No 13631, Wednesday 10 Aug 2022, Lightning

Solution to 23A 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   Everything that exists in a French poem is gripping individual (8) UNIVERSE {UN}{1}{VERSE}

5   Design by alien for earth, perhaps (6) PLANET {PLAN}{ET}

9   Specialist doctor at hospital, not new, filled with excitement (8) ENTHUSED {ENT}{H}{USED}

10 Division of group of fish partly is methodical to begin with (6) SCHISM {SCHool}{IS}{Me...l}

12 Praise guest contributing to smooth transition (5) SEGUE [T]

13 Reasoning ability of fashionable cashier curtailed by court (9) INTELLECT {IN}{TELLEr}{CT}

14 Party with couple of unknowns in Andromeda, perhaps (6) GALAXY {GALA}{X}{Y}

16 King is missing the first holy book causing laughter (7) RISIBLE {R}{IS}{bIBLE}

19 Camera I lost in country (7) AMERICA*

21 Hasty escape after row in a place of confusion (6) BEDLAM {LAM}<=>{BED}

23 What may be happening to one mark of error pending a correction (9) E?P?N?I?G (Addendum - EXPANDING - {X+PENDING+A}* - See comments)

25 Searches dissolute person joining society (5) RAKES {RAKE}{S}

26 Medium, second perhaps, not left in what one is made of (6) MATTER {M}{lATTER}

27 Influence more or less substantial (8) HANDSOME {HAND}{SOME}

28 Where a batsman might start to feel nervous (6) NINETY [CD]

29 Use sling to change grotesque appearance (8) UGLINESS*

DOWN

1   Anxious peacekeepers essentially annoy many in the end (6) UNEASY {UN}{tEASe}{manY}

2   Giant tree chopped up to make part of larger unit (9) INTEGRATE*

3   Avoid press release wasted in the beginning (5) ELUDE prELUDE

4   State's commercial venture provided yen (7) SPECIFY {SPEC}{IF}{Y}

6   Scaled oil rig restricted to a place (9) LOCALISED*

7   Innocent citizen leaving Thailand (5) NAIVE NAtIVE

8   Cook to steam ordinary vegetables (8) TOMATOES {TO+STEAM+O}*

11 It's primary shining throughout a region (4) STAR Acrostic Semi&lit

15 Lamenting misplaced alliance (9) ALIGNMENT*

17 Left behind outside with depression — one may not get out of it (5,4) BLACK HOLE {B{L}ACK}{HOLE}

18 Beer introduced in ship by gent — he can be persuasive (8) SALESMAN {S{ALE}S}{MAN}

20 A police branch is sharp (4) ACID {A}{CID}

21 Large explosion — it's supposed to have created one (3,4) BIG BANG {BIG}{BANG}

22 Reckon beasts of burden slow at first (6) ASSESS {ASSES}{Slow}

24 Where a race car may stop with side spike (5) PITON {PIT}{ON}

25 Primarily rectified a distraught individual's important bones (5) RADII Acrostic

Reference List

A in French = UN, Individual = I, Alien = ET, Specialist doctor = ENT, Hospital = H, Fashionable = IN, Court = CT, Unknowns = X,Y, King = R, Mark of error = X, Society = S, Medium = M, Left = L, Peacekeepers =- UN, Yen = Y, Thailand = T, Ordinary = O, Ship = SS, Side = ON