1-across – Guitar piece with avant garde middle section entertaining funky penguin : TUNINGPEG

6-across – Foremost of dorks, little black doofus : DWEEB

9-across – Say why German figure gets boat : YACHT

10-across – Local inheritance initially dismissed as a teenager : PUBESCENT

11-across – Funny but sad man inhaling smoke, falling back, I see : TRAGICOMIC

12-across – Spooner’s to flourish the canvas, showing green slogan : SAVE

14-across – Attach as bloodsucker, piercing boy : STICKON

15-across – Hospital cuts, as it were, lacking : SHORTOF

17-across – Tend to enter competition to take all the prizes : CLEANUP

19-across – See 24 : BATTERY

20-across – Tongue violating undersecretary : ERSE

22-across – So Saturday dawns, cool for amity : FRIENDSHIP

25-across – Clergymen treated pal as a slave? : CHAPLAINS

26-across – 1 down erasing my northern residence : IGLOO

27-across – Women’s magazine which for some provokes a re­action? : WHEAT

28-across – Devil’s extremes during travels, insidious as a heathen : GODLESSLY

1-down – Go over last of minutes, having little time for meeting : TRYST

2-down – Bizarre crate among square fruit : NECTARINE

3-down – Spooner’s taking mine as fussy? : NITPICKING

4-down – Spooner’s : POPCORN

5-down – Upset listener discards rubbish : GUBBINS

6-down – One’s served a beauty : DISH

7-down – Endless time before a medical injection : ENEMA

8-down – Spooner’s to pass as it does, as insect? : BUTTERFLY

13-down – Party entitled to be flexible where documents ratified? : DOTTEDLINE

14-down – Broadcast about some land, Washington, which must be praised : SACREDCOW

16-down – See 12 : THEWHALES

18-down – Spooner’s initiating step for Central London premium? : PARKING

19-down – Damned, or holy? : BLESSED

21-down – See 18 : SPACE

23-down – Actor finally punches lousy agent : PROXY

24-down – Spooner’s you’re such a gorgeous pipistrelle — no charge? : FLAT

1-across – Customs! They seized the mine, unfortunately : MORESTHEPITY

8-across – Cover for the Listener when Wyatt catches retreating boy : EARFLAP

9-across – I don’t exactly mean that Fe is tritium : IRONIST

11-across – Old Hollywood actor had gold he gave to charity : DONATOR

12-across – Momentum first encountered by American without power : IMPETUS

13-across – Flock if it’s this : HEARD

14-across – OK to put on the table of the Queen in the story : OFFERABLE

16-across – Push needed to get university job? : BATHCHAIR

19-across – Heavenly sound in the 17 : ARIEL

21-across – City father’s promulgation : ROMULUS

23-across – Visible requirement for psychotherapist : INSIGHT

24-across – Fizzy stuff to place round plant : SHERBET

25-across – Merchant becoming baddie in the 17 : ANTONIO

26-across – Flag for speed — that’s how it usually goes : STANDARDRATE

1-down – Setter’s backing currency with a girl of the 17 : MIRANDA

2-down – Told of 1, 5 and 25 : RELATED

3-down – Bright star is ours, orbiting by means of eggs : SUPERNOVA

4-down – From my dacha it is over 600 miles to Caracas : HAITI

5-down – 17 maker briefly to do well : PROSPER

6-down – Conclusion of great success, but put up for old-fashioned wash : TWINTUB

7-down – Winter slogan: provide for dished and bereft : FEEDTHEBIRDS

10-down – Novel heroine left in bliss to the making of mosaics : TESSELLATION

15-down – False friend with prince in the 17 : FERDINAND

17-down – Try to hold directions in a storm : TEMPEST

18-down – Part of US state that had prohibition in the 17 : CALIBAN

19-down – Area for old London criminals or dogs — as a tail unfolds : ALSATIA

20-down – Green type takes turn in revolutionary engine : INGENUE

22-down – Pose for king, first getting spruce : SITKA

1-across – Charlie blowing a horn for each vessel coming in … : PARKER

4-across – … for each vessel sounds get better : PERKUP

9-across – Mostly bisexual, including one tart : ACID

10-across – Some hair in food rejected by the Queen — somebody’s head rolls! : BURGERBUNS

11-across – One-dimensional adult aboard ship : LINEAR

12-across – See 17 : HIAWATHA

13-across – I’m 80% black and so hot, dancing all over the place : SHAMBOLIC

15-across – Some hitch a ride daily : CHAR

16-across – A function of envy, say, at its outset : SINE

17-across – Ghost, often losing heart, sorted out rent account — what a strange source of inspiration for 25 2 20 : THESONGOF

21-across – Locate river pollution at source? It’s all uphill from here : BASECAMP

22-across – Book by 25 2 20, or by 20 25 2? : SAMUEL

24-across – I’m left struggling over an exam until the very last moment! : FORALLTIME

25-across – Old king beheaded female that’s aroused royal musician : COLE

26-across – Cashier catches a cold in old carriage : FIACRE

27-across – Hot, sexy new mate replacing previous incumbent : STEAMY

1-down – I am at home being mischievous : PUCKISH

2-down – See 25 : RIDGE

3-down – Self-absorbed male lawyers authorised trade-off : EMBARGO

5-down – Ernie regularly has little 22 turning up for injections : ENEMAS

6-down – A black hunk caught out skipping work by 25 2 or 25 2 20? : KUBLAKHAN

7-down – Roast the right beast : PANTHER

8-down – Chief mistake — zero cut in fee for office overseas, say? : ARCHBISHOPRIC

14-down – 12’s love of men in floppy hats : MINNEHAHA

16-down – It helps to raise the water level if food has run out : SHADOOF

18-down – Dodgy American Pie covers penned by 22 25 2 20, initially : SUSPECT

19-down – Cover a superior song? : OVERLAY

20-down – See 25 : TAYLOR

23-down – Brown partial to a dram? Och aye! : MOCHA

1-across – Opening word of cryptic message not good : SESAME

4-across – Romany almost turns on girl with a telescope : SPYGLASS

9-across – Sheriff starts in pursuit — it’s a bit of a dance : CHASSE

10-across – The Spanish manage without Miss Spenlow, where wealth is thought to be had : ELDORADO

11-across – Limited resource feeds ten somehow before chucking out : DEFENESTRATION

13-across – A great deal of nothing? : HYPERSPACE

14-across – Character of Borodin and Stravinsky : IGOR

16-across – Go on endlessly about not being decent : LEWD

18-across – Mean euphemistically a lone comic turn : ECONOMICAL

21-across – Made bread turn into carbon perhaps? : BURNTTOACINDER

23-across – Weight of Kipling’s work about record with soldiers : KILOGRAM

24-across – Scot ill in African city : IBADAN

25-across – The Times displaying lack of enlightenment? : DARKAGES

26-across – Object of Bush’s war — a bit of tactical blunder : TERROR

1-down – Wine container : SACK

2-down – Dine without fish in the revolution : SHAKEUP

3-down – Deer English attempt to get with small arms fire : MUSKETRY

5-down – Old school gets Chico plenty confused! : POLYTECHNIC

6-down – Chuck takes young lady round in many countries : GLOBAL

7-down – A parent with vitality — that’s fabulous! : AMAZING

8-down – Old nurse caught naughty miscreant : SCOUNDREL

12-down – Cough up and look forward to speak : EXPECTORATE

13-down – Far from 21, like party policies? : HALFBAKED

15-down – In a walk, girl is willing to be led : AMENABLE

17-down – Following hostilities, rebel elements out east get bird : WARBLER

19-down – Shiny element surrounding Ibsen character in Somerset : CHEDDAR

20-down – Mark time in classic character : STIGMA

22-down – Knot turns foul : KNAR

8-across – Time in its entirety? : ETERNITY

9-across – Could be weeping at prospect of debt being endless : WILLOW

10-across – Prize for knocking top off crowbar : EMMY

11-across – 24 down’s 24 down — but what’s played sounds like 22 across : QUEENSCLUB

12-across – See 24 : ASPADE

14-across – Mimosa on river’s course : RAINTREE

15-across – Comrade rebel doing stuff : BROCADE

17-across – A reason for being a stick-in-the-mud? : AGROUND

20-across – Leave 24 down out for fish : SKIPJACK

22-across – Combination of 24 downs : TENACE

23-across – Spooky friend entertaining artist at opera : PARANORMAL

24-across – Bid one 24 down twice, to be honest : CALL

25-across – 2 of 16 gets sworn at : DEUCED

26-across – Receiving refusal, I admit not being aware : IGNORANT

1-down – A skinflint about to spray : ATOMISER

2-down – Playing 24 down starts upsetting solvers : TREY

3-down – Unglazed soup? Repeat part of question : BISQUE

4-down – Past 24 down for learning? : BYHEART

5-down – Bird with 24 down showing off : SWANKING

6-down – Be without god amid loads of money and I will supply fruit for gin : BLACKTHORN

7-down – Amount to be read? : VOLUME

13-down – Septic tank mostly mentioned in 24 down: no regrets then? : ACCEPTANCE

16-down – 24 downs intimate with young female? : DIAMONDS

18-down – Isthmian railway could take the plunge : NECKLINE

19-down – Remove surface of road with a shrub : SKIMMIA

21-down – Refained weapons for 24 downs? : KNAVES

22-down – Gift of old money? : TALENT

24-down – Character of pack member : CARD