Thanks Jason, for an enjoyable puzzle. 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 Uncertain Tories rule haphazardly (10)
IRRESOLUTE : Anagram of(haphazardly) TORIES RULE.
6 A couple mean to entertain one (4)
PAIR : PAR(the mean;the standard) containing(to entertain) I(Roman numeral for “one”).
9 Incline towards a glass for fruit (10)
CANTALOUPE : CANT(an incline;a slanted surface) plus(towards) A + LOUPE(a magnifying glass used by jewellers and watchmakers).
10 Crazy about this attack (4)
STAB : Reversal of(about) BATS(slang for “crazy”, from “bats in the belfry”).
12 Officers rushed into village shop (7,5)
GENERAL STORE : GENERALS(high-ranking military officers) + TORE(rushed;moved at great speed).
15 I teach set differently about the appreciation of beauty (9)
AESTHETIC : Anagram of(differently) I TEACH SET.
17 Arrest ex-doughboy on Rhode Island (5)
RIVET : VET(short for “veteran”, who could be an ex-doughboy;a US infantryman especially in WW1) placed after(on, in an across clue) RI(abbrev. for the US state of Rhode Island).
Answer: To hold;to arrest, say, your gaze or attention.
18 Basketmaker is more comfortable with head covered (5)
OSIER : “cosier”(more comfortable) minus its 1st letter(with head covered).
Answer: A twig or branch from various willow trees used in basketmaking.
19 Gasp! Cut drying clutch and engine part (3-6)
AIR-INTAKE : “airing”(drying by exposing to air) minus its last letter(Cut) + TAKE(to seize;to clutch). Double defn: 1st: An intake of air; and 2nd: The part of an internal combustion engine through which air is drawn.
20 Author’s caught by inclination, ergo no clue for this! (7,5)
WRITER’S CRAMP : WRITER(author) + C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket) plus(by) RAMP(an inclination;a slope).
Cryptic defn: This is the reason that there’d be no clue.
24 Speak about flier (4)
READ : RE(about;with reference to) + AD(short for an “advertisement”, which could be a flier – alternatively, flyer;a pamphlet to be distributed by mail or shoved through your letter box, or handed out in the street).
Answer: To utter aloud printed material, as in “he read his poems to the class”.
25 Suggest a great deal in church linen (10)
TABLECLOTH : TABLE(to suggest, eg. ideas or proposals in a meeting) + [ LOT(a great deal) contained in(in) CH(abbrev. for “church”).
26 In which lawnmower is kept in Slough (4)
SHED : Double defn: 2nd: To shed an outer covering, eg. dead skin. Pronounced differently from the English industrial town.
27 Writers collected in these surprisingly nice places (6,4)
PENCIL CASE : Anagram of(surprisingly) NICE PLACES. A slight problem with parsing – not sure whether “these” is part the anagram indicator or the definition or even neither. If the first or third, this leaves the definition deficient, but if the second, the answer is in the singular and not consistent with “these”.
Down
1 Burning problem husband ignored (4)
ITCH : “hitch”(a problem;a snag) minus(… ignored) (the 1st) “h”(abbrev. for “husband”).
Answer: A strong desire for;a burning.
2 Career’s close to launching having been on the blower (4)
RUNG : RUN(to career;to run at full speed) + the last letter of(close to) “launching “.
Answer: Having used the telephone;the “blower” in slang.
3 Creep, cold one hurting Indian performer? (5,7)
SNAKE CHARMER : SNAKE(a slimy person;in slang, a “creep”) + C(abbrev. for “cold”) + HARMER(one that causes harm;one hurting).
Answer: A traditional Indian, or, generally, Asian, performer and entertainer.
4 Free toilets ending in theatre (5)
LOOSE : LOOS(slang for “toilets”) + the last letter of(ending in) “theatre “.
5 Performer can depart happy (3,6)
TAP DANCER : Anagram of(happy) CAN DEPART.
7 Our van (a ute) reshaped a design movement (3,7)
ART NOUVEAU : Anagram of(reshaped) OUR VAN (A UTE).
Answer: A style of art applied, to, say, architectural design, popular in the 1890s and early 19th C. It was “nouveau” at that time, I guess.
