Financial Times 15,145 by Mudd

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 23, 2016

I found this puzzle interestingly different from the typical Mudd. My clue of the week is 17a (THESAURI) and I also applaud 9a (RACER) and 5d (LUNATIC FRINGE).

ACROSS
1 Sudden wind is out circling Bahamian capital (6)
SUBITO – B[ahamian] in anagram of IS OUT. This word does not appear in the 1972 edition of Chambers (which is the only one I have to hand) but it is a word I know well as I speak some Italian. Subito is the Italian word for ‘immediately’ or ‘at once’ and not, as best I know, ‘sudden’. However online dictionaries tell me that it has been subsumed into English with the meaning of sudden.
4 Scab the result of hopping through tar? (8)
BLACKLEG – double definition. It seems a stretch to me to call this a double definition but I don’t know how else to characterise it. Actually, it strikes me as a non-cryptic clue. Not complaining; just noting this.
9 One runs, runs and one runs (5)
RACER – R (runs) + ACE (one) + R (runs)
10 Deception required to rebuild an urban community? (9)
MENDACITY – MEND A CITY (rebuild an urban community)
11 Letter writer not entirely describing dead flat land (7)
PLATEAU – LATE (dead) in PAU[l] (letter writer not entirely). I take it that this letter write is Saint Paul.
12 Nonsense poet’s ultimate silly walk (7)
TWADDLE – [poe]T + WADDLE (silly walk)
13 Jug put away by inebriate, we reckon (4)
EWER – hidden word
14 Carol drinks wine that’s awful (8)
SHOCKING – HOCK (wine) in SING (carol)
17 The habit of an Indian woman to file university reference books (8)
THESAURI – THE (the) + U (university) in SARI (habit of an Indian woman)
19 Curse barrier audibly (4)
DAMN – homophone (“dam”)
22 A meaty story? (4,3)
PORK PIE – cryptic definition
24 Excitable thing taking new money to Newcastle? (7)
NEURONE – N (new) + EURO (money) + NE (Newcastle, i.e. the north east)
25 Straight guy is weenier, comically (5,4)
ERNIE WISE – anagram of IS WEENIER
26 Easy match (5)
LIGHT – double definition
27 Treat, having time for sporting event (8)
DRESSAGE – DRESS (treat) + AGE (time)
28 Key batsman (6)
OPENER – double definition

DOWN
1 Poor hippopotamus’s bottom stuck (8)
STRAPPED – [hippopotamu]S + TRAPPED (stuck)
2 Reach out into broken European city (9)
BUCHAREST – anagram of REACH in BUST (broken)
3 Painter of the wheel? (6)
TURNER – cryptic definition
5 Fanatics discussing Neil Armstrong’s moment on the edge? (7,6)
LUNATIC FRINGE – cryptic definition? OR LUNATIC (homophone of “lunar tick”) + FRINGE (the edge). I originally took this to be a cryptic definition (although not a very clear one) but now suspect that the second explanation (for which thanks, Pelham) is more likely to be Mudd’s intention.
6 Bread – talk about a soft Indian starter! (7)
CHAPATI – A (a) + P (soft) together in CHAT (talk) + I[ndian]
7 Office duty’s first for landowner (5)
LAIRD – LAIR (office) + D[uty]
8 Outspoken man in spring (6)
GEYSER – homophone (“geezer”)
10 Tasty argument, how it unravels! (5-8)
MOUTHWATERING – anagram of ARGUMENT HOW IT
15 Former county newspaper with sophisticated heading? (9)
GLAMORGAN – GLAM (sophisticated) + ORGAN (newspaper). Does ‘sophisticated’ properly clue ‘glam’?
16 Star once dancing past family member (8)
ANCESTOR – anagram of STAR ONCE
18 Articulate, sacked journalists? (7)
EXPRESS – EX PRESS (sacked journalists)
20 Expand, before cutting down (6)
SPREAD – PRE (before) in SAD (down)
21 Stop rising and falling (4,2)
PULL UP – palindrome
23 Himalayas, perhaps, called inaccessible in the end (5)
RANGE – RANG (called) + [inaccessibl]E