Relatively gentle for Felix, of the usual high quality.
I clocked in at exactly the same time as yesterday (5:37) done just beforehand, which I think is a first, so I’ll be interested to see how close to 85-90ish this ends up on the snitch. I’d put this one as slightly trickier though – I’d certainly have been slower if I’d paused to parse everything, and there were at least three I gave up trying to parse while solving (5d, 13d, 22d).
There was plenty of this setter’s deftly-worded clueing to enjoy; if there’s a theme or nina it eludes me, although the grid certainly looks ripe for one. [Edit: there is indeed one, see sawbill’s post below.] Either way, a lovely puzzle – many thanks to Felix!
Anagram indicators in italics.
| Across | |
| 1 | Direction, as employed in Spielberg film (4) |
| EAST – AS employed in ET (Spielberg film) | |
| 7 | Cases to be cracked over breakfast? (9) |
| EGGSHELLS – cryptic definition | |
| 9 | After first of month, one’s going to factory (4) |
| MILL – after M (first of Month), I’LL (one’s going to) | |
| 10 | Extended November in one’s youth in area of NY (4,6) |
| LONG ISLAND – LONG (extended) N(ovember) in I (one) ‘S, LAD (youth) | |
| 11 | Fair Jordan, initially US tennis’s number one (4) |
| JUST – J (Jordan initially), US, T (Tennis’s number one) | |
| 12 | The Samurai strangely far from professional (10) |
| AMATEURISH – THE SAMURAI strangely | |
| 16 | Signal to go eco: not difficult! (5,5) |
| GREEN LIGHT – GREEN (eco) LIGHT (not difficult) | |
| 19 | Ruin a Parisian party (4) |
| UNDO – UN (a, Parisian) DO (party) | |
| 21 | A barge touring London’s outskirts? It won’t stop until morning (3-7) |
| ALL-NIGHTER – A, LIGHTER (barge) tours L |
|
| 23 | Nothing fitted round a collar (4) |
| NAIL – NIL (nothing) fitted round A | |
| 24 | Volatile, I excel with bat, somehow (9) |
| EXCITABLE – I EXCEL with BAT somehow | |
| 25 | Times of bewilderment, we hear (4) |
| DAYS – we hear the same as DAZE (bewilderment) | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Super Indian making comeback, regularly getting bye (5) |
| ADIEU – s U p E r I n D i A n, comeback = reversed, regularly = alternate letters | |
| 3 | A shopper, perhaps, giving things away (8) |
| TELLTALE – cryptic definition, with a play on “shopper” as informer | |
| 4 | Schedule article on sex for broadcast (6) |
| AGENDA – A (article) on GENDA, which is heard (broadcast) the same as GENDER (sex). | |
| 5 | Pick the centre out of a cold, brown sweet? (6) |
| CHOICE – take the centre letter out of CHOc ICE (a cold, brown sweet) | |
| 6 | Large porter maybe brought up for airline (2,2) |
| EL AL – L(arge) ALE (porter maybe) brought up = reversed. The Israeli national airline. | |
| 8 | Assent to reform most reasonable (6) |
| SANEST – ASSENT to reform | |
| 13 | NZ bird pinching top from sewing case (3) |
| TUI – an ETUI is a sewing case, remove the top to get the bird. I’m not sure how well known the bird is, but this is getting pretty close to an obscurity clued by an obscurity – I was only vaguely aware of either from crosswords past. | |
| 14 | Being elected again is way to secure fresh tenure (8) |
| RETURNED – RD. (Road = way) to secure a fresh TENURE | |
| 15 | Interrogated endlessly: that’s grating (6) |
| GRILLE – GRILLE |
|
| 17 | Envoy say coming in after hours (6) |
| LEGATE – EG (say) coming in LATE (after hours) | |
| 18 | Great eponymous hero keeping pistols near (6) |
| GATSBY – if you have GATS BY, you would be keeping pistols near | |
| 20 | Bloomer turning up in corduroys I admit (5) |
| DAISY – “turning up in” corduroYS I ADmit | |
| 22 | Condition to run in (4) |
| NICK – double definition: the first as in “in good ___”; the second (unknown to innocent old me) means to “arrest and take to a lock up”. | |
14:25 here. Solved hours ago but then a hectic day kept me away from the blog until now. Off to attack the next one now, and hopefully post a comment in time to be relevant.
Gat? Never heard of it. Biffed a few of these as I suspect others did too.