I'm at the third day of PHP UK Conference 2017 tomorrow morning, hanging with my fellow nerds, so I won't have time to wax lyrical about the puzzle tomorrow morning, boo! But as luck would have it it's one of the more straightforward puzzles we've had in a while, and I don't think I'd have had an awful lot to say anyway, so hurrah! Not a bad puzzle I hasten to add, just pretty direct and to the point.
In and out in a little under 7 minutes here, Clue of the Day to 21ac for services to smut. I qualmed momentarily over 3dn as I hit the submit button but what other character could it be? And the penny didn't take long to drop thereafter. Many thanks to the setter, and if I'm not free for too much chatter tomorrow, see the rest of you for a more typically verbose blog next week!
Across
1 Father cheeky before bar providing documentary evidence (5,5)
PAPER TRAIL - PA PERT [father | cheeky] before RAIL [bar]
7 Polishexpert and enthusiast (4)
BUFF - Double def
9 Convened everyone in charge of copper, perhaps (8)
METALLIC - MET ALL IC [convened | everyone | in charge]
10 Farm animal ails after chewing wood-sorrel (6)
OXALIS - OX [farm animal] + (AILS*) ["after chewing"]
11 Gets prosecuted and released (6)
ISSUED - or IS SUED [gets prosecuted]
13 Sailor’s in the drink (8)
ABSINTHE - AB'S IN THE [sailor's in the]
14 Flatter front to boat can spread badly (3,3,6)
BOW AND SCRAPE - BOW [front to boat] + (CAN SPREAD*) ["badly"]
17 Club certainly involving old politician’s agitation (12)
DISCOMPOSURE - DISCO SURE [club | certainly] involving O MP [old | politician]
20 Cart crashing behind car, one with lots of power (8)
AUTOCRAT - (CART*) ["crashing"] behind AUTO [car]
21 Just like some pyjamas to tear in a very dirty place (6)
STRIPY - RIP [to tear] in STY [a very dirty place]
22 A lot of sudden anxiety about home baker’s product (6)
PANINI - PANI{c} ["A lot of" sudden anxiety] about IN [home]
23 Tree one’s put in beside a motorway to the west (8)
MAGNOLIA - I [one] is put in ALONG A M [beside | a | motorway], the whole reversed ["to the west"]
25 Instrument running without current (4)
GONG - GO{i}NG [running] without its I [current]
26 Comfortable about having to hang around for fighter (10)
GUNSLINGER - SNUG reversed [comfortable "about"] + LINGER [to hang around]
Down
2 Dislike a particular form (8)
AVERSION - or A VERSION [a particular form]
3 Character that merits a place on railway board? (3)
ETA - or an E.T.A. on a railway display
4 Bound to grab fifty as the word game board ends up? (5)
TILED - TIED [bound] to grab L [fifty], and referring to the play of Scrabble
5 Old-fashioned tea served in a racing club (7)
ARCHAIC - CHA [tea] served in A RIC [the Racing Investors Club - I think]
6 Speed up appearances to play an instrument (4,5)
LOOK SHARP - LOOKS HARP [appearances | to play an instrument]
7 Puzzle sane arbiter’s sorted out (5-6)
BRAIN-TEASER - (SANE ARBITER'S*) ["sorted out"]
8 Queen in combat scare (6)
FRIGHT - R [queen] in FIGHT [combat]
12 Likely to be successful at university with arrival (2-3-6)
UP-AND-COMING - UP AND COMING [at university | with | arrival]
15 Meritorious second pair of cadets in the forces (9)
DESERVING - ["second pair of" (letters in the word)] ca{DE}ts + SERVING [in the forces]
16 Lead shot included in ammunition that scatters (8)
GRAPHITE - HIT [shot] included in GRAPE [ammunition that scatters]
18 Seatof empire? (7)
OTTOMAN - double def
19 Difficulty, a Tardis initially with zero time variation (6)
RUBATO - RUB A T{ardis} + 0
21 Sign is put up half covered in gold (5)
SIGIL - reverse of IS [is "put up"] + GIL{ded}
24 What’s now horribly personal (3)
OWN - (NOW*) ["horribly"]
In and out in a little under 7 minutes here, Clue of the Day to 21ac for services to smut. I qualmed momentarily over 3dn as I hit the submit button but what other character could it be? And the penny didn't take long to drop thereafter. Many thanks to the setter, and if I'm not free for too much chatter tomorrow, see the rest of you for a more typically verbose blog next week!
