Great pangrammatic puzzle from the Bulletprooof one. Not sure about 2 and 3 though. I think they’re both right but I can’t say why.

Hmm, well as today’s fifteensquared quality controller I have a few negative items to feedback here (OK, that’s enough of that - internal ed). Too many rather straightforward cryptic defs for my liking. Sorry if I seem over-critical - the clues I don’t mention are mostly ones I don’t have an issue with! 

ACROSS:

1,5.  QUALITY CONTROL. ‘It’s testing to keep the standard up’. Er, yes, that’s exactly what it is. Only works as a CD if you try to make the sentence mean something else by reading the first two words with a subtly different emphasis.

9. INCUS. The last one I got, due to a shortfall in anatomical knowledge, though it was clear from the outset that the clue led to a bit of the ear.Eventually I guessed the word correctly then looked it up. But this sort of word really needs some wordplay, not another CD.

10. UNEXPOSED. E in EXPOUNDS IN*. I really can’t see the objection some people have to nouns as anagram indicators - a confusion of ‘expounds in’ - nothing wrong with that at all.

13. NAIVE. EVIAN<. One of my favourite reversals, neatly handled.

18. ELECTABLE. I thought at first this was a CD, but the first half (’fit to pick first’) is actually a charade, fit = ABLE and to pick = ELECT. Trouble is, those are the etymological halves of the whole word, which makes this a dud for me.

21. RHO MB. Neither the most common Greek character not the most common doctor.

23. GYROSCOPE. Another CD of sorts - a paradoxical definition you could call it.

27, 28. KITCHEN CABINET. CD. +’Downstairs’ refers to servants in the old days, as in the ’70s BBC series (oops, and book before that, I believe) ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’.

 DOWN:

1. QUIDS IN. Nice charade with a good surface, probably my favourite here.

2. ANCHORITE. I (l)ONER + H ACT*. My second last answer, and I still don’t quite get it. The clue is ‘I, loner, left out, with hard act to follow, possibly. But the definition appears to be in the first two or four words, coinciding with the wordplay in the first seven, and the last three are purely for surface, unless I’ve missed something.

5. C(HEA(p))T.

6. NO. PROBLEM. Indeed.

7. ROS(I)E. Good to have more than just ‘girl’ for the definition - the reference could be either to Laurie Lee’s novel Cider with Rosie or to Rosie Lee, Cockney rhyming slang for tea. You choose.

8. LUDDITE. (DUD TILE) The followers of Ned Ludd. Hmm, wonder if there’s a Luddite Facebook group yet?

14. ESTABLISH. One of those (unsatisfying, to me) double meaning clues which relies on two definitions actually leading to the same meaning of the word required as an answer. If you see what I mean.

16. THEORETIC. HERETIC TO*. The anagrind must be ‘waver’, and here I don’t think it works - to affect the fodder, it would need to be ‘wavering’.

18. EARMARK. Two meanings, I think referring to a clip you might see on a farm animals ear, which would leave a mark.

20. CHE ROOT. (hom. route). Symetrically opposite the other tobacco clue - was that deliberate?.

I found this exceptionally easy - Solving time, 10 mins

* = anagram

ACROSS

7 CHARGE Double definition

8 G U I DANCE

9 HOUSEMAID’S KNEE Good cryptic definition

10 M1 D O FF Fielding position (cricket)

11 GASOLINE L (litres) in (agonise)*

13 MAID OF ORLEANS (ladies room fan)* Joan of Arc

16 CONFETTI See 9 across

18 DEMAND Hidden

20 AGATHA CHRISTIE (a cattish hag ire)* You can’t libel the dead, I think.

22 (PR) OGRESSES

23 ASS I (G) N

DOWN

1 CHROMIUM

2 P (REST) 0

3 P (ERMAFR) OST (farmer)*

4 (p) AIRS

5 MAG NOLIA (a lion)*

6 S (ChoiR) EEN

8 GOING TO PIECES (no ciggies poet)*

12 S (A LAD) CREAM

14 IN FLAT ED At the top indicates position in this down clue

17 O RANGE

19 M (IS) USE

21 HOSE(a)

-

Blog Number 1 from me, so first things first, hello!

A puzzle of two halves for me. The bottom half went in fairly easily, but I came a bit unstuck on the NW corner, so decided to start looking around for a theme to help out. At which point I spotted Tottenham’s very own (Jonathan) WOODGATE across the bottom and (Dimitar) BERBATOV across the top. Would Eimi by any chance be a Spurs fan?

All the missing answers fell into place after that and I was done and dusted before I got off the bus. Good stuff, I enjoyed this one.

Unsure on some wordplay though, so any pointers would be appreciated.