Solving time 16:03, although that was without full parsing of some of the clues. Some very convoluted wordplay in this one, e.g. 1ac, 9ac, 25ac, 4dn, 14dn. Despite that the surface readings all made perfect sense as normal English sentences, so top marks to the setter for that.
| Across |
| 1 | TRISTRAM SHANDY - SMART (trendy) + S(h)IRT (garment not hard) reversed, + HANDY (convenient). The full title of Sterne's 18th century comic novel was The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. |
| 9 | AUDITORIA - A + [A1 (top) + ROD (staff) + U(niversity) reversed], around IT (new technology). |
| 10 | CAMEO - CAME + O, i.e. "came to nothing", failed to materialise. |
| 11 | SUCRE - (cruise)* minus the I. Capital of Bolivia. |
| 12 | PICKING AT - PIC (film) + KING (sovereign) + AT (attending). |
| 13 | ORDNANCE - OR (men) + DANCE (ball) around N(et). |
| 15 | WARDEN - Churchill's bunker might be described as a "WAR DEN". |
| 17 | TRAMPS - TRAPS (carriages) around M(iles). |
| 19 | WIND DOWN - WIND (breeze) + DOWN (coming from the north). |
| 22 | TARDINESS - TAR (crewman) + DINES (eats) + S(upper). |
| 23 | BOTHA - BOOTH (i.e. John Wilkes, president's killer), minus the middle letter, + A. P. W. Botha, former South African PM and later State President. |
| 24 | ORION - ON around RIO (location in Brazil). |
| 25 | SWEAR WORD - DROWS(y) (wanting to sleep, reversed, mostly), around WEAR (clothes). Only worked this one out this morning - when I put it in I thought it was WEAR(y) inside SWORD (but how do you get "without clothes" from SWORD???). |
| 26 | INTERMITTENTLY - TERMIT(e) (colonist, minus an E) inside INTENTLY (with determination). |
| Down |
| 1 | TRANSPORTATION - ART (paintings) reversed + [SPORT (display) inside NATION (community)]. |
| 2 | INDUCED - IN (elected) + DUCE (leader) + D(emocrat). |
| 3 | TUTEE - TU (French for you) + TEE (support). |
| 4 | AIRSPACE - PAIRS (twos, with first letter at the end) + ACE (skilful pilot). |
| 5 | STANCE - hidden in "sacristan ceremoniously". |
| 6 | ARCHIBALD - A + CH (companion) inside RIBALD (blue). |
| 7 | DAMAGED - DAD (old man) around (game)*. |
| 8 | CONTINENTAL DAY - CON (study) + (Latin and yet)*. I'd never heard of this phrase before, although I did experience it in Germany on an exchange term, where we started at 8am, had no breaks, but went home at 1pm. Unfortunately, that just meant more time for homework (and I was also expected to do my schoolwork from my own school as well). |
| 14 | APPLIANCE - A + P (quiet) + PL(ace) + IN + CE (church), all around A. |
| 16 | MISSPELT - MISS (teacher) + PELT (career). |
| 18 | ARRAIGN - sounds like "a reign". |
| 20 | OUTPOST - OUT (unpopular) + POST (job). |
| 21 | JETSAM - J(ack) + (mates)*. |
| 23 | BARGE - double definition. |