Time: 6 minutes. I hesitate to say this was easy as other solvers may not have found it so, but it’s certainly at the easier end of the range that we’ve experienced recently. Note: If you finish early and have time on your hands the 15×15 is worth a punt today.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I now use a tilde sign ~ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Negligent with regard to teacher (6) |
| REMISS – RE (with regard to), MISS (teacher) | |
| 4 | Dad grabbing an old lady’s hat (6) |
| PANAMA – P~A (dad) containing [grabbing] AN, then MA (old lady) | |
| 8 | Similar writing (13) |
| CORRESPONDING – Two meanings | |
| 10 | Criticise a head of state caught in corruption (5) |
| ROAST – A + S{tate} [head of…] contained by [caught in] RO~T (corruption) | |
| 11 | Others had to report again (7) |
| RESTATE – REST (others), ATE (had) | |
| 13 | Tears prey to pieces for bit of extra fat? (5,4) |
| SPARE TYRE – Anagram [to pieces] of TEARS PREY. Slang for middle-age spread, beer-belly etc. | |
| 17 | Some congressman delayed African president (7) |
| MANDELA -Hidden in [some] {congress}MAN DELA{yed} | |
| 18 | The Speaker’s delightful set of rooms (5) |
| SUITE – Aural wordplay [the speaker’s] “sweet” (delightful) | |
| 19 | TV show, one that’s very like another (8,5) |
| SPITTING IMAGE – Two meanings, although the first was actually derived from the second | |
| 21 | Expel from French harbour (6) |
| DEPORT – DE (from in French), PORT (harbour) | |
| 22 | Aloof station controller (6) |
| REMOTE – Two meanings, the second as in TV remote | |
| Down |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Best ever album? (6) |
| RECORD – Two meanings | |
| 2 | Serious wrongdoing? Unfortunately it’s normal (6,3) |
| MORTAL SIN – Anagram [unfortunately] of IT’S NORMAL | |
| 3 | Track broadcast, did you say? (5) |
| SCENT – Aural wordplay [did you say?] “sent” (broadcast) | |
| 5 | Many set free in general pardon (7) |
| AMNESTY – Anagram [free] of MANY SET | |
| 6 | Boxer appearing in tabloid periodically (3) |
| ALI – {t}A{b}L{o}I{d} [appearing in…periodically] | |
| 7 | Fisherman in position on river (6) |
| ANGLER – ANGLE (position), R (river) | |
| 9 | China police ran off (9) |
| PORCELAIN – Anagram [off] of POLICE RAN | |
| 12 | Coffee from Buffalo Bill country? No (9) |
| AMERICANO – AMERICA (Buffalo Bill country), NO | |
| 14 | Person helping a superior (7) |
| ABETTER – A, BETTER (superior) | |
| 15 | In the morning editor keeps us entertained (6) |
| AMUSED – AM (in the morning) ~ ED (editor) contains [keeps] US | |
| 16 | Cut off European? That’s extreme (6) |
| SEVERE – SEVER (cut off), E (European) | |
| 18 | Polish Republican leaving place of worship (5) |
| SHINE – SH{r}INE (place or worship), [Republican leaving…] | |
| 20 | Current prime minister from down under? A troublemaker (3) |
| IMP – I (current) then PM (prime minister) reversed [from down under] | |
Yes, a very nice puzzle on the less challenging side of the scale. I was on for a fast time until held up by AMERICANO – needed the O checker at the end – and then finally by SCENT. I’m not sure why that one took so long, but neither track = scent nor broadcast = scent seemed at all obvious … until suddenly they did.
10:21 for the completion; many thanks Jack for the blog.
6:42
Like Cedric, I was moving along nicely until held up by LOI SCENT. And held up for a long time, including a desultory alphabet trawl (can a trawl be desultory?): SH_, SL_… but not SC_.
Like the two preceding commenters, I got stuck on one word; not scent, not Americano, but remote. I whipped through the whole puzzle in five minutes until I came to that. I spent nearly two minutes staring at _ E _ O _ E before seeing the obvious.
Time: 6:59