Solving time: 30 minutes. I was unsure of a couple of answers but they turned out to be right.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Plot prepared by criminals, leading to robbery at sea (10) |
| CONSPIRACY | |
| CONS (criminals), PIRACY (robbery at sea) | |
| 6 | One who wrote of love endlessly, in detail at first (4) |
| OVID | |
| {l}OV{e} [endlessly], I{n} + D{etail} [at first] | |
| 9 | State having abandoned function backed a routine singing style (10) |
| COLORATURA | |
| COLORA{do} (state) [having abandoned function – do / party], then A + RUT (routine) reversed [backed] | |
| 10 | Republican overwhelmed by giant drink (4) |
| GROG | |
| R (Republican) contained [overwhelmed] by GOG (Biblical giant) | |
| 12 | Old fish market scandal over presentation of accounts? (12) |
| BILLINGSGATE | |
| ‘Old’ perhaps because it relocated in 1982, but it keeps the name so perhaps it’s not necessary to add the qualification. The cryptic hint plays on the habit since ‘Watergate’ of adding the suffix -GATE to refer to almost any sort of scandal, in this case BILLINGS (presentation of accounts). | |
| 15 | Expert in body of stories — first about cat (9) |
| ANATOMIST | |
| ANA (stories) + 1ST (first) containing [about] TOM (cat) | |
| 17 | Weapon used by bird of prey in brutal onslaught (5) |
| TALON | |
| Hidden [in] {bru}TAL ON{slaught} | |
| 18 | Capital husband invested in food retail outlet (5) |
| DELHI | |
| H (husband) contained by [invested in] DELI (food retail outlet) | |
| 19 | Haggard chap with singular description of horse without jockey (9) |
| RIDERLESS | |
| RIDER (Haggard – author), LES (chap), S (singular) | |
| 20 | Unsettling experience involving lab specimens and wine (7,5) |
| CULTURE SHOCK | |
| CULTURES (lab specimens), HOCK (wine) | |
| 24 | Man on board’s obscene material spoken of (4) |
| PAWN | |
| Sounds like [spoken of] “porn” (obscene material) | |
| 25 | Various items: a lot seen around one’s place of confinement (10) |
| MISCELLANY | |
| MANY (a lot) containing [seen around] I’S (one’s) + CELL (place of confinement) | |
| 26 | Splendid introduction to radio — live (4) |
| RARE | |
| R{adio} [introduction], ARE (live). I wasn’t sure of the synonym but the dictionaries have convinced me it’s fine. | |
| 27 | Fine woollen cloth Irish found in Kentucky pool (10) |
| KERSEYMERE | |
| ERSE (Irish) contained by [found in] KY (Kentucky) + MERE (pool). NHO this but the wordplay was helpful so I’ve no complaints. | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Audience’s drink finds clown! (4) |
| COCO | |
| Sounds like [audience’s] “cocoa” (drink). Coco’s real name was Nicolai Poliakoff. He died in 1974, so not one for any youngsters around here perhaps? | |
| 2 | It may be Blue or White, nothing else to begin with (4) |
| NILE | |
| NIL (nothing), E{lse} [to begin with] | |
| 3 | Stingy priest clutching the writer’s promissory notes (12) |
| PARSIMONIOUS | |
| PARSON (priest) containing [clutching] I’M (the writer’s), then IOU’S (promissory notes) | |
| 4 | Charge pounds to see a musteline mammal (5) |
| RATEL | |
| RATE (charge), L (pounds). I had no idea about ‘musteline’ but I knew the name of the creature. Mustelines also include weasels, stoats, mink and martens. | |
| 5 | Working doctor with niece regularly wearing tiara (9) |
| CORONETED | |
| Anagram [working] of DOCTOR N{i}E{c}E [regularly] | |
| 7 | Poems about a sick French king’s palace (10) |
| VERSAILLES | |
| VERSES (poems) containing [about] A + ILL (sick) | |
| 8 | Followed loch, showing persistence (10) |
| DOGGEDNESS | |
| DOGGED (followed), NESS (loch) | |
| 11 | How obscure coteries all stray, ultimately? (12) |
| ESOTERICALLY | |
| Anagram [obscure] of COTERIES ALL, then {stra}Y [ultimately] | |
| 13 | Garden designer touches down with something that may be cut (10) |
| LANDSCAPER | |
| LANDS (touches down), CAPER (something that may be cut). To cut a caper is to act or behave playfully. | |
| 14 | One sits out with everyone on river (10) |
| WALLFLOWER | |
| W (with), ALL (everyone), FLOWER (river). Originally a woman sitting out at a dance for lack of partners, but now more generally any person at a social function who receives no attention, or a shy or socially awkward person. | |
| 16 | Curious airs displayed by chosen member of ancient ethnic group (9) |
| ISRAELITE | |
| Anagram [curious] of AIRS, then ELITE (chosen) | |
| 21 | Trick old copper in outskirts of Hastings (5) |
| HOCUS | |
| O (old) + CU (copper) contained by [in] H{asting}S [outskirts]. I knew ‘hocus-pocus’ as a magic word so took on trust that ‘hocus’ could mean ‘trick’. | |
| 22 | Church body a Welshman set up (4) |
| NAVE | |
| EVAN (Welshman) reversed [set up]. The nave is the main aisle or ‘body’ of a church. | |
| 23 | Extremely happy and profitable promotion (4) |
| HYPE | |
| H{app}Y + P{rofitabl}E [extremely] | |
Very easy one today. Finished in a little over an hour – excellent for me.
Some of the clues a little too easy
13.57. Never heard of ‘kerseymere’, but could be deduced easily enough. Quick by my standards.
Why does Ana = Stories?
17 minutes, fast for me. Was helped by the fact that my mother used to live in Kersey, Suffolk, where kersey cloth used to be made. But that was coarse stuff:
“I had as lief be a list of an English kersey, as be piled, as thou art piled, for a French velvet.” Measure for Measure
It’s not clear if kerseymere had any connection to the place, or if it was a clever bit of marketing.
A very mixed puzzle I thought, with some (most) answers going in with hardly a second thought, BILLINGSGATE, OVID, PAWN for example; and others where no amount of teasing was going to lead me to the correct answer (COLORATURA, KERSEYLAKE). Appreciated the clever CULTURE SHOCK, RIDERLESS etc, but thought many surfaces were clumsy .