I completed this comfortably inside of 10 minutes, but it could have been quicker if I hadn't entered 10ac as "COPULA", which left the intersecting down clues a lot harder to make head or tail of! When the impossible has been eliminated, whatever remains, however probable, must be the truth, so the light did eventually dawn.
This felt to me like an absolutely irreproachable crossword in the modern style, with a battery of the latest cryptic tricks resulting in perfect surfaces and not a few laughs; the GK (literally in one case) was also pitched at an excellently erudite level, while never stooping to obscurity. I really liked the wordplay in both 24 and 25ac, but full marks to the definition parts of 11dn and 27ac too, and their seamless marriage into the cryptic. 13/10 to the setter, would solve again.
ACROSS
1 Such as Chesterton, maybe, entertaining with his stirring article (8)
EGGWHISK - E.G. G.K. [such as | (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton, maybe], "entertaining" W HIS [with | his]
5 Can pocket valuable? Hardly! (6)
TINPOT - TIN [can] + POT [pocket]
9 Seafood etc barman mostly prepared (8)
CRABMEAT - (ETC BARMA{n}*) ["prepared"]
10 Carbonated drink bottles finished round roof (6)
CUPOLA - COLA [carbonated drink] "bottles" UP [finished]
12 Toy bear’s in bunk (12)
FIDDLESTICKS - FIDDLE STICK'S [toy | bear's]
15 He passed on book two in series of books (5)
OBIIT - B II [book | two] in O.T. [series of books]
16 Cancels course if ill, unable to return displays (9)
NULLIFIES - Hidden reversed in {cour}SE IF ILL UN{able}
18 Jailed by judge, ex-pupil’s assisted crime (6,3)
INSIDE JOB - INSIDE [jailed] by J O.B. [judge | ex-pupil]
19 Stop at sea to tell some tales? (3,2)
LIE TO - double def
20 Designates perimeter of park especially for winter sport (5,7)
SPEED SKATING - (DESIGNATES P{ar}K*) ["especially"]
24 Running without queen’s backing (2,1,3)
IN A ROW - reversed W/O RANI [without | queen]
25 Cried several times over, with husband involved in plot (8)
BOOHOOED - O O O O ["several (four) times", over], with H [husband] "involved"], in BED [plot]
26 Partner of old politician getting into film for free (6)
EXEMPT - EX [partner of old] + MP [politician] "getting into" E.T. [film]
27 Biased when accepting Houses of Parliament as constitutional asset? (8)
ASHPLANT - ASLANT [biased] when accepting H.P. [Houses of Parliament]. I didn't know that an "ashplant" was a walking stick, but such would certainly prove an asset while going on a "constitutional".
DOWN
1 Watch Italian sides being eliminated after football upset (4)
ECCO - reversed {s}OCCE{r} [football]
2 Get stuck into the butter! (4)
GOAT - or GO AT [get stuck into]. The butter as in "the creature that butts".
3 Awkward when first on diet of meat sandwiches? (3-6)
HAM-FISTED - 1ST [first], "sandwiched" by HAM-FED [on diet of meat]
4 What’s amusing by reputation? (8,4)
STANDING JOKE - JOKE [what's amusing] by STANDING [reputation], &lit I guess
6 Time to leave to pick up cold tongue? (5)
INUIT - IN{t}UIT [to pick up, minus T for time]. "Cold tongue?" as in "language spoken in a cold region"
7 Banned for plagiarism in second edition (10)
PROSCRIBED - PRO [for] + CRIB [plagiarism] in S ED. [second | edition]
8 Radio station’s run repeated broadcast (10)
TRANSISTOR - (STATION'S R R*) ["broadcast"]
11 Ringer that’s incorporating end for our now cordless sockets (12)
BELLYBUTTONS - BELL YON'S [ringer | that's] "incorporating" BUTT [end]. The sockets left by our cut umbilical cords!
