Financial Times 14,544 by AARDVARK

Very enjoyable and on the whole not too difficult, just a couple that I struggled with. Thank you Aardvark.

Across
1	MIXED DOUBLES	Tennis match is repeated on compound (5,7)
		DOUBLES (is repeated) following (on) MIXED (compound)
10	URANIUM	Posh auntie regularly in company of peculiar element (7)
		U (posh) and AuNtIe (regular selection of) in RUM (odd)
11	SULTANA	Articles on lust involved mistress abroad (7)
		AN A (articles) on LUST* anagram=involved- a sultan’s concubine
12	RAISE	Noisily demolish hoist (5)
		sounds like (noisily) raze (demolish)
13	FORELIMB	Retired British middle-distance runner belonging to section of body (8)
		B (British) MILER (middle distance runner) OF (belonging to) all reversed (retired)
15	EASY STREET	Yankee’s large plant in the Orient offers financial security (4,6)
		Y’S (yankee’s, phonetic alphabet) and TREE (large plant) in EAST (the Orient)
16	DADO	Wooden border finally completed with difficulty (4)
		D (final letter of completed) with ADO (difficulty) – a decorative wooden border
18	MARL	Fertiliser left on soil (4)
		L (left) following (on) MAR (soil)
20	CEREMONIAL	Official day one enters porridge? (10)
		MON (day) I (one) in (enters) CEREAL (porridge)
22	SPORADIC	Occasional trailer one’s seen among produce being brought back (8)
		AD (tailer) I (one) in (seen among) CROPS reversed
24	SALEM	Proposal emerged to ring-fence American capital (5)
		in (ringfenced by) propoSAL EMerged – capital of Oregon
26	ERODING	Dicky ignored eating away (7)
		IGNORED* anagram=dicky`
27	DRAYMEN	In Scotland, they carry heavy fish miles into hideaway (7)
		RAY (fish) M (miles) in DEN (hideaway) – drivers of Brewery wagons, possibly carrying Heavy (70 shilling ale in Scotland)
28	TRUMPET MAJOR	Musician and tenor drink with beloved prime minister earlier (7,5)
		T (tenor) RUM (drink) with PET (beloved) MAJOR (John, former PM)
Down
2	ITALICS	Characters that lean, showing stress (7)
		cryptic definition
3	EPILEPSY	Lots to enter recording Sandy’s disheartening medical condition (8)
		PILE (lots) in (to enter) EP (extended play, recording) then SandY (disheartened, no middle letters)
4	DUMB	Stupid name, admits head of marketing (4)
		M (first letter of marketing) in DUB (name)
5	UNSHOWERED	Perhaps dirty appearance evident in a French claret (10)
		SHOW (appearance) inside (evedent in) UNE (a, French) RED (claret)
6	LILLE	European city, centre of excellence in fabrication (5)
		exceLLence (centre of) in LIE (fabrication)
7	STAMINA	Upstairs, a rug’s caught in the legs (7)
		A MAT’S (rug’s) reversed (upstairs) containing (caught) IN – definition is ‘the legs’. I am not convinced ‘upstairs’ means ‘upside-down’. ~~Can anyone provide a useage that demonstrates this?~~ Upstairs indicates ‘going from the bottom to the top’
8	QUARTERMASTER	Naval officer bearing defeat (13)
		QUARTER (bearing, of compass) MASTER (defeat)
9	BAMBOOZLEMENT	Tree unknown, first leaving mild confusion (13)
		BAMBOO (tree) Z (unknown, often used in maths) cLEMENT (mild) missing first letter
14	CREEPING UP	Native American to restrain upset dog, advancing slowly (8,2)
		CREE (Native American) PIN (to restrain) PUG (dog) reversed (upset)
17	BOTSWANA	Snake stifles source of trouble, aquatic bird in south Africa (8)
		BOA (snake) contains (stifles) T (first letter of trouble) SWAN (aquatic bird)
19	ROOT OUT	Eradicate bounder who trades aggressively (4,3)
		ROO (kangaroo, bounder) TOUT (aggressive trader)
21	IN LIMBO	At home, bones put in cooking fat, turning on the back burner (2,5)
		IN (at home) then MB (doctor, bones) in OIL (cooking fat) reversed (turning)
23	ADIEU	The German’s covered in gold for farewell (5)
		DIE (the, German) in AU (gold, chem symbol)
25	EDIT	Correct time showed up (4)
		TIDE (time) reversed (showed up)

*anagram

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