Thank you to Brendan. Definitions are underlined in the clues. And sorry for the lateness.
This is a crossword with a crossword theme. In the completed grid and in the clues are direct or indirect references to the word game of crosswords.
Across
1. Crazy MAGA ran America as a repeated crime, for instance (7)
ANAGRAM : Anagram of(Crazy) MAGA RAN.
Defn: An example of which/for instance, is “America” in relation to/as [ “AA”( a repeated) + CRIME ].
5. Traumatized son held by uncle outside (7)
IN SHOCK : S(abbrev. for “son”) contained in(… outside) [IN HOCK](pawned/held by a pawnbroker/”uncle” in slang).
And the clue should have been “… (2,5).
9. Compose crosswords at home to become established (3,2)
SET IN : SET(to compose/construct crosswords) + IN(at home/not out).
10. River plant may spread in profusion (9)
RAMPANTLY : Anagram of(… spread) [ R(abbrev. for “river”) + PLANT MAY ].
11. Closely observing vote in favour, with subsequent outcry heard (10)
EYEBALLING : Homophone of(… heard) [ “aye”(a vote in favour/yes) plus(with subsequent) “bawling”(outcry/a loud shout) ].
12. … is 21 reversed? So it is! (4)
ERGO : Reversal of(… reversed) OGRE(answer to 21 across).
Defn: …/hence it is!
14. Kind of setter one’s figured out? Produced solution again (11)
REDISSOLVED : RED(a kind of setter in this case the Irish Setter, a breed of dog) + I(Roman numeral for “one”)’S + SOLVED(figured out/found the answer).
Defn: …/again making a solution by adding a solute into a solvent.
18. Angry outburst about small fight (5,6)
CROSS SWORDS : CROSS(angry/in a bad temper) + WORDS(an argument/outburst) containing(about) S(abbrev. for “small”).
21. Turn back on monster (4)
OGRE : Reversal of(… back) GO(one’s turn try to do something/a try) + RE(with reference to/on).
22. Nothing in numbers is changed as result of moving 15 (10)
SUBMERSION : O(letter in the shape of 0/nothing) contained in(in) anagram of(… changed) NUMBERS IS.
Defn: … , that is, the answer to 15 down, “down under”.
25. Like the most one can do, in terms of manual employment (3-6)
TWO-HANDED : Cryptic defn: Refering to work/task that one, at most, can do manually/with one’s hands.
26. Program’s producer, person able to handle Morse, say (5)
CODER : Double defn: 1st: A computer programmer; and 2nd: One who can handle/translate into a code like/say, the Morse code.
And the fictional Inspector Morse was a crossword fan.
27. Rector having letter forwarded? It’s about one name for God (7)
CREATOR : RECTOR with the letter C moved to the front(forwarded) containing(It’s about) A(a singular article/one).
28. Solidly constructed – one’s mad to change it (7)
MASONED : Anagram of(… to change it) ONE’S MAD.
Defn: …/built with cemented stone and bricks.
Down
1. Something solvers may lack – and so were not finished (6)
ANSWER : “and so were” minus the last letters, respectively(not finished).
2. Part of bloomer in Guardian? There you have it (6)
ANTHER : Hidden in(… you have it) “Guardian? There”.
Defn: …/flower that makes and holds its pollen.
3. Happens to meet – as any intersecting answer here does (4,6)
RUNS ACROSS : [RUNS ACROSS](any answer here/in the crossword intersects with/shares at least one common letter with, another answer).
4. Good lesson as example of double definition (5)
MORAL : The clue “Good lesson “ is an example of a clue with a double definition: 1st: Virtuous; and 2nd: That which can be learned from, a fable, say.
5. About negative introduction, admission of meanie who delivers jabs? (9)
IMMUNISER : UN-(a prefix/introduction to the word that has the negative meaning of a base word, eg. “unclear”) contained in(About …) [ I’M MISER ](an admission/confession of a stingy person/a meanie).
Defn: …/one who gives vaccinations.
6. Get across what’s central to crossword? Separate out valuable bits (4)
SPAN : Middle letter of(what’s central to) “crossword” + PAN(to wash gravel, sand and such like in a pan to separate out heavy, valuable metals like gold).
7. Excel on course in skill, not in approach (8)
OUTDRIVE : OUT(not in) + DRIVE(a road for vehicles leading from a public road to someone’s house/an approach).
Defn: …, on the golf course, that is.
8. In part of Florida, wife or daughter located crucial elements (3,5)
KEY WORDS : KEYS(low-lying islands or reefs, which form part of Florida, the US state) containing(In …) [ W(abbrev. for “wife”) + OR + D(abbrev. for “daughter”) ].
13. Builds lead in constituency, embraced by Tory supporters (10)
CONSTRUCTS : 1st letter of(lead in) “constituency” contained in(embraced by) [ CON(abbrev. for a Conservative Party member, nicknamed Tory) + STRUTS(bars or rods used in engineering and architecture to support weight/supporters) ].
15. Doctor’s beginning new round, confused and extremely distant (4,5)
DOWN UNDER : 1st letter of(…’s beginning) “Doctor” + anagram of(…, confused) NEW ROUND.
