Nothing to say beyond what one usually says. Dac is as always on fine form and the surfaces and soundness of all the clues are exemplary.
Definitions in italics.
Across
1 Like obscure town on English shore, abandoned (3-5)
ONE-HORSE
on E (shore)*
5 Polish and French snack bar (6)
BUFFET
buff et — buff = polish (Polish in a crossword is always this sort of thing); et = and in French
9 Junior doctor given employment in Middle Eastern land by hospital (8)
HOUSEMAN
h O(use)man
10 A walk in the park, and what might be enjoyed there? (6)
PICNIC
2 defs — a walk in the park means something that is easy
12 Scholar at heart desperate to become a film director (5)
LOACH
({S}chola{r})* — ref Ken Loach, the English film director
13 Spirited old mate’s loud complaint about Underground not opening (9)
EXUBERANT
ex ({t}ube) rant — one’s old mate is one’s ex
14 Soap for women smeared all over has potential to cause problems (4,1,3,2,5)
OPEN A CAN OF WORMS
can in (soap for women)* — I think that to open a can of worms is to set something up so that it has the potential to cause problems, but the word ‘potential’ is necessary for ‘can’, so we have to make do with what seems to me to be a marginally less satisfactory definition
16 Harmful swirling gas outside engulfs commercial vehicle (15)
DISADVANTAGEOUS
(ad van) in (gas outside)*
20 With small piece of cloth, vigorously wipe shoe – item on display (9)
SHOWPIECE
(c{loth} wipe shoe)*
22 Cease to work in part of market (5)
STALL
2 defs
23 Cut in taxes in UK during recession applicable to men and women (6)
UNISEX
reverse hidden in taXES IN UK
24 Fellow among celebrities, one with winning ways? (8)
FINALIST
f in A-list
25 Noteworthy Austrian film director is heading west (6)
SIGNAL
(Lang is)rev. — ref Fritz Lang
26 Ill-informed advice to the over-prolific crossword compiler? (8)
CLUELESS
You might tell an over-prolific crossword setter to write fewer clues, i.e. to clue less — but do people outside crosswordland know that to clue is to write clues?
Down
1 Play/ game (7)
OTHELLO
2 defs
2 Aim to follow a muleteer, going off without hesitation (7)
EMULATE
(a mulete{er})*
3 Caught on camera in the end, hiding in crowd (9)
OVERHEARD
over he({camer}a)rd
4 Member of theatre staff found a celebrity reeling in shock (5,7)
STAGE MANAGER
(a name)rev. in stagger
6 Couple taking truck across province (5)
UNITE
u(NI)te — a ute is an Australian vehicle (utility truck or vehicle) and the province is Northern Ireland
7 Ruffian running amok in amusement park (7)
FUNFAIR
(Ruffian)*
8 Historian, one probing diplomacy used by America (7)
TACITUS
tac(1)t US
11 It’s routine to sprint over border, frequently coming in out of sorts (3-2-3-4)
RUN-OF-THE-MILL
run (oft) hem ill
15 Worker, with time, put money aside (about a pound) (4,5)
WAGE SLAVE
w age s(L)ave — w = with
16 Talk about athletics event at end of Olympics (7)
DISCUSS
discus {Olympic}s
17 Inclined to hurry up during long walk (7)
SLOPING
(nip)rev. in slog
18 After work, have beer brought round in glass (7)
OPALINE
op al(in)e —a noun: an opal glass; or perhaps an adjective: like an opal (which is amongst other things a glass)
19 Honours music makers from South Africa (7)
SALUTES
South African lutes are SA lutes
21 Two Greek characters in religious painting (5)
PIETA
pi and eta are the two Greek characters
*anagram
Yes, the usual pleasant Wednesday fare from Dac. For some reason I took ages at the end to get the LOACH/OVERHEARD crossers.
Same here. Lots to enjoy in this one.
Just in passing, my take on the can of worms is that opening the can precipitates the problems, and they are only potential while the can is closed. This makes “cause problems” the definition and I think it’s fair enough, and cleverly written.
A bit on the tough side for me, but I did finish it without aids eventually, although there were several I entered from the definition without being totally sure how the clue worked – 12ac for instance – so thanks for the explanations.
Spent ages trying to think of an Austrian composer starting SI- for 25ac.
Not just me then Dormouse. Thanks John.
It must be a side effect of doing yesterday’s harder puzzle, but I flew through this one. The only clue that held me up was 10 across – those clues that look cryptic but are just DDs or CDs always give me trouble.
Re nealh’s comment about 10a, I’d got the final C and spent ages looking for something in REC, nicely deceived.
I normally don’t comment on Dac’s puzzles but I do them all – week in week out.
And yes, there is a constant quality about his work.
Today however, there was one thing that was quite unfortunate.
In 20ac we had “piece” both in the clue and as part of the solution.
Nothing wrong with that as such but, still, it did annoy me.
Very un-Dac.
Just a slip of the what/who-ever.
Apart from that, good stuff and, I thought, relatively easy on the scale of this setter.
Many thanks John for your blog.