No 12599, Saturday 13 Apr 2019, Gridman

Across

1. Lower the record in clothing (7) DEPRESS {D{EP}RESS}
5. Deceitful snake, wily, seeks end of matrimony (6) SNEAKY {SNAKE*}{matrimonY}
9. Celebrity's beginning to talk and look surprised (5) START {STAR}{Talk}
10. Additional covering of how rotgut becomes worse (9) OUTGROWTH {HOW+ROTGUT*}
11. Striking form shown by person rejected (7) OUTCAST {OUT}{CAST}
12. More evasive act by director-general, endlessly bad-tempered (7) DODGIER {DO}{DG}{fIERy}
13. Fool hotel in New York (5) NINNY {N{INN}Y}
14. One con man is active, a wakeful one that he is (9) INSOMNIAC {I}{CON+MAN+IS*}
16. Record company has point: head is in vacuity (9) EMPTINESS {EM{PT}I}{NESS}
19. Machine that gives suds endlessly (5) LATHE {LATHEr}
21. A little hesitation to get large, ancien spray (7) AEROSOL {A}{ER}{OS}{OLd}
23. National might be a female I hang about (7) AFGHANI {A}{F}{I+HANG*}
24. Almost slack in plan to catch a player, a fraud (9) CHARLATAN {CHAR{LAx}T}{A}{N}
25. Rubbish over large birdhouse (5) ROOST {RO{OS}T}
26. No fashionable example of position (6) STANCE {inSTANCE}
27. Full of energy, Andy runs to take voice booster (7) DYNAMIC {ANDY*}{MIC}

Down

1. Take exception to allowance given to church discipline with priest absent (14) DISCOUNTENANCE {DISCOUNT}{pENANCE}
2. One path too rough for light carriage (7) PHAETON {ONE+PATH*}

3. True! Oddly took rigorous years around to find part of river (7) ESTUARY {YEARS*} around {TrUe}
4. Hermits to go round for a little while (5,4)  SHORT TIME {HERMITS+TO*}
5. Investigators the journalist put in place (5) SITED {SIT}{ED}
6. Deal struck over right mantra for nobleman’s land (7) EARLDOM {DEAL*} around {R}+{OM}
7. European country backs delay over one Persian Gulf native (7) KUWAITI {UK<=}{WAIT}{I}
8. Typical property (14) CHARACTERISTIC (DD)
15. Maintained that the corrupt are swamping a superpower (9) SUSTAINED {S{US}TAINED}
17. Share includes fine, top-class icecream concoction (7) PARFAIT {PAR{F}{A1}T}

18. Slight cut in injection material (7) INSULIN {INSULt}{IN}
19. Shackle army crossing river (3-4) LEG-IRON {LEGI{R}ON}
20. Eatery undergoes a mooter change (7) TEAROOM {A+MOOTER*}
22. Agile, the man landed first (5) LITHE {LIT}{HE}

Reference List

Record=EP, Director-General=DG, New York=NY, One=I, Record company=EMI, Point=Pt, Little hesitation=Er, Large=OS, Female=F, Player=N (North in Bridge), Fashionable=In
Priest=P, Investigators=SIT, Journalist=Ed, Mantra=Om, Superpower=US, Fine=F, Top-class=AI (A-1), River=R, Man=He

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

GRID