Financial Times 16397 Gurney

Thanks to Gurney for an enjoyable puzzle with nice surfaces. Definitions are underlined in the clues.  (WordPress is not working for me, and I’ve had to do it the hard and long way, hence the late posting and the different look.)

Across

1 Lines from number, virtually completed, something catchy? (6)
SONNET : “song”(a musical number) minus its last letter(virtually completed) + NET(something catchy/to catch with).

4 Talk idly seeing school matron at first – escape slowly (8)
SCHMOOZE : SCH(abbrev. for “school”) + 1st letter of(… at first) “matron“ + OOZE(of liquid/semi-liquid, to escape/leak slowly).
Defn: …/to gossip.

9 Shrewd like teacher taking English for men (6)
ASTUTE : AS(like/similar to, as expressed in similes) + “tutor”(a teacher) with E(abbrev. for English) replacing(taking … for) “or”(abbrev. for “other ranks”, non-commissioned men in the military).

10 Sounds like wet weather, love, as they come for Christmas? (8)
REINDEER : Homophone of(Sounds like) [“rain”(wet weather) + “dear”(like “love”, a term of endearment)].

12 Unexpected noise, dirt, cause one to lose sense of direction (9)
DISORIENT : Anagram of(Unexpected) NOISE, DIRT.

13 Criticise cut, severe ultimately (5)
SNIPE : SNIP(to cut with scissors or shears) + minus last letter of(… ultimately) “severe“.
Defn: …/to make a sly or petty verbal attack.

14 Silly southern jazz fan finishing off session drops into crash site (7-7)
SCATTER-BRAINED : S(abbrev. for “southern”) + CAT(slang for a jazz fan) + “term”(a session/a period of time devoted to a particular activity) minus its last letter(finishing off …) + [RAIN(a shower of drops of liquid, eg. rainwater) contained in(into) BED(whimsically a crash site/a place where you crash/sleep)].

17 Road manoeuvre – NEW performance? (5-5,4)
THREE-POINT TURN : THREE-POINT(as an adjective, NEW/abbreviations for the three compass points north, east and west respectively) TURN(a performance, on stage, say).
Defn: … by a vehicle driver.

21 High point – regularly visiting aunt, dressy? (5)
ANDES : 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th letters of(regularly visiting) “aunt, dressy“.

22 Irreproachable girl, chess player (4-5)
LILY-WHITE : LILY(a girl’s name) + WHITE(nomenclature for one opponent in a chess game, playing against “Black”).

24 Good to reside in foreign country? Do this? (8)
EMIGRATE : G(abbrev. for “good”) contained in(to reside in) EMIRATE(a foreign country, one ruled by an emir).
Defn: …, ie. go to reside in a foreign country.

25 Exile from French coastal town (6)
DEPORT : DE(French for “from”/originating from) + PORT(a coastal town, where ships can load and unload).

26 Have case of beer with store’s label (3,5)
OWN BRAND : OWN(to have/possess) + 1st and last letters of(case of) “beer“ + AND(with/plus).

27 Cash singer picked up (6)
TENNER : Homophone of(… picked up) “tenor”(a singer with the voice range of the ordinary adult male).
Defn: …, specifically a £10 note.

Down

1 Upsetting husband, disconsolate friend’s careless (4-4)
SLAP-DASH : Reversal of(Upsetting, in a down clue) [H(abbrev. for “husband”) + SAD(disconsolate/feeling down) + PAL(a friend)’S ].

2 Seen at a shack sheltering girl (7)
NATASHA : Hidden in(… sheltering) “Seen at a shack“.

3 Book Henry’s missing in this compound (5)
ESTER : “Esther”(a book in the Old Testament of the Bible) minus (…’s missing) H(symbol for a “henry”, the unit of measurement of electrical inductance in physics).
Defn: …, a product of an acid and an alcohol.

5 After Reformation heretics fled town (12)
CHESTERFIELD : Anagram of(After Reformation) HERETICS FLED.

6 Note Northern Ireland border that leaves much uncovered (9)
MINISKIRT : MI(syllable representing a note in the sol-fa musical scale) + NI(abbrev. for Northern Ireland) + SKIRT(to border/to go round the edge of).

7 Previously pitiable mite noticed turning up exhibits (3-4)
ONE-TIME : Hidden in(.. exhibits) reversal of(… turning up, in a down clue) “pitiable mite noticed“.

8 Source of income of student? Not primarily (6)
EARNER : “learner”(a student) minus its 1st letter(Not primarily).
Defn: An activity or product that brings in income.

11 Urban tale with moon trip involved? (12)
METROPOLITAN : Anagram of(… involved) [TALE plus(with) MOON TRIP].

15 After time, back welcoming reliable financial official (9)
TREASURER : T(abbrev. for “time”) placed above(After …, in a down clue) + REAR(the back portion) containing(welcoming) SURE(can be relied on as true/assured).

16 Singer’s one popular opening opera routine, just starting (8)
INVENTOR : IN(popular/trendy) + VENT(an opening for a fluid to escape through) + 1st letters, respectively, of(…, just starting) “opera routine“.
Defn: …, Isaac Merritt Singer, that is.

18 Emperor, experienced, managed to keep grip on Italy (7)
HADRIAN : HAD(experienced, as in “he had a moment of doubt”) + RAN(managed, an organisation, say) containing(to keep grip on) I(abbrev. for Italy).
Defn: … of the Roman Empire.

19 Squad not entirely associated with sentimental stuff and imaginary animal (7)
UNICORN : “unit”(a group of soldiers, say/a squad) minus its last letter(not entirely) plus(associated with) CORN(tiresomely sentimental stuff eg. writing, music or acting).

20 Manage in end – arrive in time for party (4,2)
MAKE DO : MAKE(to arrive in time for, as in “to make the 7.30 am bus”) + DO(a party/a social function).

23 In the place our group entertained the woman (5)
WHERE : WE(the plural first person pronoun for “our group”) containing(entertained) HER(third person pronoun for a “woman”).
Defn: …, as in “it happened in the place we went to”.