Financial Times 13,173 / Satori

A stimulating, challenging puzzle from Satori.

This is the first Satori puzzle I’m blogging about; it is sad that he is no more. For those who missed it, tributes to the fine compiler on fifteensquared: link,  and in the Guardian: link.

7D is still unexplained, hopefully someone will help fill the gap. // Update: 7D filled. Thanks, CGR.

Across

1 KISSCURL starting letters of ‘Key is…loose’.
5 ECLAIR (LACIER)* with “confection” as both anagrind and definition
10 ASCII AS (when) C (see) II (two eyes)
11 STARBOARD STARRED (was leading character) around BOA (snake) – E (food additive)
12 TRUCKLING TRUCK (transport) LING (fish)
13 RISHI IS H[erb], in [ame]RI[ca]
14 DECADE sounds like ‘decayed’
15 STEPSON STEPS ON (crushes)
18 MATADOR MOR[e] around A TAD
20 DURUMS U (bend) in DRUMS (instruments). Had to look this up, “durum” a breed of wheat used in making pasta.
22 YAHOO hidden in ‘crY A HOOker’. From the tribe of savage creatures in Gulliver’s Travels.
24 DEMURRAGE DEMUR (doubt) RAGE (storm)
25 ERUPTIONS (NITRES + [s]POU[t])* &lit
26 SKIMP SKIM (quick glance) on P (page)
27 NATURE dd
28 GLASNOST (GLASS NOT)*

Down

1 KRAITS STARK (completely) around I, reversed.
2 SUCCULENT sounds like ‘suck you lent’
3 CLICKS AND MORTAR CLICK (get on) SAND + MORTAR (building materials). A punning derivation from “bricks and mortar”. Interesting wordplay but debatable definition here. A company is “clicks and mortar” if it has both physical retail stores plus web-based sales. Many online businesses are web-based only, so they aren’t “clicks and mortar”.
4 RESTIVE REST (sleep) V[ampire] in I.E. (that is)
6 CYBERTERRORISTS CY ( BER (TERROR) I ) STS
7 AMASS AMAS (“you love” in Latin) + S (Sabbath)
8 RED GIANT (TREADING)*
9 CADGES CAGES (prisons) around D (dead)
16 SIMPATICO (IMPACT IS)* O
17 EMPYREAN PYRE (fire), in NAME (star i.e. famous personality) reversed // Update: Typo fixed. Thanks, Conrad.
19 RADIOS R (run) ADIOS (sounds like ‘adieus’) // Update: ADIOS is Spanish for ‘farewell’. Thanks, Richard.
20 DAMOSEL SOMA (drug) in LED, reversed. I haven’t come across this spelling of the word before. Chambers lists more variants – DAMOZEL, DAMOISEL.
21 SEXPOT ST around EXPO (exhibition)
23 HAUNT HUNT (look for) around A