Answer: …, refering to, mainly, Australia and New Zealand, extremely distant from those on the other side of the globe.
16. Wordplay known to Greeks, Socratic sort (8)
ACROSTIC : Anagram of(… sort) SOCRATIC.
Answer: Wordplay in which specific letters in each line of a piece of prose or poetry spells a word, message or the alphabet, used by the Ancient Greeks, amongst others including setters in some of their crosswords.
An example by Edgar Allan Poe:
Elizabeth it is in vain you say
“Love not” — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:
In vain those words from thee or L.E.L.
Zantippe’s talents had enforced so well:
Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,
Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.
Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried
To cure his love — was cured of all beside —
His folly — pride — and passion — for he died.
17. Little Women, for example, in half a reel? (8)
FOURSOME : FOURSOME(whimsically, half of an “eightsome” or eightsome reel, a Scottish country dance for eight people).
Defn: A group of four persons, an example of which are the four sisters whose lives are described in “Little Women”, a novel by Louisa May Alcott.
19. Like certain answers in relation to clues, some of which I’d denigrate (6)
HIDDEN : Hidden in(some of) “which I’d denigrate”.
20. Girl’s name forming part of solution (6)
INGRID : [ IN GRID ](describing that which forms part of a crossword solution).
23. Way to address lady in Mother’s Union (5)
MADAM : [MA(informal term for one’s mother) + DAM(the female parent of a farm animal)](a union of 2 mothers).
24. Endure like this clue (4)
LAST : Like/describing this clue, 24 down, of all the clues here.
Another super themed puzzle from Brendan and with him being Irish, I laughed at ERGO with ‘So it is’ as a typical NI expression to end a sentence. I hope this doesn’t offend anyone but I wondered if he was tempted, with the juxtaposition of ANSWER and ANTHER, to clue the latter as a homophone of the former with a speech impediment. Nice touch with the two CROSSes crossing as well. Too many ticks in this one but my favourites were ANAGRAM, REDISSOLVED and OUTDRIVE, which I rarely do.
Ta Brendan & scchua.
*”anagram of MAGA ran”
There is a typo – 1 across is an anagram of MAGA RAN.
Good fun.
Thanks for clarifying the misdirection in 5a as being 2 words, not one. Could not find a single word to fit the crossers, and the definition. Otherwise a lovely puzzle, and great blog.
My faves: ANAGRAM, ERGO, SUBMERSION, CREATOR, MORAL, IMMUNISER,
CONSTRUCTS and MADAM.
ANTHER
I thought “in…you have it” was the “hidden” indicator.
(On second reading, I think scchua said the same thing in their blog).
Thanks Brendan and scchua.
I struggled a bit in the NE corner because I dismissed IN SHOCK as an answer as it is two words, not one (although I see that has now been corrected on the Guardian website. Not sure if it is still wrong on the app or in the paper).
This was a lot of fun! I needed clarification on FOURSOME (not familiar with the eightsome reel) and the parsing of IMMUNISER, but otherwise this was within my modest abilities. Thanks to Brendan and scchua.
What a treat, following on Brockwell yesterday – we’re being spoiled!
Brendan on top form, doing what he does best: as always, the whole is more than the sum of its parts – among my many ticks were ANAGRAM, IN SHOCK, ANSWER, IMMUNISER, CONSTRUCTS, ACROSTIC, FOURSOME, INGRID, MADAM.
I thought TWO-HANDED might refer to the plea, ‘I’ve only got one pair of hands!’
AlanC @1 – I grinned at ERGO, ‘So it is’, too – one of my favourite NI expressions. (Nifty linking with 21, too.)
Huge thanks to Brendan for a lot of fun and thanks to scchua for the blog.
I particularly appreciate self-referential crossword clues and this one had a lot of them! I liked 15a DOWN UNDER (of course), 17d FOURSOME, 19d HIDDEN and 20d INGRID. Thanks to Brendan for all the enjoyment and to scchua for the blog.
Well, I finished this in bed last night, a rarity for me. Justification of my opinion that, except for Monday, the difficulty of puzzles has no connection to the day of the week,
Inspector Morse did the Times puzzle. I often thought, “If you’re so smart, why don’t you tackle the Guardian?”
I went to the puzzle site and refreshed it to see whether the word count had changed from (7) to (2, 5) Instead, now it’s (6)! Not only still one word, but now the wrong number!
Thanks for lots of fun, Brendan, and a good blog, scchua!
A little trickier today, not helped by the IN[-]SHOCK issue. The partial and perennial theme helped slightly.
I liked CROSS SWORDS, DOWN UNDER, ERGO/OGRE and INGRID.
Thanks Brendan and scchua.
Even I spotted the theme today. Very enjoyable. Thanks sschua for your clear explanations of a few answers I couldn’t parse.
Ticks for MADAM & IN SHOCK despite the error. Other than that very much what I’ve come to expect from Brendan
Cheers B&S
I liked this very much – a very clever and well-clued puzzle. Does anyone agree that ‘it’ is redundant at the end of 28a and that the clue would be better without the final word?