Phi gives us a good challenge to end the working week (if there is such a standard thing these days)
The English language is fascinating with the variety of different meanings for the same word used in different contexts. PREVALENCE can relate to popularity for instance as cited at 1 down. However, there is a prevalence of Covid-19 at the moment and I doubt if anyone uses some derivative of popular in the same context.
I liked the allusion to CIRCUS in the wordplay of 1 across as a ‘top show’. It took a little while for the penny to drop at 3 down where players was clued as CAST in the wordplay I have seen the association before, but it didn’t hit me straight away.
I can’t see a theme even though there are a couple of ladies names and one possible surname in the grid. I looked for a FREDA MARGARET CASTLE on the web but I couldn’t find a famous one.
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| Across | |||
| 8 | Top show almost missing its slot for broadcast (9) | CIRCUS (company that operates in a BIG TOP; top show) excluding the final letter (almost) S + LATE (missing its slot)
CIRCU LATE |
CIRCULATE (spread about; broadcast) |
| 9 | Nothing about revolutionary woman (5) | FA (reference the phrase [Sweet] Fanny Adams, slang term meaning nothing at all, or alternatively another two word phrase also meaning nothing at all) containing (about) RED (communist; revolutionary)
F (RED) A |
FREDA (woman’s name) |
| 10 | Contestant’s appearance ignoring a rule (5) | ARRIVAL (appearance) excluding (ignoring) A and R (rule)
RIVAL |
RIVAL (person pursuing an object in competition with another; contestant) |
| 11 | Material on roof: that feature’s beginning to grate (9) | THAT + CHIN (facial feature. One definition of feature in Chambers is ‘any part of the face’) + G (first letter of [beginning to] GRATE)
THAT CHIN G |
THATCHING (material on some roofs) |
| 12 | Bits of film presented in middle of week showing astronomical phenomenon (7) | CLIPS (pieces of film taken for separate showing) contained in (presented in) EE (central letters of [middle of] WEEK)
E (CLIPS) E |
ECLIPSE (total or partial disappearance of a heavenly body by the interposition of another between it and the spectator, or by passing into its shadow; astronomical phenomenon) |
| 14 | Someone who tries things is tense when cornered by a drug user (7) | T (tense) contained in (cornered by) (A + DOPER [drug user])
A DOP (T) ER |
ADOPTER (someone who chooses and follows theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans; someone who tries things) |
| 16 | No sarky comments about bridge team offering some security (3-4) | (NO + LIP [insolence; sarcastic comments]) containing (about) NS (North and South play together as a team in the game of Bridge against the team of East and West)
NO (NS) LIP |
NONSLIP (a surface designed to reduce chance of sliding or falling to a minimum) |
| 18 | Absolutely certain woman is to reject first soldier (7) | MADAM (woman of social rank or status, among other meanings that also describe a woman) excluding the initial letter (to reject first) M + ANT (reference a soldier ANT)
ADAM ANT |
ADAMANT (unyielding; Impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason; absolutely certain of a particular viewpoint or statement) |
| 19 | Conductor confused situation, over looking line and metre (7) | MAELSTROM (confused or disordered state of affairs) excluding (overlooking) L (line) and M (metre)
MAESTRO |
MAESTRO (musical conductor) |
| 20 | Farmers gutted about cow plants (7) | FS (letters remaining in FARMERS when all he central letters ARMER are removed [gutted]) containing (about) LOWER (a cow makes a LOWing sound when it moos)
F (LOWER) S |
FLOWERS (plants) |
| 22 | Not for many to know with respect to changing (3-6) | Anagram of (changing) RESPECT TO
TOP SECRET* |
TOP SECRET (known only to very few important people) |