8 True Berber cultivated a plant (6,4)
RUBBER TREE : Anagram of(cultivated) TRUE BERBER.
11 Really, really big on eating great food, no good (12)
ASTRONOMICAL : “gastronomical”(regarding;on the eating of good, and even, great, food) minus(no) “g”(abbrev. for “good”).
13 Frown almost came so easily with a problem (3,2,5)
CAN OF WORMS : Anagram of(easily) [FROWN + “came” minus its last letter(almost) + SO].
14 Twerp! I am one behind schedule for pick up (10)
ASSIMILATE : ASS(a fool;in slang, a “twerp”) + I’M(contraction for “I am”) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + LATE(behind schedule).
Defn: To pick up;to, say, learn and understand thoroughly.
16 Change the reason I’m stuck on platform? I must leave (9)
TRANSLATE : “train’s late”(the reason the setter is stuck on the station platform) minus(… must leave) “I”.
Answer: To change from one form, function or state to another.
21 Docile rector holds back an item of historic interest (5)
RELIC : Hidden in(holds) reversal of(back) “Docile rector “.
22 Joke about closing piece (4)
CODA : COD(a joke;a hoax) + A(abbrev. for “about”).
Answer: The closing passage of a musical piece.
23 Loafer, say, is indoors but not beginnng to move (4)
SHOE : ” ‘s home “(contraction of “is home”;is indoors) minus(but not) the 1st letter of(beginnng to) “move “.
Answer: An example of which;say, is the loafer;a low-heeled step-in shoe like a moccasin.
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Thanks, Jason and scchua.
[[1 is a WRITER, perhaps George Orwell, who wrote Coming Up for Air (AIR INTAKE). 2 is of course the star of the Seven Year ITCH. I thought 3 might be ART (NOUVEAU) Tatum, but I am relieved to see it is not. I’ll keep thinking.]]
[[My bad. 1 is Aubrey Beardsley, exponent of ART NOUVEAU.]]
Thanks scchua, and Jason for a really enjoyable puzzle.
My LOI was the can of worms at 13d.
I saw the construction, wasn’t sure though about ‘easily’ as the anagram indicator.
Moreover I had the intersecting 24ac wrong, entering CHAT – and why not?
CHAT at 24 was my first answer entered, so I was beaten by 13D as I had a misplaced C in the anagram
Thanks Jason for an enjoyable puzzle and scchua for the blog. A lovely moment when the penny dropped in 16d.
10ac: I took “this” as an attempt to resolve the ambiguity inherent in this type of reversal clue. I am not completely convinced by this, but the intention was clear enough.
24ac: I thought of CHAT as well (having ..A. when I first read the clue), but then what role does the word “about” play?
26ac: Allowing a capital letter on words like “Slough” to improve the surface reading is widely accepted, but I would have preferred it if Jason could have hidden the capital letter by putting “Slough” at the beginning of the clue.
27ac: I agree with scchua’s reservations about this clue. Perhaps the clue could have been turned round to read something like “Surprisingly nice places in which writers come together”. This would allow “which” to be plural in the surface reading but singular in the cryptic reading.
21dn: Here I think Jason is quite right to use a horizontal reversal indicator even though this is a down clue, as the reversal is in the clue, not the answer.
[[Right, Ian SW3. To add: Pic1: he was also a leading figure in the AESTHETIC movement in England. Pic2: That’s director and star. A hint for Pic3: You might have to be a bit of a jazz buff to get it.]]
[[I am a bit of a jazz buff, but only as far as bebop. I’ve Googled 3 and now see the connection, but he’s after my time.]]
[[Ian SW3: That’s interesting – the connection goes back to 1964, admittedly post-bop. From what you say, that would make me after your time! And I thought I was before or at least during everyone else’s time. 🙂 ]]
[[I didn’t mean after my lifetime, I meant after music (and most other things) seem to me to have degraded into rubbish as far as my tastes are concerned. For jazz, I used to draw the line at 1943, until I started playing around with some sheet music by Thelonius Monk and got hooked. Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, though, are a step too far.]]
[[That’s what I meant – you really are before my time then (musically speaking at least), though I do also like stuff since the 20s on.]]