A fine puzzle from Slormgorm, with long solutions crossing in the middle to lock everything into place.
Nothing too difficult, but I did have to ponder a bit to see what was going on with BRIO and ACRE.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | BARE |
Nude shows in club a revelation! (4)
|
| Hidden in (shows in) [CLU]B A RE[VELATION] | ||
| 8 | AMBULATORS |
Spicy roast lamb draws in posh pedestrians (10)
|
| Anagram of (spicy) {ROAST LAMB} around (draws in) U (posh) | ||
| 10 | ABSENT |
A preference to house son miles away (6)
|
| A + BENT (preference) around (to house) S (son) | ||
| 11 | OPERATOR |
A trooper, criminal or a machinist? (8)
|
| Anagram of (criminal) A TROOPER | ||
| 12 | PRETENCE |
Vacuous pope swallows awfully recent ruse (8)
|
| Outside letters of (vacuous) P[OP]E around (swallows) anagram of (awfully) RECENT | ||
| 13 | ENERGY |
What’s saved by greener gymnasium? (6)
|
| &lit and hidden in (saved by) [GRE]ENER GY[MNASIUM] | ||
| 15 | HORSE CHESTNUT |
Drug addict hanging around box tree (5,8)
|
| {HORSE (drug) + NUT (addict)} around (hanging around) CHEST (box) | ||
| 18 | OPIATE |
Drug one consumed after work (6)
|
| OP (work) + I (one) + ATE (consumed) | ||
| 20 | ADMITTEE |
Lawyer reviewed uni support for new student, say (8)
|
| DA (lawyer) reversed (reviewed) + MIT (uni) + TEE (support) | ||
| 22 | COVENANT |
Group who cast new tenor without a contract (8)
|
| {COVEN (group who cast, i.e., spells) + N (new) + T (tenor)} around (without) A | ||
| 24 | STOP BY |
Pop in small black bottles best before end of July (4,2)
|
| [{S (small) + B (black)} around (bottles) TOP (best)] + last letter of (end of) [JUL]Y | ||
| 25 | A TALL ORDER |
Tough task for a lofty band of brothers? (1,4,5)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, the latter referring whimsically to a monastic order | ||
| 26 | ACRE |
Unit of beer left out for our monarch (4)
|
| A[L]E (beer) minus (out) L (left) substituting with (for) CR (our monarch) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BARBERSHOP |
Type of music in Barnet establishment (10)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | BEE-EATER |
Yeoman of the guard dumps fine flapper (3-5)
|
| BEE[F]EATER (yeoman of the guard) minus (dumps) F (fine), referring to a bird | ||
| 3 | CANTON |
Fleece-wearing soldier in Swiss division (6)
|
| ANT (soldier) inside (wearing) CON (fleece) | ||
| 4 | BLEEDERS |
Extortionists can be despicable people (8)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | AT EASE |
Chilled drinks served in cafe regularly (2,4)
|
| TEAS (drinks) inside (served in) alternate letters of (regularly) [C]A[F]E | ||
| 6 | BRIO |
Spirit making writer’s stomach turn (4)
|
| B[IR]O (pen) with inside letters inverted (making . . . stomach turn) | ||
| 9 | BROKEN-HEARTED |
Drunk on the dark beer could be thus (13)
|
| Anagram of (drunk) ON THE DARK BEER. Chambers lists this as hyphenated. | ||
| 14 | GOTHENBURG |
Cook up grub, then go to have a port (10)
|
| Anagram of (cook up) GRUB THEN GO. This might also parse as simply: GO + THEN + inverted (up) GRUB, with “cook” indicating a rearrangement of the elements. | ||
| 16 | ELEVATOR |
Up-and-down sort of a voter mad about the French (8)
|
| Anagram of (mad) {A VOTER} around (about) LE (the [in] French) | ||
| 17 | NATIONAL |
Subject of widely-distributed paper (8)
|
| Double definition, the first in the sense of “citizen” | ||
| 19 | AGE-OLD |
A medal laid across European antique (3-3)
|
| {A + GOLD (medal)} around (laid across) E (European) | ||
| 21 | MISERY |
My rise faltered in a very unhappy state (6)
|
| Anagram of (faltered) MY RISE | ||
| 23 | OUTS |
Hooligans losing head should make exits (4)
|
| [L]OUTS (hooligans) minus first letter (losing head) |
Not much to say about this one. Liked ABSENT, OPERATOR, BRIO, and could not parse ADMITTEE or 15ac (did not know HORSE is a drug). Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria.