I was through this in 21.25 with everything tidied away: as often seems to be the case these days almost bang on the current average time. By no means a straight through solve though, as I skipped around the various corners of the puzzle where light stubbornly refused to dawn.
There’s what I think is an (unsignalled) archaism at 5, but it’s not too difficult to come to terms with it. And there’s an I-didn’t-know-it-was-an-opera to tease the solver, but again not too tricky to work out, even if (I’ve sampled it) it’s a somewhat tricky thing to actually listen to. I rather liked the wordplay at 12, which was my last in and very nearly missed out, and there are two decent &lits to delight the discerning solver.
My version of the methods of solving together with (occasionally) relevant comments are below, with clues, definitions and SOLUTIONS
Across
1 Significance of ring, perhaps, and why it isn’t answered (7,6)
ENGAGED SIGNAL A ring might signal that the wearer is engaged (to be married), and if the ring (tone) is the engaged signal, your call won’t be answered. If overseas readers want to know what a British engaged tone sounds like here it is mixed with the ring tone in Penguin Café’s masterful Telephone and Rubber Band.
9 Move on beat — to this? (5)
TANGO Move is GO , and beat TAN. You only have to decide which to put on the other.
10 Hard with journalist on coach to clear a way through the woods (9)
BUSHWHACK I knew it in its ambush sense, but Chambers clears clearing. H(ard) plus W(ith) plus HACK for journalist are on (same order as 9) BUS for coach.
11 Contrived paintings, one functionary’s short of (10)
ARTIFICIAL Paintings generally are one form of ART, add an OFFICIAL functionary short of – um – OF.
12 Happens not to be the thing tinned? The opposite (4)
ISN’T (The grid doesn’t care about apostrophes). The thing is IT, if it’s tinned it’s contained in SN (chemical for tin). You need the whimsical opposite, SN contained in IT.
14 Shot leaving car at home here? (2,5)
ON DRIVE A shot In cricket, forward and to the left of a right handed batsman. If you’re lucky and your estate has the space, you might leave your car ON the DRIVE when you get home.
16 African winger to go round, arrowing crosses over: just headers (7)
TOURACO Today’s tease for Astro nowt. Winger means (here) bird. To go round is TOUR, to which you add the first letters (headers only) of Arrowing Crosses Over. The football version works pretty well.
17 Soldier not belonging to the state (7)
PRIVATE A double definition.
19 For carnivore, flesh: let me see a kilo being eaten (7)
MEERKAT Compare the Market are supposed to have pulled the Russian accented beastie form their adverts, but it’s taking a while. Real ones are from South Africa, and despite looking cute are ferocious killers of anything smaller. The wordplay’s tricky: flesh gives you MEAT, which “eats” ER for let me see and K for a Kilo (ignore the a)
20 Created book without introduction; one may learn by this (4)
ROTE Created book: WROTE, knock off the introduction (first letter. Learning by rote is through (not necessarily understood) repetition.
21 Danish unit translated into another tongue (10)
HINDUSTANI An eclectic variant of Hindi. And for us, an anagram (translated) of DANISH UNIT.
24 Men on the moon were fine once, a member of staff’s gathering (9)
AMERICANS I like the (still true) definition. An ERIC is an Irish fine paid to compensate for murder. Here place it inside (gathering) A MAN’S for a member of staff’s.
25 Arab is soon to return (5)
OMANI Is IN A MO backwards.
26 Had incentive to rework English opera (5,2,6)
DEATH IN VENICE Possibly better known as a film, based on the Thomas Mann novel, it is also an acerbic 1971 opera by Benjamin Britten. An anagram (to rework) of HAD INCENTIVE.[Thanks to anguswalker: you also need the E from English to complete the anagram. I was rather obsessed by remembering not including the TO.]
Down
1 Spare place finally accepted by officer not attached to body (14)
EXTRACORPOREAL The (non-commissioned) officer CORPORAL “accepts” the last letter (finally) of placE. It took me a while to work out which word meaning spare could be put on the front. It’s EXTRA.
2 Nocturnal creature, European, eaten by man (5)
GENET Another carnivore, this one created by GENT for man with E(uropean) “eaten” (as in the other carnivore clue at 19.
3 Excellent man on island holiday (4,6)
GOOD FRIDAY Excellent is GOOD, and the man on island is FRIDAY from Robinson Crusoe.
4 Disaster as teacher turns up with lace undone (7)
DEBACLE A qualified teacher may be a B. Ed. Reverse that (turns up) to give DEB and add an anagram (undone) of LACE
5 Demanding some coffee (7)
INSTANT A more antique meaning of the word for the demanding bit.
6 It can produce regenerated tail, no trouble (4)
NEWT It can indeed. Something of an &lit, in which regenerated translates to NEW, and TAIL without AIL for trouble provides the T.
7 A single voracious fish announced, one demanding huge interest? (4,5)
LOAN SHARK Sounds like (is announced) LONE (single) SHARK.
8 Duck a risk here: fish unlikely to stay frozen long? (5,2,4,3)
SKATE ON THIN ICE It might help if you thought more duckING is a risk here. The second section of the clue whimsically thinks of the fish SKATE not being kept frozen for long if the ice is thin.
13 Missing centrepiece of meals, hurried for a big shop (10)
SUPERSTORE Meals are SUPPERS, remove the centre piece P as instructed, and add TORE for hurried
15 Deft, I drew out tangle (5-4)
DRIFT WEED An anagram (out) of DEFT I DREW. A tangle of seaweed
18 What may cover grave at heart of chapel? (7)
EPITAPH Another &lit. What is EH, the PIT for grave and AP from the centre of chAPel are included (cover)
19 Potty is available for president (7)
MADISON 4th POTUS. Potty gives MAD and is available supplies IS ON
22 Counters a disease vector, cutting off half (5)
ABACI One plural of abacus. One meaning (which I was not aware of) of vector is disease carrying, which justifies BACILLUS, half of which disappears to tag on to A in pain sight.
23 Evasively holding up entry permit (4)
VISA A reversed hidden “held up” in evASIVely. Back in 1989 as, I was told, the first western visitor since Hitler’s troops to Nikolaev (Ukrainian Mykolaiv) I needed an extraordinary visa to enter the town not least because that’s where the Soviet Black Sea navy was built. I met some fantastic Baptist people there, rejoicing in new freedoms under Gorbachev’s reforming regime. I fear for them and their children under the relentless pounding of Gorbachev’s successor.
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