Nothing too stretchy in this offering, shorter on anagrams than the usual fare. I liked CRESTFALLEN best.
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | Copy type of smart card, getting glib about it (9) |
| FACSIMILE – a SIM card gets FACILE (glib) around it. | |
| 6 | Light shawl principally found in Central Manchuria (5) |
| FICHU – F I the first letters, CHU centre of Manchuria, as above. If I hadn’t seen this word in a previous crossword, I’d never have known of it. | |
| 9 | Drone, perhaps, initially caught high in tree (5) |
| BEECH – BEE a drone, C H initially caught high. | |
| 10 | Cranky chap touring cape with very little money (9) |
| ECCENTRIC – ERIC a chap goes round C for cape and CENT very little money. | |
| 11 | Old flame playing for time, speaking off the cuff (with son, not unknown) (15) |
| EXTEMPORISATION – EX (old flame) TEMPORIZATION means delaying, playing for time, change the Z to an S for son. | |
| 13 | Liberal in criticising local government procedure (8) |
| PLANNING – insert L into PANNING = criticising. | |
| 14 | Promise offered by place to est of border (6) |
| PLEDGE – PL = place, EDGE = border. | |
| 16 | Flop about, laughing out loud before cut (6) |
| LOLLOP – LOL abbr. for laughing out loud, LOP = cut. | |
| 18 | Skipper of boat identity theft knocked back! (8) |
| BARGEMAN – all reversed, NAME (identity) GRAB (theft). | |
| 21 | In England her tales involved two fairy-tale siblings (6,3,6) |
| HANSEL AND GRETEL – (ENGLAND HER TALES)*. | |
| 23 | Cast doubt on record right to prepare for publishing (9) |
| DISCREDIT – DISC (record) R[ight], EDIT = prepare for publishing. | |
| 25 | Subscriber loses head, seeing glowing coal (5) |
| EMBER – MEMBER loses M. | |
| 26 | Egyptian town with a hospital on the outskirts (5) |
| ASWAN – W[ith] inside A SAN, a hospital. Town famous for its large dam. | |
| 27 | Lines by stylish woman dismissing knight’s sharp practice (9) |
| CHICANERY – CHIC (sylish) ANNE (a woman), lose an N (dismissing knight as in chess), RY = railway, lines. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Flaubert’s first clever story (5) |
| FABLE – F[laubert], ABLE = clever. | |
| 2 | Downcast, emblem having dropped off wall? (11) |
| CRESTFALLEN – well, a CREST had FALLEN off a wall. | |
| 3 | Animal smell appalling at first in pub (7) |
| INHUMAN – HUM (smell) A[ppalling], inside INN a pub. | |
| 4 | One church sure to be inaccessible in winter? (8) |
| ICEBOUND – I (one) CE (church of England) BOUND (sure). | |
| 5 | Greek mathematician, 50, in Brussels police department (6) |
| EUCLID – EU (with HQ in Brussels), CID, insert L for fifty. | |
| 6 | Be unsuccessful catching insect? A pigeon? (7) |
| FANTAIL – ANT an insect inside FAIL. | |
| 7 | Vehicle needing a lot of attention (3) |
| CAR – CAR[E]. | |
| 8 | International firm showing careless indifference (9) |
| UNCONCERN – a UN CONCERN could be an international firm. | |
| 12 | Unflinching Catholic dignitary holding up in current board (11) |
| INDOMITABLE – DOM a Catholic dignitary, inside IN, I (current), TABLE = board. | |
| 13 | Old college principal rejecting a painter’s many-sided figures (9) |
| POLYHEDRA – POLY old type of college, polytechnic, HEAD = principal, reject A = HED, RA for painter. | |
| 15 | Disallow simple song, mostly one for robbers (8) |
| BANDITTI – BAN (disallow) DITT[Y] = mostly song, I = one. | |
| 17 | Take too much time with respect to trip (7) |
| OVERRUN – OVER (with respect to) RUN (trip, outing). | |
| 19 | Plant Asquith, say, endlessly encountered in Georgia (7) |
| GERBERA – Mr. Asquith was a HERBERT, endless = ERBER, insert into GA. | |
| 20 | Writer crossing a road, like certain poets (6) |
| BARDIC – BIC a writer, pen, insert A, RD for road. | |
| 22 | Large vehicle runs into small parrot (5) |
| LORRY – R for runs, inside LORY a small parrot. | |
| 24 | In folk-tales, a wicked gnome (3) |
| SAW – hidden as above. | |
“San” for hospital (sanatorium I suppose) crops up regularly but has anyone seen it used in real life?
Plausibly – and certainly two birds better! 😁
Not so easy for me: my mind elsewhere I think. But FICHU FOI, with fingers crossed, and followed up quickly by BEECH and FABLE, but then had a brain-freeze and failed to see the now obvious FACSIMILE! The fairy tale duo also obvious, but in the end I was outdone by BARGEMAN, who I wouldn’t have thought of as a skipper ( and the wordplay too clever for me).
Loved LOLLOP, as it’s a favourite word, but am surprised at the majority of solvers who happily confess to ignorance of flowers – what’s that about?