An excellent puzzle from this talented setter.    Solving time, 37 mins.

* = anagram   < = reverse

ACROSS

1 LEAD-FREE PETROL    Got this straightaway - (G)asoline with first letter (lead) off.

8 LIVING WAGE   Excellent cryptic definition.

9  Tony (B)LAIR       More leads off.

10 W (HEAT) EAR     Sport = wear (clothes)

12 I NB RED    Relieved it was not ‘incest’.

13 ROYAL FLUSH    Hand (cards).    Ho-ho.

15  (V)OLGA     Still more leads off.

16 ABE (Lincoln)  D      Though he did not die in retirement of course.

17 PRIEST-HOLE    (Others pile)*

19 (G)AZA LEA

20 GARBLES S (size for a start)      Not in any of my dicts, but clear enough.

22 MARS    My last entry - Mars Bar (chocolate) and the space probe.

25 S (E (A) CAP) TAIN   speed =  pace<

25 EDWARD THE SIXTH   (extra width she’d)*    Son of JS and I think the ‘extra weight’ refers to the pregnancy.

DOWN

1 L (50) EIGHT ON BUZZ (ring) (A) RD

2 ANIMA  (a man I)*

3 FIG LEAF    (First letters and if) <   i.e.  lifted    Ho-ho.

4 ETA   Ate<

5 P (EE (English couple) V (very)) ISH    (ship)*

6 TOLL (sound)  BOOT (kick)  H (horse)

7 O LIVER GOLD (or) S (M) ITH   (this)*

11 RO(le)  USING

14 A (NDAL U) SIA   (land)*

17 P RAISED     P UP    Guardianesque.

18 SUR(e) PASS

21 LA TEX(as)

24 ASH  Double definition

Solving time about 16 minutes either side of a phone call.

First thing I thought was “What’s going on there with 9 down?” I got 3 and 25 quite quickly, but wasn’t thinking clearly enough to figure it out from them. In the end the other clues mentioned were some of the last to go in, as was 9D itself.

Solving time, 21 mins. Some clues explained below, happy to explain others if asked.

< = reversed

ACROSS

1 BA (I) L (l) All refers to cricket - delivery = ball (bowled by the bowler). Bail on top of the wicket.

3 T (RACE) S St = (street)< “Dogs run into street after turning back”. As ?R?C?S, it was my last, TRACKS was tempting but does not fit the worldplay. Looking at dicts ‘traces’ just about equals ‘dogs’ but I’d that ‘not quite sure’ feeling.

11 EAR THY thy = the solver’s no longer = your (obsolete form)

13 RARE “Exceptional Red - not Brown!” Amusing surface suggesting Gordon B. What the setter has in mind here, I think, is meat, using the crossword convention that false capitals are allowed - this convention is also used in 10 across in this puzzle. Red meat is rare.

DOWN

13 RAB BIN ATE This refers to RA Butler (Conservative politician most prominent in the 1950s or so, known as RAB from those initials)

15 B (ALAN) CE BCE = Before the Common Era - means the same as BC.

19 RE (P) EL P = pedal (abbrev) from music.

A moderately tough one as Cincinnus puzzles go but, as usual, very satisfying. I found 4A, 25A and 23D challenging. I fail to fully understand 4A and 2D. And I was charmed by 17A.

Across
1. BIKINI - BIKIN[g] + I
4. SCANTEST - “maximally minimal” defines scantest and “examination” goes with “test” but I cannot totally figure out how this is supposed to work.
9. ANDES - homophone (Andy’s)
10. BANDICOOT - BANDI[t] (robber) + COOT (bird)
11. PLACIDO - PLACID (calm) + O[peratic]
12. TOOTSIE - double definition
13. LAPS - LAPS[e]
14. SKIRMISH - S (small) + KIR (drink) + M I S H (leads to …)
17. ROUSSEAU - RO (rolled gold) + anagram of USES + AU (gold). An impressive clue. I know the name Jean-Jacques Rousseau and have even stayed in a hotel named for the man. But did I know he was a social theorist? Hadn’t a clue!
19. ANNA - double definition
22. CHAPATI - PAT (bit of butter) in CHI (letter from Greece)
24. IGNORED - IGOR (Prince) around N[orway] + ED (Edward)
25. TARPAULIN - PAUL (boy) in anagram of TRAIN. It took me a long time to get this as it was hard for me to see “boarding” as an insertion indicator.
26. ERROL - [Peter] LORRE backwards. Nice!
27. HASHEESH - HASH (food) + EE (midweek) + SH (empty stomach)
29. STRAIN - double definition

Down
1. BEANPOLE - BE (live) + A (a) + N (Northern) + POLE (European)
2. KIDNAPPER - ???. Now here is a clue that I totally do not understand! Leatherhead is a town in England and also refers to a character known to Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles.
3. NESSIE - NESS (headland) + IE (that is)
5. CONSTERNATION - anagram of INNOCENT SORT A
6. NAIROBI - anagram of BIRO IN A
7. EYOTS - reverse hidden word
8. TETHER - T (type of shirt) + ETHER (medium)
10. BROOKE SHIELDS - BROOKE (poet) + SHIELDS (defends)
15. HONORARIA - HONOR (respect for American) + ARIA (song)
16. MANDOLIN - anagram of ON LAND IM
18. UNAWARE - UNA (girl) + WARE (somewhere in Hertfordshire)
20. SCOTCH - double definition
21. INTENT - double/cryptic definition
23. ARRAS - AR (Central Park) + RAS (Ethiopian Prince)