No 13323, Wednesday 11 Aug 2021, Vulcan

Solution to 22A 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   Insects? It’s perhaps gross when cooked (12) GRASSHOPPERS*

10 Agree Republican’s a monster (7) CHIMERA {CHIME}{R}{A}

11 Hill split in deluge (7) TORRENT {TOR}{RENT}

12 Single document (6) RECORD [DD]

13 Scholarly people embraced by elite rationalists (8) LITERATI [T]

15 Awfully dirty room in building (9) DORMITORY*

16 Watch 7 going around Grand Lake (5) VIGIL {VI{G}I}{L}

17 Farm managed by church (5) RANCH {RAN}{CH}

19 Firm that’s into sauce-manufacturing (9) TENACIOUS*

22 Wheel, small and soft, has speed (8) S?R?C?E? 

24 With enthusiasm, singer made a comeback at the beginning of last year (6) AVIDLY {DIVA}{Last}{Y}

26 Chicken roll stuffed with nothing (7) ROOSTER {RO{O}STER}

27 Complain about a rule during conversation (7) ARRAIGN (~ a reign)

28 Terrible damage agents manipulated (5-7) STAGE-MANAGED*

DOWN

2   One making false promises about endless protection in a vehicle (7) RAILCAR {LIAR<=}{CARe}

3   Marine creature ships fear at sea (9) SPEARFISH*

4   Warmth in posh eatery (4) HEAT [T]

5   Stunning dish! Cooking without recipe (10) PETRIFYING {PETRI}{FrYING}

6   At any time that is weird (5) EERIE {EER}{IE}

7   Girl suddenly in a situation (7) SHEBANG {SHE}{BANG}

8   Afraid it’s an injury — bleeding in the middle (6) SCARED SCArRED

9   A fabric that’s woven freely (2,4) AT WILL {A}{TWILL}

14 Letter to be composed for a plant producing containers? (6,4) BOTTLE TREE* 

16 Very poor service area? On the contrary (4,5) VICE VERSA {V}{SERVICE*}{A}

17 A royal wearing pink beads (6) ROSARY {ROS{A}{R}Y}

18 Worried sick over in North America (7) NERVOUS {N}{OVER*}{US}

20 Vintage model — it is intricate (3-4) OLD-TIME*

21 Uttering a proverb (6) SAYING [DD]

23 Say, grabbed a short garment (5) COTTA (~caught){COTT}{A} 

25 Girl having a party (4) GALA {GAL}{A}

Reference List

Republican = R, Grand = G, Lake = L, Church = CH, Year = Y, Recipe = R, Very = V, Area = A, Royal = R, North = N