Times 27901 – Nice and easy does it…one more time

Afore ye go…

ACROSS

1 Early stage shoe’s warmer (4,4)
HEAT PUMP – HEAT (early stage of an athletics contest, for example) PUMP (shoe)
5 Baby, curiously, last to go in church (6)
CODDLE – ODDL[y] in CE
9 Monotony of chaps in rough seas bearing south (8)
SAMENESS – MEN in an anagram* of SEAS with another S in it (bearing south)
10 Cutting from papers I found in a volume (6)
ACIDIC – ID (papers) I in A CC (cubic centimetre)
12 The British oddly unable to follow routine (5)
USUAL – US (Brits!) followed by U[n]A[b]L[e]
13 Cheats go round following drivers for top car parts (4,5)
ROOF RACKS – F (following) RAC (Royal Automobile Club) in ROOKS
14 Roaming at night, numb Somalis staggered miles (12)
SOMNAMBULISM – NUMB SOMALIS* M
18 Theatre regularly left Bill filling horsey pantomime part (12)
HARLEQUINADE – [t]H[e]A[t]R[e] L (left) AD in EQUINE
21 Teas and coffee putting paid to second dance (3-3-3)
CHA-CHA-CHA – CHA CHA [mo]CHA
23 Pan, and what may be in it? (5)
ROAST – double definition
24 Reptile, one to the fore in S American region (6)
IGUANA – GUIANA with the I in initial position; ‘The Guianas…is a region in north-eastern South America which includes three’ or more territories, depending on what you are counting.
25 Through which to view star? (8)
SKYLIGHT – cryptic definition, methinks
26 Mentioned chap’s hot tourist attraction (6)
GEYSER – sounds like ‘geezer’, if you pronounce it that way
27 Gas initially envelops your old tip, according to reports (8)
ETHYLENE – E (initially E[nvelops]) THY (your old) LENE (sounds like ‘lean’ – to everyone, hopefully)

DOWN

1 American in hotel twice finished whitewash (4,2)
HUSH UP – US in H H (hotel twice) UP (finished, as in ‘the game is up’)
2 Affair involves head of Royal Mail perhaps (6)
ARMOUR – R (R[oyal]) in AMOUR (affair – sounds better in French)
3 Corrective system of exercising alone with CD playing (5,4)
PENAL CODE – PE (exercising – well, I guess) ALONE CD*
4 Wrongly deliver small part of speech among timid types (12)
MISPRONOUNCE – S PRONOUN in MICE
6 Old police company, climbing, come to pass (5)
OCCUR – reversal of RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) CO (company)
7 Performed first part of play cold? That’s edifying (8)
DIDACTIC – DID ACT I C; depends who’s spouting their wisdom, to be fair
8 Can I get through dance? (6,2)
EXCUSE ME – double definition, and a very nice one, even if the enumeration gives it away
11 EEC high flier stealing my French and German cash once (6,6)
COMMON MARKET – MON (‘my’ in French) MARK (German unit of currency before the euro raised prices overnight) in COMET (high flier); great surface summoning up images of banking types doing rather well for themselves, thank you
15 To perform subtly, felt maybe piano should intervene (9)
UNDERPLAY – P in UNDERLAY (felt maybe); nice surface too
16 Repulsive joint found in prison, half of it missing (8)
SHOCKING – HOCK (horsey joint) in SING [SING] (can in New York State with which Olivia will be familiar)
17 Arrest guy stupidly wasting first of government funds (8)
TREASURY – ARREST [g]UY* (fodder loses first letter of government)
19 Bunch of flyers, doubly good in strong wind (6)
GAGGLE – GG in GALE
20 Bust university acquired by nation (6)
STATUE – U in STATE; an escapee from the Quickie
22 There’s nothing exceptional holding in this opening feature (5)
HINGE – hidden in [not]HING E[xceptional]