I would normally wait a week to post this, but the solution to this puzzle has already been published so I’ll just go ahead, now that I have a little bit of time in which I'm not expected to cook something.
My time for this one was 13:41. We are in Canada for Christmas, so I was able to solve it at a civilised hour on Christmas Eve after a nice dinner and a few glasses of wine, waiting for Santa to turn up. His arrival was noticed extremely early this year, thanks to some over-alert kids, and I am pretty sure presents were opened on the 24th. Heigh ho, as they say, or perhaps that should be heigh ho ho ho.
Anyho, I enjoyed this puzzle enormously. It isn’t difficult, but it is very neatly put together, and the smattering of themed clues adds to the pleasure without being overwhelming, or creating the feeling that they have been forced in. Perhaps I was primed to enjoy it by the champagne and claret festivity of the occasion, but whatever the reasons I found this a real treat to solve.
I don’t normally go in for clue of the day, but I was moved to mention 20dn to my wife – not a crossworder – and not only did she not roll her eyes, she actually chuckled. I don’t think this has ever happened before, so perhaps this is the best crossword clue ever.
So thanks very much to Harry, and my very best wishes to you and everyone else for 2017.
Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*.
Across
1
Work to cross very strong river outside uni
OFF-CAMPUS - O(FF, CAM)PUS, where ‘work’ is OPUS, FF=fortissimo=very strong, and CAM is, coincidentally but fittingly, a river in a not particularly distinguished university town.
6
Kids giving up time for posh birthday boy?
JESUS - JESTS, with the T (time) turned to a U (posh, see Nancy Mitford).
9
Energy shown by a ginger with two listeners
EARED - E, A RED. This one had me wondering if evolution has ever thrown up a creature with another number of ears.
10
Deer roam freely over old landing zone
AERODROME - (DEER ROAM)* containing O.
11
Here's something not seen under a tree every day
PRESENT - two definitions, the second very slightly cryptic.
12
Enduring donkey dons get on … nearly
CLASSIC - CL(ASS)ICk.
13
Arch-moralists high on cold December air?
CHRISTMAS CAROL - C, (ARCH MORALISTS)*. A very neat anagram.
17
Mess vandal created around new countdown monitor?
ADVENT CALENDAR - based on the definition and a glance at the anagram fodder I initially bunged in CAROL VORDERMAN here!
21
Tumbler a Slav filled with drop of brandy
ACROBAT - A CRO(Brandy)AT.
23
Illicit trade that’s seen by the roadside?
TRAFFIC - two definitions, one very slightly cryptic
25
Newspaper features linked with furrowed brows?
HEADLINES - a definition, and then some slightly cryptic wording. It’s quite hard to see where one meets the other, and the word ‘features’ is arguably doing a little bit of double duty, but the question mark and the fact that it’s a Sunday mitigate any Ximenean doubts I might otherwise be entertaining.
26
Daughter with garden tool? Duck!
DRAKE - D, RAKE. No reference to Sir Francis on this occasion.
27
Decline when they tell us when to work
ROTAS - ROT, AS.
28
Gloomy match-goer with sore throat apt do this?
CHEERLESS - two definitions, the second cryptic if only in the sense that you won’t find it in the dictionary.
Down
1
Concluded mob put too many pieces in a trunk?
OVERPACK - OVER, PACK. The tricky thing about this clue is the definition: it takes a while to cotton on to the fact that it makes up the vast majority of the clue. Well, it did me, anyway.
2
Conservative in charge? Total shambles!
FARCE - FAR(C)E. Liam Fox, perhaps.
3
Someone we’ve all sent a card to this Christmas?
ADDRESSEE - this clue threw me totally off guard because it isn't really cryptic at all!
4
Ghost ship finally getting a month at sea
PHANTOM - shiP, (A MONTH)*.
5
Trim small trees sold recently?
SPRUCES - SPRUCE, S. Christmas trees are usually some variety of this, pine or fir, according to Wikipedia. I don’t know what ours is.
6
Area under no good biblical ruler where 6A lived
JUDEA - JUDgE, A.
7
Hoses down pants ready for a Lapland tramp?
SHOWSHOED - (HOSES DOWN)*.
8
Sort of cheeps that Phil’s bird delivers today?
SPEECH - (CHEEPS)*. A bit of lese-majesté in the service of a cryptic reading. I have never watched the Queen’s speech on Christmas day, and probably never will.
14
One tweets “ruddy brute” about Republican leader
REDBREAST - RED B(Republican)EAST.
15
A large old queen drinking with a great man
ALEXANDER - A, L, EX (old), ER containing (drinking) AND (with).
16
Crazy types full of bad jokes at Yuletide?
CRACKERS - two definitions, one a slightly cryptic reference to the terrible jokes you get in Christmas crackers.
18
Colossal jerk seizing sunbed from Apple?
TITANIC - T(ITAN)IC, where ‘iTan’ is what Apple would call a sunbed if it made one. Arf.
19
Some upstart is teasing a public performer …
ARTISTE - contained in ‘upstart is teasing’.
20
… unhappy about this woman who’s pulled Santa?
DASHER - reversal of SAD, HER. Along with Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. A bunch of cowardly bullies, in my view. Sure, they were nice to Rudolph once weather-related expediency prompted the big man to bring the red-nosed fellow into the team, but that in no way excuses their disgraceful mockery, name-calling and exclusion before then. To be honest I’m not even sure Santa emerges from the whole sorry affair smelling entirely of roses: a bullying culture is after all a failure of leadership.
22
Those ringing in the New Year with a Scotch?
BELLS - DD. Other whiskies are available.
24
Celebrity welcoming Liberal sweetheart
FLAME - F(L)AME.