Times 27,365: Candy Is Dandy But Knickers Are Quicker
I made a bit of a hash of this tough puzzle (my stamp of Friday approval is ungrudgingly bestowed) by bunging UNDERWEAR in optimistically for 7dn and then not being able to make much more progress in that corner until I'd revisited my assumptions. But this was far from the only clue that was cleverer than it looked at first, with misleading definitions, unconventional cluing word orders, and parts of the answer clued by semi-invisible particles up the wazoo.
Great work by the setter in other words. With blowhards, porn, textspeak, pregnancy, beatniks and the aforementioned undercrackers all making an appearance, this had a punk rock air to it, so almost inevitably it will prove to be the work of a venerable pre-war setter with an excellent sense of humour. Hard to choose a Clue of the Day really but let's plump for 1dn, combining madcap wordplay with a splendidly evocative surface. A1!
ACROSS
1 Writer penning line badly who's a show-off (8)
BLOWHARD - BARD [writer], penning L [line] + WHO ["badly..."]. I took a while to agonise over whether BOW was any kind of writer, taking something HARD clearly being taking it "badly"...
5 Concealed attack in case of antebellum President (6)
AMBUSH - A{ntebellu}M + BUSH [President]. FOI
10 Part of insect rolling on stomach (5)
NOTUM - reversed ON, plus TUM [stomach]. I'm not much of an entomologist but I assumed a notum was something related to backs, and so it proved.
11 Steps across theme park's greatest attractions? (9)
BESTRIDES - or a theme park's BEST RIDES.
12 A lot of extra troops by port reversing tank? (9)
RESERVOIR - RESERV{e} ["a lot of" extra troops] by reversed RIO [port]. What percentage of the time is "port" RIO at this stage, I wonder?
13 Number one's appeal (5)
ISSUE - I'S SUE [one's | appeal]
14 Rogue cop wearing blue material flicks food (7)
POPCORN - (COP*) ["rogue..."] "wearing" PORN [blue material]. Flicks as in "the movies".
16 On TV outfit's regressive look (6)
REGARD - RE [on] + reversed DRAG [TV (as in transvestite) outfit]
18 Much of fast car could be used for scrap (6)
FRACAS - (FAS{t} CAR*) ["could be used for..."]
20 Tinker with tailless shrimp filled by wife (7)
TWIDDLE - TIDDLE{r} ["tailless" shrimp] "filled by" W [wife]
22 Means of transport to get case of merchandise through part of America (5)
CAMEL - M{erchandis}E "through" CAL [California, part of America]
23 Repression having Sally in poor spirits (9)
CRACKDOWN - a "sally" is a CRACK and "in poor spirits" is DOWN.
25 Attached to main character in little US novel (2,3,4)
ON THE ROAD - ON [attached to], plus HERO [main character] in TAD [little]. Bunged in unparsed once the D appeared, during the home straight.
26 School's picked up, as courses enjoyed? (5)
EATEN - homophone of ETON [school]. Good use of the ambiguous meaning of "courses".
27 Guard losing November and December's fare (6)
TURKEY - TUR{n}KEY [guard, "losing November = N"]
28 Careless king dropping a line, one dispatched officially (8)
EMISSARY - {r}EMISS [careless, "king (= R) dropping"] + A RY [a | line]
DOWN
1 Clean out rank stews in hostelry over time (8)
BANKRUPT - (RANK*) ["stews"], in reversed PUB [hostelry] + T [time]
2 Ring a determined, revolutionary plotter (5)
OATES - O [ring] + A + reversed SET [determined]. Titus Oates, the fabricator of the Popish Plot.
3 Place to study epic writer, and pass on cracking style (8,7)
HOMERTON COLLEGE - HOMER [epic writer], and COL LEG [pass | on] "cracking" TONE [style]
4 Problem with drink? This helps you get dry (7)
RUBDOWN - RUB [problem] with DOWN [drink, as a verb]
6 Expecting trouble and scorn, kissing men abroad (7,8)
MORNING SICKNESS - (SCORN KISSING MEN*) ["abroad"]. Expecting as in "pregnant". I was fooled by the clever definition into thinking the first word would be MARKING. Somehow.
7 Lingerie one's lowered with colour that's not popular (9)
UNDESIRED - take UNDIES [lingerie], lower the I [one] to the bottom, and add RED [colour].
8 Equipment for anglers I see brought up to speed (6)
HASTEN - NETS AH [equipment for anglers | I see!], all reversed
9 One taking interest in the solver’s texting, indeed! (6)
USURER - in UR [txtspeak for you're], SURE [indeed!]
15 Safe old poem's cutting edge (9)
PERIMETER - PETER [safe] that RIME [old poem] is cutting.
17 Rule of Republican, for one French city (8)
REGNANCY - R EG NANCY [Republican | for one | French city]
19 Area with dry, rocky peak (6)
SECTOR - SEC TOR [dry | rocky peak]
20 Leading couple in Fame turning up in Russia once? (7)
TSARDOM - take STARDOM [fame] and reverse its first couple of leters only. Close to LOI as TSARDOM is a very hard word to see in crossers!
