Times Cryptic 29138

Solving time: 24 minutes until I hit a wall with 5 answers missing and after that I lost track. It counts as a DNF anyway as I revealed the answer to one clue (12dn).

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]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1	Torch is initially held for waving (8)
	BRANDISH
	BRAND (torch), IS, H{eld}. I was concerned about this until I found that ‘brandish’ can be a noun defined as (an act of) brandishing, so it follows that it can also be defined as waving.
6	Heathen almost incarcerates old duke in temple (6)
	PAGODA
	PAGA{n} (heathen) [almost] contains [incarcerates] O (old) + D (duke)
9	Queue to leave when stuck in bumptious social gathering? (8,5)
	COCKTAIL PARTY
	TAIL (queue) + PART (leave) contained by [stuck in] COCKY (bumptious)
10	Dreaded police succeeded in state allowing no change (6)
	STASIS
	STASI (dreaded police), S (succeeded)
11	Lie low we’re told by Scottish explorer in green space (4,4)
	HYDE PARK
	Aural wordplay [we’re told]: HYDE / “hide” (lie low), PARK (Scottish explorer). Mungo Park (1771 – 1806).
13	Italian friend crossing delta in kayak? (10)
	PALINDROME
	PAL IN ROME (Italian friend) containing [crossing] D (delta). Definition by misleading example!
15	Rest last of vertebrae in nuchal region (4)
	NAPE
	NAP (rest), {vertebra}E [last of..]. NHO ‘nuchal’ which relates to the nape of the neck and the upper spinal cord.
16	Continent lives recalled among group forgoing alcohol (4)
	ASIA
	IS (lives) reversed [recalled] contained by [among] AA (group forgoing alcohol – Alcoholics Anonymous]
18	Associate successfully completed replacing outbuilding with church (10)
	ACCOMPLICE
	‘Accomplished’ (successfully completed) becomes ACCOMPLICE when ‘shed’ (outbuilding) is replaced with CE (church)
21	Very keen to grasp fabulous wit (8)
	RAVENOUS
	RAVE (fabulous), NOUS (wit). I thought of RAVENOUS as a word that fitted the grid but I couldn’t see the definition or wordplay so I used Word Wizard to look for something better but failed to find it. It was only when writing the blog that I found ‘ravenous’ defined as rapacious, grasping, excessively or violently greedy. Then I spotted the wordplay with ‘fabulous / RAVE’ as in a rave review. For ‘wit / NOUS’ we have to think of intelligence rather than humour, as in having the wit to solve a problem.
22	Quarrelsome   carpenter (6)
	CHIPPY
	Two meanings
23	County nuts get near senior NCO (5,8)
	STAFF SERGEANT
	STAFFS (county – Staffordshire), anagram [nuts] of GET NEAR
25	Subordinate action attributed to freedom of movement (2-4)
	BY-PLAY
	BY (attributed to), PLAY (freedom of movement). SOED: Subsidiary action, especially on stage.
26	Weird rites, secretive veils — like nuns perhaps (8)
	SISTERLY
	SLY (secretive) contains [veils] anagram [weird] of RITES

Down
2	Cheese: artist devours it when circling function (7)
	RICOTTA
	RA (artist) contains [devours] IT, then containing [circling] COT (function – cotangent]
3	Demand from cineaste: set to be rebuilt (11)
	NECESSITATE
	Anagram [rebuilt] of CINEASTE SET
4	Horrified grimace right away showing stress (5)
	ICTUS
	{r}ICTUS (horrified grimace) [right away]. Rhythmical or metrical stress.
5	Weary remark from drunk taken around English house (5-2)
	HEIGH-HO
	HIGH (drunk) containing [taken around] E (English), then HO (house)
6	Blackball news boss: paper giving unrealistic hope (4,5)
	PIPE DREAM
	PIP (blackball), ED (news boss), REAM (paper). I am advised that ‘pip’ can be used informally to mean to defeat or to blackball someone, especially when their success seems certain. I knew meanings of both words but hadn’t thought of them as synonymous.
7	Swimmer seen in Ghasri periodically (3)
	GAR
	G{h}A{s}R{i} [periodically]
8	Outing Democrat — one in beaten party (3,4)
	DAY TRIP
	D (Democrat), then I (one) contained by [in] anagram [beaten] of PARTY
12	Might time’s character be so described in Ariosto? (11)
	PENULTIMATE
	T (time) is the PENULTIMATE letter in Ariosto. I used ‘reveal’ on this one having got nowhere by checking to see who Ariosto was, thinking he might have some bearing  on the matter. Only after revealing the answer did I understand what was going on here.
14	Spooner’s no drink in the pot for this creature? (9)
	DRAGONFLY
	Aural wordplay [Spooner’s]: DRAGON FLY / “flagon dry” (no drink in the pot)
17	He’d often check blue pens make the grade (7)
	SPASSKY
	SKY (blue) contains [pens] PASS (make the grade). Boris at chess.
19	That female feeding rook calls for some nuts (7)
	CASHEWS
	SHE (that female) contained by [feeding] CAWS (rook calls)
20	Yen withdrawn from somehow atypical City resource? (7)
	CAPITAL
	Anagram [somehow] of AT{y}PICAL [Yen withdrawn]. I assume this refers to cities with financial districts where vast sums of money are traded.
22	Structures making use of bars belonging to US composer (5)
	CAGES
	CAGE’S  (belonging to US composer – John Cage)
24	Trouble’s coming up in Parliament (3)
	AIL
	Reversed [coming up] and hidden [in] {par}LIA{ment}