Solving time: 42 minutes with one answer missing that I gave up on and resorted to aids. There’s quite a lot here by way of tricky answers and wordplay, some of which I have not met before. After working my way through all that I was disappointed to fall at the final hurdle.
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 | Rob in Edinburgh being shown round small flat, perhaps (10) |
| REPETITIVE | |
| REIVE (rob, in Edinburgh) containing [being shown round] PETIT (small). ‘Reive’ has come up before, but I don’t recall it. In Scottish English it means to carry out raids in order to plunder cattle or other goods. ‘Flat’ in the sense of dull and boring. | |
| 6 | Leave out leading role not quite recalled? (4) |
| OMIT | |
| TIMO{n} [leading role – in Shakespeare’s ‘Timon of Athens‘) [not quite] reversed [recalled]. I very much doubt anyone solved this from wordplay as ‘leading role’ doesn’t give us anything to go on. | |
| 9 | Virtual reality encapsulates computer that does drawing in fine scale (7) |
| VERNIER | |
| VR (virtual reality) contains [encapsulates] ERNIE (computer that does drawing). Named after the French mathematician Pierre Vernier, the Vernier scale is classified as ‘fine’ because it is capable of very high precision. It rang the faintest of bells from my science studies 60+ years ago. ERNIE (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) the Premium Bond computer was kind to me this month and drew 4 of my numbers to the value of £225. | |
| 10 | Pub opened up by Ripon’s centre lures initially like a magnet (7) |
| BIPOLAR | |
| BAR (pub) contains [opened up by] {R}IPO{n}(’s centre) + L{ures} [initially] | |
| 12 | Note second king’s essential offering is frankincense? (5) |
| RESIN | |
| RE (note), S (second), {k}IN{g} [’s essential offering]. I knew frankincense from the nativity story but had no idea that it’s a resin. | |
| 13 | One granny and current companion, not quick (9) |
| INANIMATE | |
| I (one), NAN (granny), I (current), MATE (companion). The required meaning of ‘quick’ was to be found in the Apostles Creed before the Book of Common Prayer was interfered with: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. In the revised version ‘quick’ has been changed to ‘living’. |
|
| 14 | Unfair criticism of tiny museum? (3,4,2,4,2) |
| NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT | |
| This expression describes something or someone that is unattractive, plain, or visually uninteresting. It implies a lack of beauty, impressiveness, or striking features, so in that sense ‘un-fair’. A mildly cryptic definition adds its support. | |
| 17 | One’s getting on running famed clan events (4-11) |
| SELF-ADVANCEMENT | |
| Anagram [running] FAMED CLAN EVENTS. The apostrophe in the first word is possessive. | |
| 20 | Drinks manufacturer’s unit not so active following end of Covid (9) |
| DISTILLER | |
| {Covi}D {end of…], I (unit), STILLER (not so active) | |
| 21 | Drive MP out with lie (5) |
| IMPEL | |
| Anagram [out] of MP LIE | |
| 23 | A little gnocchi, antipasto and wine (7) |
| CHIANTI | |
| Hidden in [a little] {gnoc}CHI ANTI{pasto) | |
| 24 | A Queen song which may contain lots of bass (7) |
| AQUARIA | |
| A, QU (Queen), ARIA (song). Bass as fish here. | |
| 25 | Regularly rougher mining area (4) |
| RUHR | |
| R{o}U{g}H{e}R [regularly]. An industrial area of Germany. | |
| 26 | Maintain a cut during glut (10) |
| ASSEVERATE | |
| A, then SEVER (cut) contained by [during] SATE (glut). Both words can mean to assert or to state something emphatically. | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Clergymen always in tears (9) |
| REVERENDS | |
| EVER (always) contained by [in] RENDS (tears) | |
| 2 | City district losing hospital (5) |
| PARIS | |
| PARIS{h} (district) [losing hospital] | |
| 3 | Task in surveying awfully unoriginal tat (13) |
| TRIANGULATION | |
| Anagram [awfully] of UNORIGINAL TAT | |
| 4 | End of fish after lake is become tainted (7) |
| TARNISH | |
| TARN (small mountain lake), IS, {fis}H [end of…] | |
| 5 | Throbbing effect of old instrument nearly broken by bad child (7) |
| VIBRATO | |
| VIO{l} (old instrument) [nearly] contains [broken by] BRAT (bad child) | |
| 7 | Trail ringing university that’s some distance outside US city (9) |
| MILWAUKEE | |
| MILE (some distance) contains [outside], WAKE (trail) containing [ringing] U (university) | |
| 8 | Bear eating last of layer cake (5) |
| TORTE | |
| TOTE (bear – carry) containing [eating] {laye}R [last of…] | |
| 11 | What royal needs to succeed, proper routine, eg being ordered (13) |
| PRIMOGENITURE | |
| PRIM (proper), then anagram [being ordered] of ROUTINE EG. This is the right of the firstborn child of a family to succeed or to inherit property or title to the exclusion of other claimants. It applies with regard to succession of a monarch, hence ‘royal’ in the clue. |
|
| 15 | Poem with a message is surprisingly select hit (9) |
| TELESTICH | |
| Anagram [surprisingly] of SELECT HIT. A short poem in which the successive final letters of the lines spell a word or words. NHO this, and today is its first appearance here in any type of puzzle. | |
| 16 | Turn on appeal badly introduced by gallery (9) |
| TITILLATE | |
| IT (sex appeal) + ILL (badly) contained [introduced] by TATE (gallery) | |
| 18 | Evil genius saving notes for capital (7) |
| VILNIUS | |
| {e}VIL {ge}NIUS [saving – leaving out – notes of the musical scale]. It’s the capital of Lithuania, which if I ever knew I had forgotten. The deletion device is somewhat unusual and I failed to spot it until after I’d used aids to find the answer. | |
| 19 | Managed overturning estimate in recount (7) |
| NARRATE | |
| RAN (managed) reversed [overturning], RATE (estimate) | |
| 20 | Stage design has company surrounded by rising colour (5) |
| DECOR | |
| CO (company), contained [surrounded] by RED (colour) reversed [rising]. I didn’t know the word as applied specifically to stage design, but Collins and POD give it a separate entry. | |
| 22 | Parents taking in Republican city (5) |
| PARMA | |
| PA + MA (parents) containing [taking in] R (Republican) | |
23:59, NHO TELESTICH but no problem guessing it I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of STICH in other poetic contexts. Vilnius is very beautiful. You can visit the KGB museum where you can see what life was like under Russian rule, very much worth remembering.
Thanks Jack and setter
Tough challenge, with me ending up with at least 4 look-ups (REPETETIVE, VERNIER, TITILLATE, TARNISH). COD NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT, with the very clever double-meaning of “unfair”.