Not as easy as I first thought – a couple of synonyms took a bit longer to justify. Thanks to Jason. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Hurry up, cut some meat (4-4)
CHOP-CHOP : CHOP(to cut) + CHOP(a cut of meat, usually containing a rib).
6 Firm scowl causes blush (6)
COLOUR : CO(abbrev. for “company”;a commercial firm) + LOUR(variant of “lower”;to scowl menacingly).
Answer: To become red in the face;to blush, especially when embarrassed or annoyed.
9 Brownie, among others, arrived with artist (6)
CAMERA : CAME(arrived) plus(with) RA(post-nominal letters for a member of the Royal Academy;an artist).
Answer: An example of which;among others was the Brownie, made by Kodak.
10 Nothing, as it happens, goes with Polish dressing (5,3)
OLIVE OIL : O(the letter representing zero;nothing) + LIVE(of a broadcast, as it happens, not recorded beforehand) plus(goes with) OIL(to polish with an oily substance).
11 ‘Ouses in ‘Ackney might ‘ave one advantage (4)
EDGE : (H)ouses in (H)ackney might (h)ave a (h)edge.
12 Elder, say, one kissing bird (10)
WOODPECKER : WOOD(an example of which;say, is from the elder tree) + PECKER(one who gives a peck;a kiss).
14 Oi, outspoken fellow always gets summer glums? (3,5)
HAY FEVER : Homophone of(outspoken) “Hey!”(a call for attention, as is Oi!)+ F(abbrev. for “fellow”) + EVER(always, as in “for ever and ever”).
Answer: The seasonal (incl. summer) allergy that will bring you down;give you the glums.
16 There’s no place in desire for wealth (4)
EASE : “please”(to desire;to have the will, as in “if the court pleases …”) minus(There’s no … in) “pl”(abbrev. for “place”, as in a street address).
Answer: Affluence;freedom from poverty, as in “a life of luxury and ease”.
18 Region in the Near East (4)
AREA : Hidden in(in) “Near East “.
19 It starts when exercises and a stroll overlap (8)
PREAMBLE : PE(abbrev. for “physical education”;exercises) overlapping with RAMBLE(a stroll).
21 Dear virtuous person taking on board little pity (10)
SWEETHEART : [ ST(abbrev. for “saint”;a virtuous person) containing(taking on board) WEE(little) ] + HEART(compassion;pity, as in “a dictator with no heart”).
22 What you get with husband facing referee? (4)
HUMP : H(abbrev. for “husband”) + UMP(short for “umpire”;a referee).
Answer: The “what” in the defn. ie. a fit of depression, possibly at seeing your husband before an arbitrator;a referee (or even a judge in court?).
24 Reserve priest, say, for literary gathering (4,4)
BOOK CLUB : BOOK(to reserve, say, a seat at the theatre) + CLUB(an example of which;say, is the priest, used in angling to kill fish that’s been caught).
26 Anger about European tribute (6)
WREATH : WRATH(anger) containing(about) E(abbrev. for “European”).
27 Sticky stuff eg points back (6)
STODGE : Reversal of(back) [ EG + DOTS(points in diagrams and text) ].
28 Fruit essential to French invasion? (8)
MULBERRY : Double defn: 2nd: Artificial harbour built by the Allied forces in the invasion of Normandy in WWII.
Down
2 Stingy duck buried treasure (5)
HOARD : HARD(unyielding;giving little;stingy) containing(… buried) O(the letter representing 0;the number of runs for a duck in cricket).
Answer: Treasure that is hidden, eg. buried.
3 Easy slice? (5,2,4)
PIECE OF CAKE : Double defn: 1st: Idiom for something easy to achieve.
4 We’ve a hat arranged for this?! (4,4)
HEAT WAVE : Anagram of(arranged) WE’VE A HAT. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with defn.) clue.
Answer: During which, a hat is what you need.
5 Snap a Liberal behind book (10,5)
PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM : PHOTOGRAPH(a snap, eg. with a 9 across) + A + L(abbrev. for a member of the Liberal Party) + BUM(slang for your bottom;the buttocks).
