Just in case you’ve not read it anywhere else, the Daily Telegraph has a new cryptic puzzle as from yesterday. In addition to their relatively easy daily anonymous cryptic they now have the Toughie. This is a slightly harder puzzle, probably the same level as the main puzzles in the other broadsheets (although as pointed out elsewhere the Telegraph is technically the only national broadsheet (excluding Scottish-only nationals!)) The puzzle is by named setters and runs from Tuesday to Friday. It is, now, also available via their online Crossword Society (subscription charge.)

This immediately muddies the water for any future Telegraph blogs!

As usual an apparently perfect crossword from Dac — nothing remotely controversial, strong anagrams, sound clues with good surfaces. How he does it week after week I just don’t know.

Another treat from the Reverend  - I see he is on duty at the Guardian today too in his other
 persona. I thought at first that I was looking for numbers, having got 1d and 19a very quickly,
but then realised that it was conveyances which had to be added to the starred clues.  This made it much
easier in most cases, but I need more erudite solvers to help with one or two.

ACROSS

1.     SINGLET -(single ‘t’)
5.     SWITCH  - (s-witch)
8.     EXTENUATE - (ex-ten-u-*tea)
9.     TRAMP  -( tram-p)
11.   GULAR - ( definition, pertaining to the throat. I think this is a play on ‘irregular’, but
                           can’t quite see the details.)
12.   NATURALLY - (*aunt-rally)
13.  TUTELARY   -( *a utterly)
15.   LAUNCH -(l-a-unch)
17.   FABIUS - ( fab-i-us.   Roman Politician born around 280 BC. Socialist PM of France 1980’s)
19.  CARDINAL - (car-din-al)
22.  ASSAILING - (as-sailing)
23.  SLANG -(dd)
24.  DRILL   - ( dd. olive-brown primate, like a baboon, from West Africa)
25.  CHARABANC - (ch-arab-anc - short of ‘chance’)
26.  COHERE- ( co-here)
27.  DRY WALL -( d-ry-w-all)
DOWN

1    SLEIGHT OF HAND- (sleigh-*font had)
2.    NOT A LOT - ( ‘a lot’ as in auction.)
3.    LINER - (dd - bin-liner )
4.    TRAINERS -(train-er’s)
5.    SHEATH -(s-heat-h - ’sh’ for ’say nothing’)
6.    INTERLARD - ( being ‘into lard’ I presume is to be trying to use re-cycled lard for vehicle fuel, therefore
                                    greener as with Sunflower Oil)
7.    CHAPLIN - (chap-l-in.  Charlie Chaplin of course.)
10.   PSYCHOLOGICAL -( The ‘vehicle’ aspect of this answer escapes me. ‘-ogical’ can cover ‘in charge
                                              of goal possibly’ but the rest has me stumped)
14.   LAURIE LEE - ( la-uriel-ee - Los Angeles, Uriel- fourth of the Archangels, ee, errors and exceptions)
                                   Author of ‘Cider with Rosie’, his books were based on the Cotswolds landscapes)
16.   VANGUARD - (van -*a drug)
18.   BUSHIDO  - ( bus-hid-o - Nothing to do with American president, but reference to old feudal code of
                                   of the Samurai in Japan)
20.   NIAGARA - (<again - Ra .the Sun God)
21.   FIACRE - ( <if-acre  - Hackney carriage in France.  Older solvers will remember Jean Sablon’s
                             (Un fiacre allait trottinant——-)
23.   SHADY - (dd).

As is often with Araucaria, something of a challenge but satisfying to solve.  I guessed the long linked clue starting at 7D fairly early from the pattern of ‘inherit’ which gave a lot of handy checking letters to power through the rest.

14A was especially challenging but luckily I recently spent a weekend in Honiton so was aware of Beer from the map!

* = anagram
“” = homophone
(lowercase) = removed
(UPPERCASE) = inserted

Across

1. INDOMITABLE. IN + DOMI(cile) + TABLE.
9. LE HAVRE. L(EH)AV + RE.
10. ESCAPER. E,S+CAPER. Caper for ’skip’ was one I didn’t spot easily.
11. STRESSFUL. STRESS + FLU*.
12. PARSI. PARSIMONY - most of MONEY.
13. EATS. Initials of Eggs And Toasted Sandwiches.
14. BRANSCOMBE. BRANS + CO + MBE.  Town in Devon near a town called Beer.  When a horse refuses to take a jump it ‘brans’.
16. ABHORRENCE. CARBONHERE*.
19. INCH. Double meaning, scots word for a small coastal island.
20. EMEND. Double meaning, ‘edit’ and also ‘without errors’.
23. HORMONE. “Whore moan”, a bit rude!
24. POITIER. Film star, Poitiers was the battle.
25. HOLD THE FORT. H + OLD + THEF(OR)T.

Down

2. DIVES. Latin for ‘rich man’, also in the parable of Dives and Lazarus.
4. THE GLEN. In the online edition this is marked as (7) but must be (3,4).  Monarch of the Glen is a Landseer painting + partial alagram of LENGTHENED?
5. BACKPACK. BACK + PACK.
6. EXPERIMENTALIST. EX(PERI + MENTAL)IST.  A Peri is an Arabic fairy.
7,3,21,1. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.  I haven’t completely explained it: B(LESS)ED + A + RE(THEME)EK + [FORTHEYSHALLIN?] + HER + IT + THEE ART + H.  Explanations of the middle section would be welcome.
8. PRAISE THE LORD caPRA IS ETHEL OR Dora.
15. CRUDE OIL. CLOUDIER*
17. ENTREAT. (h)EN + TREAT.
18. CREEPIE. CREE + PIE.
19. SLIGO. S + L + I GO. County in Ireland.