Guardian Quiptic 995 Carpathian

A good Quiptic, with the NE corner the last to yield. Thanks to Carpathian. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Swimmer private investigator managed to hoax regularly (7)

PIRANHA : PI(abbrev. for “private investigator”/private eye) + RAN(managed, as with an organisation) plus(to) 1st and 2nd letters of(… regularly) “hoax“.

5 Believes in maintaining hard drives (7)

THRUSTS : TRUSTS(believes in/accepts as reliable) containing(maintaining) H(abbrev. for “hard”).

9 Religious instruction to the German jockey (5)

RIDER : RI(abbrev. for “religious instruction”) plus(to) DER(German for “the”).

10 Monument of leader’s character (9)

HEADSTONE : HEAD(leader/headman)‘S + TONE(general character/quality of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.)

11 Regard card head shows trial participant (10)

EYEWITNESS : EYE(to regard with, well, one’s eyes) + WIT(a person who is amusing/a card) + NESS(a head/a headland/a promontory).

12 Just fine atmosphere (4)

FAIR : F(abbrev. for “fine”) + AIR(atmosphere/the space above earth’s surface).

14 Ruins ground thrown all about (11)

SURROUNDING : Anagram of(… thrown) RUINS GROUND.

18 Number of article relating to a sense of beauty (11)

ANAESTHETIC : AN(an article in grammar) + AESTHETIC(relating to a sense of beauty/appreciation for beauty).

Defn: Numb-er/a numbing agent.

21 Exposed and inwardly vulnerable when retreating (4)

BARE : Hidden in(inwardly) reversal of(… when retreating) “vulnerable“.

22 Redesign planetarium without right engineer (10)

MANIPULATE : Anagram of(Redesign) “planetarium” minus(without) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).

25 Air assistance coming back with one second opinion (9)

DIAGNOSIS : Reversal of(… coming back) [ SONG(air/a tune) + AID(assistance/help) ] plus(with) I(Roman numeral for “one”) + S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation).

26 One knocking top off large fireplace (5)

INGLE : “single”(only one) minus its 1st letter(knocking top off).

Defn: … in the home – does it have to be large?

27 Tracked part of play over time with director (7)

SCENTED : SCENE(part of a play on stage) containing(over) T(abbrev. for “time”) plus(with) D(alternative to “Dir.”/abbrev. for “director”). D0 As a verb, recognised/detected by the sense of smell.

28 Approve goal men seek regularly (7)

ENDORSE : END(a goal/an objective, as in “a means to an end”) + OR(abbrev. for “other ranks”/military men other than commissioned officers) + 1st and 3rd letters of(… regularly) “seek“.

Down

1 Penny pressed and cleaned (6)

PURGED : P(abbrev. for “penny”, a unit of currency) + URGED(pressed/tried to persuade someone to do something).

Defn: Got rid of something unwanted or removed undesirable people from a place or organisation.

2 Left European space in exchange for money (6)

REDEEM : RED(colour associated with left-wing politics) + E(abbrev. for “European”) + EM(a unit of space between characters in typesetting).

Defn: To gain or regain possession of something in exchange for a monetary payment.

3 Egomaniac insists car is restyled (10)

NARCISSIST : Anagram of(.. is restyled) INSISTS CAR.

4 Very pale, like domesticated fowl (5)

ASHEN : AS(like, as in “good as gold”) + HEN(female domesticated fowl).

5 Delight bear (9)

TRANSPORT : Double defn: 1st: To overwhelm with delight; and 2nd: To carry people or goods.

6 Camera-shy, concealing skin complaint (4)

RASH : Hidden in(…, concealing) “Camera-shy“.

7 Erratic mounted police contain riotous raid (8)

SPORADIC : Reversal of(mounted, in a down clue) COPS(informal term for policemen) containing(contain) anagram of(riotous) RAID.

8 Strangely agrees to accept the empty ship’s lowest class accommodation (8)

STEERAGE : Anagram of(Strangely) AGREES containing(to accept) “the” minus its inner letter(empty).

13 Idle, posh prisoner raised trophy bomb (10)

UNOCCUPIED : U(letter signifying “upper-class”/posh) + reversal of(… raised, in a down clue) CON(short for “convict”/a prisoner) + CUP(a sporting trophy) + IED(abbrev. for “improvised explosive device”/a simple bomb made and used by unofficial or unauthorised forces).

15 Tried out black vehicle with scarlet upholstery (9)

REHEARSED : HEARSE(a vehicle carrying a coffin, often, but not always, coloured black) contained in(with … upholstery) RED(scarlet being a brilliant red colour).

16 Wounding comment on notice over small island (8)

BARBADOS : BARB(a wounding comment/a deliberately hurtful remark) placed above(on, in a down clue) AD(abbrev. for “advertisement”/a promotional notice) + O(abbrev. for “over” in cricket scores) + S(abbrev. for “small”).

Defn: … in the Caribbean.

17 Transport union’s head replaced by Conservative, briefly (8)

CARRIAGE : 1st letter of(…’s head) “marriage”(a legally recognised union between two people) replaced by(replaced by) “C”(abbrev. for /briefly, a Conservative, a member of the Conservative Party

19 Emblem right for plague (6)

BADGER : BADGE(an emblem/a distinguishing object) + R(abbrev. for “right”).

Defn: To pester or harass someone continually.

20 Remove permit to enter river (6)

DELETE : LET(to permit/to allow) contained in(to enter) DEE(any one of a number of rivers in the UK and Australia).

23 Offspring lives with Susan (5)

ISSUE : IS(lives/exists) plus(with) SUE(shortened form of the name Susan).

Defn: … in legalese.

24 Heads of kingdoms negotiate international treaty and unite (4)

KNIT : 1st letters, respectively, of(Heads of) “kingdoms negotiate international treaty“.

Defn: …/to bond.