Financial Times 14,346 by Falcon

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of June 22, 2013

This puzzle gave me some moderate challenges and considerable pleasure. My top clues are 9A (NANTES), 10A (CITY HALL) and 19D (COUSIN).

ACROSS
1 Green card? Not a road permit? (6)
CALLOW – C[ard] + ALLOW (permit)
4 Lecture about a fine fellow from platform (8)
SCAFFOLD – A (a) + F (fine) + F (fellow) together in SCOLD (lecture)
9 French FC having a new back sent off (6)
NANTES – A (a) + N (new) backwards + anagram of SENT
10 Shivering at chilly local government building (4,4)
CITY HALL – anagram of AT CHILLY
12 Contest not finished yet (4)
EVEN – EVEN[t] (contest not finished)
13, 21 Door kept ajar by this may lead to unwelcome developments (3,4,3,2,3,5)
THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE – double definition
15 Training aid shown in missing Hitchcock film (8-4)
SKIPPING ROPE – SKIPPING (missing) + ROPE (Hitchcock film)
18 Scented oil, marvellous through end of shave (12)
BRILLIANTINE – BRILLIANT (maervellous) + IN (through) + [shav]E
21 See 13
22 Get to know, briefly, a humorist (4)
LEAR – LEAR[n] (get to know, briefly)
24 Drive lost set point (4,2,2)
STEP ON IT – anagram of SET POINT
25 Living quarters surrounding a royal residence (6)
PALACE – A (a) in PLACE (living quarters)
26 Talk idly about award – it doesn’t make any difference (2,6)
NO MATTER – OM (award, i.e. Order of Merit) in NATTER (talk idly)
27 Force second lock (6)
STRESS – S (second) + TRESS (lock)

DOWN
1 European noble raised strong point in support of prisoner (8)
CONTESSA – CON (prisoner) + ASSET (strong point) backwards
2 Cause of one leering lasciviously? (8)
LINGERIE – anagram of I (one) LEERING
3 Too much on top (4)
OVER – double definition
5 Boxer inside holds on tightly to food (12)
CHITTERLINGS – HITTER (boxer) in CLINGS (holds on tightly). Chitterlings, Wikipedia tells us, are the intestines of a pig, although cattle and other animals’ intestines are similarly used, that have been prepared as food.
6 Going mad about centre in Huyton dumping illegally (3-7)
FLY TIPPING – [hu]YT[on] in FLIPPING (going mad). ‘Fly tipping’ is a British expression for dumping rubbish in inappropriate places.
7 Leader of opposition, thought highly of, made a speech (6)
ORATED – O[pposition] + RATED (thought highly of)
8 Mislead daughter with dodge (6)
DELUDE – D (daughter) + ELUDE (dodge)
11 Fine, down by bar, police maintaining order? (4,4,4)
THIN BLUE LINE – THIN (fine) + BLUE (down) + LINE (bar)
14 A stud poker broadcast could send one fast asleep! (7,3)
SPARKED OUT – anagram of A STUD POKER. “Spark out” is an expression I was not familiar with.
16/17 Dogs retailer’s reared, I suspect (8,8)
AIREDALE TERRIERS – anagram of RETAILERS REARED I
19 Relative stationed in Quantico (US Intelligence) (6)
COUSIN – hidden word
20 Proceed quickly across river, small river (6)
STREAM – R (river) in STEAM (proceed quickly)
23 Parking with skill – and that’s not all (4)
PART – P (parking) + ART (skill)