Slightly harder than the average IoS, I think. Thanks to Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Economise with small car mostly (4)
SLIM : S(abbrev. for “small”) + “limo”(short for limousine, a luxury car) minus its last letter(mostly).
Answer: …, as a verb.
4 Commander’s first to cut crime engulfing area – or converse? (4,3,3)
CHEW THE FAT : The 1st letter of(…’s first) “Commander” + HEW(to cut down) + THEFT(a crime) containing(engulfing) A(abbrev. for “area”).
Defn: To engage in conversation.
9 Apron we’ve worn with no hint of problem – familiar sight in kitchen? (8)
OVENWARE : Anagram of(… worn) “Apron we’ve” minus(with no) the 1st letter of(hint of) “problem“.
10 Admission from president, re-elected (6)
ENTREE : Hidden in(from) “president, re-elected“.
Defn: The act of entering.
11 Promotion about to be held by politician, rash type (6)
MADCAP : [ AD(short for “advertisement”;promotional material) + CA(abbrev. for “circa”;about;approximate in reference to specific years) ] contained in(to be held by) MP(abbrev. for a Member of Parliament;a politician).
12 Dreamy female accommodating worker in Spanish resort (8)
ALICANTE : ALICE(the one in the dreamworld of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland) containing(accommodating) ANT(which could be a member of the worker caste in an ant colony).
13 Slogan greeting pair of bachelors in hotel’s changed (10)
SHIBBOLETH : [ HI(an informal greeting) + B,B(a pair of abbrevs. for “bachelor”) ] contained in(in) anagram of(…’s changed) HOTEL’S.
Defn: … distinctive of a particular group or class of people.
14 Organised cartoonist (4)
TIDY : Double defn: 2nd: Bill, whose cartoons have appeared in Punch, Private Eye and the Daily Mirror.
16 Cut producing bargain (4)
SNIP : Double defn: 2nd: …, as it “it was a snip at a dollar apiece”.
18 Top Gear character and team is seen as contaminated brand (10)
STIGMATISE : STIG(The anonymous character in the TV programme, Top Gear) plus(and) anagram of(… seen as contaminated) TEAM IS.
Defn: To brand;mark as being disgraceful.
21 A drink found among Anglicans shocks extremely wary character (8)
CAGINESS : A + GIN(an alcoholic drink) contained in(found among) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England, to which Anglicans belong) + the 1st and last letters of(… extremely) “shocks “.
23 Pass in field given by teachers with marks say (6)
NUTMEG : NUT(abbrev. for the National Union of Teachers) plus(with) M(abbrev. for “marks”) + EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”;for example;say).
Defn: In football, a pass of the ball that goes between an opponent’s legs.
24 Tabloid label for a mob (6)
RAGTAG : RAG(a newspaper, disparagingly;a tabloid) + TAG(a label).
25 One pulling out the stops in church? (8)
ORGANIST : Cryptic defn: Refering to the knobs that are pulled to allow sets of pipes in a, say, church organ, to sound.
26 Note fool in rear moving – source of emotional reaction? (4-6)
TEAR-JERKER : TE(the syllable representing the seventh note of the musical scale) + [ JERK(a fool) contained in(in) anagram of(… moving) REAR ].
Defn: An excessively sentimental film, book, play, etc.
27 Fish in Asian city mentioned (4)
SOLE : Homophone of(… mentioned) “Seoul”(S. Korean capital city).
Down
2 Formidable liberal with energy very odd in a hat (9)
LEVIATHAN : L(abbrev. for a member of the Liberal Party) plus(with) E(symbol for “energy” in physics) + V(abbrev. for “very”) + anagram of(odd) IN A HAT.
3 Note restricted source of advice for transport (7)
MINICAB : “minim”(a musical note with a specific time value) minus its last letter(restricted) + CAB(abbrev. for the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK, a source of advice for people with money, legal, consumer and other problems).
4 A month in place is enough for arranging elite competition (9,6)
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE : [ A + M(abbrev. for “month”) ] contained in(in) anagram of(… for arranging) PLACE IS ENOUGH.
