LOI 22ac which would surely not have been LOI if enumerated (4-3, 3); but as it was I spent too long wondering if a COCKLED HAT might be a thing. I liked the portaloo, the nudist party and the drug binge in the central column, all hallmarks of a certain risque style of setting that may have some solvers tutting but is fine by me, I can tell you. Thank you setter!
ACROSS
1 Fewer than twenty in foreground (10)
UNDERSCORE – UNDER SCORE [fewer than | twenty]. FOI and straight in.
6 Ceremony in ball cut by a third (4)
POMP – The truncated ball is a POMP{om}.
8 A ruin I’m going to love in US city (8)
AMARILLO – A MAR I’LL O [a | ruin | I’m going to | love]. Don’t mess with Texas.
9 Soup for one on returning (6)
POTAGE – reverse all of E.G. ATOP [for one | on]
10 Like hippy’s jacket without colour (4)
ASHY – AS [like] + H{ipp}Y
11 Sink’s blocked here? He’ll provide a plug? (5,5)
PRESS AGENT – SAG [sink] has blocked PRESENT [here].
12 Suffering, try facial adornment (9)
HEARTACHE – HEAR TACHE [try | facial adornment]
14 Like a recording, almost freely available (2,3)
ON TAP – or very nearly ON TAP{e} [like a recording]
17 Seeker of reduced fare, not one to get put off (5)
DETER – D{i}ETER, losing I = one
19 Fool not wholly benign or amusing (9)
IGNORAMUS – hidden in {ben}IGN OR AMUS{ing}
22 Story which has no beginning: it can go to one’s head (7,3)
PORKPIE HAT – PORKPIE [story, as in “lie”] + {w}HAT [which “has no beginning”]. Controversial implication here that porkpie is all one word, I’d have had it as pork pie or at most pork-pie, myself.
23 Mark has day off cereal product (4)
BRAN – BRAN{d} [mark], losing D = day
24 Put an end to bookish loony dropping round (6)
KIBOSH – (BO{o}KISH*) [“loony”], where the dropped “round” is one of the O’s.
25 Appropriate vehicle parts hired again (8)
RELEVANT – VAN “parts” RE-LET
26 Word from card-playing quartet (4)
NEWS – North, East, West and South, the four players in a game of Bridge.
27 Great friend embracing man and women only? (10)
PHENOMENAL – PAL “embracing” HE [man] + NO MEN [women only]
DOWN
1 A party in nude, terribly brazen! (9)
UNABASHED – A BASH in (NUDE*) [“terribly”]
2 Exciting event, investing Switzerland’s old money (7)
DRACHMA – DRAMA “investing” CH
3 Girl from Llandudno possibly eating a chop from Shrewsbury? (8)
SALOPIAN – SIAN [Welsh girl] “eating” A LOP
4 Superior twice taking tablets, intoxicated by drug (2,4,4,5)
ON ONE’S HIGH HORSE – ON [taking] + ON [taking] + E’S [tablets] + HIGH [intoxicated] + HORSE [drug]
5 Disclosure no longer affected behaviour (6)
EXPOSÉ – EX POSE [no longer | affected behaviour]
6 American region, area thrice opting out (9)
PATAGONIA – (A A A OPTING*) [“out”]
7 Woman with issue dressing a fellow in deep shade (7)
MAGENTA – MA [woman with issue (as in, children)] “dressing” A GENT
13 Free suffering birds: they’re tied (4,5)
REEF KNOTS – (FREE*) [“suffering”] + KNOTS [birds]
15 Pants, a lot exchanged after delivery (9)
POSTNATAL – (PANTS A LOT*) [“exchanged”]
16 Left Indian food for temporary convenience (8)
PORTALOO – PORT [left] + ALOO [Indian food]
18 Book about the writer’s stirring (7)
EMOTIVE – reversed TOME [book] + I’VE [the writer has]
20 Ancient plague of spirit to rise then come down (7)
MURRAIN – reversed RUM [spirit] + RAIN [come down]
21 Bad luck to some extent interrupting plan (6)
MISHAP – ISH [to some extent] “interrupting” MAP [plan]
I completely mis-parsed PRESS AGENT recalling that one meaning of PRESS was something you might have in a kitchen (just a cupboard it turns out) so could be related to blocked sinks, and HE is clearly A GENT, and ‘ll provide a plug is the def. Yeah, I know.
Have you noticed pork pies always taste better outdoors? And never eat them straight from the fridge.
Anyway, enjoyed this puzzle a lot especially as I thought after the first ten or so clues it would be a trial. Nothing particularly memorable about the answers but well crafted crossword which rewarded effort . God that sounds pompous- it’s been a long day….
Thanks Verlaine for explaining “Potage” – I couldn’t parse that one.
Good puzzle.