A breeze of a puzzle, this one, really, but still, a pleasant diversion on a rather bleak morning in England. One or two clues didn’t quite satisfy, but all-in-all no real grumbles – thank-you, Peto.
ACROSS
1. ASCRIBE (D)a(i)s(y) + crib [copy] + E(lizabeth)
5. CORRALS R [Rex] within Coral’s [(UK) bookmaker’s]
9. POISE Is within Poe [writer Edgar Allan]
10. PARAMOUNT Paramour [lover] minus R [Republican] + NT [New Testament, books]
11. IDENTICAL Anagram of in dialect
12. SMEAR S [son] + me [Peto, the setter] + (unh)ar(med)
13. ELITE Hidden in japanesE LITErature
15. AMPLITUDE A + MP [politician] + TU [Trade Union] within anagram of lied
18. ABNEGATES Reversal of TA [Territorial Army, volunteers] + gen [information] within Abe’s [(Abraham) Lincoln’s]
19. NASTY St [saint, good man] within nay [denial]
21. TEMPO Reversal of met [came across] + Po [river]
23. SUPPORTER Port [wine] within super [delightful]
25. ADMISSION Anagram of Madison is
26. CELLO CE [Church (of England)] + L(iszt) + lo [look]
27. TWADDLE (Sho)t + Waddle [Chris, former England footballer]
28. DERIDES Anagram of desired
DOWN
1. APPRISE Reversal of pa [father] + prise [sounds like prize, reward] – for me, the otherwise redundant a renders the pa part of the clue unnecessary: apprise sounds like a prize
2. CRITERION Rite [ceremony] + reversal of Ir [Irish] within con [against]
3. INEPT Reversal of pen [writer] within it
4. EXPECTANT Reversal of EP [Extended Play, record] + c [city] within extant [surviving]
5. CAROL O [zero, love] within Carl [boy’s name]
6. REMISSION Anagram of sin is more
7. ACUTE Cut [excavate] within (C)ae(n)
8. SET FREE Set [fixed] + free [frank]
14. ENGROSSED Anagram of ogress within end [aim]
16. POSTPONED Post [appointment] + reversal of den [study] + op [opus, work]
17. UNSETTLED U(zbekista)n + settle [decide] + d(epartures)
18. ATTRACT T(unisia) within a + tract [pamphlet]
20. YARROWS (German)y + arrows [weapons]
22. MAMBA B(roccoli) within mama [mother]
23. SEINE Hidden in diseaSE IN English
24. OCCUR O(ptimisti)c + cur [dog]