Financial Times 13791 Armonie

This was a straightforward puzzle with many surfaces to enjoy.  Thanks Armonie.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.  There are hidden connections in one of the picture sets.

Across  

1 Someone expecting the mob, tore off (6-2-2)

MOTHER-TO-BE :  Anagram of(off) THE MOB TORE

Defn:  Someone expecting a baby

6 Good boy is pleased (4)

GLAD :  G(good) LAD(boy)

9 Legal advisers authorised other ranks to interrupt distress call (10)

SOLICITORS :  [LICIT(legal,authorised) OR(other ranks,soldiers)] contained in(to interrupt) SOS(international distress call)

10 Flipping insect bite (4)

TANG :  Reversal of(flipping) GNAT(winged insect)

Defn:  A strong pungent or sharp taste, which will bite,sting the tongue.

12 Met one’s clique for contentment (12)

SATISFACTION :  SAT(held a meeting,met, as in “parliament sat/met”) IS(Roman numeral for 1 plus ‘s,one’s) FACTION(a clique within a group)

15 Medication sorted out Gail’s acne (9)

ANALGESIC :  Anagram of(sorted out) GAIL’S ACNE

Defn:  Commonly known as a painkiller

17 Student in a temper rejected composer (5)

ELGAR :  L(learner,student) contained in(in) reversal of(rejected) RAGE(a temper,going ballistic)

18 Tower receives a bit of light from the sun (5)

SOLAR :  SOAR(to rise above,tower over) containing(receives) L(initial letter,a bit of the word “light“)

19 Dan turned awkward when unwanted (9)

REDUNDANT :  Anagram of(awkward) DAN TURNED

20 Listen to top management or meet disaster (2,2,3,5)

GO BY THE BOARD :  GO BY(act according to,listen to) THE BOARD(the group of people at the top of a company’s management)

Defn:  When something meets disaster,is ruined,discarded,rejected,aborted as what happens when you throw something overboard a ship.

24 United draw with Dutch (4)

TIED :  TIE(draw,level score/placing) D(Dutch).  Nice surface.

25 A medic admits speculation of mercenary (10)

ADVENTURER :  A DR(abbrev. for doctor,medic) containing (admits) VENTURE(a risky project,a speculation)

26 Classical suicide achieved nothing (4)

DIDO :  DID(achieved) O(the letter that looks like zero,nothing)

Defn:  Legendary,classical queen of Carthage who committed suicide.

  

27 Disheartened when fighter aircraft with corrosion gets admired (10)

FRUSTRATED :  F(military designation for fighter aircraft) plus(with) RUST(what’s left after corrosion) plus(gets) RATED(implicitly highly rated,admired)

Defn:  You would be disheartened if someone/something frustrated you.

Down

1 Service graduate’s Sierra (4)

MASS :  MA(Master of Arts degree gained by a graduate) S(for Sierra in the phonetic alphabet)

Defn:  Religious service in a church

2 Instruct archer (4)

TELL :  Double defn:  1st: To tell someone what to do,instruct; and 2nd: William, the legendary Swiss archer

      

3 Former coppers judge dealers’ standard (8,4)

EXCHANGE RATE :  EX(former, as in ex-spouse) CHANGE(loose coins in your pocket, presumably pennies or cents, called coppers as copper is what they used to be made of) RATE(to judge,assess)

Defn:  The standard by which one currency is measured against another, ie. the exchange rate, which foreign exchange dealers use in their work.

4 “All together”, pharaoh briefly put on note (5)

TUTTI :  TUT(short,briefly for pharaoh Tutankhamun) placed before(put on, in a down clue) TI(one of the syllables representing a note in the musical scale, between “la” and “do”.

Defn:  All instruments and voices together in concert music.  Amusing surface.

5 Undressed without a grimace? That’s brazen (9)

BAREFACED :  BARED(past tense of the verb to bare,undress) containing(without) FACE(a facial expression,grimace, as in “to make a face at someone who’s annoyed you”

Defn:  Unconcealed or shameless,brazen (of brass), as in “a barefaced lie”

7 Star having meal and gin cocktail (7,3)

LEADING MAN :  Anagram of(cocktail) MEAL AND GIN

8 Go back on one’s promise? That’s raised during engagement. It’s ignoble! (10)

DEGENERATE :  Reversal of(that’s raised) RENEGE(to go back on one’s promise, from “renegade”) contained in(during) DATE(an appointment,engagement,encounter usually of a social kind

11 One puts words into the mouths of those to be shot (12)

SCREENWRITER :  Cryptic defn:  The one who writes the lines to be spoken,puts words into the mouths, of movie actors,those to be shot,filmed.

13 Doctor dares fight, being prescient (3-7)

FAR-SIGHTED :  Anagram of(doctor) DARES FIGHT

Defn:  Descriptive of a visionary,one who anticipates events.  Not to be confused with the condition, usually associated with aging eyes, of seeing things further away more clearly than nearer ones, hence requiring the usage of reading glasses.

14 Charlady gets money from livelihood (5,5)

DAILY BREAD :  DAILY(charlady,one who comes to clean up daily) plus(gets) BREAD(slang for money, similar to dough)

Defn:  Livelihood,occupation which gives one the money to live on.  The Oriental equivalent is the “rice bowl”.

16 Special old city to make submission (9)

SURRENDER :  S(special) UR(old city) RENDER(to make, as in “to render harmless”)

21 Deliveries are to some extent controversial (5)

OVERS :  Hidden in(are to some extent) in contrOVERSial

Defn:  In cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled,delivered from one end of the pitch.

22 Comedian receives rare summons (4)

WRIT :  WIT(comedian) containing(receives) R(rare)

23 Network initially given free (4)

GRID :  G(first letter,initially of the word “given“) RID(to free of, as in “to get rid of pests”)