This looks like a debut crossword from Flush, to whom welcome.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Social pint I arranged for elected officials
POLITICIANS
(SOCIAL PINT I)* with ‘arranged’ as the anagrind.
9 Take page from religious leader facing class act
OPERATE
A charade of [P]OPE and RATE.
10 Row with son over right way to bond
SUCTION
Flush is inviting you to replace the R in RUCTION with S for ‘son’.
11 Brazilian moves head with a radiant body exuding energy
BOSSA NOVA
A charade of BOSS, A and NOVA.
12 Almost roar consuming last drop of spicy sauce
SHOYU
An insertion of Y for the last letter of ‘spicy’ in SHOU[T]. The insertion indicator is ‘consuming’.
13 Funny man and straight man, one overshadowed by other at first
FOOL
I can’t parse this, I’m afraid.
Edit: Hovis has kindly stepped in. It’s FOIL (the ‘straight man’) with the I replaced by an O.
14 Harsh words hurt the most when blasted without hint of tenderness
HOME TRUTHS
An insertion of T for the first letter of ‘tenderness’ in (HURT THE MOST)*. The insertion indicator is ‘without’ and the anagrind is ‘when blasted’.
Edit: not quite. It’s actually (HURT THE MOS[T])* and ‘without’ is a subtraction indicator. Thanks to Walrus for the correction.
16 Sporting official swore over nothing and concentrated again
REFOCUSSED
An insertion of O in REF and CUSSED. The insertion indicator is ‘over’. This grated slightly with me, since careful writers (and all serious style guides) would have REFOCUSED. British English does generally double the consonant for past participles ending in -ED: you would always write PREFERRED, ADMITTED, PENNED, FITTED. But in multi-syllable words, the consonant isn’t doubled if the stress does not fall on the last syllable: so you have BENEFITED, HAPPENED and FOCUSED.
19 Still face of impassive mountain dweller
YETI
A charade of YET and U for the initial letter of ‘impassive’.
20 Body temperature, roughly
TORSO
A charade of T and OR SO.
21 Spread or widened out
EIDERDOWN
(OR WIDENED)* with ‘out’ as the anagrind.
23 Student initially missing from crash joining staff in search
MANHUNT
A charade of MAN and [S]HUNT.
24 Waving gun at me? That could be dangerous
MUTAGEN
(GUN AT ME)* with ‘waving’ as the anagrind.
25 European vice-president takes in view when cycling for fleeting moment
EVANESCENCE
An insertion of ESCEN in E VANCE. The insertion indicator is ‘takes in’. ‘Cycling’ is the indicator to move the E in SCENE from the rear to the front.
Down
1 Where corps go for release hoping to break something?
PRESS CONFERENCES
A cd.
2 Vietnam allegedly holding back source of wool
LLAMA
Hidden reversed in VietnAM ALLegedly.
3 Notes that repeat poolroom secrets regularly put up
TREMOLO
Hidden reversed in pOoLrOoM sEcReTs.
4 Sudden surge by scoundrel breaking cover
CASCADE
An insertion of CAD in CASE. The insertion indicator is ‘breaking’.
5 Historic family risks abandoning church before trial
ANCESTRY
A charade of [CH]ANCE and TRY.
6 Misstep that could make shoe feel uncomfortable?
SLIP OF THE TONGUE
A cd cum dd.
7 Fashion to benefit Rome at last
NOT BEFORE TIME
(TO BENEFIT ROME)* with ‘fashion’ as the anagrind.
8 Certain merger stopped by crusade against Dutch bank
UNQUESTIONING
An insertion of QUEST in UNION, followed by ING for the ‘Dutch bank’. The insertion indicator is ‘stopped by’.
15 The king’s evil son abused our calf
SCROFULA
A charade of S and (OUR CALF)*. The swelling that is mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis is also known as scrofula and the king’s evil, I learned today.
17 Outspoken music producer is transparent has-been?
SPECTRE
A soundalike clue (‘outspoken’) for [Phil] SPECTOR, the American music producer famous for the Wall of Sound and being convicted of murder.
18 Local experimental cinema snubbed over regressive editor
ENDEMIC
There’s a bit going on here: an insertion of ED reversed in (CINEM[A])* The insertion indicator is ‘over’; the anagrind is ‘experimental’; the reversal indicator is ‘regressive’.
22 Public official almost set up shop
RAT ON
A reversal (‘set up’, since it’s a down clue) of NOTAR[Y].
Many thanks to Flush for the start to the Independent crosswording week.
FOOL is FOIL with the I overshadowed by O(ther).
Thank you, Hovis. Would never have seen that.
Yes, a warm welcome to Flush, nice maiden puzzle. Yes, foil for straight man is neat. And thanks Pierre, esp for that succinct rundown on letter-doubling protocol.
Solid debut. I was pleased to spot that tricksy little substitution. Super anagram for NOT BEFORE TIME. Likewise, HOME TRUTHS.
Thanks both
A solid debut from Flush
SUCTION was the hardest one for me to get and until I read the blog I couldn’t work out the wordplay – I could only think of abbreviations for son, over, right and way (and also over could’ve meant a reversal) but it was none of those
NHO SHOYU but I assumed it was that from the wordplay – I couldn’t think of any other words for roar other than shout. It’s apparently another name for soy sauce – who knew? (I didn’t!)
I remembered scrofula from a while back when it appeared in another puzzle so I felt pleased with myself for pulling that out from the depths of my mind
EVANESCENCE always reminds me of the rock band that were massive around the mid 00s – I had a school friend that was obsessed with them around 2003/4
Thanks Pierre and Flush
Evanescence released a new album just last month. I was surprised to read that it was their sixth album (I’ve only heard their debut album). Must look into some of their later work.
I also got SHOYU from the wordplay and struggled for a while to parse SUCTION. I knew SCROFULA was a word from Countdown but couldn’t remember its meaning but it fit the clue so had to be right.
Nice crossword. Needed the blog for a couple of parsings, in particular for 13a FOOL (so thanks Hovis). I think there is a slight inaccuracy in the parsing of 14 HOME TRUTHS: I think ‘without’ here indicates the removal of one the Ts, else there would be too many letters in the anagram fodder.
Many thanks to Flush and to Pierre for the blog
Thank you, Walrus. Blog corrected.
Welcome to Flush and thanks for blog, Pierre. I think however you are being a bit hard re REFOCUSSED. Dicts have it as an acceptable alternative to REFOCUSED and that’s all that really matters, I’d say.
Thanks Flush, nice debut, Flash (no relation(!))
I get so used to separating that it took an age ti see that the Dutch bank was, in fact, a Dutch bank and not “drely”. HOME TRUTHS was nicely done. If the Democrats ever get to be President again, I hope they nominate a VP as useful to setters as Vance or Pence.
Thanks both. For a while I was reading too much into POLITICIANS UNQUESTIONING NOT BEFORE TIME; such would indeed be only a fleeting moment. No problems getting the answer but for me a misstep is a mistake in conduct, and not spoken as in SLIP OF THE TONGUE, but I guess you can open your mouth and put your foot in it. Read up on MUTAGEN and still not sure whether it’s dangerous, but I will hide for good measure if one appears on our Ring Doorbell.
A fun debut from Flush
NHO SHOYU, couldn’t parse FOOL or SPECTRE but otherwise plain sailing. I did enjoy the long anagrams especially UNQUESTIONING and HOME TRUTHS.
Thanks Flush and Pierre
Thank you for the blog Pierre, and to everyone who solved and commented for the welcome, much appreciated! Flush