dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram

I am so fortunate to have landed Paul today, a prized assignment. As usual, he entertained and challenged with his unique brand of wordplay which leaves one tearing off the hair and/or nodding in admiration for his fertile imagination and creativity, both in the word-play as well as some of the definitions

Across
8,17 LEONARDO DA VINCI Leo (zodiac sign) *(candid vain or) with the definition, ‘artist’ simply written as 3
10 CROW What a cheeky indirect hidden answer clue … miCROWave
11 INFLECTION Ins of L (left) in INFECTION
12 FAUCET Sounds like ‘force it’
14 OMELETTE O (old) + ins of TT (two teas say) in MELEE (fight)
15 BEAR HUG I am aways amused by Spooner clues and this Head Bug is no exception
20 EVANESCE Ins of E (English) in EVANS (typical Welsh name) + CE (Church of England)
22 MOHAWK Cha of MO (medical officer or doctor) hawk (bird) - “a skating movement consisting of a stroke on the edge of one skate followed by a stroke in the opposite direction on the same edge of the other skate” from Chambers
23 MOTHERHOOD Ins of Other H (husband) in Mood (sulk) What makes compilers like Paul outstanding is their ability to create imaginative definitions and this one is really good as any new parents will tell you.
24 HERD Sounds like “heard”
25,26 OSAMA BIN LADEN This is a brilliant clue and so topical. Obama (Democrat candidate for the US Presidency) with “second amendment’ became OSAMA + Ins of N (northern) LA (state of Louisiana) in BIDEN (Senator Joe, running mate of Obama) to give you George W Bush’s nemesis

Down
1 DECREASE dd to iron a shirt is to remove the creases from it i.e. to de-crease (cheeky word play)
2 KNOW “no”
3 ARTIST Ins of T in ARIST (o) Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH (born 1922) is a British painter of German origin. Yes, he is related to the more famous Sigmund since, by definition, all Freuds must have come from a first Freud
4 HOTFOOT Simple cha
5 ALOE VERA A halo is a heavenly hat, so ‘ALO EVER (always) A. I have been told that this plant has many wonderful medicinal properties including being able to soothe a burn or an insect bite
6 CUTTLEFISH Ins of TLEF (rev of FELT or sensed) in CUTIS (skin) H (hard)
7 RESORT DD? allusing to the common term, “the last resort”
13 CORINTHIAN *(nation rich) with gymnastics as anagram indicator. There are many associations and clubs using Corinthian BUT all in plural or have I missed something? I still remember being fooled and foiled by Paul’s big breasts, Double D cups, it seems :-)
16 UPSTREAM Cha of UP (finished like your time) Stream (a group in school doing the same subjects) and once again, Paul has outdone himself with this superb definition ; thank goodness, I remembered watching an Animal Planet film on salmon breeding
18 CO-WORKER Ins of OW (middle letters of fowl) in CORKER (cracker, something wonderful)
19 REDOUBT Cha of RE (on) DOUBT (suspicion) a fieldwork enclosed on all sides; an inner last retreat.
21 VOODOO V (formation of flying geese) OO (ducks) D (died) OO (ducks)
22 MEDINA Cha of MED (Mediterranean Sea) In A. Isn’t it PC of Paul to use this word today, the eve of the Muslim festival of Idilfitri, marking the end of Ramadam to commemorate the Hegira which was the flight of Prophet Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE and marking the first year of the Islamic calendar, 1 AH (anno Hegirae).
24,9 HEAD LOUSE Lead House (metal building)

Not much to say about today’s, fairly straightforward with a couple of niggles.

