Blimey governor! Time for a cup of strong Rosy Lee. I thought this was a medium solve until I processed the blog. I suspect some terminology may not be obvious to all. Either definition or wordplay should be get-able though so good luck!
Completely off-topic, but crossword related, on my way to Heathrow on a very crowded tube, I was (naturally) doing a crossword. When my pen refused to work despite much scribbling, a young lady offered me her own (and let me keep it) thereby allowing the crossword to be completed before journey's end and renewing my faith in human nature. Should she be reading this then thank you once again.
So back to the present - definitions are underlined.
| Across |
| 1 Theatricalgroup supporting a doctrine (4) |
|    CAMP - Double definition. Camp as in acting theatrically and also as in a group supporting something e.g. the socialist camp. |
| 4 Weird hiss surrounding string instrument tuned a bit too high? (8) |
|    SHARPISH - Amagram (weird) of HISS around string instrument (HARP). Someone who is a bit too highly tuned/strung could react sharply and so be sharpish. |
| 8 Pressure person getting out of bed to hold onto captive (8) |
|    PRISONER - Pressure (P), person getting out of bed (RISER) around (holding) on (ON). Not sure that the 'to' of 'onto' will please everyone but I think a little filling to make the clue work is fine - assuming of course you get the answer! |
| 9 Weight of young man eating nothing (4) |
|    LOAD - Young man (LAD) around (eating) nothing (O). |
| 10 Young man eating last of cooked flesh (4) |
|    BODY - Young man (BOY this time) around (eating - again) last letter of cookeD. |
| 11 Climber bungled a wee step (5,3) |
|    SWEET PEA - The climbing plant is an anagram (bungled) of A WEE STEP. |
| 12 Someone selling very last part, alternatively (6) |
|    VENDOR - Very (V) last part (END), alternatively (OR). |
| 14 Hurried activity having broken sides of latrine (6) |
|    BUSTLE - Broken (BUST) plus the sides of LatrinE. |
| 16 Arrange instruments with pipes around one end of stage (8) |
|    ORGANISE - Instruments with pipes (ORGANS) around one (I) with the end of stagE. |
| 18 Some bread, good for a bribe (4) |
|    BUNG - Some bread (BUN), good (G). |
| 19 Hacker gives extra to someone listening (4) |
|    ADZE - Homophone (to someone listening) of gives extra (ADDS). An axe or adze is used to hack. |
| 20 Measure of business that baker makes (8) |
|    TURNOVER - A baker may bake a turnover (let's say apple). |
| 22 Article between meadow and railway is similar to hide (8) |
|    LEATHERY - Article (THE) between meadow (LEA) and railway (RY). |
| 23 Look after home possessed by managing director (4) |
|    MIND - Home (IN) inside (possessed by) managing director (MD). A child looker-after is a child minder. |
| Down |
| 2 Perfect job accommodating husband’s breathing space (3,4) |
|    AIR HOLE - Perfect (AI), job (ROLE) inside which (accommodating) is husband (H). I suspect that the correct term is blowhole but air hole is close enough for me to remember the delight in hearing porpoises clearing theirs and breathing - all in the crystal waters of Scottish sea locks. Route 66 does not seem to have this pleasure - but the ribs go a long way to making up this shortfall. |
| 3 Unhealthily pale savoury 20 (5) |
|    PASTY - A savoury turnover = a pasty - yet another favourite. |
| 4 Source of lightpaper (3) |
|    SUN - Double definition - one of which being a raunchier stablemate of The Times (so I'm told). |
| 5 A large bee, surprisingly pleasant (9) |
|    AGREEABLE - Anagram (surprisingly) of A LARGE BEE. |
| 6 Feet of Cockney adopting current exercise system (7) |
|    PILATES - Having just had a chat to folk here in USA an explanation of this clue may well be needed. In cockney rhyming slang (which is a 13dn), 'plates of meat' means feet. So we take PLATES and insert (adopting) the symbol for electrical current (I) to end up with a type of exercise. |
| 7 Counterfeit Ecstasy is something regrettable (5) |
|    SHAME - Counterfiet (SHAM), ecstasy (E). |
| 11 Protection against a spill or struggle in rough street (9) |
|    SERVIETTE - Nice definition - a serviette protects you from spillages made up from struggle (VIE) inside an anagram (rough) of STREET. |
| 13 The way some talk of ruined citadel (7) |
|    DIALECT - Anagram (ruined) of CITADEL. |
| 15 Lamp held by planter nightly (7) |
|    LANTERN - The answer is in the clue pLANTER Nightly. |
| 17 Top off structure that spans hill’s crest (5) |
|    RIDGE - Take the first letter off a structure which spans (bRIDGE). |
| 18 Lake in period of growth shows a lot of algae, perhaps (5) |
|    BLOOM - Lake (L) inside period of growth (BOOM) give a bloom, say, of algae. |
| 21 Some light, flat fish (3) |
|    RAY - Double definition. |