Financial Times 14,894 by Io

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This is a tricky puzzle that I can’t quite finish.  I think Io has made a fool out me again!

A couple of the solutions here are just guesses.  Any help in sorting the missing pieces very welcome.
wpid-Financial-Times-14894-by-Io.png
Thanks Io.
Across
9 SUPERCHERIE
Blair stands by top policeman’s deception (11)

SUPER (superintendent, top policeman) then CHERIE (Cherie Blair) – thanks to George for this
10 ONE
Joke about the summit of Everest (3)

ON (about) contains (about) Everest (first letter, summit of)
11 GOLD BRICK
This is a sham grid with block misplaced (4,5)

anagram (misplaced) of GRID with BLOCK
12 SET UP
Trucks back, this behind head in April Fool (3,2)

UTES (trucks) reversed (back) then aPril (you will find this behind the first letter , head ofl)
13 POISSON D’AVRIL
Sucker slips on road very awkwardly over surface of ice (7,6)

anagram of SLIPS ON ROAD V (very) containing Ice (first letter, surface of)
14 NAUGHTINESSES
No good way to write SOS? (13)

a way to wrtite SOS is NAUGHT (O) in ESSES (SS) – I’m a bit unsure about the definition
18 PRACTICAL JOKE
Doctoring cocktail? Japer’s up to it! (9,4)

anagram (doctoring) of COCKTAIL and JAPER
22 OZONE
Australia’s top batsman is something invigorating (5)

OZ (Australia) has ONE (top batsman in cricket)
23 STRATAGEM
Big pro’s retrospective means to deceive (9)

MEGA (big) TART’S (por’s)
25 EWE
One looking sheepish in the middle of the week (3)

found in the middle of thE WEek
26 SHENANIGANS
Mum’s turning to catch foolish trickery (11)

SH (mum, silence) then SNAG (to catch) and INANE (foolish) reversed (turning)
Down
1 V-SIGN
Victory token number 5 for Julius Caesar (1-4)

double/cryptic definition – 5 in Roman numerals
2 OPAL
A little shop, a little gem (4)

found inside (a little of) shOP A Little
3 TREBLING
Theirs may be set up by this here note cracking George’s arty partner up (8)

N (note) inside (cracking) GILBERT (artist parter of George) reversed (up) – not sure of the definition, something to do with teh clue being 3dn? THEIRS (4dn) could become SET UP (12 across) by TREBLING the clue number
4 THEIRS
“For Auditors” – that’s the point of them (6)

another guess – IE could be that is and S is a point a homophone (for auditors) of “there’s” (there is, that is the point)  or maybe the homophone is “there” (meaning that) and the point is S (south).  See discussion below…
5 BROKEN-IN
Rule fair in Dahomey that was disciplined (6-2)

R (rule) OK (fair) in BENIN (formerly, that was,  the Republic of Dahomey)
6 GEISHA
Entertaining girl in garage is harrowing! (6)

found inside garaGE IS HArrowing
7 COUTURIERE
Dressmaker, prior to the end of the day, is taken in by newspaper headline (10)

TU (Tuesday, day) inside (is taken in by) COURIER (the name, headline, of a newspaper) coming before (prior to) thE (end letter of)
8 LEGPULL
The order of the day on draught (7)

cryptic definition to do with hand-pulled beer? LEG (on, side in cricket) and PULL (draught) – thanks to Chalmie
13 PLAY A JOKER
To maximise one’s strengths, take the role of Touchstone? (4,1,5)

PLAY (take the role of) A JEStER (Touchstone from As You Like It, for example)
15 TACKSMEN
Spooner’s pronounced Scot’s few as Highland leaseholders (8)

a Spoonerism of “Mac’s ten”, ten=few?
16 SMOOTHIE
His “Me too!” may be duplicitous (8)

(HIS ME TOO)* anagram=may be duplicitous – definition is &lit
17 SPOOFED
Was hoaxer (nameless) artificially fostered? (7)

SPOOn FED (artificially fostered) missing N=name
19 TSETSE
Three times, the same group’s catching this fly (6)

SET in TSE found inside (caught by) seT SET SEt (group, the same one repeated three times) – thanks to Pelham Barton
20 LARIAT
Strain on stage stretches lieutenant’s rope (6)

ARIA (strain on stage) inside (stretching apart) LT (lieutenant)
21 AMISS
Young woman one leads astray (5)

MISS (young woman) before (leads) A (one)
24 GOAT
With vigour, attack fool (4)

GO AT (attack with vigour)
*anagram
definitions are underlined

20 comments on “Financial Times 14,894 by Io”

  1. Thanks PeeDee and Io, a challenge to far for me I am afraid.

    I do have SUPERCHERIE meaning deceit for 9ac, SUPER as top policeman and CHERIE as in Blair.

  3. Its a good thing that the boss was in a meeting this morning as I have looked at this one on and off for literally hours.

    You’ve left out the I in BENIN in your explanation for 5d.

    Thanks to PeeDee (not one I’d have wanted to blog) and to IO for yet another pummelling of the cryptic grey matter.

  4. 14 Chambers defines naught as “a nought (q.v.)”: nought is then defined as “the figure 0”.

  7. Hi crypticsue – I wondered about that too but I couldn’t come up with a sentence where I could exchange “there’s” for “that’s the point”. I’m probably just being a bit dim here. Could you give an example?

  11. Hi PeeDee

    19dn: I took this as hidden in seTSETSEt – that accounts for the “Three times” at the start of the clue.

  13. 4 down: I think crypticsue @5 has it. THEIRS is a homophone (“for auditors”) of “there’s”, which could equate to “that’s the point” in phrases like “There’s where the body was found” and “That’s the point where the body was found”.

  14. You would not say that though. Just THAT’S where the body was found.

    I’m sure there is one that fits, but it is so difficult to pinpoint things like that when you are solving.

  15. Picking up on comments on 4dn, if you can have that=there, then “For Auditors” transforms this into THEIR. The next part of the clue can be read as “has the point”, meaning add S (=south, a point of the compass).

  16. I’m not sure you can equate “that” and “there”.

    But both “that’s the point” and “there’s” can take the meaning “that place is”, which seems good enough to me for a crossword clue. As hedgehoggy @14 says, you might not use the phrases @13 in everyday parlance, but this is a cryptic crossword, not normal speech.

  17. Tom@16: I am not sure either, which is why I held off with my suggestion until the comment by hh@14, which seemed to suggest that you could equate “that” with “there”. However, I do not find the alternative any more convincing.

  18. I think John’s (not that one) THE IRS offers a great way to clue this tricky little word, but, just for precision, it’s HMRC in good old Blighty. And boy do we get to know who they are.

    On the clue as is, since THAT and THERE are interchangeable in any number of ways I don’t think there’s any doubt: OTOH the apostrophised S is quite confusing. But THERE for THEIR plus said S (the point) is how you get there, I’m totally sure.

    Great puzzle, loads of thematic entries, and deviously clued as ever.

  20. Thanks to PeeDee and Io. Only got to this late, and found it very tough – failed on a couple, even with aids. However, I did notice (rightly or wrongly!) that 10a, as it appears on the page, also spells IO (“one”) – which was how I justified the answer (totally missing the more obvious explanation). Given the level of deviousness, not to mention wit, elsewhere in this ace puzzle, I’m inclined to think that this was not mere coincidence. What do others think?

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