Very enjoyable indeed. Thank you Picaroon.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | LUSTRE | Outspoken person desiring brilliance (6) |
| sounds like (out-spoken) “luster” (person desiring) | ||
| 5 | PASTICHE | Plane’s nose sparkling white and red in take-off (8) |
| Plane (first letter, nose of) then ASTI (a sparkling white wine) and CHE (Che Guevara, a red, a revolutionary) | ||
| 9 | OPERATOR | Travelling performances of Puccini, say, not for everyone? That could be a plus (8) |
| OPERA TOuR (travelling performances of Puccini say) missing (not) U (for everyone, cinema classification) – the mathematical symbol + | ||
| 10 | LUNACY | Delicately woven clothing a French folly (6) |
| LACY (delicately woven) contains (clothing) UN (a, French) | ||
| 11 | BRAE | Bank of Scotland‘s audacious, but not very (4) |
| BRAvE (audacious) missing V (very) – a Scottish word for bank (hillside) | ||
| 12 | MOUNTEBANK | Swindler set up online financial service (10) |
| MOUNT (set up) E (online) BANK (financial service) | ||
| 13 | HILTON | Chat up line is cutting in Paris? (6) |
| HIT ON (chat up) containing (…is cutting) L (line) – socialite Paris Hilton for example | ||
| 14 | BY THE BYE | In passing through on vacation, I’m off outside (2,3,3) |
| ThrougH (on vacation, being emptied) inside (with…outside) BYE BYE (I’m off) | ||
| 16 | IMPOSTER | The writer’s online chatter, maybe, is a sham (8) |
| I’M (the writer is) POSTER (online chatter, one who posts in a chat site) | ||
| 19, 18 | SALMAN RUSHDIE | Author‘s loose ladies inspiring human race (6,7) |
| anagram (loose) of LADIES contains (inspiring) MAN (human) RUSH (race) | ||
| 21 | ANTITHESIS | An idiot is stifling man’s opposition (10) |
| AN TIT (idiot) IS all contains (stifling) HE’S (man’s) | ||
| 23 | TORT | Wrong choice that is no choice at all? (4) |
| T OR T (a choice that is no choice at all) | ||
| 24 | VARIES | Victory sign can be different (6) |
| V (victory) ARIES (sign of the zodiac) | ||
| 25 | DIES IRAE | Pass on a boring old man’s song of worship (4,4) |
| DIE (pass on) then A inside (boring) SIRE (man, of old) | ||
| 26 | TYPEFACE | Kind fellow, one showing a character’s style (8) |
| TYPE (kind) F (fellow) ACE (one) | ||
| 27 | LIEDER | Numbers of Germans were dishonest on retreats (6) |
| LIED (were dishonest) then RE (on) reversed (retreats) – a number is a song | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | UNPARLIAMENTARY | Unfit for the house party, a urinal men trashed (15) |
| anagram (trashed) of PARTY A URINAL MEN | ||
| 3 | TORRENT | Right plugs for hire in deluge (7) |
| R (right) inside (plugs) TO RENT (for hire) | ||
| 4 | ESTAMINET | In Paris, is buddy by Web cafe? (9) |
| EST AMI (is buddy in French, in Paris) by NET (web) | ||
| 5 | PERTURB | Kind of wine seller’s rising trouble (7) |
| BRUT (kind of wine) and REP (representative, seller) all reversed (rising) | ||
| 6 | SPLIT | Separate clues about to be cracked by learner (5) |
| TIPS (clues) reversed (abut) contains (to be cracked by) L (learner) | ||
| 7 | IGNOBLE | Soldier lifted head outside of Lebanese base (7) |
| GI (soldier) reversed (lifted) NOB (head) then LebaneseE (outside letters of) | ||
| 8 | HACKNEY CARRIAGE | Taxi, one involved in East London drivers’ spat? (7,8) |
| I (one) inside HACKNEY CAR RAGE (East London drivers’ spat) | ||
| 15 | TUSK SHELL | Mollusc crushed husks swallowed by folk hero (4,5) |
| anagram (crushed) of HUSKS inside (swallowed by) TELL (William Tell, folk hero) | ||
| 17 | ORIFICE | Providing gold and diamond rings in opening (7) |
| IF (providing) inside (that…rings) OR (gold) and ICE (diamond) | ||
| 18 | See 19 | |
| 20 | LATRINE | Alert in manoeuvres, soldiers go here (7) |
| anagram (manoeuvres) of ALERT IN – where soldiers go the the toilet | ||
| 22 | HOSEA | I’m surprised about the main biblical figure (5) |
| OH (I’m surprised) reversed (about) then SEA (the main) | ||
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