*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed

Some very tricky, well disguised clues today. Mostly very good, but I thought 6 down was taking things a bit too far.

I found this fairly easy going, even for a Monday. Mainly composed of a few anagrams, double-definitions and more than the usual amount of cryptic definitions, it was a nice distraction but not much to get your teeth into.

• * = anagram
• dd = double definition
• cd = cryptic definition
• dd/cd = a dd where one half of the definition is fairly cryptic

Across

• 7. MEANNESS. MESS around ANNE.
• 9. INURED. RUINED*
• 10. RIPE. RIP + E
• 11. NEAR ENOUGH. RANONEHUGE*. Not sure I liked ‘conglomerate’ as the anagram indicator.
• 12. IDEALS. LADIES*.
• 14. EXPOSURE. dd/cd. Disclosure/exposure sharing a suffix makes the dd feel weaker than it is.
• 15. EDITORS. SOTIRED*.
• 17. ANARCHY. ARCH in ANY.
• 20. WATCH OUT. dd/cd.
• 22. CASINO. cd.
• 23. SEAMSTRESS. SEAM + STRESS.
• 24. SNOW. S + NOW.
• 25. TANNER. dd. Slang name for a sixpence.
• 26. PREMISES. dd.

Down

• 1. REMINDED. MIND in REED.
• 2. KNEE. K + NEE.
• 3. TENNIS. cd. Score one more than 40 to win.
• 4. LIFESPAN. LIE + F + SPAN. Doesn’t quite work unless you use covering or time twice, I think.
• 5. OUT OF SORTS. dd.
• 6. BEGGAR. cd. They solicit for change, not sure why self-employed is relevant?
• 8. SCALES. cd.
• 13. ATTACHMENT. dd.
• 15. ROOSTERS. ROSTERS around O.
• 18. HAND OVER. dd.
• 19. STREEP. PETERS*, a famous Meryl.
• 21. ARENAS. cd
• 22. CASKET. cd? A bit too literal for my taste.
• 24. STIR. A triple-definition with a well worked surface.

I don’t note solving times but maybe I ought to start as I’m pretty sure I must’ve had a Personal Best for this one. Must’ve been about 15 minutes. There was nothing here to cause a hold-up. Last clue in, 14/27 Alistair Darling, I would have got with fewer crossing letters if I’d had to and I was quite surprised to find a complete grid.
Of course, looking back on it now (the next day) I realise this was one of the easiest Eye crosswords for some time.