6 Californian streetwalker caught by lover of free love? (6)
CHIPPY : C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket) + HIPPY(variant of “hippie”;one who espouses unconventional behaviour, dress, etc, including free love, especially in the 60s).
Answer: American slang for a promiscuous woman – and all the while I thought it was a fish and chips shop. And California for the surface, because the 60s hippie movement started there.
7 Shelter terrible actor (3)
LEE : Double defn: 2nd: I think “terrible” here means inducing terror, in which case it could be Christopher Lee in the string of Hammer Horror films. Or I could be wrong, and it could be refering to bad actors.
A composed, not so terrifying, Lee/Dracula:
8 Film producer is wide-ranging and comprehensive (9)
UNIVERSAL : Double defn: 1st: The film studio that produced Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park, and countless other movies.
13 The best sentimentality is something for those crackers (5,6)
CREAM CHEESE : CREAM(the best;the elite) + CHEESE(back formation from cheesy;shoddy;kitschy;which some forms of over-sentimentality might be – a bit of a stretch for me).
Answer: Something to spread on those, ie. cream, crackers.
15 A right dust-up over source of Carib foodstuff (9)
ARROWROOT : A + R(abbrev. for “right”) + ROW(a quarrel;a dust-up) placed above(over, in a down clue) ROOT(the source, as in “…root of all evil”.
Answer: Edible starch sourced from the Caribbean plant of the same name. Thus, “source of” may or may not be part of the defn.
17 A twee lot designed kitchenalia (3,5)
TEA TOWEL : Anagram of(designed)A TWEE LOT.
20 Put aside high heels with a plunging neckline on show (6)
SHELVE : Anagram of(high, as in “drunk”) HEELS containing(with … on show) V(something shaped like a V, eg. a V neck;a plunging neckline). Neat surface – With a plunging neckline to show and attract (and distract?), you might not need high heels.
23 Tons loaded to make fast ship go quickly (5)
MOTOR : T(abbrev. for “tons” weight) contained in(…loaded) MOOR(to make fast;tie a ship to a berth).
Answer: As in “to motor along the highway”.
25 Pretend leather (3)
KID : Double defn: 1st: To delude or fool, by pretending; and 2nd: From the skin of a young goat;a kid.
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19 I think this is a mixture of PE and ramble (not amble)
22 I think this may refer to the expression “to get the hump”
Thanks AID. 19A: Blog corrected (too quick on the draw I was).
22A That’s as implied by the first defn. in my comment. Thinking more about it, I’m concluding that the defn. is only “what you get”. The blog has been amended accordingly.
I did chuckle at the clue for heat wave (4D).
Thanks to Scchua and Jason
Finished this, but with some question marks in the margin. In 14d, I couldn’t make “Oi” = “Hay” (it never occurred to me that there was an intermediate step, i.e., hey). And I struggled with the definition in 22a. Would like to see how Cyclops would clue 12a in the PE 😉
Thanks, scchua and Jason.
[[1: Shelley Duvall, who played OLIVE OyL.
2: Noel Coward Theatre, named for the author of HAY FEVER.
3: SWEETHEART neckline.
4: Edmund Widdrington Byrne, but I can’t connect him to the puzzle.
5: Marilyn Monroe performing “Heat Wave” in There’s No Business Like Show Business.
6: The Man with the Golden Gun, which featured Christopher LEE as Scaramanga.
7: Buffy Sainte-Marie, who sang “UNIVERSAL Soldier”
8: the Bee Gees, who recorded “Night FEVER” and “EDGE of the UNIVERSe”
Where’s Peggy LEE, who sang “FEVER”?]]
Keeper, similarly, I wondered whether Jason was doing a Cyclops (or Paul) in clueing 22a : “What you get with husband…”.
[[Great stuff with the pics! Spot on except: 4: a Q(or K)C/silk, whose wig and gown is of material made by the silkworm feeding on MULBERRY leaves; 8: in addition to what you’ve said, the Bee Gees recorded “SWEETHEART”.]]