The usual excellent puzzle from Dac. Good variety, some easier than others as it should be, but all yielding in the end. Solving time, 23 mins.

* = anagram < = reversal

ACROSS

1 C (OP S) HOP Wordplay container-and- contents reverses natural order of words, but all clear in the end.

5 VIC TIM This film ignoramus got this from the wordplay, verifying after.

8 ALTO (a lot)* My last entry, and my favourite clue.

9 WIN E (European) CELLAR “Seller” Bordeaux means the wine, not the geograpichal area. Good.

10 MICHAEL CLAYTON (thy local cinema)* See 5 across.

12 TO XI CITY XI = Roman numerals for eleven = (football) team of which one is Birmingham (City) - sorry, Eimi.

13 AM-DRAM AM = early DRAM = drink. Abbrev for Amateur Dramatics.

15 SCH E MA

17 TRI (B UN) AL

19 CO (N TOR) TIONISTS Excellent topical surface reading Co = business (so it isn’t)*

21 ADAM AND EVE Rhyming slang - Do you Adam and Eve it?

23 I (electric current) SAY (state) My! is definition

24 (Hilaire) BELL O C    Bell = inventor of telephone

25 S (TUCK) ON

DOWN

1 CO (LU) MBO A TV detective series

2 PROS (CRIB) E

3 HEW “Hugh” Gaitskell - Labour Party leader, never became PM - died suddenly in 1963.

4 PENALTY (Net play)* ? needed as fine is only an example of a penalty.

5 VAC (ILL) ATION

6 COLEY hidden <

7 I SA (DO) RA(band) Duncan Saraband being a dance and ID a famous dancer.

11 AN I MATRON IC New word to me that I worked out from the friendly wordplay.

14 D (RUM ST) ICK Dick meaning, among other things, a detective.

16 CROW DIE

17 TO (IL) ERS IL in (store)* Roman numeral for 49 (L = 50) in the same way as IV = 4 and IX = 9. I think it was not in fact used by the Romans, it was XLIX for them, but it’s entered modern usage.

18 AB STAIN AB = sailor (able-bodied seamen). Bizarre surface.

20 T (AMI) L Ami = friend (French). borders = outside letters

22 E CU (Chemical symbol for copper)

Solving time 22:30

A bit of a mix of good and bad clues, easy and hard, and one made-up word at 5D (not in any of my dictionaries anyway, which include the latest Chambers and Collins editions).

Across
10 SAM,BA - ref. 13A without AI.
11 BETH,OUGHT
12 RADIANT - (The Guardian)* minus HUGE - nice surface reading.
13 AIDAN,CE - not a word I’ve come across before. St. Aidan was the Irish missionary who founded the monastery on Lindisfarne.
14 CAPITAL CHARGE - cryptic definition, although no longer true for treason according to Stephen Fry on QI last week.
17 EVADE THE ISSUE - I assume this is supposed to be a cryptic definition, but it’s not the usual type, which allows of two different readings of the clue, e.g. Rufus on Monday: “Two tools for a pound” for PESTLE AND MORTAR. This is more like a cryptic answer to a straight clue, and 3D is the same. Has Gordius invented a new clue type here? I can’t decide whether I like it or not, but unlike 3D, at least this one’s humorous!
24 C(USTODI)AN - i.e. studio* inside CAN
25 A,NG,RY
26 (y)EAST - took me a while to think of a 5-letter word ending in EAST that could mean riser.
27 RHYMESTER (Merry’s the)* - William McGonagall was renowned as one of the worst poets ever.

Down
1 HIS GRACE (is charge)* - charge coming from the 2nd word of 14A.
3 STAR ATTRACTION - another “cryptic answer” clue.
4 OR(BIT)AL
5 NETCASH - has to be the right answer, as 20D more or less confirms it. Appears to be a website where you can make online payments: www.netcash.com, rather than a real word.
7 BE(GIN,N)ERS
9 BORDERLINE CASE - a more traditional cryptic def, and quite a good one.
15 PREMISSES - “premises”. Reads very naturally so you almost miss the clear homophone indicator.
16 BE(TRAY)ER - really obvious, and the second clue using BEER as a container. Not good.
18 EARL,I.E.,R - very clever, ref. Warwick the Kingmaker.
20 SPECIE - part 2 of 5D is CASH, and specie is another word for coins.