Independent on Sunday 1736 Filbert

Thanks to Filbert. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Tetchy copper back on beat finds better route (5,3)

SHORT CUT : SHORT(tetchy/short-tempered) + CU(symbol for the chemical element, copper) + last letter of(back on) “beat“.

Defn: … in terms of distance and/or time.

6. Refuse easy task, crossing river (5)

DROSS : DOSS(an easy task/one that can be achieved with little effort) containing(crossing) R(abbrev. for “river”).

Defn: …/rubbish.

9. Endless bell-ringing the reason princess can’t sleep? (3)

PEA : Last letter deleted from(Endless) “peal”(bell-ringing/chime).

Defn: …, in the fairy tale, “The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen.

10. Number of strokes Charles agreed as punishment (7,4)

PARKING FINE : PAR(the number of strokes a first-class golfer should take to complete a particular hole or course) + KING(Charles III of the UK) + FINE(“agreed!”/”okay with me!”).

11. American criminal on trial keeps thinking (8)

RATIONAL : A(abbrev. for “American”) contained in(… keeps) anagram of(criminal) ON TRIAL.

12. Try to organise party including drink (4,2)

DRUM UP : DUP(abbrev. for the Democratic Unionist Party, a political party of Northern Ireland) containing(including) RUM(an alcoholic drink made from sugar-cane).

13. Eat out in France and Switzerland (4)

ETCH : ET(“and” in the language of France) + CH(the international code for Switzerland).

Defn: …./engrave metal, glass or stone with acid.

14. Where Frenchman beds girl he’s taken out? (4-1-5)

PIED-A-TERRE : PIERRE(a given name for a Frenchman) containing(beds) DATE(girl he’s taken out on a date).

Defn: Possibly/? the accommodation where a Frenchman might occasionally sleep, alone or with a date.

18. Tendency to imagine things sends Marie mad (10)

DREAMINESS : Anagram of(… mad) SENDS MARIE.

19. A good-looking fellow, as was Charles for a time? (4)

DISH : [DI’S(Princess Diana’s) H(abbrev. for “husband”)](what King Charles III was for a time).

Defn: …/eye candy.

20. Feature rating Biden’s pants (6)

CHINOS : CHIN(a feature on your face) + OS(abbrev. for “ordinary seaman”/rating, a non-commissioned sailor in the nacy).

Defn: To an American like President Biden, “pants” are trousers, in this case those made from the cotton fabric, chino.

22. Secure location replacing lock (8)

FORTRESS : FOR(replacing/instead of, as in “the word … is a euphemism for …”) TRESS(a lock/a piece of a person’s hair coiled together).

25. Photo op Hello arranged, not Harry’s first flipping stunt (4,3,4)

LOOP THE LOOP : Anagram of(… arranged) “Photo op Hello” minus 1st letter of(not …’s first) “Harry“.

26. Charles among others cycles to Scottish port (3)

AYR : RAY(among others, one named Charles, in this case, Ray, the American musician) with its 1st letter moved to the end(cycles).

27. Pass on favour without pressure (5)

REFER : “prefer”(to favour/to like ahead of others) minus(without) “p”(symbol for “pressure” in physics).

Defn: …, as in “GPs may refer their patients to specialists”.

28. Small fork hurting your ears? (8)

STRIDENT : S(abbrev. for “small”) + TRIDENT(a three-pronged spear/fork, associated with Neptune, the Roman god of the sea).

Defn: …/sounding harsh.

Down

2. Catch what cat brought over, suffering (9)

HEARTACHE : HEAR(to catch/to understand what has been said) + reversal of(… brought over, in a down clue) [ EH?(like “what?”, an expression signifying surprise or non-understanding of something just said) + CAT ].

3. Copy golfer, say, behind tree that’s out of bounds (5)

REPRO : PRO(short for “professional”, an example of which/say, is a golfer) placed below(behind, in a down clue) “tree” minus its 1st and last letters(that’s out of bounds).

Answer: Short for “reproduction”.

4. Pink Chevy race? (9)

CARNATION : CAR(an example of which is the US Chevrolet or Chevy in short) + NATION(a race/a large grouping of humankind).

Defn: A shade of the colour ….

5. Something brown and sticky, get it? (4)

TWIG : Double defn.  1st: A synonym of the answer to the riddle “What is brown and sticky?”. “Stick. Get it?”; and 2nd:  …/to get the meaning of.

6. IT experts understand IT and are promoted (8)

DIGERATI : DIG(understand/appreciate) + reversal of(… promoted, in a down clue) [ IT plus(and) ARE ].

Defn: Experts in IT/information technology.

7. Molto più mosso providing reason for rush (5)

OPIUM : Hidden in(… providing) “Molto più mosso“.

Defn: A drug taken/reason for a rush/a drug-induced thrill, in this case one extracted thus:

8. E.g. chestnut that might fall after a late spring (13)

STEEPLECHASER : Cryptic defn: A chestnut, an example of a horse, specifically of a chestnut colour, participating in a steeplechase, which might fall because of/after a delayed jump/a late spring before one of the fences.

9. Normal American criminal harried car in Duel (13)

PERPENDICULAR : PERP(American short form of “perpetrator”/one committing a crime/a criminal) + anagram of (harried) CAR IN DUEL.

Defn: …/a straight line at right angles to a given line or surface.

15. Dirty dancing met with disapproving look (9)

DISCOLOUR : DISCO(dancing to a particular style of pop music, popular in the late 70s) plus(met with) LOUR(or “lower”/a scowl/a disapproving look).

Defn: To …/to cause to change to a different and less attractive colour.

16. Protest vehemently seeing island in Canaries redeveloped (5,4)

RAISE CAIN : I(abbrev. for “island”) contained in(in) anagram of(… redeveloped) CANARIES.

And, of course, the Canaries are a group of islands, on some of which luxury resorts have been developed.

17. Fake military intelligence on the rise since Charles took over? (8)

IMPOSTER : Reversal of(… on the rise, in a down clue) MI(abbrev. for “military intelligence”) + [POST(the period after) ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, in this case, the Second) ](describing the period since Charles III took over the throne).

Defn: …/a fraudulent impersonator.

21. Unfortunate shot from Home and Away (2-3)

IN-OFF : IN(home/not out, as in “I’ll be home tonight”) plus(and) OFF(away/gone, “I’ll be away next week”).

Defn: …/a foul shot made by a snooker player in which he/she pockets the cue ball in error.

23. Access journalist’s phone, on the record (5)

TAPED : TAP(to access illegally someone’s phone, in this case…) the ED(abbrev. for “editor”, a journalist)’s.

Defn: …/recorded on an audio or video tape.

24. Sharks’ antagonists in haste just capsized (4)

JETS : Hidden in(in) reversal of(… capsized) “haste just“.

Defn: In the musical, West Side Story, the rival gang/antagonists of the Sharks.