Financial Times 16468 Falcon

Thanks to Falcon.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Enormous deficiency in fossil fuel (8)

COLOSSAL : LOSS(that which could lead to a deficiency/a shortage) contained in(in) COAL(fossil fuel of carbonised plant matter).

5 Starts to realise he’s yet to hear Mersey beat (6)

RHYTHM : 1st letters, respectively, of(Starts to) “realise he’s yet to hear Mersey“.

10 Protective garment in the past given to everyone (7)

OVERALL : OVER(in the past/already done with) plus(given to) ALL(everyone single one).

11 Plump single mother could be best (7)

OPTIMUM : OPT(to plump for/to choose something over others) + I(Roman numeral for one/a single quantity) + MUM(familiar term for one’s mother).

12 Follow lawsuit involving hospital (5)

CHASE : CASE(a lawsuit) containing(involving) H(abbrev. for “hospital”).

13 Happy hour binge in one next door (9)

NEIGHBOUR : Anagram of(Happy/in high spirits/high) HOUR BINGE.

14 Infant school class painting in splotchy green (12)

KINDERGARTEN : KIND(a class/type) + [ART(…, which painting is) contained in(in) anagram of(splotchy) GREEN].

18 Tender lines by Frost, say, in something read to a child? (7,5)

NURSERY RHYME : NURSE(to tender/to give care to) + RY(abbrev. for “railway”/tracks/lines) plus(by) homophone of(…, say) “rime”(frost formed on cold objects).

21 Large market town, a Welsh one, misrepresented (9)

HALESOWEN : Anagram of(…, misrepresented) a Welsh one.

Defn: … in the West Midlands, England.

23 Winds back cylindrical device (5)

SPOOL : Reversal of(… back) LOOPS(winds round/encircles).

24 Month round Connecticut – temperate, no sun (7)

OCTOBER : O(letter representing something round, say, a circle) + CT(abbrev. for Connecticut, the US state) + “sober”(temperate/abstaining from, eg. alcohol) minus(no) “s”(abbrev. for “sun”).

25 Someone having the potential to succeed (7)

HEIRESS : Cryptic defn: A woman who is likely to succeed/follow on from/take over from her predecessor.

26 Fording Welsh river, came across an old firearm (6)

MUSKET : USK(a Welsh river) contained in(Fording …,…/crossing over) MET(came across/encountered).

27 Traitor‘s act shown on film (8)

TURNCOAT : TURN(an act/a performance as a part of an entertainment programme) plus(shown on) COAT(a film/a thin layer covering a surface)

Down

1 Plum variety (6)

CHOICE : Double defn: 1st: Something that is highly desirable, as in “a choice cut of meat”; and 2nd: …/a range of things, different from each other, to choose from.

2 Room in shelter on course (6)

LEEWAY : LEE(shelter from wind or weather given by an object) placed above(on, in a down clue) WAY(course/path in which something moves or progresses).

Defn: … in which to manoeuvre.

3 Drink Japanese drink, around noon, before snack (9)

SNAKEBITE : SAKE(a Japanese alcoholic drink) containing() N(abbrev. for “noon”) placed above(before, in a down clue) BITE(a snack/a titbit – what does she get when she goes for a late supper in her date’s apartment?).

Defn: … of cider and lager in equal proportions.

4 Part of what is expected, and no trouble (3,2,1,4,4)

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK : Double defn: I think that one is a result of the other, and therefore this is not a true double definition.

6 Problem struck church (5)

HITCH : HIT(struck/dealt a blow) + CH(abbrev. for “church”).

7 That worm agitated pig (8)

TAMWORTH : Anagram of(… agitated) THAT WORM.

Defn: A breed of domestic … originating from the town of Tamworth (another market town).

8 Film politician almost embracing artist close to breakdown (8)

MEMBRANE : “Member”(short for a Member of Parliament, a politician) minus its last letter(almost) containing(embracing) [RA(abbrev. for “Royal Academician”, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts/an artist) + last letter of(close to) “breakdown “].

Defn: …/a thin pliable sheet of material as a lining or barrier.

9 Sanctimonious author in hotel, getting drunk after hours (6-4-4)

HOLIER-THAN-THOU : Anagram of(…, getting drunk) AUTHOR IN HOTEL placed after(after, in a, down clue) H(abbrev. for “hours”).

15 US prosecutor up, calling for confession (9)

ADMISSION : Reversal of(… up, in a down clue) DA(abbrev. for “District Attorney”, a public prosecutor in the US legal system) + MISSION(a calling/a strongly felt ambition or aim).

16 Grub in new Norwich motel’s original (8)

INCHWORM : Anagram of(new) [NORWICH + 1st letter of(…’s original) “motel“].

Defn: …/larva.

17 Talks foolishly about the Spanish members of the clergy (8)

PRELATES : PRATES(talks foolishly and lengthily) containing(about) EL(the article, “the”, in Spanish).

19 Hat wife discarded, plus old jacket (6)

BOLERO : “bowler”(a hat with a round dome-shaped crown) minus(… discarded) “w”(abbrev. for “wife”) placed above(plus, in a down clue) O(abbrev. for “old”).

His and Hers:

20 Cupboard shut by last in basement (6)

CLOSET : CLOSE(to shut/to move, eg. a door, to cover an opening) placed above(by, in a down clue) last letter of(last in) “basement“.

22 Poet’s black fur (5)

SABLE : Double defn: 1st: The literary form of, as used by a poet/poet’s “black”; and 2nd: … from the sable.