Guardian Quiptic 848/Pan

I enjoyed this Quiptic from Pan, but a bit tricky in places, I thought.

Abbreviations
cd  cryptic definition
dd  double definition
(xxxx)*  anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x]  letter(s) missing

definitions are underlined

Across

1  Dirty food taken by boy in extremis
GRUBBY
A charade of GRUB and BY for the outside letters of ‘boy’.

4  A fair exchange involving conservative continent
AFRICA
An insertion of C in (A FAIR)* for the continent we all came from, if you buy into the Out of Africa theory.

9  Wise men packing myrrh and gold items for starters
MAGI
The first letters of Myrrh And Gold Items.  And for TS Eliot fans:

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year for a journey

10 “Cloth of prophet’ given to gullible soul
SEERSUCKER
A charade of SEER and SUCKER

11  Body helping the government to question article associated with progress
QUANGO
A charade of QU, AN and GO.

12  Record label getting good price to relocate overseas
EMIGRATE
EMI for the ‘record label’, followed by G and RATE.

13  Where officers dine with English monarch’s courier
MESSENGER
A charade of MESS, ENG and ER for our current Queen.

15  Minor drawback
WARD
Pan is asking you to reverse (‘back’) DRAW.  Think ‘ward of court’.

16  One singing in royal toilet?
ALTO
Does ER sing in the khazi?  Who knows?  Who cares?  Hidden in royAL TOilet.

17  Cockney and Geordie, say, touring US state have more than one mishap
ACCIDENTS
An insertion of ID for Idaho in ACCENTS.

21  Hatter and flour grinder hosting at-home
MILLINER
An insertion of IN for ‘at home’ in MILLER.

22  City hard to find in subdivision of diocese
PARISH
A charade of PARIS and H.

24  Nudists in Spain reveal lack of uniformity
UNTIDINESS
This appears to be (NUDISTS IN E)* with ‘reveal’ as an unlikely anagrind.

25  Have a longing to consume meat
VEAL
Hidden in haVE A Longing.

26  Expected to take nan dancing as chaperon
DUENNA
A charade of DUE and (NAN)*  I’d always write ‘chaperone’, but this alternative spelling is given in dictionaries.

27  Irishman (Anglican) found in meeting with medium
SEANCE
A charade of SEAN and CE.

Down

1  Mixed glue to secure charged particle
GRANULE
An insertion of RAN in (GLUE)*

2  Problem down below not keeping bachelor from marriage
BUNION  UNION
A charade of B and UNION.  If you mention a ‘problem down below’, I’m thinking somewhere else than the foot, but that’s probably just me.  Or in fact, given the surface, maybe that’s what Pan was thinking about as well.

Correction: in fact this is UNION, as defcon63 has kindly pointed out.  Mea culpa.

3  Fool in favour of woodwind instrument
BASSOON
An insertion of ASS in BOON.

5  Metal encasing small orris root is an item of interest to palaeontologists
FOSSIL
I think that this is S for ‘small’ and another S for the last letter of ‘orris’ in FOIL.

6  In a trance, bananas appear to be in possession of human qualities
INCARNATE
(IN A TRANCE)* with ‘bananas’ as the anagrind.

7  Helped criminal to fix date about wager
ABETTED
An insertion of BET in (DATE)*

8  Rent decreases upset this French philosopher
RENÉ DESCARTES
(RENT DECREASES)*  Cogito, ergo sum.

14  Posed with chosen few to welcome large moon
SATELLITE
A charade of SAT and L inserted into ELITE.

16  Agreed with dodgy dealing
ALIGNED
(DEALING)*

18  Grim passenger accepting situation in which further progress is impossible
IMPASSE
Hidden in grIM PASSEnger.

19  Having left a will influenced by source of tension over property
TESTATE
A charade of T and ESTATE.

20  Badly singe navy’s flag
ENSIGN
A charade of (SINGE)* and N for ‘navy’.  Well, if RN is ‘Royal Navy’, then I suppose that N can be ‘navy’.

23  Have a wild time with new bird
RAVEN
A charade of RAVE and N, and a chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link.  It’s big, and in literature and mythology is often depicted as being a bit sinister.  I think it’s just had a bad press.  Although this one does look a bit scary.

Thanks to Pan for this morning’s Quiptic.