Times Quick Cryptic 2102 by Teazel

Introduction

DNF after 21:26. Did I lack heart, or was this really quite hard? In any case, many minutes were spent staring blankly at the screen, and I confess that I didn’t really enjoy the challenge. (Rare for me.) How did you find it?

Solutions

Across

1   Look at some article in hatred (8)
LOATHING = LO, A THING!
Put this one in rather unconvincingly.

5   Urges / to poach these? (4)
EGGS = double definition (combined into one)

8   User gets wrong signals (8)
GESTURES = anagram of USER GETS
Couldn’t see this one for a long time.

9   Perhaps seal a tiny creature in a hard covering (4)
PUPA = PUP + A
Last one in. I know how it needed to be parsed but even after searching Chambers with regular expression ?U?A it still took me many minutes to find the answer.

11   Steak and kidney, perhaps: regularly chew a slice (5)
PIECE = PIE + C(h)E(w)

12   Concern — appear plumb to umpire? (7)
LOOKOUT = LOOK + OUT (plumb to umpire?)
Not knowing the cricket term, nor the relevant meaning of ‘concern’, I didn’t get anywhere with this one.

13   New weapon is limited (6)
NARROW = N + ARROW

15   Ruler is a bit more gentle (6)
REGENT = hidden in MORE GENTLE
And yet it took 20 minutes to see this hidden word!

18   Regret concealing steady income (7)
REVENUE = RUE around EVEN

19   Stout wife initially accepting Muslim decree (5)
FATWA = FAT + W + A(ccepting)

21   Hilltop right in front of the boat (4)
BROW = R in BOW

22   Clip something from the paper? Don’t do that! (3,2,3)
CUT IT OUT = double definition

23   Almost performing murder (2,2)
DO IN = DOIN(g)

24   Cannibal tidier after mat trimmed (8)
MANEATER = NEATER after MA(t)
Cute one.

Down

1   Bowling involving at least three limbs? (3,4)
LEG SPIN = LEGS + PIN
Also didn’t know this cricket reference.

2   Division in the church? I’ll say! (5)
AISLE = homophone of I’LL
I suppose.

3   Heading for home? Unable to leave it (10)
HOUSEBOUND = double definition
A good one that fooled me.

4   Unfriendly feeling / one puts on record still (6)
NEEDLE = double definition
Not sure what ‘still’ is doing here. Took me a long time to see this.

6   Lettuce covered by sticky stuff: it’s sweet (7)
GLUCOSE = COS in GLUE

7   Intelligent vehicles are on the rise (5)
SMART = TRAMS reversed
A rare easier one.

10   A workroom in the house for a department of state (4,6)
HOME OFFICE = double definition

14   Italian course reduced for a violinist (7)
RAVIOLI = hidden in FOR A VIOLINIST
Didn’t see this one either.

16   Farm vehicle seen in Chelsea, they say (7)
TRACTOR = double definition
I guess. Chambers says ‘Chelsea tractor’ is a slang term.

17   Distant stars unable to be resolved (6)
NEBULA = anagram of UNABLE

18   Fanatical attempt by Royal Academy to make a purchase? (5)
RABID = RA BID
Ho ho.

20   Hawk brazenly catching river fish (5)
TROUT = TOUT around R