Independent on Sunday 1772 Filbert

Thank you to Filbert. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. This man’s covered with paint at work (8)

THESPIAN : HE’S(“man’s”, using the third person masculine pronoun) contained in(covered with) anagram of(… at work) PAINT.

Defn: …, ie. an actor who goes onstage covered with theatrical makeup/paint.

6. Republican in raincoat running for President (6)

MACRON : R(abbrev. for Republican, a member of the Republican Party) contained in(in) [ MAC(short for ” mackintosh”, a raincoat) + ON(running/functioning, as with an electric appliance, say) }.

Answer: Emmanuel, French President.

9. Britain left European Union, turning to the right (4)

BLUE : B(abbrev. for “Britain”) + L(abbrev. for “left”) + reversal of(…, turning) EU(abbrev. for “European Union”).

Defn: Informal name for a member of the Conservative Party, one who is at the right (not left) end of the political spectrum.

10. Fellow regretted keeping guitar, not getting it (10)

FRUSTRATED : F(abbrev. for “Fellow”) + RUED(regretted/felt sorry for doing something) containing(keeping) STRAT(short name for the Fender Stratocaster, a model of electric guitar).

11. Cheers on cheers reflected popular win (6)

ATTAIN : TA(like “cheers”, an informal expression meaning “thank you”) placed after(on) reversal of(… reflected) TA(as already mentioned) + IN(popular/in fashion).

12. Charge around on roundabout (8)

INDIRECT : INDICT(to charge with a crime/to put on trial in a court of law) containing(around) RE(on/with reference to).

Defn: …/route that is not straight/direct.

14. All in Schengen upset about Hungary’s immigration barrier (7,7)

ENGLISH CHANNEL : Anagram of(… upset) ALL IN SCHENGEN containing(about) H(International Vehicle Registration Code for Hungary).

Defn: Illegal … into the UK.

16. Wee-wee in dribbles (6,2,6)

LITTLE BY LITTLE : LITTLE(wee/tiny) BY(-/following on indicated by the hyphen) + LITTLE(wee/tiny).

20. During charitable gala I donated money for cause (5,3)

LEGAL AID : Hidden in(During) “charitable gala I donated“.

Defn: …/money from public funds to pay the legal costs of those in need of such.

22. Cold duck on sea current gives quack (6)

MEDICO : [ C(abbrev. for “cold”) + O(letter representing 0/duck in cricket scores) ] placed after(on) MED(short for the Mediterranean Sea).

Defn: Like “quack”, an informal term for a doctor.

23. Light fitting in reach stupidly broken by Trotter (10)

CHANDELIER : Anagram of(… stupidly) IN REACH containing(broken by) DEL(Derek Edward Trotter, alias Del Boy, character in the TV series, “Only Fools And Horses”).

Hang on to it:

25. Curry ingredient in a can (4)

ALOO : A + LOO(like “can”, slang for a toilet).

Defn: From the Indian language, “potato”, an Indian ….

The main ingredient in this one:

26. Silver vibrator decided upon jointly (6)

AGREED : AG(symbol for silver, the chemical element) + REED(a piece of thin cane or metal in a wind musical instrument that vibrates in a current of air to produce the instrument’s sound – not what some of you are thinking of?)

27. Secret still repeated (4-4)

HUSH-HUSH : 2x(… repeated) HUSH(still/a silence, as in “in the hush of night”).

Down

2. What well-behaved prisoner does as often as not (4,3,4)

HALF THE TIME : Double defn: 1st: If a prisoner is well-behaved, it’s possible that what he/she does/serves is half the time/half the sentence he/she was given; and 2nd: If something happens half the time, it happens as often as it does not happen.

3. Female sex matter (7)

SHEBANG : SHE(third person singular pronoun for a female) + BANG(slang for an act of sexual intercourse/sex).

4. Wearing cool hat like the kids (9)

INFANTILE : IN(wearing/wrapped in) + FAN(to cool/to create a current of air in order to cool) + TILE(slang for a “hat”).

5. Educate form in hours (7)

NOURISH : Anagram of(form) IN HOURS.

Defn: To cultivate and develop, in this case, the mind/to ….

6. On board, beaten seaman died (5)

MATED : MATE(a seaman, specifically, an officer of a merchant ship under a master) + D(abbrev. for “died”).

Defn: …, on a chessboard, that is.

7. Embarrassment when cleaner at home hoovers dog’s tail (7)

CHAGRIN : [ CHAR(short for a “charwoman”, one employed as a cleaner in a house or office) + IN(at home/not out) ] containing(hoovers) last letter of(…’s tail) “dog“.

8. Lyric sounded outstanding (3)

ODE : Homophone of(sounded) “owed”(outstanding/not yet repaid, with reference to a debt).

Defn: …/a poem.

13. Charlie chokes up collecting prize, for star pupil? (6,5)

CLEVER CLOGS : [ C(letter represented by “Charlie” in the phonetic alphabet) + CLOGS(chokes up/becomes blocked by thick or sticky matter) ] containing(collecting) LEVER(prize or prise/to use force to move, move out or open something).

Defn: Star pupil/one with the highest intellect in class but who perhaps/? also annoys and irritates by showing off his knowledge and intelligence – one whom you might also call a “clever Dick”.

15. Cold shower affected army’s devotions (4,5)

HAIL MARYS : HAIL(cold shower/frozen rain) + anagram of(affected) ARMY’S.

Defn: …/prayers, in this case to the Virgin Mary.

17. Learner taxiing regularly in plane, say (7)

TRAINEE : 2nd, 4th and 6th letters of(… regularly) “taxiing” contained in(in) TREE(an example of which/say, is the plane).

18. Tongue lifted home-made meal (7)

YIDDISH : Reversal of(lifted) DIY(abbrev. for “do-it-yourself”/describing things that one makes oneself rather than buying them/home-made) + DISH(a meal, or rather, part of a meal).

Defn: …/language.

19. Fox and wolf beginning to hunt excessively (2,5)

TO DEATH : TOD(a “fox “, in Scottish and Northern English dialect) plus(and) EAT(to devour food, in this case greedily/to wolf) + 1st letter of(beginning to) “hunt“.

Defn: …/extremely, as in “I love you to death”.

21. Amateur with aim to improve (5)

AMEND : AM(abbrev. for “amateur”) plus(with) END(aim/an objective).

Defn: … by making changes.

24. Wrap up warmly? (3)

HUG : Cryptic defn: To wrap one’s arms tightly around something or someone, showing warm affection for that something or someone.

Like so: