No 9629, Saturday, 05 Sep 09, Gridman

ACROSS
 1 - Speak evil but not to one’s face (4-4) - BACK-BITE [CD]
 5 - Established paddock? (6) - STABLE [DD]
 9 - Leave hurriedly to prepare a rough bed (2,1,4) - {DO} {A} {BUNK} Why the word 'rough' in the clue ?
10 - Short slogan produces a tingle (7) - TAGLINE*
11 - Compete with setter rushing around to produce table napkin (9) - SER{VIE}TTE*
12 - Foodie, to begin with, receives direction for banquet (5) - {F}EAST
13 - Dismiss French novelist overlooking Public Relations (4) - (-pr)OUST
14 - Opener presents important portions of journey (3,6) - KEY STAGES [CD]
17 - Skit jeers unfairly at watercraft users (3-6) - JET-SKIERS
19 - Artist, by the way, backs a despot (4) - {TS<-}{AR<-} )
23 - Poem’s final stanza in keen voice (5) - ENVOI [T]
24 - Get it moving, as you might with a motorcycle! (4-5) - KICK-START [CD]
25 - Dance around in a manner with a marsupial (7) - WA{LLAB<-}Y
26 - An impression from the publisher (7) - EDITION [E]
27 - Second-in-command takes turn in department attending to duty at last (6) - {DEP{U}T}{Y}
28 - Trampled on the Oriental in mass rush (8) - STAMPED{E}
DOWN
 1 - Man yearns extremely to jump to a vehicle repair facility (4,4) - {BOD}{Y S}{HOP} Have heard of BO as a name but not BOD
 2 - Ashok, Kirti, Shaurya and the like (7) - CHAKRAS [E]
 3 - Kutch town serves up A-one snack (6) - BHUJ{IA<-} )
 4 - Tease each meek kitty in a different way (4,3,6) - TAKE THE MICKEY*
 6 - Sporting contest that has a pull on team members (3-2-3) - TUG-OF-WAR [CD] A popular event at any Army unit Raising Day celebrations, where we always have one between the Officers and Junior Commisioned Officers (JCOs)
 7 - Body of troops ordered to carry kit (7) - B{RIG}ADE
 8 - Builds straight up on top of stupa (6) - ERECT{S}
10 - Her cute stares produce box of valuables (8,5) - TREASURE CHEST*
15 - Wannabe’s partisan manifestation (8) - ASPIRANT*
16 - I leave epicentre in a whirl — that’s a cloak! (8) - PRETENCE(-i)*
18 - Pen perhaps about love practised in cover (7) - EN{VELO*}P*
20 - Strange disease in the Marina (7) - SEASIDE*
21 - Sounded like a Persian? (6) - MEOWED [E]
22 - Mother, therefore, turns up, holding one metallic element (6) - OS<-{M{I}UM}