Solving time – 26:40
I struggled to get going on this, and after 10 minutes only had half a dozen answers in, but gradually managed to work up from the bottom right-hand corner and finish it.
Across
4 (h)ALL,BUT – ‘alibut, with the I replaced by L (plate). The clue is phrased the other way, so that you’d have to replace the L in the answer to get the fish.
9 CLAP,HAM,JUNCTION – the other 4 linked clues form a straight definition.
10 B(RUN)E,I
12 PAT,RON,AL – not 100% sure what this has to do with Georgia, but I Googled and found that Georgia (the ex-Soviet state) has a patronal presidency (whatever that means). Chambers was no help.
15,14 O,BITE,R DIC(CID rev),TUM – I knew this phrase as it came up in an Azed puzzle a while ago.
18 SIB,(d)ELIUS
22 S,ODIUM – presumably it’s an element of Nature because it’s symbol is Na.
24 MARR(O,WBONEJ=newjob*,ELL)Y
25 NEWLY,N – you can’t get much further south-west than Newlyn!
26 OT,ALGY – alternative form of otalgia which I wasn’t aware of.
Down
1 MA(LA)RIA
2 L,UP,IN
5 L,AN,YARD
7 THOR,EAU – Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden.
8 DJ,(r)EBEL – I didn’t know the word, but it was obvious from the wordplay once I had the checking letters. It’s an Arab word for a hill or mountain.
13 ROTTEN,ROW – a track running along the edge of Hyde Park for horse riders.
16 B(RITA)IN – “Educated girl” as in the play “Educating Rita”.
17,3 RAILWAY STATION (I saw to train lay)* – the second half of the word layout is the anagram indicator. Very Araucarian!
18 SI(TCO)M – OCT rev inside SIM – a SIM card is what goes inside a mobile phone.
19 B,U,SIEST(a) – I assume B = second as it’s the 2nd letter of the alphabet, or 2nd class, grade etc.
I was equally baffled as to why Patronal might mean Georgian but ended up justifying it to myself as a reference to St George who is our Patron Saint. Alternatively, maybe it is a reference to the way the lineage of the Hanoverian kings George I, II, III, IV passed from father to son in a patriarchal/patronal manner?
So, frankly, I’m still not sure.
What was 20 down? We can only think USUALLY but we don’t know why?
Yep, 20 down is USUALLY. “U” for posh (from upper-class), then SALLY (the girl) with another U inside