Profuse apologies to those who were waiting for this to arrive earlier in the week, but I had a hectic week at work combined with a lot of evening social occasions (Sloggers & Betters 3 being one of them), and really didn’t have the time until now.
Solving time 16:01
Across
| 1 | PAL,MER(S)TON – was our PM 1859-65. |
| 10 | (b)RATS – nice clue, ref. The Pied Piper of Hamelin. |
| 11 | COIN,C(I’D)ENT |
| 12 | MED,ALLI(O)N – exhausted being ALL IN. |
| 14 | H(AV)OC(k) – almost pawned = IN HOC |
| 19 | SE,QUESTER – Canterbury being in the south-east… |
| 24 | PATOIS – “patios” with I in the wrong place. |
| 25 | A,LI(GH(os)T)ED |
| 26 | S(ton)E,X,Y – axes as the plural of axis. |
Down
| 1 | PAN(O,RAM)IC |
| 7 | MEMENTO – nothing to do with market research. Memento mori is Latin for “remember that you must die”, hence anything that reminds you of mortality. |
| 13 | ANTI,PHONY – church music where the singers alternate. |
| 20 | TIMO(omit rev),THY |
| 21 | CRIS(p),IS |
6a Sport with no positive result (4)
SUM 0?
8a At least that shiny? Don’t mind (2,6)
NO MATTER. No more matt therefore at least as shiny.
9a Control of radio in space (6)
VOLUME
17a Gingham say, large amount in check (5)
C LOT H
22a One blooming simple game: fail to finish (10)
SNAP DRAG ON
23a Ruler captured by somE MIRacle (4)
EMIR
27a Pigeonhole hi-fi fan?
STEREOTYPE. Nice one.
2d Child in top that was restricting (7)
LI MITE D
3d (I lecture)* dreadful old bag (8)
RETICULE. It is an anagram, granted, but hardly a commonly known old word for a lady’s small handbag.
4d Give up final place, and be disturbed by later events? (4,2,4,5)
TURN IN ONES GRAVE
5d New starter without a deputy (6)
NO VICE
6d When one is too young to use the oven? (5,4)
SALAD DAYS
15d Sort of paper that holds a lot of ink (9)
CARTRIDGE
16d Be ineffective, trying to dissect cubes? (3,2,3)
CUT NO ICE
18d (Eagle in)* trouble, making a descent (7)
LINEAGE