No time for me on this, as I left the clock running during a necessary absence, but probably around 25 minutes, as I stumbled over rather a lot of the clues.
As ever, spotting the definition was key, not least when you expect a long clue to be a place name. The only word I didn’t know was helpfully the “hidden” clue, so you just had to pick out the right letters. It’s good to be back in harness after my enforced break: just hope I can still do this thing without to many solecisms and misprings
Definitions underlined in bold italics
| Across | |
| 1 | Present small in size: a foot? (8,6) |
| STOCKING FILLER – DD The sort of thing Father Christmas picks up from Poundland to pad out the children’s hopeful hosiery. A foot also fills out the hosiery any other time of year | |
| 9 | Threats to peace from law as yet without weight (4,2,3) |
| ACTS OF WAR – Law is ACT as in of Parliament the as yet gives SO FAR, and weight gives you the W. Without is a positional indicator, here meaning outside | |
| 10 | Scores, being virile, making answer acceptable to Her Ladyship? (5) |
| MUCHO – Meaning lots in Spanish. Virile: MACHO, change the A(nswer) to U, Her Ladyship Mitfords characterisation of what was acceptable in her circle | |
| 11 | Stars performing across river (5) |
| ORION – Performing: ON across/ surrounding the specific river RIO | |
| 12 | Unusual to tuck into great British fish with beef (9) |
| GRUMBLING – Unusual: RUM tucked into G(reat) B(ritish) LING, a kind of fish | |
| 13 | Risk going on outside having abandoned trunks in Welsh town (8) |
| ABERDARE – Risk is DARE, which leaves you to find ABER, which I think is cABERs, Scottish tossing trunks with the outside removed. | |
| 15 | African city, a centrepiece for semiurban guidebook (6) |
| BANGUI – Today’s hidden, and the capital of the Central African Republic | |
| 17 | Puff pastry’s first up (6) |
| PRAISE – First of Pastry plus up: RAISE | |
| 19 | Minister to put on sporting event, displaying impartiality (4,4) |
| OPEN MIND – Any of several sporting events for OPEN, MIND from minister via care for. | |
| 22 | Bilbao got hammered for performance regardless (9) |
| OBBLIGATO – Musical notation for “play it or else!” An anagram (hammered) of BILBAO GOT. | |
| 23 | Go together well before beginning advance (5) |
| BLEND – The beginning of Before plus LEND for advance | |
| 24 | Girl from a good home to duck, perhaps, out of convent finally (5) |
| AGNES – From A G(ood) home to duck NEST (with) out the last of convenT | |
| 25 | One elderly relative, one with partner still (9) |
| INANIMATE – One: I, elderly relative NAN, one: I again and partner: MATE | |
| 26 | Attack of French army initially — anxieties to be ignored (4,2,4,4) |
| FALL ON DEAF EARS – Attack give FALL ON, of (in) French gives DE, A from the initial of Army, anxieties for FEARS. Respace. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Green light in the form of a grey one? (4,2,8) |
| SEAL OF APPROVAL – Other than that a grey seal is – um – a grey one I can’t see how this works. Open to suggestions! | |
| 2 | Huge groans heard by public (7) |
| OUTSIZE – Groans are sighs, which are heard as SIZE put that by (unusual in a down clue) OUT for public | |
| 3 | Familiar with how mike’s come to be mine? (5) |
| KNOWN – If mike becomes mine, the K is NOW N. Cute. | |
| 4 | Left wingers somehow miss flogging daily? (8) |
| NEWSGIRL – An anagram (somehow) of WINGERS plus L(eft) | |
| 5 | Note heavy defeat for champion (3-3) |
| FAR-OUT – Champion masquerading as excellent, possibly best heard with a Yorkshire accent. Note: FA, heavy defeat ROUT | |
| 6 | Silly dog smothering me: throw it down? (9) |
| LAMEBRAIN – The dog is a LAB, which “smothers” ME. To throw it down is to RAIN | |
| 7 | Female leaving attractive artwork (7) |
| ETCHING – Attractive is FETCHING: the F(emale) leaves | |
| 8 | Rambling among pines, end somehow in Cheshire town (4-10) |
| LONG-WINDEDNESS – Working from the back, the Cheshire town is WIDNES. Throw in an anagram of END, and put the whole thing in LONGS for pines. Took me a while to stop looking for a Cheshire town of 4-10 | |
| 14 | Getting out one’s prayer book after synod’s ending (9) |
| DISMISSAL – One’s becomes I’S the prayer book is a MISSAL, both after D at the end of synoD | |
| 16 | Well-informed and capable of engagement (2-2-4) |
| UP-TO-DATE – Two definitions, though the second probably wouldn’t have the hyphens | |
| 18 | Outlaw with false name cut across country (7) |
| ALBANIA – Outlaw is BAN, the false name is ALIAS which suffers a cut before absorbing BAN | |
| 20 | Using one short skewer, upset an arrangement of blooms (7) |
| IKEBANA – Back again after a short absence. One again is I, the short skewer is a KEBA(b), followed by AN upset to give NA | |
| 21 | Run down, or even up, motorway to the north (6) |
| MALIGN – Even up is ALIGN, and M(otorway) goes to the northern end of the light. | |
| 23 | Not going on to give instructions (5) |
| BRIEF – A double definition to finish with | |
Too many wrong answers or missing ones to comment! First in NEWSGIRL, who probably doesn’t exist any more , and last to fall FALL ON DEAF EARS, where the definition wasn’t seen until the very grindingly slow end. KNOWN too clever.
Thanks Z for untangling.