The Age Cryptic by RM #20,459

It was a Happy Monday with the week's fresh off the printer puzzle. This one took me almost two hours. It was a weird mix of insanely easy clues (9A) with some really hard ones (21D). I also didn't use my usual seek out anagrams first method but could go through this from across clues right to down clues. I had about 7 clues to struggle with at the end.

I did have trouble parsing a few of these clues, and it seemed to be the ones I could solve quickly from the definition. The harder clues I could parse with ease - I don't know how that's happened.  What does that say about me, or does that say something about RM?  Lets dig in, here's the pic:

1A - Used to look back at me and Warrior River Falls (8,6)
"Used to look back" is our definition and we want a thing that's used for looking back. "ME and warrior river falls," is fodder and anagrind + ME to mix up and get REARVIEW MIRROR.

8A - Penny has a nagging desire to see the Channel (5)
"Channel" is our definition and a "Penny" in old money was one D and "has nagging desire" = an ITCH, we put together for DITCH.

9A - Be strung up for having an alcoholic headache (8)
"Alcoholic headache" is our definition and really we don't even need the clue to guess it's a HANGOVER because what other word works with that definition? Just in case there's "be strung up" to give us a double definition. Although, that doesn't feel very satisfying and I can't put my finger on why.

11A - Native to the Central Pyrenees and no less demonic (7)
"Native" is our definition and "central pyrENees" = EN and "no less DEMonIC = DEMIC -NO put together for ENDEMIC.

12A - Neutralising potential not great but it's useful for diabetics (7)
Here's another clue where the definition is easy to spot and the answer is obvious but here I can't parse the clue. I can't break into any part of it. "Useful for diabetics" is the definition and the answer is INSULIN.** answer by @CrypticQix " "12a is an anagram of NEUTRALISING minus an anagram of GREAT; by convention, there ought to be a 2nd anagram indicator there."

13A - Make tail coat with a bit less rayon and see if it fits (3,2)
"See if it fits" is our definition and "tail coaT" = T and "A bit less RaYON" = RYON as we remove the letter -A to get T(RY ON)

15A - Picture of scenery at Lennox Head and South Cape (9)
"Picture of scenery" is our definition and "Lennox head" = L, AND "South" = S and well, we only have the word CAPE left and no other instructions to apply, so we stick it on the end to get LANDSCAPE. I don't know if there's a better explanation, but that's what I did.

17 - Audience walking out again is making it easier (9)
One of the last clues in for me. "Making it easier" is our definition and "Audience" is a homophone signpost for "walking out, again" where  "walking out" = LEAVING, doing it again would be "RE-LEAVING" or RELIEVING.

20A - Take a break, start easing into it, and then go hard again (5)
A clue about whisking egg Whites? Couldn't be anything else, I'm sure, nope. No smutty interpretations here. I think it's "Then go hard again" is our definition but I don't have all the bits (oh, shut up) "start Easing" = E goes "into IT" ...no that isn't working.  Oh! I see on editing - "take a break" = REST and we put the E from "Easing, into it" like this: RES(E)T.

21A - Done any massage? It's soothing! (7)
"It's soothing!" is our definition and "done any massage" is fodder and anagrind for ANODYNE.

23A - Make an impression with your utterly fake fangs (7)
"Fake fangs" is our definition and "Make an impression" = DENT "with your, utterly" with "utterly" being a homophone signpost for YOUR = URE to give us DENTURE.

25A - Take pastry dish, burn top then make a diagram with wedges (3,5)
Again, I got this with just the definition of "Diagram with wedges" but looking now It's "pastry dish" = PIE, "burn" = CHAR and "top Then" = T for our PIE CHART.

26A - Environmentally friendly lithium becomes a contaminant in water (1,4)
"Contaminant in water" is our definition and "environmentally friendly" = ECO and "lithium" = LI as its chemical symbol to become E-COLI.