Across
1 Father cheeky before bar providing documentary evidence (5,5)
PAPER TRAIL - PA PERT [father | cheeky] before RAIL [bar]
7 Polishexpert and enthusiast (4)
BUFF - Double def
9 Convened everyone in charge of copper, perhaps (8)
METALLIC - MET ALL IC [convened | everyone | in charge]
10 Farm animal ails after chewing wood-sorrel (6)
OXALIS - OX [farm animal] + (AILS*) ["after chewing"]
11 Gets prosecuted and released (6)
ISSUED - or IS SUED [gets prosecuted]
13 Sailor’s in the drink (8)
ABSINTHE - AB'S IN THE [sailor's in the]
14 Flatter front to boat can spread badly (3,3,6)
BOW AND SCRAPE - BOW [front to boat] + (CAN SPREAD*) ["badly"]
17 Club certainly involving old politician’s agitation (12)
DISCOMPOSURE - DISCO SURE [club | certainly] involving O MP [old | politician]
20 Cart crashing behind car, one with lots of power (8)
AUTOCRAT - (CART*) ["crashing"] behind AUTO [car]
21 Just like some pyjamas to tear in a very dirty place (6)
STRIPY - RIP [to tear] in STY [a very dirty place]
22 A lot of sudden anxiety about home baker’s product (6)
PANINI - PANI{c} ["A lot of" sudden anxiety] about IN [home]
23 Tree one’s put in beside a motorway to the west (8)
MAGNOLIA - I [one] is put in ALONG A M [beside | a | motorway], the whole reversed ["to the west"]
25 Instrument running without current (4)
GONG - GO{i}NG [running] without its I [current]
26 Comfortable about having to hang around for fighter (10)
GUNSLINGER - SNUG reversed [comfortable "about"] + LINGER [to hang around]
Down
2 Dislike a particular form (8)
AVERSION - or A VERSION [a particular form]
3 Character that merits a place on railway board? (3)
ETA - or an E.T.A. on a railway display
4 Bound to grab fifty as the word game board ends up? (5)
TILED - TIED [bound] to grab L [fifty], and referring to the play of Scrabble
5 Old-fashioned tea served in a racing club (7)
ARCHAIC - CHA [tea] served in A RIC [the Racing Investors Club - I think]
6 Speed up appearances to play an instrument (4,5)
LOOK SHARP - LOOKS HARP [appearances | to play an instrument]
7 Puzzle sane arbiter’s sorted out (5-6)
BRAIN-TEASER - (SANE ARBITER'S*) ["sorted out"]
8 Queen in combat scare (6)
FRIGHT - R [queen] in FIGHT [combat]
12 Likely to be successful at university with arrival (2-3-6)
UP-AND-COMING - UP AND COMING [at university | with | arrival]
15 Meritorious second pair of cadets in the forces (9)
DESERVING - ["second pair of" (letters in the word)] ca{DE}ts + SERVING [in the forces]
16 Lead shot included in ammunition that scatters (8)
GRAPHITE - HIT [shot] included in GRAPE [ammunition that scatters]
18 Seatof empire? (7)
OTTOMAN - double def
19 Difficulty, a Tardis initially with zero time variation (6)
RUBATO - RUB A T{ardis} + 0
21 Sign is put up half covered in gold (5)
SIGIL - reverse of IS [is "put up"] + GIL{ded}
24 What’s now horribly personal (3)
OWN - (NOW*) ["horribly"]