
| 15 | American chasing game however claims to work hard (4,1,3) |
| BUST A GUT – BUT (however) contains [claims] US (American) + TAG (chasing game). I wonder if this slang expression has travelled as far as our former colony across the water? | |
| 16 | Publicity over animal sanctuary scandal upset rider (8) |
| ADDENDUM – AD (publicity), DEN (animal sanctuary), MUD (scandal) reversed [upset] | |
| 18 | Spirit nobody in large organisation is able to raise (6) |
| COGNAC – COG (nobody in large organisation), CAN (is able to) reversed [raise] | |
| 19 | Cancel gun permit on tip from police (6) |
| REVOKE – REV (gun ), OK (permit), {polic}E [tip]. Apparantly ‘gun’ can mean ‘rev’ an engine. | |
| 22 | Strategy the board has failed to complete (4) |
| PLAN – PLAN{k} (board) [failed to complete] | |
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