The Sunday Crossword No 3253, Sunday 07 May 2023

ACROSS

1   Proves sectarians will be dispersed (10) ASCERTAINS*

6   Knock back lager? That's a mistake (4) SLIP<=

9   Welcome when sporting cane, cap etc (10) ACCEPTANCE*

10 Not taking sides of gammon and pineapple? (4) AMMO gAMMOn

11 Carol, with mashed potato, perhaps making a fuss (4,3,5) SONG AND DANCE {SONG}{AND}{DANCE}

15 Ray Brown has gym kit (7) SUNBEAM {SUN}{BEAM}

16 Badly over-use bodies of work (7) OEUVRES*

17 Operating system's way of working is stifling small, gradual assimilation (7) OSMOSIS {OS}{MO}{IS} over {S}

19 Able to pay for chloroform? (7) SOLVENT [DD]

20 State that's stunned to host our excellent sporting event (4,2,6) TOUR DE FRANCE {T{OUR}{DEF}RANCE}

23 One of the Great Lakes is spooky, we're told (4) ERIE (~eerie)

24 Characters seen in Henry IV, Part I; Henry IV, Part II; Henry V? (10) SEMICOLONS Definition by example

25 One way to order food in W African country (4) TOGO 

26 Starter of tree tufts rejected; detox's not half restricting Everyman in regime (6,4) ATKINS DIET {cATKINS} {D{I}EToxs} 

DOWN

1   A glass container's open? Not entirely (4) AJAR {A}{JAR}

2   Bird to draw back (4) COCK [DD]

3   Predecessor treated and treated again (11) REPROCESSED*

4   Mixture showing some charisma, glam albeit retro (7) AMALGAM [T<=]

5   Number with 'party in the county jail'? Out of the question (2,3,2) NO CAN DO {NO}{CAN DO}

7   What may be found in orchard as twitchy mole enters (5,5) LEMON TREES*

8   Disposition of person to wallow in pity (10) PROPENSITY {P{PERSON*}ITY}

12 Match short, suggesting cheat? (6-5) DOUBLE-CROSS {DOUBLE}{CROSS}

13 Deranged maestros finally turn out medley (10) ASSORTMENT {MAESTROS*}{turN}{ouT}

14 No geranium in arrangement? Charming! (10) ENAMOURING*

18 So fine! Exam is gentle in the extreme (7) SOFTEST {SO}{F}{TEST}

19 Seriously widely adopted, hugely intelligible language – international, primarily! (7) SWAHILI Acrostic &lit

21 Inhospitable environment: island with marsh to the north (4) GOBI {I}<=>{BOG}

22 Call for attention; troops straighten, to some extent (4) PSST [T]

Reference List

Operating system = OS, Way of working = MO(Modus Operandi), Small = S, Number = NO, Party = DO, County jail = CAN, Fine = F