9:40 for what is largely a plain vanilla puzzle. There's one I can't explain though, which is a bit embarrassing. Doubtless someone will be along to help shortly.
| Across |
| 1 | Author's strong feelings in intros to best sellers |
BURGESS - Best(URGES)Sellers. Anthony of that ilk, of A Clockwork Orange fame. |
| 5 | Cool guy, said to be French, touring |
| DISTANT - DIT ('said to be French') around (touring) STAN (guy). |
| 9 | Soldier backed imposing base |
| IGNOBLE - reversal of GI, then NOBLE (imosing). |
| 10 | Biscuit and lots of nuts |
CRACKER - CRACKERs. |
| 14 | If you buy lots a draper couldquit! |
| THROW IN THE TOWEL - DD, the first a whimsical reference to what a draper might do if you bought lots of other stuff. Do drapers sell towels? |
| 12 | Open jam for Russian bread |
| ROUBLE - this seems to be the right answer but I can't explain the first half of the clue. |
| 14 | They criticisethose rapping |
| KNOCKERS - DD. |
| 17 | Marshall put base outside key city |
| BUDAPEST - (PUTBASE)* outside D. |
| 18 | Commune has made horrible butter |
| ASHRAM - (HAS)*, RAM (butter). |
| 21 | Without delay father had potato mashed |
| AT THE DROP OF A HAT - (FATHERHADPOTATO)*. |
| 24 | What makes good French dump? |
| ABANDON - what makes 'bon'? A B AND ON. |
| 25 | One cheated fool almost lost daughter |
CUCKOLD - CUCKOo, L, D. L for 'lost' - in the context of football scores - has come up and been discussed here before. I only knew 'cuckoo' as meaning 'mad', but Chambers has 'a silly or slightly mad person'. |
| 26 | Watch Derek returning tennis shot |
| OBSERVE - BO (Derek) reversed, then SERVE. I'm not old enough to remember Bo Derek, but I am old enough to remember other people remembering her. |
| 27 | Rich, say, stranger after dollars |
| DRUMMER - D, RUMMER. A reference to Buddy of that ilk. |
| Down |
| 1 | Give hair dryer treatment to black surgeon |
| BLISTER - B, LISTER. Joseph LISTER has a hospital in London named after him, which is how I knew of him. To BLISTER is to 'attack with scathing words' according to Chambers. |
| 2 | How I might describe old railwaymen's small car? |
| RUNAROUND - NUR is (or was) the National Union of Railwaymen, now part of the RMT, an organisation apparently dedicated to advancing the popularity of driverless trains among the London populace. |
| 3 | Reject the foreign district of London |
| ELBOW - EL, BOW |
| 4 | Girl is turning a yellowy-brown |
| SIENNA - ANNE IS reversed. |
| 5 | Pass lots of cards to lead crew member |
| DECKHAND - HAND (pass) with DECK (lots of cards) in front of it (to lead). |
| 6 | Old fighter bit a copper with bodyguards around |
| SPARTACUS - S(PART, A CU)S. Reference the Schutzstaffel, who were originally Hitler's bodyguards. |
| 7 | Crooked, like part of London |
| ASKEW - AS, KEW. |
| 8 | Slow swimmers get poor results following team in front |
TURTLES - Team, (RESULTS)*. Are TURTLES particularly slow swimmers? |
| 13 | I'll be watching what you say! |
| LIP READER - (not very) cryptic definition. |
| 15 | One burrows to be warmer and hot if shivery |
| EARTHWORM - (WARMER, HOT)* |
| 16 | Get cut off by mountains after leaders of expedition spot tornado |
ESTRANGE - Expedition Spot Tornado, RANGE. |
| 17 | Bill's in excellent show |
| BRAVADO - BRAV(AD)O. |
| 19 | Spanish butcher upset guy with a hat... |
| MATADOR - ROD A TAM (o' Shanter) reversed. Slightly harsh definition. |
| 20 | ...and Spanish pair of diamonds added zest |
| SPICED - SP (Spanish) with ICE (diamonds) and D (diamonds). |
| 22 | Small trading centre set up ways of getting there? |
| TRAMS - S, MART reversed. |
| 23 | Flapper drops new uni's scarf |
FICHU - FInCH, U. |