DNF. I think a lot of the wordplay here was quite tricky (more lifting and separating than you might find in a pilates class), but I fairly raced through this one until I got to the upper-left corner. After 15 minutes of beard-scratching, I still wasn’t able to get 1 Across or Down, so I threw in the towel.
| Across | |
| 1 | Grand made a tidy sum kept at home (8) |
| GROUNDED – G + ROUNDED (made a tidy sum)
This is a very cute definition of ROUNDED, it must be said. I don’t know why the answer wasn’t a write-in from the definition, but I guess I wasn’t grounded enough in my youth. |
|
| 5 | Open prison was satisfactory (6) |
| CANDID – CAN + DID (was satisfactory) | |
| 10 | While original a sermon’s interminable (2,4,2,4,3) |
| AS LONG AS ONES ARM – AS LONG AS (while) + anagram of A SERMON | |
| 11 | Guest wearing very informal shirt on island (7) |
| INVITEE – IN (wearing) + V + TEE (informal shirt) next to I | |
| 12 | Frugal bath was running — little time to fill that (7) |
| SPARTAN – SPA (bath) + RAN (was running) around T | |
| 13 | Male depression son leaves for another day (8) |
| TOMORROW – TOM + {s}ORROW | |
| 15 | Beneficiary agreed with judge’s conclusion (5) |
| DONEE – DONE + last letter of JUDGE | |
| 18 | Small state broadcaster likely to fail (5) |
| RISKY – RI (small state = Rhode Island) + SKY | |
| 20 | Municipal chairman’s wife hiding diamonds in dressing gown (8) |
| MAYORESS – remove D from MAYO (dressing) DRESS (gown) | |
| 23 | Golf club in the south of France Republican applied to (7) |
| MIDIRON – MIDI (the south of France) + R + ON (applied to)
I did not know this sense of MIDI, only knowing it as ‘noon’. |
|
| 25 | Be opposite to but somehow inside ship (7) |
| SUBTEND – anagram of BUT in SEND (ship) | |
| 26 | One wound up in the Tower, perhaps (6,9) |
| SPIRAL STAIRCASE – cryptic definition | |
| 27 | Desert lion scratching its back a bit (6) |
| RATHER – RAT (desert) + HER{o} (lion) | |
| 28 | Stock structure of company which people exploit (8) |
| COWHOUSE – CO + WHO + USE
Very nice. |
|
| Down | |
| 1 | A position with game in front of it (6) |
| GOALIE – A LIE (position) with GO (game) in front | |
| 2 | Unaware manifest includes lithium (9) |
| OBLIVIOUS – OBVIOUS around LI (lithium) | |
| 3 | Not very musical group soon releasing covers (4,3) |
| NONE TOO – NONET + {s}OO{n} | |
| 4 | Send cheque finally, after it’s due (5) |
| ELATE – last letter of CHEQUE + LATE (after it’s due) | |
| 6 | Third man shares cell with fat old philosopher and lover (7) |
| ABELARD – ABEL (third man) + LARD (fat) with the L overlapping | |
| 7 | US drug agency officer sold drugs (5) |
| DEALT – DEA (US drug agency) + LT (officer) | |
| 8 | Tiles hopefully all toppling in old cupola’s nets (8) |
| DOMINOES – DOME’S (cupola’s) around (nets) IN + O | |
| 9 | Roman road, say, so few turns (5,3) |
| FOSSE WAY – anagram of SAY SO FEW | |
| 14 | Arabs during theology class convert to Catholicism (8) |
| ROMANISE – OMANIS (Arabs) in RE (theology class) | |
| 16 | Bloodthirsty character unusual for Austen (9) |
| NOSFERATU – anagram of FOR AUSTEN | |
| 17 | School dance I arrange, almost guaranteeing party (8) |
| PROMISOR – PROM + I + SOR{t} | |
| 19 | NY garden mature, length as measured (7) |
| YARDAGE – YARD (word for garden in the US, I guess) + AGE (mature) | |
| 21 | Pictish tribe retreated northwards, embracing fresh start (7) |
| REBIRTH – hidden in PICTISH TRIBE RETREATED, reversed | |
| 22 | Bond after the first Christmas present (6) |
| ADHERE – A.D. (after the first Christmas) + HERE (present)
A very good clue! |
|
| 24 | Current temperature lower than doctor provided (5) |
| DRIFT – T under DR + IF (provided) | |
| 25 | Feathered hat it’s surprising king wears like that (5) |
| SHAKO – HA (it’s surprising) + K in SO (like that) | |
Fantastic crossword completed Monday in 36’37”.
Late to comment as always. I’m astonished not to see a single gripe about 16D (until now!). Is NOSFERATU common knowledge? NOSTEFARU and NOSFETARU both looked equally plausible to me (and I erroneously plumped for the former).
Slightly irked to have diligently and correctly worked through a (for me) really tough one, only to be undone at the last by an obscure word clued as an anagram.