Solving time 10:37
A bit easier than the normal Saturday fare, I was helped by getting all four 14-letter answers straight away, which gave the first letters of 12 other clues. I was prevented from going under 10 minutes by a mistake on 4dn, putting ICE SHEET at first.
Across
| 9 | NO,COMMENT – No (or sometimes noh), is traditional Japanese drama. |
| 12 | HUNDREDTH – double def. |
| 13 | B(EL,LP)ULL |
| 17 | SAT,IRE – I’m not sure “met with” is synonymous with SAT. The closest meaning I can think of is to sit an examination, i.e. to undergo. |
| 22 | NA(R,RAT)IVE |
| 25 | PR(I,VAT)IZE – I suspect PRIVATISE would be marked wrong, as PRISE as an alternative spelling meaning treasure is obsolete. |
| 26 | THAT’LL BE THE DAY – H inside (deathly battle)*. My COD, good seamless surface and a surprising anagram. |
Down
| 2 | UNCIVIL – double def |
| 3 | T,(d)UMMY – I suppose most shirts are T-shaped, but I suspect this just refers to a tee shirt. |
| 4 | ICE SHELF – SHELF “on”, i.e. next to ICE, &lit. |
| 5 | (s)EXTANT |
| 6 | R(E,SURF)ACE – a race is a strong channel current (e.g. a mill-race). The definition should be thought of as re-cover. |
| 7 | NE,AS,DEN |
| 8 | KEYHOLE SURGERY – nice pun! |
| 14 | PAR(RAKE)E,T(ravel) – took a while to unravel the wordplay of this, and I’ve only seen it spelt with one R before. |
| 16 | BAKE,LITE – the stuff old telephones were made of. |
| 20 | E,MP,TIED – you have to split European from politician, otherwise it would be MEP. |
| 21 | DISPEL – slipped* without one of the p’s |
| 23 | PEA,C(old),H(ot) |
John M
My take on this is:
Sat=met as in “The House of Commons sat today”.
1a Top-level sport in which people are drawn to scale (14)
MOUNTAINEERING
10a Pretend one’s ending in disgrace (5)
SHAM E. Easy enough you’d think?
11a Covetousness gains nothing for diplomat (5)
ENV 0 Y
15a Earthly king in Venetian route (6)
CA R NAL
19a Unexciting quality of Massenet’s composition (8)
TAMENESS. I don’t think I have ever heard any of Massenet’s music. This clue is hardly an incentive.
23a Press release primarily containing copy for publication (5)
P APE R
24a Perhaps carp for river bird (5)
SNIPE
1d Concern after howler, possibly larking about (6,8)
MONKEY BUSINESS
18d (Hasn’t RI)* somehow become dull! (7)
TARNISH