Solving time: 33 minutes
I didn’t find this difficult but there were a few tricky words, meanings and wordplay that needed extra care.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Ruffle sailor involved in scrap (5) |
| JABOT | |
| AB (sailor) contained by [involved in] JOT (scrap). A jabot is an ornamental frill or ruffle on the front of a shirt or blouse, typically made of lace. I didn’t know this so I was grateful for the helpful wordplay and the J-checker supplied by 1dn. | |
| 4 | Spiky individual who monopolises country’s borders? (8) |
| HEDGEHOG | |
| Cryptic. Hedges are borders, perhaps in the countryside, and individuals who monopolise something can be referred to as hogs e.g. road hog. | |
| 8 | Unexceptional choice of green spaces (6-2-6) |
| COMMON-OR-GARDEN | |
| COMMON OR GARDEN (choice of green spaces). A common is a piece of open land for public use. | |
| 10 | The whole group, easily disheartened, drove by to reorganise (9) |
| EVERYBODY | |
| Anagram [reorganise] of E{asil}Y [disheartened DROVE BY | |
| 11 | Yankee devours poems by him (5) |
| YEATS | |
| Y (Yankee – NATO alphabet), EATS (devours). William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939), Irish poet, dramatist and writer. | |
| 12 | Harmful substance in fish abroad gutted (6) |
| POISON | |
| POI{s}SON (fish abroad i.e. in France) [gutted] | |
| 14 | Soldier dies, mutilated, and is carried up to here? (8) |
| PARADISE | |
| PARA (soldier), anagram [mutilated] of DIES. The definition is reflexive. |
|
| 17 | Leading Roman is entertaining you on local river (8) |
| TIBERIUS | |
| TIBER (local – to Rome – river), IS containing [entertaining] U (you – informal e.g. in texting ) | |
| 18 | Manage not to be late for social event (4,2) |
| MAKE DO | |
| MAKE (not to be late for), DO (social event) | |
| 20 | Hard going on slope in ploughed earth (5) |
| TILTH | |
| TILT (slope), H (hard) | |
| 22 | Like a fork to keep contents of roll stretched out (9) |
| PROLONGED | |
| PRONGED (like a fork) containing [to keep] {r}OL{l} [contents of…] | |
| 24 | Promiscuous detectives fit up cases (14) |
| INDISCRIMINATE | |
| INCRIMINATE (fit up) contains [cases] DI’S (detectives). ‘Fit up’ can mean to make someone appear guilty of something when they are perhaps innocent. POD: promiscuous – demonstrating an unselective approach; indiscriminate or casual. | |
| 25 | Test join: if loose, discard (8) |
| JETTISON | |
| Anagram [loose] of TEST JOIN | |
| 26 | Handle danger with husband away (5) |
| TREAT | |
| T{h}REAT (danger) [with husband away] | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Just initially take topcoat off to have a snack (6,6) |
| JACKET POTATO | |
| J{ust} [initially], anagram [off] of TAKE TOPCOAT | |
| 2 | Dessert almost failed completely (5) |
| BOMBE | |
| BOMBE{d} (failed completely) [almost]. This is a frozen dome-shaped dessert. | |
| 3 | One piece of wood, or eight? (3-2-4) |
| TWO-BY-FOUR | |
| Two meanings. A length of wood with a rectangular cross section two inches by four inches. And 2 x 4 = 8. | |
| 4 | Bear climbing regularly hopes for bird (6) |
| HOOPOE | |
| POOH (bear – Winnie) reversed [climbing], then {h}O{p}E{s} [regularly]. A salmon-pink Eurasian bird. | |
| 5 | Pet, by turning up in muzzle, can’t get into this? (5,3) |
| DOGGY BAG | |
| DOG (pet) then BY reversed [turning up] contained by [in] GAG (muzzle). As with 14ac the definition is reflexive. | |
| 6 | Annual failing to start in good time (5) |
| EARLY | |
| {y}EARLY (annual) [failing to start] | |
| 7 | Skilled worker willing to help after leaving firm (9) |
| OPERATIVE | |
| {co}OPERATIVE (willing to help) [after leaving firm – Co] | |
| 9 | Rock circulating in profusion here offering a drug hit (8,4) |
| ASTEROID BELT | |
| A, STEROID (drug), BELT (hit). The concentrations of asteroids that move around the sun mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. | |
| 13 | Lopsidedness of main cable needing adjustment (9) |
| IMBALANCE | |
| Anagram [adjustment] of MAIN CABLE | |
| 15 | One dissecting a North American cat is heartless essentially (9) |
| ANATOMIST | |
| A, NA (North American), TOM (cat), IS, {hear}T{less} [essentially] | |
| 16 | Omens from summits involving America (8) |
| AUSPICES | |
| APICES (summits) containing [involving] US (America). ‘Apices’ is the plural of ‘apex’ for Latin scholars and purists. | |
| 19 | Skin preparation: diver keeps it around (6) |
| LOTION | |
| LOON (diver – bird) contains [keeps] IT reversed [around] | |
| 21 | Happens to be in very warm lift (5) |
| HOIST | |
| IS (happens to be) contained by [in] HOT (very warm) | |
| 23 | Good fabric with a glossy finish (5) |
| GLACE | |
| G (good), LACE (fabric). We probably know glacé best from crystallised or candied fruit such as cherries, but with reference to leather, silk, etc it means having a glossy finish. | |
I remembered this from “Measure for Measure”, which I read at school:
As those that feed grow full, as blossoming time
That from the seedness the bare fallow brings
To teeming foison, even so her plenteous womb
Expresseth his full TILTH and husbandry.
JABOT was the only NHO but several difficult obscurities here. Several mistakes too, I put ‘party’ instead of EARLY which made HEDGEHOG and HOOPOE impossible and initially invented ‘suspires’ before changing it to the also wrong ‘suspects’ instead of AUSPICES. I also put ‘glaze’ and thought about ‘glame’ instead of GLACE/GLACÉ
Like SteveB, I thought GLAZE was such an obvious word for glossy finish that I presumed the existence of a LAZE fabric. I did an alphabet trawl but did not think of an accent. So GLACE, rhyming with LACE, passed me by. Spoiled an otherwise perfect 15 minutes. The singer Murray Head told me of the pleasure of wearing JABOTs as one of the 60s Swinging London crowd!
Fastest ever at 17.23…..only to blow it with iNbalance error. I could cry lol. Always tomorrow!
Enjoyed this, though top half went in more quickly than the bottom, where I had to think about INDISCRIMINATE and ANATOMIST. No problem with JABOT once I had the J. As Olivia Hugill would say – it’s all in Georgette Heyer. Liked ASTEROID BELT and PROLONGED, though I spent far too long trying to justify BIPRONGED!
My fastest for a long time! (If that makes sense…). Stuck on JABOT, as although had heard of, was trying to shoe-horn in a different abbreviation for “sailor” into B??IT. Made perfect sense when I eventually looked it up! And of course, JACKET POTATO followed easily. My biggest mistake was entering BUMME for, to me, the unknown dessert! The rest flowed in beautifully…liked TIBERIUS (carefully constructed from the wordplay), and POISON ( I framed the saying “One man’s meat is another man’s POISSON” long ago.)