Fifteensquared

Solving time:  23 minutes 

Apologies for the late hour of posting, but a long day of hospital treatment left me rather zonked.   This was a typical enjoyable Dac puzzle with elegant surface readings and clever devices, although a couple of petty quibbles.

    (*)= anagram (CD) =  cryptic def   (R) = reversal

ACROSS

1   STRIDE   S + TIRED*

4   CRACKPOT  POT (Prize) +  CRACK (Expert)

9  ADAMS     ADAM + S  Adams was of course the second President of the US.

10  CHIMING IN    CHI (Foreign character) + MINGIN(G) - My first sighting of that word in a crossword. (I think!).

11 OUT TO LUNCH   Two defs.

12 MENU   Hidden

14  INSPECTORATE      P inside  IN SECT +ORATE

17  RECREATIONAL   CREATION inside REAL(M)

20 LYRE     Homophone for LIAR

21  HELICOPTER   THE POLICE* +R  Seen it before, but it’s still a nce clue.

23  MIDDLETON  I presume there was  a Royal consort called MIDDLETON - can’t remember one off the top of my head.

24  DOB IN       DO + BIN

25  STEM TURN   I’d just been writing the quiz questions for the local League and used the phrase STEM CHRISTIE so this leapt out at me.

26 GREENE   GREEN + E

 DOWN

1  SLAVONIC   VOCALS IN *   Another nice clue.

2  ROAD TEST    A in ROD TEST

3  DISCOVERED   SERVICE ODD*

5  REINCARNATION  REIN + CAR + NATION

6  CHIT  C + HIT

7  PIGLET    LEG* inside PIT

8  TONE UP     E inside  TON UP

10  COUNTERFEITER  Homophone of Counter Fitter

13  ATTIC ORDER  (CD)   New phrase to me

15  UNSTABLE     (T)UNS  + TABLE  Wouldn’t an “unopened” cask be a complete one and therefore a TUN?  Can’t make my mind up over “unopened” here.

16  CLARENCE   Double def.  Clarence House was the Queen Mum’s residence, and is now Charles’ town pad, I think.

18  CLAMPS    C (Close to Car - surely this should be R? - or is this just C “near to”?) + LAMPS

19  BRIDGE     BRIDGE(T) - as in Bridget Jones’ Diary

22  PLOT  A “P  LOT” would be a collection of coins.  PLOT is also a bed in gardening.