Independent 10,346 / Atrica

IS in DC (=Washington, i.e. District of Columbia; cf. a slipped disc

P.S. (=I might add, i.e. a postscript to a letter) + A; “on reflection” indicates reversal

Double definition: a dodo was a flightless bird AND many stairs together form a flight of stairs

S N (=poles, i.e. north and south) + <l>AKES (=beyond the western border means that the first letter is disregarded); the “winds” of the definition is a verb meaning “twists and turns”; this entry identifies the theme of the puzzle

AR (=gas, i.e. argon) in SANITY (=common sense)

PETS (=favourites); “returns” indicates reversal; a step is an action, measure, as in to take steps to resolve a problem

AD (=notice, i.e. advert) + DER (RED=(type of) wine; “making a comeback” indicates reversal); an adder is a somethings that totals, adds up, hence “summer”

LURE (=bait, tempt); “switching sides” means that “R (=right)” switches places with L (=left)”; “under Conservative rule” means “under (a) Conservative government”

Double definition: a burn is a freshwater stream AND to burn is to char, singe

Hidden (“somewhere inside”) in “stoNE POTISTICk”; the “partial” of the definition refers to showing bias towards family members

*(RELIANCE ON); “foolish” is anagram indicator; the RMS Queen Elizabeth was a luxury ocean liner launched in 1938

Legs are parts, stages of competitions; ladders (=entry at 21D) have legs but snakes (=entry at 9) do not

RUN (=work, operate) + G<reat> (“at first” means first letter only)

C (=Charlie, in radio telecommunications) in SALE (=transaction); e.g. limescale is a deposit in kettles

DU (of the French, i.e. one French rendering of of the) + MP (=representative, i.e. Member of Parliament)

ST (=Paul, for example, i.e. a saint) + AIRWAY (=duct)

THE + RMS (=Titanic, i.e. Royal Mail Ship)

*(HYPNOT<ist>); “forgetting first (=1^st)” means letters “ist” are dropped from anagram, indicated by “befuddled”; as well as being a type of snake, Python is a high-level programming language

B.O. (=unpleasant smell, i.e. body odour) + A; a boa constrictor is a swamp-dwelling species of snake

S (=second) + NAG (=badger, as verb)

I + F<i>N<d>O<u>T; “in an alternate way'” means alternate letters only are needed

PAN/CAKE (=Shrove Tuesday treat); “flipped” here means that two halves of word are swapped round; a cake pan appears to be another name for a cake tin

Cryptic definition: a junk is a flat-bottomed sailing vessel, hence it could be lost at sea

S<o>UP (=minestrone, say); “without love (=0, i.e. zero score)” means letter “o” has dropped; “served up” indicates vertical reversal

F (=force, as in RAF or in physics) + UN (=multinational group, i.e. United Nations)

Homophone (“in audition”) of “in turns (=one after another)”

HER (=that woman’s) + <b>ALDING (=losing her hair; “after shaving head” means first letter is dropped)

*(AN APHID); “surprisingly” is an anagram indicator; Daphnia is a genus of water flea, often dried and fed to fish

Cryptic definition: the word “rotor” is a palindrome, hence noting changes when it is turned round

UP + [N (=north) in *(OUTCRY)]; “violent” is anagram country

<a>N<n>U<a>L <b>L<a>S<t>; “occasionally” here means alternate letters only; nulls are things with no value or meaning, hence “empty characters”

*(HIS GUN A); “reassembling” is the anagram indicator

Double definition: runs are ladders in stockings AND in a game of snakes and ladders, players go up when they land on ladders and down when they land on snakes (=entry at 9)

Double definition: an extra large ice cream is an exceptionally large one AND an extra in a film has a non-speaking part, hence is an “unskilled actor”

MA + MBA (=two graduates, a Master of Arts and a Master of Business Administration)

<tai>WAN (=island nation); “southern half” means last three letters (of a down clue); drawn is gaunt, pale, hence wan

BOY (=one of the lads); “getting upset” indicates a vertical reversal; a tough is a rough, aggressive person, hence “yob”