No 12782, Saturday 16 Nov 2019, Afterdark

Lots of holes in the SE corner

ACROSS
1   Parts of flower given to friends avoiding stranger (6) PETALS {P{ET}ALS}
4   Overdue in payments? Disheartened with signs (6) PLATES {Payment{LATE}S}
9   Family procured large oven (4) KILN {KI{L}N}
10 Anne has one spy agency; time to broadcast (10) ANNUNICATE  {ANN{UN}{CIA}{T}E}
11 1 or 4 folds, anyway are folds (6) PLEATS {PETALS*} or {PLATES*}
12 One can imagine closing early at noon to be free (8) UNLOOSEN {UN}{LOO}{SEe}{N}
13 Crush Ann has on freshman, nearly is obsessive at the end (9) TYRANNISE {TYRo}{ANN}{IS}{obsessivE}
15 In front of counter, never-ending queue at closing (4) FORE {OF<=}{neveR}{queuE}
16 Big fight at temples (4) BROW {B}{ROW}
17 Being hot and cold on a man? Use something to soothe (4,5) HAND CREAM {H}{AND}{C}{RE}{A}{M}
21 Dirty or pure, somehow to accommodate reading one takes no time (8) PRURIENT {PURE*} around {R}{I} +{N}{T}
22 Lightest, original pilsner, beer’s spritzy, tasty for starters (6) PALEST {Pilsner}{ALE}{Spritzy}{Tasty}
24 Keep Going. Have fresh tea after each exercise, situps essentially (10) PERPETUATE {PER}{PE}{siTUps}{TEA*}
25 Russian author wastes cocktail — one part of Bloody Mary (4) GORY {GORkY}
26 Main road at Andhra Pradesh has bottleneck in the middle (6) STAPLE {ST}{AP}{bottLEneck}
27 Sketch is completed, to collect some money overcoming middlemen (6) PASTEL {PAST}{mEn}{L} Added after 8:30

DOWN
1   Very little money to get large yard of a textile pattern (7) PAISLEY {PAIS{L}E}{Y}
2   Country dance in which one’s swapping out (5) TONGA {TANG(-o+A)
3   Working together to essentially solve a first-class issue (7) LIAISON {soLve}{I}{AI}{SON}
5   Attractive new replacement for Victor is reclusive (6) LONELY {LO(-v+N)ELY}
6   Ancient art’s revolutionary, nearly high class writing in Indian standard perhaps (9) TRICOLOUR Anno not clear
7   Expressing defiance, drunkard’s in this place (2,5) SO THERE {SO T}{HERE}
8   Replacement in a moment? One’s a learner, it’s tenuous (13) INSUBSTANTIAL {IN{SUB}STANT}{I}{A}{L}
14 Hesitatingly approach youth leader to give religious books (9) APOCRYPHA {APPROACH*} around {Youth}
16 Perhaps an English MP hiding in Hamburg/Essen (7) BURGESS (T)
18 Look through Times on order of insects (7) DIPTERA {DIP}{T}{ERA} Added after 8:30
19 Segment of holocaust rally is coming from the South (7) AUSTRAL (T)
20 Placed Pakistani leader in a jail finally; relating to partition perhaps (6) SEPTAL {SE{Pakistani}T}{A}{jaiL}
23 Brilliance of leader vanishes on touch down (5) LIGHT {fLIGHT} ? {aLIGHT} Added after 8:30 See comments

Reference List

Stranger=ET, Large=L, One=I, Spy agency=CIA, Time=T, One=Un, Can=Loo, Noon=N, Big=B, Hot=H, Cold=C, Man=M, Reading=R, One=I, No=N, Time=T, Andhra Pradesh=AP, Road=St
Yard=Y, One=A, Out=O, A=I, First-Class=AI, Issue=Son, New=N, Victor=V, Learner=L

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