Independent 11,960 / Phi

C<anal> (“first” means first letter only) + LOCK (=feature with gates, i.e. a canal); colloquially, to clock is to observe, notice

LOCKS (=hair, tresses) + homophone (“we hear”) of “myth (=legendary work)”

[E.G. (=for one, for example) + <operato>R (“finally” means last letter only)] in LOOM (=old factory machinery)

Cryptically, if the cost of a round (of drinks at the pub) has gone up, then there has been an “increase in cost of pub generosity”! A round-up of the news, say, is an overview, summary thereof, hence “survey”

Hidden (“in”) in “viETNAm”

I (=one) in [MARS (=spoils, impairs) + PIPER (=feature of Burns Night, i.e. Scottish bagpiper)]; Maris Piper is a type of potato

FAC<t> (=detail; “a lot of” means last letter only is dropped) + I AL<low> (“having removed base (=low, vile)” means letters “low” are dropped)

B (=British) + ALLY (=supporter) + HOO<d> (=criminal, i.e. hoodlum; “reduced” means last letter is dropped)

R (=basic element thereof, i.e. of education, hence one of the three Rs) in RETAINS (=keeps, holds)

BELIE (=disprove, refute) + F<alse> (“source of” means first letter only)

R (=right) in *(I’M ATINGLE); “possibly” is anagram indicator; the trigeminal nerve is located in the face

IS in DC (=American territory, i.e. District of Columbia)

BEDS (=county, i.e. Bedfordshire) + ORE (=quarry output)

RN (=military force, i.e. Royal Navy) in [TO + ADO (=business, fuss)]

ACCESS (=opportunity, opening) + <t>ORY (=Conservative; “not at first” means first letter is dropped)

E (=English) in POSY (=small bunch, of flowers); according to Chambers, poesy is “poetry collectively or in the abstract”

I called for, e.g. my parcel means I came to collect it

GAN I (I + NAG (=horse); ”up” indicates vertical reversal) in ORC (=Tolkien monster, from The Lord of the Rings); organic means structured, organised, hence “ordered”

WONK (=policy expert, one taking an enthusiastic interest therein; “will take different direction” indicates reversal)

<g>LUM (=unhappy; “not good (=G)” means letter “g” is dropped) + BAR (=obstruction, impediment); cf. lumbar puncture

V<illian> (“head” means first letter only) in *(A CIRCLE); “roughly” is anagram indicator; cervical means to do with the neck, including that of the womb, hence “around the neck”

SLUG (=(to) hit, strike) + PELLET (=piece of avian waste)

I (=one) + [DEPT (=department) in NH (=US state, i.e. New Hampshire)]

H<olida>Y (“extremes in” means first and last letters only) + PER (=person)

DAVE (=former TV channel, now U&Dave) in *(CARUSO); ”broadcast” is anagram indicator

OL<d> (=ancient; “cut down” means last letter is dropped) + FACTORY (=plant, works); the nose is the olfactory organ of the human body

*(ON AIR + THE); “broadcast” is, as in 13, the anagram indicator

TRIA<l> (=court case; “finishing early” means last letter is dropped) + DIC (CID=detectives, i.e. Criminal Investigation Department; “upset” indicates vertical reversal); a triad is a chord of three notes

IT (=sex, as in to do in it) in [I + MATE (=have sex (with))]

GAN<g> (=group of workers; “failing to finish” means last letter is dropped) + TRY (=attempt); a gantry crane is one built on top of a gantry, i.e. a structure used to straddle an object or workspace

TABL<e> (=suggest, e.g. a proposal: “ditching last” means last letter is dropped) + A (=one); in India, a tabla is a pair of small drums played with the hands

W (=with) + RAP (=an informal discussion, chat)