Quick Cryptic 148 by Orpheus

Now to get on with the other blog… 🙂

Across
1 backchat – BACK (support) and H(usband) in CAT (Tom, presumably Jerry’s oppo in view of the capital letter.)
5 spit – TIPS (leans) written from right to left, ie reversed
8 staff – double definition, a rod and also employees
9 seminal – anagram of “meals in.” The def. being “rudimentary,” a meaning of seminal which I did not actually know though the required answer was clear enough with a checker or two in place. If you have confidence that you understand the way the clue works, it should not really matter if you don’t know a meaning, or even the word itself
11 greengrocer – GREEN (inexperienced) and GROCER (sounds like “grosser, ie more corpulent)
13 Martha – ART (paintings) and H(ospital) inside MA, mother, the def. being just “girl.”
14 mascot – M(arried) A SCOT. The ? after Glaswegian is there because a Scot may or may not be Glaswegian. Read it as “A Glaswegian, perhaps.” Setters use ? a lot (there are six in this crossword) to convert otherwise definite statements into suggestions or hints
17 redoubtable – fearsome, and a cryptic reference to the literal interpretation “re-doubtable,” ie open to question for a second time..
20 content – CONTINENT, ie Europe perhaps, with the IN removed
21 aphid – PA (old man) reversed, + HID (took cover)
22 name – a celebrity, hidden in LondoN A MExican
23 she-devil – SHED EVIL (give up wrongdoing?) Another common ploy, using the same letters but as different words

Down
1 bust – two defs, broken and sculpture
2 charger – also two defs, a cavalry horse and literally someone who charges (money)
3 coffee house – a cryptic def. I saw it must have to do with coffee, coffee grounds, ha ha, so I wrote that in first, and left the second word until I had enough checking letters to see what it must be
4 assent – N (a knight, in chess notation) in A S(econd) SET (group), the def. being “agreement”
6 panic – two defs again, one easy (become terror stricken) and one much less so, “grass.” I had to refer to the dictionary, in this case Collins online which says – well, see for yourself. Once again, I was happy enough to put it in despite not knowing that, once I had a checking letter or two. It is vital to be able to do this, since all of us come across unfamiliar words and meanings from time to time and it must not be allowed to prevent us from finishing the grid..
7 tolerate – an anagram of role, ie OLER, in TATE (gallery)
10 mortarboard – MORTAR (big gun) plus BOARD (of management). What most of us wore once, when/if we collected our degree certificates, and then never again
12 American – two chaps, A MAN and inside him, one called ERIC. The pond being a jocular reference to the Atlantic ocean
15 Chekhov – sounds like “Cheque off,” what we may send when paying.. it also helps to know that Uncle Vanya is a play by Anton Chekhov. If you didn’t, now is a good time to put that right.
16 stitch – TITS up… on CH(urch). Hmm..
18 denim – MINED (dug up material) reversed
19 idol – sounds like “idle,” (vain sounding)