27A - She wrote about crime in the Reichstag and Thai cooking (6,8)
"She wrote about crime" is our definition and "reichstag and thai cooking" is fodder and anagrind to give us AGATHA CHRISTIE. Only that fodder is one letter short. I only noticed this when double checking the fodder as I'd gotten the answer from cross letters and definition - it's missing an A. Is there a way to parse that that I've missed?

1D - Annual event for commie landlords (3-6,3)
This was my first clue in the grid and it's no wonder really since I've seen versions of this clue about seven times in the six months since I started this blog. Why is this such a popular phrase for compilers? "Commie" = RED and "landlords" are LETTERS and their annual event would be a RED LETTER DAY.

2D - Did it for the editor of the statute (5)
"Did it" is the definition and "editor" = ED and "statute" = ACT and for some reason that's probably some levels of grammar beyond my everyday usage we swap them around for ACTED.

3D - Two very macho types cement roofs with ferocity (9)
"Ferocity" is our definition and "two VEry" means use the first two letters of "very" = VE, "macho types" are HE-MEN and "CEment roofs" = CE for VE(HEMEN)CE.

4D - Morally OK to hit Alec when drunk (7)
"Morally OK" is our definition and "hit alec when drunk" is fodder and anagrind for ETHICAL.

5D - Fellow is up on the house (7)
"House" is our definition and "Fellow" = MAN, "IS up," = SI as the down clue means put that into the grid in reverse, then just add the extra ON from the clue to get MAN(SI)(ON).

6D - Premier Rann starts issuing orders to stop disturbances of the peace (5)
Was there a premier named Rann? Yes it seems there was back 2005, before my time in Oz. Here it's an instruction to take the "premier" or first letter of "Rann" = R then "starts Issuing Orders To Stop" = IOTS for RIOTS as our "disturbances of the peace."

7D - 50 plus love commercials is too many (9)
Done in light pencil because I'm not sure of all the bits. "50" = L, "plus love" = O, "commercials" = ADS then "Is too many" is the definition. Answer is OVERLOADS and I don't know where the "OVER" part comes from. ** answer by @CrypticQix ""50 plus" is OVER L " That's straigtforward enough. I thought "plus" just meant to stick them together. That's what I get for using math symbols in my solutions.

10D - A beauty expert is brought in to put us to sleep (12)
This was a tough clue. "To put us to sleep" is the definition and "A beauty expert" = AN AESTHETE, then "IS brought in"  gives us: ANAESTHET(IS)E.

14D - Lonely wig doctor is becoming jaundiced (9)
"Jaundiced" is our definition and "lonely wig doctor," is fodder and anagrind for YELLOWING.

16D - Freakishly green site in plainly in Africa (9)
"Plainly in Africa" is our definition and "Freakishly green site," is anagrind and fodder to give us SERENGETI.

18D - Flower arrangement looks a lot like Eric (7)
"Flower arrangement," is our definition and "a lot like" means we want only a few letters of LIKE -L = IKE and the "Eric" in question is Eric BANA to give us the Japanese flower arranging art of IKEBANA.

19D - Nobody shout! (2,5)
If we think of "shout" as in to pay for something, like dinner at a restaurant, then "No shout" = GO DUTCH.

22D - The first two carry out the bishop then go back for a schooner perhaps (5)
Last clue in and what a bugger it was. "Schooner" is the definition as I don't see a purpose for the word "perhaps" to be here except to cause confusion. "THe first two" = TH, "CArrY out the bishop," = -RR for the Rt. Rev./bishop leaving CAY that "then go back" means reverse it all for YACHT.

24D - Muck about in an old submarine (1-4)
"Old submarine" is our definition and "muck about" is anagrind and fodder to give us U-BOAT. That was sneaky, I'm used to "about" being the action word.

There we are. Monday wasn't too mean to us after all. I'm going to have a crack at the Rufus and the DH later on. Girl Guides tonight will honour Remembrance Day and we'll do some activities and maybe have a walk to the local shrine if the weather is good.