| 24 | Return of academics keeping year for religious meeting (5) | (DONS [academics] containing [keeping] Y [year]) all reversed (return of)
(S (Y) NOD)< |
SYNOD (ecclesiastical council; religious meeting) |
| 25 | Doctor, say, drawn to singular contents of used bottle? (5) | DR (doctor) + EG (for example; say) + S (singular)
DR EG S |
DREGS (impurities in liquid that fall to the bottom when the bottle is empty) |
| 26 | Legally required to stop imprisoning teacher (9) | STAY (stop) containing (imprisoning) TUTOR (teacher)
STA (TUTOR) Y |
STATUTORY (enacted or recognised by law; legally required) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Place never represented in measure of popularity? (10) | Anagram of (represented) PLACE NEVER
PREVALENCE* |
PREVALENCE (Chambers Thesaurus includes ‘popularity’ among its definitions of prevalence) |
| 2 | Scheduled League clash? (4) | DUE (scheduled) + L (league)
DUE L |
DUEL (fight; clash) |
| 3 | Move at chess? Players initially look edgy (6) | CAST (actors; players) + LE (first letters [initially] of each of LOOK and EDGY)
CAST L E |
CASTLE (in chess, to move the king two squares along the row towards a rook and then place the rook on the square the king has passed over) |
| 4 | Explanatory material little encountered in essential stuff given to Academy (8) | (TAD [small amount] contained in [encountered in] MEAT [substance; essential stuff]) + A (academy)
ME (TAD) AT A |
METADATA (information about information already supplied, eg details about a site on the Internet) |
| 5 | A timeless story supported by song and dance connoisseur (10) | A + FICTION (story) excluding (less) T (time) + ADO (fuss; song and dance) – this is a down entry, so ADO supports the letters above it.
A FICION ADO |
AFICIONADO (ardent follower; fan; connoisseur) |
| 6 | Malevolent spirit turning up in fireplace (4) | PERI (reversed [turning up; down entry] hidden word [in] FIREPLACE)
PERI< |
PERI (beautiful but malevolent being with supernatural powers) |
| 7 | Woman about to enter English resort, spurning European (8) | RE (with reference to) contained in (to enter) MARGATE (English seaside resort) excluding (spurning) E (European)
MARGA (RE) T |
MARGARET (woman’s name) |
| 8 | Swear nothing is omitted from part of meal (5) | COURSE (part of a meal) excluding (is omitted from) O (nothing)
CURSE |
CURSE (swear) |
| 13 | Holy times reanimated after priest offers Hindu belief? (10) | P (priest) + an anagram of (reanimated) HOLY TIMES
P OLYTHEISM* |
POLYTHEISM (the doctrine of a pluralism of Gods, a doctrine that relates to Hinduism) |
| 15 | Traffic merging, say – it requires a lot of workers (5,5) | TRADE (traffic) + UNION (merging)
TRADE UNION |
TRADE UNION (a body representing many workers) |
| 16 | Unexpectedly tamed one parasitic worm (8) | Anagram of (unexpectedly) TAMED ONE
NEMATODE* |
NEMATODE (parasitic worm) |
| 17 | Prince taking on monster to get further (8) | PR (prince) + OGRESS (monster)
PR OGRESS |
PROGRESS (forward movement, to get further) |
| 20 | Soccer group’s discretion upset rich businessman? (3,3) | FA (Football Association; soccer group) + TACT (discretion) reversed (upset)
FA T CAT< |
FAT CAT (wealthy, prosperous person, especially one who is thought to have gained excessive rewards; a rich businessman perhaps) |
| 21 | Speak about Democrat and Liberal with regret (5) | SAY (speak) containing (about) (D [Democrat] + L [Liberal])
SA (D L) Y |
SADLY (with regret) |
| 23 | Look – alloy has no little weight (4) | PEWTER (formerly an alloy of three to nine parts of tin and one of lead; now tin with a little copper, antimony, and/or bismuth) excluding (has no) WT (abbreviation for [little] weight)
PEER |
PEER (look) |
| 24 | 15’s upset about hospital offering no openings (4) | TU’S (TRADE UNION’S [entry at 15 down’s]) reversed (upset) containing (about) H (hospital)
S (H) UT< |
SHUT (offering no openings) |