Defn: … for the top football clubs from the respective European national leagues.
5 Raise European tax in general (7)
ELEVATE : E(abbrev. for “European”) + [ VAT(abbrev. for Value Added Tax) contained in(in) LEE(Robert E., Confederate general in the American Civil War) ].
6 High rent magnate charged in TV drama (3,5,7)
THE NIGHT MANAGER : Anagram of(… charged) HIGH RENT MAGNATE.
Defn: … based on a John le Carré novel.
7 Old restaurant in which there’s cold passage (7)
EXTRACT : EX-(prefix signifying something old;former) + TRAT(colloquial short form for “trattoria”, an Italian restaurant) containing(in which there’s) C(abbrev. for “cold”).
Defn: … from a lengthy piece of text.
8 Prevent a Green appearing in Strasbourg? (5)
AVERT : A + VERT(the colour, green, in the main language spoken in Strasbourg, France).
15 Spread with foremost of dishes is by a woman (9)
DISPERSAL : The 1st letter of(foremost of) “dishes ” + IS + PER(by;according to) + SAL(a feminine name).
17 Indication given by dog (7)
POINTER : Double defn: 1st: A hint.
19 This month wine uncovered is available for sale (2,5)
IN STOCK : INST(abbrev. for “instante mense”;of the current month, as in “your letter of the 15th inst.”) + “hock”(a dry white German wine) minus its 1st letter(uncovered).
20 Effect of holiday for all to see in returning group – infection? (7)
TETANUS : [ TAN(the effect of a holiday in sunny climes) + U(British film classification with no restriction on who may watch the movie) ] contained in(in) reversal of(returning) SET(a group of people or things).
22 Saying offering contrast with pre-Christian era? (5)
ADAGE : Cryptic defn: An AD(abbrev. for “Anno Domini”) AGE(an era;a long time period) is in contrast to the pre–Christian era.
Thanks scchua and Hypnos. I’ve learnt a few new terms today.
Managed to solve it but without being able to parse several clues, mostly due to lack of local (UK) knowledge, e.g. NUT and CAB, though I daresay I could’ve figured them out if I’d thought a bit longer. I’d never heard of NUTMEG in the football sense.
Also couldn’t parse 19dn as I had ‘wine uncovered’ as (w)IN(e), so couldn’t make STOCK fit the meaning.
After a few difficult puzzles elsewhere, this seemed perfect for a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll though with a few curly ones to keep complacency at bay. I couldn’t see how the ‘U’ in TETANUS fitted in and count me as another who had never heard of a NUTMEG pass. I liked IN STOCK and CAGINESS, but my favourite was SHIBBOLETH, mainly because it’s just one of those words that appeals to me.
Thanks to Hypnos and scchua.
Just to be picky, to ‘nutmeg’ an opposing player is, very specifically, to get past him by tapping the ball between his legs and running round him to regain possession yourself. It is the player who ‘passes’ his opponent in the field.
Never heard of ‘leviathan’ as an adjective before, but we live and learn. And that’s the second time Strasbourg has come up this week as a venue for French speakers. Uncanny. I agree with Wordplodder about the curly ones. Sneakier than your average Sunday.
Thanks to Hypnos and scchua
Agree a little more taxing than the usual Sunday puzzle. Also had trouble parsing TETANUS, though clear enough on seeing explanation.
In 13A the HI and BB are in an anagram of HOTEL(‘)S.
Thanks to Hypnos and scchua.
I thought this was just about the right level for a Sunday puzzle, with a few write-ins to seed the grid. The only one to cause me any grief was NUTMEG. I thought it had to be that but I couldn’t parse it or find a definition of it as a pass – tho’ when I saw the blog it did ring a faint bell.
Thanks, Hypnos and scchua
Thanks gwep. I forgot about the ‘S. Blog corrected.
Grant Baynham, this reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg_(football) allows for either a pass to another player, or to carry on and retrieve for oneself.
Thank you. I’ve never used Leviathan as an adjective but by George I will now