This had all I’ve come to expect from Dac. Excellent flowing surface readings, clever misdirection, a very satisfying solve, with all understood in the end. A bit tougher than usual, maybe partly because of one long phrase others may have been more familiar with than I was.
Solving time: 29 mins
* = anagram
Across
6 BAR in HOT Tasmanian (Australia) port and capital
10 B + ER + LINER “Royal” “cruise ship” quite separate, though the surface reading misleadingly makes you think of them as one. Good.
11 PRO O F READING More skill with the definition/wordplay join coming between does and for in the seemingly smooth passage “Task editor does for nothing”. Reading is a nice change from “up” for “at university”
15 AGENTS N in (STAGE)* The anagram indicator here, unusually, is a noun (production). Johnathan Crowther (AZED) in his recent book has an passage on this, which I get closer to understanding each time I read it. Like the proverbial preacher and sin, he is, I think, opposed.
17 CHEQUERS Another great, misleading, surface suggesting winds blowing through a house. It’s double definition, the game of draughts and the PM’s country residence.
22 SPIN + (phone)Y. Nice to see those politicians held in such high regard.
23 PrOGRESSively Hidden
24 STAKE “Steak” NET
DOWN
3 CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (SCHOOL’S OUT CAME + “first in” Eurovision)*. More masterly clueing with misleading context.
5 RIBBAND I in BR (reversed) + BAND. Did not know it could be spelt with 2 Bs which held me up, but indeed it can.
6 HERMITAGE Got this eventually from the clever definition “One man’s place”. It’s also the name of a wine which I did not know till checking, so it’s double definition.
7 BRING ME SUNSHINE (IN NUMBER HE SINGS)* I eventually worked this out from the anagram when I had enough crossing letters. I’d a vague feeling I’d heard the phrase either in a song or ad slogan. Many others will have known, I’m sure that it relates to Ernie Wise (the “Wise” in the clue) so again there’s great clueing e.g. the two meanings of “variety” one for the anagram and one for the show.
12 STEREO TYPE (Sort)
14 (Stephen) KING and (Henry) JAMES, I guess. KING JAMES Bible.
18 LASSA. (c)LASS A drug. “Type of” suggesting a qualifier rather than the name of a drug.