With 1 across securely in place, I was of course strongly tempted to write up the entire blog in the style of a cocktail recipe book, which I think would be possible but might well get tedious before the end, probably a long way before the end. I got through this in 21 minutes, with some smiles and one unsuppressed giggle along the way. There are some (mildly) obscure references, but the cluing is unambiguous where it needs to be and gives you the constructions.
I write this from my temporarily enforced semi-recumbent position with a keyboard that has an erratic spacebar, so I plead indulgence if there are more typos than I usually provide for your amusement and/or indignation. I have endeavoured to provide clues thus, definitions thus and solutions THUS.
Across
Across
1Powerful cocktail keeps sharpness hot (12)
SLEDGEHAMMER Is itself a cocktail, and depending on the recipe, could well be pretty powerful. But our recipe is EDGE from sharpness plus one part of Hot poured into SLAMMER, usually prefaced by Tequila. Straight, not stirred.
8 Composer crossing six bars ... the extreme ones? (7)
ROSSINI Take cROSSINg sIx and bar/banish the extreme bits
9 Festive food cut by a penny — being this? (7)
CHEAPER Festive food the generic CHEER, surrounding A P(enny). Odd, we used to put silver threepenny bits in ours.
11 Leading advocate wanting beer around office (7)
APOSTLE The beer is good ALE (yay) and the office therein is POST. If you want justification for “leading” , this from the 1st 2d of Paul the this clue to the Corinthians: “And God has placed in the church first of all apostles”, but it also works in a more generic sense.
12 Racist I upset with mocking humour (7)
SATIRIC An apposite and fairly obvious anagram (upset) of RACIST I
13 Story satisfied with two characters finally killed (5)
CONTE From the French. CONTENT with the last two characters dispatched
14 Sent out signal with call involving extra backing (9)
PHEROMONE In this case, a chemical signal that is sent out, deliberately or not, as Chambers coyly says “which influences the behaviour of others of its species”. Or as Chas and Dave put it: “Now you're a wonderful girl, you got a wonderful smell”. Anyway, stick MORE for extra backwards into PHONE for call.
16 Nameless bird gaining height — a distant point in the sky? (9)
STARLIGHT Your bird is a STARLING, less N(ame) and with H(eigh)T on the end
19 Drunk at the end of today? Not on (5)
TIGHT The end of today is TONIGHT. Remove ON – nothing to do with cricket this time!
21 Freezing fine beheaded fish — line caught (3-4)
ICE-COLD Fine beheaded is n(ICE), the fish COD, the L of Line caught.
23 Half rice, half soup, time to make this? (7)
RISOTTO A not wholly inaccurate recipe: half RIce, half SOup, T(ime) and TO. &lit.
24 Going to miss drive after golf cap’s flying (7)
GLIDING Take the GO “drive” from GOING, and preface with G(olf) (NATO) and LID for cap.
25 Mineral mass one’s found in a moon, classically (7)
ALUMINA M(ass) and I’S found in LUNA, Latin for moon
26 Long sweetfilm (8,4)
BRIGHTON ROCK Arguably a double definition. The second from the ubiquitous Graham Greene’s book
Down
Down
1 A fool entering shortly — Siegfried, perhaps (7)
SASSOON So don’t worry, it’s not Wagner. Fool: ASS in shortly SOON
2 Letter of key big building across street (7)
EPISTLE The pick one from seven key is E, the big building is PILE, which “crosses” ST(reet)
3 Subject of experiment needing a piece of gold and a piece of iron (6,3)
GUINEA PIG Gold piece and iron piece, like it says
4 Cutsa number of bad journalists? (5)
HACKS Could work as just “Cuts journalists” but you have a generously extended version
5 Great leader, a Chinese one imprisons rest, unfortunately (7)
MAESTRO Your Chinese “great leader” (doing double duty and indicated by “one”) confines an “unfortunate” version of REST
6 Material used for ropes seaport’s replaced (7)
ESPARTO“a strong grass (Stipatenacissima and others) grown in Spain, N Africa, etc, and used for making paper, baskets, cordage, etc” in our case twisted (replaced) from SEAPORT.
7 Announcing process of selecting actor for woman in Chicago? (12)
BROADCASTING Even in 2003, Chambers was marking BROAD for woman as “N American offensive slang” so expect prosecution for getting this one right. But it’s funny, and my CoD. Two definitions, the second either referring to a James Cagney type prohibition era movie or the musical
10 Thinking about inner secret can be diverting (12)
RECREATIONAL Thinking: RATIONAL about sECREt
15 Running Internet without a host (9)
ENTERTAIN Without here means outside. An anagram (running) of INTERNET provides the container for A
17 Artist’s place lately stripped, odd pieces of fine art removed (7)
ATELIER lATELy “stripped” plus the even bits of fInE aRt.
18 Appearing very good in getting into record book (7)
LOOKING Very good translates to OK especially as in a casual version of Jeeves’ “very good, sir”. Add IN and place it in your LOG
19 Note boss on round shield for centurions (7)
TESTUDO Now I thought a Roman shield was a scutum, and a testudo was what they formed with their scuta when attacked from above but here we construct our defence from pick any note from 7 TE, STUD for boss and O for round, so that’s ok then.
20 Where some take off label turning up strip of material (7)
GATWICK London’s second airport. Label is TAG, which is “turned up”, WICK the strip of material.
22 What green-fingered person of course has something to do with flower bed (5)
DIGIT A clue almost as long winded as me!. A green fingered person obviously has DIGITs, and what you do with a flower bed is DIG IT