13 In short, “garish” is appropriate for style of French king (5,5)
LOUIS SEIZE - LOU{d} ["in short", garish] + IS SEIZE [is | appropriate]
14 King and I set makes for cracking musical (4,2,4)
KISS ME KATE - (K I SET MAKES*) ["for cracking"]
17 Move inch by inch? (6-3)
ISLAND-HOP - an "inch" being an island, a lovely cryptic def
21 Band ultimately mean to raise flag (5)
DROOP - {ban}D + reversed POOR [mean]
22 What’s oddly featured by satellite state (4)
IOWA - W{h}A{t} by IO [satellite (of Jupiter)]
23 Approach of mine having commercial appeal (4)
ADIT - AD IT [commercial | appeal]. "Of mine" as in "in a mine".
This felt to me like an absolutely irreproachable crossword in the modern style, with a battery of the latest cryptic tricks resulting in perfect surfaces and not a few laughs; the GK (literally in one case) was also pitched at an excellently erudite level, while never stooping to obscurity. I really liked the wordplay in both 24 and 25ac, but full marks to the definition parts of 11dn and 27ac too, and their seamless marriage into the cryptic. 13/10 to the setter, would solve again.
ACROSS
1 Such as Chesterton, maybe, entertaining with his stirring article (8)
EGGWHISK - E.G. G.K. [such as | (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton, maybe], "entertaining" W HIS [with | his]
5 Can pocket valuable? Hardly! (6)
TINPOT - TIN [can] + POT [pocket]
9 Seafood etc barman mostly prepared (8)
CRABMEAT - (ETC BARMA{n}*) ["prepared"]
10 Carbonated drink bottles finished round roof (6)
CUPOLA - COLA [carbonated drink] "bottles" UP [finished]
12 Toy bear’s in bunk (12)
FIDDLESTICKS - FIDDLE STICK'S [toy | bear's]
15 He passed on book two in series of books (5)
OBIIT - B II [book | two] in O.T. [series of books]
16 Cancels course if ill, unable to return displays (9)
NULLIFIES - Hidden reversed in {cour}SE IF ILL UN{able}
18 Jailed by judge, ex-pupil’s assisted crime (6,3)
INSIDE JOB - INSIDE [jailed] by J O.B. [judge | ex-pupil]
19 Stop at sea to tell some tales? (3,2)
LIE TO - double def
20 Designates perimeter of park especially for winter sport (5,7)
SPEED SKATING - (DESIGNATES P{ar}K*) ["especially"]
24 Running without queen’s backing (2,1,3)
IN A ROW - reversed W/O RANI [without | queen]
25 Cried several times over, with husband involved in plot (8)
BOOHOOED - O O O O ["several (four) times", over], with H [husband] "involved"], in BED [plot]
26 Partner of old politician getting into film for free (6)
EXEMPT - EX [partner of old] + MP [politician] "getting into" E.T. [film]
27 Biased when accepting Houses of Parliament as constitutional asset? (8)
ASHPLANT - ASLANT [biased] when accepting H.P. [Houses of Parliament]. I didn't know that an "ashplant" was a walking stick, but such would certainly prove an asset while going on a "constitutional".
DOWN
1 Watch Italian sides being eliminated after football upset (4)
ECCO - reversed {s}OCCE{r} [football]
2 Get stuck into the butter! (4)
GOAT - or GO AT [get stuck into]. The butter as in "the creature that butts".
3 Awkward when first on diet of meat sandwiches? (3-6)
HAM-FISTED - 1ST [first], "sandwiched" by HAM-FED [on diet of meat]
4 What’s amusing by reputation? (8,4)
STANDING JOKE - JOKE [what's amusing] by STANDING [reputation], &lit I guess
6 Time to leave to pick up cold tongue? (5)
INUIT - IN{t}UIT [to pick up, minus T for time]. "Cold tongue?" as in "language spoken in a cold region"
7 Banned for plagiarism in second edition (10)
PROSCRIBED - PRO [for] + CRIB [plagiarism] in S ED. [second | edition]
8 Radio station’s run repeated broadcast (10)
TRANSISTOR - (STATION'S R R*) ["broadcast"]
11 Ringer that’s incorporating end for our now cordless sockets (12)
BELLYBUTTONS - BELL YON'S [ringer | that's] "incorporating" BUTT [end]. The sockets left by our cut umbilical cords!