21 A fee quoted for what solicitors do (6)
ACCOST - homophone of A COST [a fee]
24 East German capital erected in Roman port (5)
OSTIA - OST [east (German)] + reversed A1 [capital]. I thought OSTI was the East German but of course that's an Ossi, so I'd have been very baffled indeed had I not known my Roman ports well enough to happily biff them in. Very nice to see foreign languages utitlised in the wordplay beyond the standard "the French".
Great work by the setter in other words. With blowhards, porn, textspeak, pregnancy, beatniks and the aforementioned undercrackers all making an appearance, this had a punk rock air to it, so almost inevitably it will prove to be the work of a venerable pre-war setter with an excellent sense of humour. Hard to choose a Clue of the Day really but let's plump for 1dn, combining madcap wordplay with a splendidly evocative surface. A1!
ACROSS
1 Writer penning line badly who's a show-off (8)
BLOWHARD - BARD [writer], penning L [line] + WHO ["badly..."]. I took a while to agonise over whether BOW was any kind of writer, taking something HARD clearly being taking it "badly"...
5 Concealed attack in case of antebellum President (6)
AMBUSH - A{ntebellu}M + BUSH [President]. FOI
10 Part of insect rolling on stomach (5)
NOTUM - reversed ON, plus TUM [stomach]. I'm not much of an entomologist but I assumed a notum was something related to backs, and so it proved.
11 Steps across theme park's greatest attractions? (9)
BESTRIDES - or a theme park's BEST RIDES.
12 A lot of extra troops by port reversing tank? (9)
RESERVOIR - RESERV{e} ["a lot of" extra troops] by reversed RIO [port]. What percentage of the time is "port" RIO at this stage, I wonder?
13 Number one's appeal (5)
ISSUE - I'S SUE [one's | appeal]
14 Rogue cop wearing blue material flicks food (7)
POPCORN - (COP*) ["rogue..."] "wearing" PORN [blue material]. Flicks as in "the movies".
16 On TV outfit's regressive look (6)
REGARD - RE [on] + reversed DRAG [TV (as in transvestite) outfit]
18 Much of fast car could be used for scrap (6)
FRACAS - (FAS{t} CAR*) ["could be used for..."]
20 Tinker with tailless shrimp filled by wife (7)
TWIDDLE - TIDDLE{r} ["tailless" shrimp] "filled by" W [wife]
22 Means of transport to get case of merchandise through part of America (5)
CAMEL - M{erchandis}E "through" CAL [California, part of America]
23 Repression having Sally in poor spirits (9)
CRACKDOWN - a "sally" is a CRACK and "in poor spirits" is DOWN.
25 Attached to main character in little US novel (2,3,4)
ON THE ROAD - ON [attached to], plus HERO [main character] in TAD [little]. Bunged in unparsed once the D appeared, during the home straight.
26 School's picked up, as courses enjoyed? (5)
EATEN - homophone of ETON [school]. Good use of the ambiguous meaning of "courses".
27 Guard losing November and December's fare (6)
TURKEY - TUR{n}KEY [guard, "losing November = N"]
28 Careless king dropping a line, one dispatched officially (8)
EMISSARY - {r}EMISS [careless, "king (= R) dropping"] + A RY [a | line]
DOWN
1 Clean out rank stews in hostelry over time (8)
BANKRUPT - (RANK*) ["stews"], in reversed PUB [hostelry] + T [time]
2 Ring a determined, revolutionary plotter (5)
OATES - O [ring] + A + reversed SET [determined]. Titus Oates, the fabricator of the Popish Plot.
3 Place to study epic writer, and pass on cracking style (8,7)
HOMERTON COLLEGE - HOMER [epic writer], and COL LEG [pass | on] "cracking" TONE [style]
4 Problem with drink? This helps you get dry (7)
RUBDOWN - RUB [problem] with DOWN [drink, as a verb]
6 Expecting trouble and scorn, kissing men abroad (7,8)
MORNING SICKNESS - (SCORN KISSING MEN*) ["abroad"]. Expecting as in "pregnant". I was fooled by the clever definition into thinking the first word would be MARKING. Somehow.
7 Lingerie one's lowered with colour that's not popular (9)
UNDESIRED - take UNDIES [lingerie], lower the I [one] to the bottom, and add RED [colour].
8 Equipment for anglers I see brought up to speed (6)
HASTEN - NETS AH [equipment for anglers | I see!], all reversed
9 One taking interest in the solver’s texting, indeed! (6)
USURER - in UR [txtspeak for you're], SURE [indeed!]
15 Safe old poem's cutting edge (9)
PERIMETER - PETER [safe] that RIME [old poem] is cutting.
17 Rule of Republican, for one French city (8)
REGNANCY - R EG NANCY [Republican | for one | French city]
19 Area with dry, rocky peak (6)
SECTOR - SEC TOR [dry | rocky peak]
20 Leading couple in Fame turning up in Russia once? (7)
TSARDOM - take STARDOM [fame] and reverse its first couple of leters only. Close to LOI as TSARDOM is a very hard word to see in crossers!
21 A fee quoted for what solicitors do (6)
ACCOST - homophone of A COST [a fee]
24 East German capital erected in Roman port (5)
OSTIA - OST [east (German)] + reversed A1 [capital]. I thought OSTI was the East German but of course that's an Ossi, so I'd have been very baffled indeed had I not known my Roman ports well enough to happily biff them in. Very nice to see foreign languages utitlised in the wordplay beyond the standard "the French".