Thank you to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Clubs worker’s sacked, caught breaking bottle opener (9)
CORKSCREW : C(abbrev. for “clubs”, one of the 4 suits in a deck of playing cards) + anagram of(… sacked) WORKER’S containing(… breaking) C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket scores).
Zany (or screwy) ones:
6. Natural gemstones not right for rings (5)
PEALS : “pearls”(natural gemstones formed within the shell of the oyster) minus(not) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).
Defn: …/makes a sound that bells make or like that of bells ringing.
9. Detective managed to retire without getting to rock bottom (5)
NADIR : DI(abbrev. for “detective inspector”) contained in(… without) reversal of(… to retire) RAN(managed, say, an organisation).
10. Carpeting tripped tot heading off toddling inside (7-2)
TALKING-TO : Anagram of(tripped) TOT containing(… inside) 1st letter deleted from(heading off) “walking”(“toddling”, describing a young child/tot learning to walk with unsteady steps).
Defn: …/a scolding face to face.
11. Dislikes trapping poor mouse for co-residents (10)
HOUSEMATES : HATES(dislikes/loathes) containing(trapping) anagram of(poor) MOUSE.
12. Wally‘s quick rejoinder partly backfired (4)
JERK : Hidden in(… partly) reversal of(… backfired) “quick rejoinder“.
Defn: …/a silly person.
14. Large number of British having trouble at home with nothing coming in (7)
BILLION : B(abbrev. for “British”) plus(having) ILL(trouble/misfortune) + IN(at home/not outdoors) containing(with … coming in) O(letter shaped like 0/nothing).
15. So distant up to now (4,3)
THUS FAR : THUS(so/in this way) + FAR(distant/being some distance away).
17. Let’s go travelling, tour’s beginning on your bike (3,4)
GET LOST : Anagram of(… travelling) LET’S GO + 1st letter of(…’s beginning) “tour“.
Defn: …!/”Shoo!”
19. Almost everything eaten by sea creature’s foul! (7)
SQUALID : Last letter deleted from(Almost) “all”(everything) contained in(eaten by) SQUID(sea creature with an elongated body and many tentacles).
Defn: …/filthy.
20. Thin line moving between English and American style (4)
ELAN : LEAN(thin/spare) with “L”(abbrev. for “line”) moving to between the E(abbrev. for “English”) and the “A”(abbrev. for “American”) in the word.
22. Team weakens, stuffed with southern hotel’s extra food (4,6)
SIDE DISHES : SIDE(team in a competitive match) + DIES(weakens/fades) containing(stuffed with) S(abbrev. for “southern”) + H(letter represented by “hotel” in the phonetic alphabet).
25. One with no hope of French act winning (9)
DEFEATIST : DE(French for “of”) + FEAT(a very brave or difficult act/deed) + IST(“1st”/first/winning, with the Roman numeral substitution).
Defn: …/one who has given up hope and is ready to accept failure.
26. Letter from Greece is first of hundreds in Tate collection (5)
THETA : 1st letter of(first of) “hundreds” contained in(in) anagram of(… collection) TATE.
Defn: Letter in the Greek alphabet.
27. Hang around with dopehead’s mate (5)
DALLY : 1st letter of(…head) “dope” plus(…’s/indicating possession) ALLY(mate/one you can depend on).
28. Endure, long after date that’s absolutely final (4-5)
LAST-DITCH : LAST(to endure/survive) + [ ITCH(to long for/to feel a strong desire) placed after(after) D(abbrev. for “date”) ].
Down
1. Church gathering incorporated piece of cake (5)
CINCH : CH(abbrev. for “church”) containing(gathering) INC(abbrev. for “Incorporated”, as used in a business corporation’s name).
Defn: …/something that is easily done.
2. Redo short haircut for swimmer (3,6)
RED MULLET : “Redo” minus its last letter(short) + MULLET(a particular haircut/hairstyle).
A non-swimming red mullet:
3. Film star rocks party, wearing nothing (6,4)
SCREEN IDOL : SCREE(rocks/a mass of loose stones covering a mountain slope) + [ DO(a party/a social function) contained in(wearing) NIL(0/nothing) ].
… not exactly nothing.
4. Teach new skills online (7)
RETRAIN : RE(with reference to/”on”) + TRAIN(“line”/a group of vehicles moving in a line/column).
5. Most desolate quarter has listed building (7)
WILDEST : W(abbrev. for “west”, one of the four main compass points/quarter) plus(has) anagram of(… building) LISTED.
6. Brace for party leader broadcast (4)
PAIR : 1st letter of(… leader) “party” + AIR(to broadcast over the radio or TV).
7. Regular guest is host for debate (5)
ARGUE : Hidden in(… is host) “Regular guest“.
8. Day before American artist’s retrospective, it’s blocked (9)
SNOOKERED : Reversal of(…’s retrospective) [ D(abbrev. for “day”) + ERE(before in time) + KOONS(Jeff, American artist) ].
Defn: …/thwarted.
13. Indulged by wearing uniforms I’d later bother keeping (10)
LUXURIATED : [ X(symbol for multiplication/by) contained in(wearing) U,U(twice abbrev. for “uniform”) ] contained in(… keeping) anagram of(… bother) I’D LATER.
14. Falsely superior large loaf has seeds occasionally (9)
BIGHEADED : BIG(large) + HEAD(in slang, “loaf”/a person’s head) plus(has) 2nd and 4th letters of(… occasionally) “seeds“.
16. The lift is out of order, being most dirty (9)
FILTHIEST : Anagram of(… out of order) THE LIFT IS.
18. Time opponent’s taken over me is not significant (7)
TRIVIAL : T(abbrev. for “time”) + RIVAL(one’s opponent/competitor) containing(…’s taken over) I(me, with the setter using the self-referential pronoun).
19. Detectives in violent tussle seizing drug (7)
SLEUTHS : Anagram of(violent) TUSSLE containing(seizing) H(abbrev. for the drug, heroin).
21. Terrible fellow you reportedly left after a week (5)
AWFUL : [ F(abbrev. for “fellow”) + homophone of(… reportedly) “you” + L(abbrev. for “left”) ] placed after(after) [ A + W(abbrev. for “week”) ].
23. Mum’s quiet after son in car accident (5)
SMASH : [ MA(mum/one’s mother) + SH!(exclamation demanding “silence!”/quiet!) ] placed after(after) S(abbrev. for “son”).
24. Rejected new street map that’s variable and eccentric (4)
ZANY : Reversal of(Rejected) [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + AZ(“A-Z”, any of a range of street maps of a particular area published by the Geographers’ A–Z Map Company, UK) ] plus(that’s) Y(symbol for a variable quantity in mathematics).
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