No 12944, Monday 25 May 2020, Dr. X

Day 62 of 68 Stay safe at home

(I am maintaining lockdown till 31 May)

Solution to 13D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS
1   Increases speed of walking to twice as much getting more gaps between lines (6-7) DOUBLE-SPACING {DOUBLES}{PACING}
8   Avoid a horribly maintained American state (5) IDAHO [T]
9   Son felt sad about rebellious tiff primarily hurting pride (4-5) SELF-WORTH {S}{ELF{ROW<=}T*}{Hu...g}
11 Emulate move to protect veteran endlessly facing prosecution (6, 4) FOLLOW SUIT {F{OLd}LOW}{SUIT}
12 Amazon native settled around island (4) TUPI {PUT<=}{I}
14 Hooligans yearn to enter fights (7) ROWDIES {ROW{DIE}S}
16 Thrill to receive bonus salary (7) STIPEND {S{TIP}END}
17 Calm because wise person controls union (7) ASSUAGE {AS}{S{U}AGE}
19 Fellows spending money on grand celebration to impress (7) ENGRAVE {mEN}{G}{RAVE}
21 One gets pain around pelvic bones (4) ILIA {1}{AIL<=}
22 Risky choice to install a Republican (10) PRECARIOUS {PREC{A}{R}IOUS}
25 Exotic woman in ultimately revealing thong, one that's worn in bed (9) NIGHTGOWN {W+IN+r...nG+THONG}*

26 A little offensive, sour smell (5) ODOUR {Of...e}{DOUR}
27 Conserving energy, fight and rush around ring to seek vengeance (2, 3, 3, 5) BE OUT FOR BLOOD {B{E}OUT}{F{ORB}LOOD}

DOWN
2   Unwritten rules in Judaism, old and realistic about everything (4, 3) ORAL LAW {O}{R{ALL}AW}
3   Revolting attempt to spread ghastly bacilli round in this type of warfare (10) BIOLOGICAL {BACILLI+O}* over {GO<=}
4   Stops losing head and relaxes (5) EASES cEASES
5   Mate with damsel over one oriental mattress (9) PALLIASSE {PAL}{L{1}ASS}{E}

6   Overwhelmed by endless expenditure, wife intimidates (4) COWS {CO{W}St}
7   Help to sprint around track, climbing with energy (7) NURTURE {RUN<=}RUT<=}{E}
8   Notice how soldiers march (11) INFORMATION {IN FORMATION}
10 One using shears and drier? (11) HAIRDRESSER [CD] &lit See comments
13 Being finally rather messy, tucking into chicken — need this? (6, 4)  ?I?G?R ?O?L (Addendum - FINGER BOWL {F{BEING+r...eR}*OWL} - See comments) Semi&lit
15 Abstains from exercises eventually and weakens (6, 3) SWEARS OFF {e...eS}{WEARS OFF}
18 Fish for eels and small carp (7) SNIGGLE {S}{NIGGLE}
20 Associate gets largely melancholic on old sherry (7) AMOROSO {A}{MOROSe}{O}
23 Malignancy killing club chairperson? (5) CANER CANcER
24 Westernmost Aleutian island, part of great Tundra (4) ATTU [T]

Reference List
Son = S, Island = I, Union = U, Money = M, Grand = G, Republican = R, Woman = W, Energy = E, Attempt = GO, Oriental = E, Wife = W, Small = S, Associate = A, Old = O, Club = C

Dr RKE's TalePiece

The Bamboo Bazaar you see today in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru has mostly wooden furniture shops and only one or two CANERs still in operation. About 40 years back, walking on the street, one could smell the ODOUR of fresh bamboo because there were many shop-cum-workshops here. Mohamed Sulaiman, owner of Ayesha Rattan Furnitures in this bazaar, had NURTUREd his business carefully for 25 years. His specialty was a sturdy cane jhoola (swing) with a soft PALLIASSE. There were many swings of all sizes stacked PRECARIOUSly on the front of his shop, but his errand boy, Jaffar, could pick out the one you wanted even as Sulaiman saab engaged you in a banter. Since you can't ENGRAVE letters on bamboo, they would only stick a label on the sold product but Sulaiman would assure the buyer that even without the label, his swings could be identified by their unique workmanship in the unlikely event of any repair. 

This proud craftsman of high SELF WORTH was in a turmoil as he aged. He had no BIOLOGICAL heir to hand over his business to, as his only son employed in the merchant navy, was killed in a shipping accident off ATTU island near Alaska. Many similar shops in the vicinity had closed down, unable to face the competition from modern wooden and steel furniture shops but Sulaiman did not FOLLOW SUIT. A commercial property developer who had acquired the neighbouring shops, wanted to demolish the half-century old buildings to build a huge furniture showroom and was OUT FOR Sulaiman's BLOOD, irked by the old man's refusal to give up. ROWDIES had been sent to threaten Sulaiman. They roughed him up but in spite of sustaining fractures in his ILIA, Sulaiman refused to COW down. His erstwhile errand boy Jaffar, now a grown man, was there to ASSUAGE Sulaiman and looked after him as his own father. Sensing his end was near, Sulaiman, who had paid Jaffar only a meagre STIPEND all these years, called him one day and handed over a document neatly typed in DOUBLE SPACING. Sulaiman had bequeathed the shop and the business to Jaffar with the condition that it must not be sold as long as Sulaiman was alive. I gather INFORMATION that Sulaiman died shortly thereafter. Jaffar has sold the old shop and moved to Sultanpalya, where he continues the tradition in a newer, bigger place called "Sulaiman Cane Zone".