Independent on Sunday 1824 Filbert

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

Across
1. Get cold feet crossing lake in total darkness (8)
BLACKOUT : [BACK OUT](get cold feet/reverse one’s position on or commitment to something) containing(crossing) L(abbrev. for “lake”).

6. Likelihood Charlie Chan switched back from Chinese? (6)
CHANCE : [C CHAN](Charlie Chan with first name initialised) with surname placed before first name (switched) + last letter of(back from) “Chinese”.

9. Stop barking to wiry Alsatian (7,7)
RAILWAY STATION : Anagram of(barking/mad) TO WIRY ALSATIAN.
Defn: … in a railway system.

An earworm, said to have been written while Paul Simon was waiting in a … in Widnes:

10. Hilarity seeing Strauss’s name on his pants today, inside out (6)
LEVITY : LEVI(Strauss, who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans that display a brand patch with his name) + inner letters deleted from(…, inside out) “today”.

11. A sort of tripe provided stimulation for diner (8)
APERITIF : A + anagram of(sort of) TRIPE + IF(provided/on condition).
Defn: An alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate one’s appetite.

12. One and a half chaps & I make cheese (8)
MANCHEGO : MAN(one chap/a guy) plus(and) 1st 2 letters of(a half) “chap” plus(&) EGO(one’s self-identity/I, as in “Who am I?”)
Defn: …, in this case a cheese originating from La Mancha, Spain.

14. Swallow something slimy on lettuce? (4)
SLUG : Double defn: 1st: A …/a quantity of alcoholic drink that is gulped down; and 2nd: A small, soft, slow-moving pest that feeds on plants like lettuce and secretes mucus/slime.

16. You hear greeting very well (4)
HALE : Homophone of(You hear) “hail!”(an expression used as a greeting).
Defn: …/strong and healthy.

17. Tree, said lecturer after Spooner (3,5)
RED CEDAR : Spoonerism of(… after Spooner) “said reader(a university lecturer of a grade immediately below professor)”.

20. Crazy world left Alan Alda short changed (2-2,4)
LA-LA LAND : Anagram of(… changed) [ L(abbrev. for “left”) + ALAN + “Alda” minus its last letter(short) ].
Defn: …/a state of being out of touch with reality.

22. Trial or settlement? (6)
ORDEAL : OR + DEAL(an agreement entered into by two or more parties resolving an issue/a settlement).

23. Channel Islanders’ capital isn’t safe, jest banks (5,5,4)
SAINT PETER PORT : [ AIN’T(informal form of “isn’t”/is not) + PETER(a safe/a cabinet for storing valuables) ] contained in(… banks) SPORT(fun/jest).
Defn: Capital city of the Bailiwick of Guernsey consisting of several Channel Islands, including Guernsey.

24. Who’s 13’s hero? Someone really good-looking (6)
ADONIS : [ A DON IS](answer to the question “Who is 13(Cervantes, answer to 13 down)’s hero?”, ie. the hero in Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote).

25. Fish are sighted almost jumping ashore (8)
SEAHORSE : “see”(are sighted/with the ability to see and not being blind – I’m not sure of the synonymity or whether another word, say, “set” is intended) minus its last letter(almost) + anagram of(jumping) ASHORE.

… and the male is left to carry the babies-to-be until birth.

Down
2. Don’t disturb new yeast, say (6)
LEAVEN : LEAVE(let be/don’t disturb/leave alone) + N(abbrev. for “new”).
Defn: A substance used to make dough rise, of which, yeast is an example/say.

3. Group of weirdos one’s holding at court (9)
CULTIVATE : CULT(a group of people with misplaced or excessive/not normal admiration for someone or something, and whom you might term “weirdos”) + I’VE(contraction of “I have”/one has/one’s, using “one” as the self-referential pronoun for the speaker) containing(holding) AT.
Defn: To …/try to win the favour or friendship of someone, as in “He cultivates those that would be useful to him”.

4. Egg supplier to diversify, starting with duck (5)
OVARY : VARY(to diversify/to introduce modifications or changes to something to enlarge its range) placed below(starting with, in a down clue) O(letter representing 0/duck/in cricket, a batsman’s score of zero runs).

5. Opera the Parisian makes smaller but with similar parts (2,5)
TO SCALE : TOSCA(opera by Puccini) + LE(in “the” in the language of Parisians).
Defn: Describing a representation, proportionally and uniformly reduced (or enlarged), of something.

6. Evita, say, Argentinian revolutionary guards escort (9)
CHAPERONE : [A PERON](describing Eva, nicknamed Evita, Peron, former First Lady of Argentina) contained in(… guards) CHE(Guevara, Argentinian Marxist revolutionary).

7. Bail screwed on stump, possibly as form of defence (5)
ALIBI : Anagram of(… screwed) BAIL placed above(on, in a down clue) + I(something shaped like an “I”, an example of which/possibly, is a stump, one of the three upright sticks that are part of a wicket in cricket).
Defn: …/a claim or evidence that one was elsewhere when an accused of performing an act, say, a criminal offence.

8. Keep prisoner in during day (8)
CONTINUE : CON(short for “convict”/a prisoner) + [IN contained in(during) TUE(abbrev. for “Tuesday”) ].
Defn: … on with/persist in an activity or process.

13. Writer never acts in play (9)
CERVANTES : Anagram of(… in play) NEVER ACTS.
Answer: …, Miguel de, Spanish writer.

Monument to the author with him looking over his creation:

14. Empty supermarket as well as till, for challenge (5,2,2)
STAND UP TO : Inner letters deleted from(Empty) “supermarket” + AND(as well as/in addition) + [UP TO](till/until the mentioned point in time).

15. Ill-treated donkey in race died (8)
HARASSED : ASS(a donkey) contained in(in) HARE(race/run fast) + D(abbrev. for “died”).

18. Make jewels set with diamonds for amusement (7)
DODGEMS : DO(to make/to perform or complete a deed or action, as in “I can do the journey in an hour”) + GEMS(jewels/precious stones) containing(set with) D(abbrev. for the suit of “diamonds” in a deck of playing cards).
Defn: One of the attractions in an amusement park or funfair.

19. Artist back in cells after spitting curry (6)
MADRAS : [ RA(abbrev. for “Royal Academician”, a member of the Royal Society of Arts/an artist) + last letter of(back in) “cells” ] placed below(after, in a down clue) MAD(extremely angry/spitting, as in “he was spitting with a sudden rage”).
Defn: …/a dish of meat, fish or vegetables in a hot curry sauce.

21. A right horror (5)
ALIEN : A + LIEN(in law, a right to keep possession of a party’s property until his/her/its debt has been discharged).
Defn: A hypothetical being from another world that could be very disturbing and distasteful/a horror.

22. Time doctor reversed conclusion (5)
OMEGA : Reversal of(… reversed) [ AGE(period of time that someone or something has existed) + MO(abbrev. for “Medical Officer”, a doctor in charge of health services) ].
Defn: The final letter in the Greek alphabet denoting the end/conclusion of a series or set.