All good fun. Thank you Wire.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SHAKEDOWN | Extortion in America? Arab chief audibly unhappy (9) |
| SHAKE sounds like (audibly) “sheik” (Arab chief) then DOWN (unhappy) | ||
| 6 | TIFF | Twisted healthy wolf’s tail in squabble (4) |
| FIT (healthy) reversed (twisted) containing (… in) wolF (last letter, tail of) | ||
| 8 | WOODSMAN | See detective operate chopper (8) |
| WOO DS (see detective) then MAN (operate) | ||
| 9 | RAISIN | Discover path, then stray from it delivering fruit (6) |
| tRAIl (path) missing outer letters (dis-covered) then SIN (stray from the path) | ||
| 10 | PLANET | Body temperature on surface (6) |
| T (temperature) follows (on) PLANE (surface) – a heavenly body | ||
| 11 | BLACK EYE | Injury extremely bizarre admits servant (5,3) |
| BizarrE (extreme letters of) contains (admits) LACKEY (servant) | ||
| 12 | FLEECE | Run! Carnivore’s outside in sheep’s clothing (6) |
| FLEE (run) then CarnivorE (outside letters of) | ||
| 15 | SLIP ROAD | Approach adult in bar after mistake (4,4) |
| A (adult) inside ROD (bar) following SLIP (mistake) | ||
| 16 | SAW BLADE | Cutter spotted with barrels mostly charged (3-5) |
| SAW (spotted) with B (barrels) and LADEn (charged, mostly) | ||
| 19 | NOSHED | Heartily ate without shelter in garden perhaps (6) |
| NO (without) SHED (shelter in garden, perhaps) | ||
| 21 | CHUNKIER | More substantial lump in rice melted (8) |
| HUNK (chunk) inside anagram (melted) of RICE | ||
| 22 | GNARLY | Called backward lady ‘heartlessly ill-tempered‘ (6) |
| RANG (called) reversed (backward) then LadY (heartlessly) | ||
| 24 | POUNCE | Spring upon moving edges of cape (6) |
| anagram (moving) of UPON then CapE (edges of) | ||
| 25 | TROLLOPS | Hairy Scandinavian works for loose women (8) |
| TROLL (hairy Scandinavian) then OPS (works) | ||
| 26 | MEWS | Creature’s cry near small dwellings … (4) |
| MEW (creature’s cry) then S (small) | ||
| 27 | SIMPLETON | … limps badly approaching school dunce (9) |
| anagram (badly) of LIMPS beside (approaching) ETON (a school) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCOWL | Special hood is not a nice look (5) |
| S (special) and COWL (hood) | ||
| 2 | AL DENTE | In feral den, teen’s cooked but still firm (2,5) |
| found inside ferAL DEN TEn | ||
| 3 | EMMET | Team’s regulars were introduced to six-footer (5) |
| tEaM (regular letters from) and MET (were introduced to) – an ant | ||
| 4 | OMNIBUS | Volume of unruly mobs in uniform (7) |
| anagram (unruly) of MOBS IN U (uniform) – a book | ||
| 5 | NARRATION | Managed rising artist moving into storytelling (9) |
| RAN (managed) reversed (rising) RA (Royal Academician, artist) then anagram (moving) of INTO | ||
| 6 | THINKER | Cerebral sort of rascal capturing hearts (7) |
| TINKER (rascal) contains H (hearts) | ||
| 7 | FAIRY TALE | Blonde model in US university romance (5,4) |
| FAIR (blonde) then T (model T Ford) inside YALE (US University) | ||
| 13 | LOATHSOME | Very unpleasant Latin curses over setter (9) |
| L (Latin) OATHS (curses) O (over) ME (setter) | ||
| 14 | EXAMINERS | They check papers of old pitmen around area (9) |
| EX-MINERS (old pitmen) contains (around) A (area) | ||
| 17 | BANANAS | Crazy grandma consumed by degrees (7) |
| NANA (grandma) inside BAS (BA degrees) | ||
| 18 | ERRATUM | Uncertain expressions about animal’s howler? (7) |
| ER and UM (uncertain expressions) contains (about) RAT (animal) | ||
| 20 | SCARLET | Red cloak left in fright close to forest (7) |
| L (left) inside (cloak…in…) SCARE (fright) then foresT (close to, last letter of) | ||
| 22 | GROWL | Menacing sound from grey predator (5) |
| GR (grey) OWL (predator) | ||
| 23 | LUPIN | Short wolfish one maybe found in bed (5) |
| LUPINe (wolfish, short) – in a flower bed | ||
We thought this was going to prove a toughie as we got only TIFF and SIMPLETON on our first pass through the acrosses, but then the downs came thick and fast and everything came into place.
We did wonder, with FAIRY TALE, NARRATION and WOODSMAN if there was a bit of a theme emerging, with the surfaces of the last three down clues hinting at Little Red Riding Hood, but maybe that was just coincidence.
We weren’t aware of the American usage of SHAKEDOWN.
A satisfying solve. Thanks,Wire and PeeDee.
Also grandma, healthy wolf, delivering fruit, carnivore in sheep’s clothing, saw blade, noshed seem to suggest more than coincidence. Certainly good fun, anyway.
I think Allan_c and Jen are on to something. There’s Woodsman, Fleece, Gnarly, Scowl, Loathsome, Growl, Scarlet, Fairy Tale, Lupin(e) in the answers, plus the clues at 6A, 8A, 12A, 1D, 2D, 17D, 20D, 22D and 23D, and possibly others, all containing clear or oblique references to red, hood, wolves, cloaks, woods and unpleasantness. Wire, please don’t say it was coincidence! But thanks anyway to setter and blogger.
No coincidence! I kept veering off into ‘lycanthropy mode’ when setting this one but I suppose the story has elements of that. The film ‘The Company of Wolves’ lurked in my subconscious, I think. Thanks to everyone for the comments and the blog. Don’t go howling at the moon tonight.
Thanks Wire and PeeDee
Maybe the wolf have liked his victims al dente?
Didn’t a wolf SHAKEDOWN some little pigs’ dwellings? Very enjoyable solve, only 9ac RAISIN defeated me comprehensively. 11ac BLACK EYE a favourite today. Thanks to Wire and PeeDee.
Missed the theme as usual, but enjoyed it nonetheless.
6A I parsed as FIT + {wol}F with the “in” merely a link word for surface. I guess both ways work.
18D a surfeit of double letters, it’s ER and UM.
Thanks to Wire and PeeDee.
Thanks for the correction to 18 gwep. I prefer your parsing of 6A, it is simpler than mine.
Thanks Wire for dropping in. Sadly you got The Worlds Worst Theme Spotter writing up your puzzle today. I once blogged a puzzle where the grid contained the names of the entire 1966 World Cup winning team and I failed to notice anything.