13 In short, “garish” is appropriate for style of French king (5,5)
LOUIS SEIZE - LOU{d} ["in short", garish] + IS SEIZE [is | appropriate]
14 King and I set makes for cracking musical (4,2,4)
KISS ME KATE - (K I SET MAKES*) ["for cracking"]
17 Move inch by inch? (6-3)
ISLAND-HOP - an "inch" being an island, a lovely cryptic def
21 Band ultimately mean to raise flag (5)
DROOP - {ban}D + reversed POOR [mean]
22 What’s oddly featured by satellite state (4)
IOWA - W{h}A{t} by IO [satellite (of Jupiter)]
23 Approach of mine having commercial appeal (4)
ADIT - AD IT [commercial | appeal]. "Of mine" as in "in a mine".
Page Summary
aphis99 : (no subject) [+0] - martinp1 : (no subject) [+6]
- jackkt : (no subject) [+1]
- isla3 : (no subject) [+3]
- myrtilus000 : From the brow of Iowa tha... [+0]
- boltonwanderer : Ecce homo [+0]
- pootle73 : 38:12 [+0]
- gothick_matt : (no subject) [+0]
- z8b8d8k : A willow grows ashplant a brook, therewith fantastic garlands [+0]
- john_dun : (no subject) [+0]
- philjordan : I'd rather spot a.... [+0]
- pipkirby : Ecce shoes [+0]
- ulaca : (no subject) [+0]
- special_bitter : (no subject) [+0]
- mauefw : (no subject) [+0]
Comments
It took an age to finish the top left (looking for an anagram of HIS as part of 1ac), then GOAT came to mind which led to EGGWHISK and finally ECCO.
COD to EGGWHISK.
That's = YON S
SPEED SKATING was another NHO and I lost time thinking the nautical term at 19ac was LIE BY and writing it in where its Y-checker prevented me solving 8dn for a while. Having found the answer eventually I thought it might have been better if the setter had somehow avoided having TO in the clue.
Edited at 2019-10-18 05:37 am (UTC)
Otherwise brilliant crossword which again I found much harder than it should have been. 2 guesses: couldn't see the parsing of bellybuttons and the didn't know the definition of ashplant.
45 mins then gave up.
The eggwhisk beat me and despite tearful navel-gazing, so did boohooed/belly buttons.
Meanwhile I loved: Nullifies, Louis Seize and COD to Speed Skating.
Thanks excellent setter and V.
Edited at 2019-10-18 08:05 am (UTC)
Hard to choose a COD but I'll plump for EGGWHISK for its elegant construction. The cunning definition for BELLYBUTTONS was excellent as well. It strikes me that if I looked at that clue in isolation (i.e. without crossers) for a whole day I still don't think I'd get it. It was hard enough with crossers!
Edited at 2019-10-18 10:02 am (UTC)
Alongside those beasties, ISLAND HOP was delicious fun, TINPOT was nearly TINSEL, the radio clue a happy reminder of when trannies were something else.
An absorbing and challenging grid, if hardly from my point of view an encouragement into even the third division of this years tourney.
I bow to Verlaine with utter respect for parsing ASHPLANT, HAM-FISTED, BELLYBUTTON, INUIT,and IOWA. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if those last two were wrong. OBIIT was a DNK, but was parsed to my satisfaction.
FOI CRABMEAT
LOI IOWA
COD IN A ROW
TIME 19:51
I came here intent on congratulating the world’’s second best solver on his stellar time, but refuse to tip my hat to anyone who does a puzzle like this in under ten minutes and can only say that he should have been faster.
IOWA was a wonderful clue, and the cryptic definition of ISLAND-HOP was my favourite in a very long time - so hard to do well, but hats off to the setter in this case.