* = anagram
cd = cryptic definition

Across

1. FISHWIFE. FISH + W(IF)E.  I’ve never been sure why this is a coarse woman.
5. HEIGHT. H + EIGHT.
9. SHOWGIRL. S + HOW + GIRL.
10. METRIC. ME + TRIC(k).  ‘This system’ seems a bit vague as a def.
11. EMMENTAL. EM + MENTAL
12. BISECT. BI(SECT)T.
14. GANGBUSTER. NUGGETBARS*.
18. HARASSMENT. SARAH* + S(MEN)T.  Sarah Gamp is a character from Martin Chuzzlewit.
22. SOILED. S + OILED
23. BAREFOOT. B(A REF)OOT.  The ‘girl’ seems to be a slight red herring.
24. IDEATE. ID(EAT)E. An Ide is a freshwater fish
25. ANYTHING. germANY THING Girls.  Odd reuse of just part of the phrase as the definition.
26. EGRESS. S + SERGE backwards.  SERGE comes up an awful lot in Guardian crosswords, it seems to me.
27. ASSAILED. A. + S. + SAILED.

Down

1. FASTER. F + ASTER.
2. STORMY. STOR(M)Y.
3. WAGING. WA(GIN)G.
4. FIRE ALARMS. FI(REAL + A)RMS.
6. EMERITUS. SEMITRUE*. Normally used to refer to retired academics.
7. GARMENTS. G(ARM)ENTS.
8. TACITURN. CAT rev. + I TURN.
13. AGONY AUNTS. cd.
15. CHASTISE. CHAS(ITS rev)E.  I wasn’t aware this word meant ‘beat’ rather than ‘verbally beat’
16. FROIDEUR. FUROREID.  I initially misspelt this as FROIDURE which made 24A and 26A tricky.
17. ASBESTOS. A S.O.(BEST)S.
19. BERTHA. THEBAR*. No idea what ‘always’ is doing there.
20. SOCIAL. COALIS*
21. STAGED. DEGAS rev around T.

Solving time: 28:59

My times this week have been dreadful, and this was no exception - I really don’t think this was particularly harder than normal, but after 5 minutes I’d solved only two clues. I’m going to put it down to tiredness and see how next week goes before I start worrying. Some very good clues, as ever from Paul.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Later than normal, due to me spending an hour or so on the Genius before realising I’d clicked on the wrong puzzle!

dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
* = anagram

Across

1. WORKHORSE. WORK + HORSE.  A Punch is a horse, presumably ‘a go’ is work?
6. CHIP. dd. A chip shot vs a chip used in games like Poker.
10. TRACT. Diminish is CONTRACT minus CON (’study’).
11. AMBERGRIS. AMBER + RIGS*. Waxy substance secreted by whales and used in the perfume industry.
12. ROMANCE. MANOR* + CE.
13. RISOTTO. R + I + SOT + TO.
14. ARCHBISHOPRIC. ARCH + BISHOP + R + I + C.
17. BETWEEN WHILES. Whiles are ‘cunning devices’, I assume.
21. PRETEXT. cd.
22. MEANDER. RENAMED*
25. NERVELESS. dd
25. SHAKO. HAS* + KO.  A fairly silly-looking hat.
26. RAMP. R.A. + M.P.  I think ramp=racket in the sense of ‘rage’.
27. TRAMLINES. dd. Tramlines are the sets of differe ‘out’ lines on a tennis court for doubles/singles.

Down

1. WATERWAY. WA(I)TER + WAY.
2. REALM. REAL + M.
3. HOT AND BOTHERED. THERHANDEDBOOT*
4. READERS. dd. People ‘reading’ something at university, and people newspapers ‘rags’ are for.
5. EMBARGO. (d)EMO around GARB*.
7. HERETICAL. ICLEARTHE*
8. PISTOL. PI + LOTS rev.
9. DRESS REHEARSAL. dd
15. CABLEGRAM. GAMBLERAC*.  Where does the S go?
16. USURIOUS. cd
18. ENTREAT. ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) + RATE*
19. NEMESIA. Hidden backwards in prAISEMENtioned.
20. OPENER. cd. Cricket reference
24. DRAWN. dd.

This was quite a fast puzzle to do, despite some of the vocabulary or meanings being unfamiliar to me, particularly in the north-east corner. There are couple of clues I wasn’t wild about, which I’ve learned typically means I’ve missed some subtlety that people will help with in the comments. :)