Across
Alcoholic welcoming stiffener from 19A (9)
Perfect fish alla Livornese starters (5)
State of bluegrass lounge singer (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
KY (abbreviation for Kentucky, known as the Bluegrass State) + LIE (lounge, as a verb = lie down in a relaxed position). Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
Hellish stuff from Black Sabbath character with lip filler (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
B (abbreviation for black) + S (abbreviation for Sabbath) + TONE (character = manner), containing (with . . . filler) RIM (lip of a bowl). Old name for sulphur (or sulfur, as it’s now known internationally to chemists); associated with hell as in “fire and brimstone” because of the unpleasant smell of sulphur dioxide when it burns.
Change the law (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Double definition. Small copper coins, which may be returned as change in a cash transaction; or coppers = the law = slang for police officers.
Spooner's main blemish is kind of 8 (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Spoonerism of KEY (main = important) POCK (blemish, as in pock-marked). Reference to 8 down BLUE: a shade of turquoise blue resembling a peacock’s feathers.
Finish off second issue for 15 (3,2)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
MO (short for moment = second = brief time) + PUP (for example a seal pup, the offspring or “issue” of 15 down ARCTIC SEAL). Mop up = to deal with the last few bits of a task, after the majority has been done.
Wine on demand at last (3)
Cheese cutter oddly securing medal (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Odd-numbered letters of C [u] T [t] E [r], containing (securing) OM (Order of Merit = medal awarded by the King). Comté = French cheese from the Alpine region near the border with Switzerland.
Commander of Russian vehicle reversing around space station (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
LADA (Russian car brand), reversed, around MIR (Soviet-era space station).
27d
(and 27 Down) What 25 did with Madame Butterfly (7,4)
Singer left in Aberdeen ground (6,3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
L (abbreviation for left) in an anagram (ground = broken into small pieces) of ABERDEEN . US singer, who started as a child star in the 50s and is probably best known for her recording of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree .
Little Simz regularly ahead of everybody (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Alternate letters (regularly) of S [i] M [z], then ALL (everybody). (For the surface, Little Simz is a British rapper and singer.)
Alien investigator not unknown to row (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SCULL [y] (Mulder’s partner in the TV series The X-Files = alien investigator), without the Y (mathematical symbol for an unknown quantity). Row, as a verb = scull = propel a boat using oars.
Upset around Gunners increased (9)
Down
Boxer initially upset over Sky broadcast (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Initial letter of U [pset] before (over, reading downwards in a down clue) an anagram (broadcast = scattered) of SKY . The Ukrainian professional boxer Oleksandr Usyk.
Slog from left-handed opener breaking school record (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Opening letter of L [eft-handed], inserted into (breaking) SCH (abbreviation for school) + EP (extended-play musical record). Yiddish word for a difficult or tedious journey = slog.
Porter has people paying to see Jack Russell? (10)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
GATE (the number of people paying to enter a sports stadium for an event) + KEEPER (short for wicketkeeper, in cricket, for example Jack Russell who played for Gloucestershire and England in the 80s and 90s).
Voice coach in high-flying company (6)
Son had hallucinations laid bare (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
S (abbreviation for son) + TRIPPED (experienced hallucinations as a result of taking illicit drugs).
X is embraced by King Charles finally (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
IS contained in (embraced by) K (abbreviation for king, in chess or playing cards) + final letter of [charle] S . Symbol representing a kiss, especially at the end of letters or electronic messages.
Rambo and Joe Exotic showing a lot of bottle (8)
Sad Scottish singer half-cut in empty brasserie (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
LU [lu] (Scottish singer, who started her career in the 1960s and hasn’t stopped yet), with half of her name cut, in B [rasseri] E (empty = inner letters removed).
Mark married in unconscious state (5)
Swimmer in freezing lake swallows a lot of water (6,4)
Harry Kane on top of Germany’s press (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (harry, as a verb = harass) of KANE , before (on top of, reading downwards in a down clue) D (abbreviation for Deutschland = Germany). This footballer’s name has been a gift to crossword setters.
Solicitor on ecstasy before party added bells and whistles (6,2)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
PIMP (solicitor = one who solicits customers for a prostitute) + E (abbreviation for the drug ecstasy) + DUP (Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland). Pimped up, as a verb = added bells and whistles = modified [something] to make it more exciting.
Russell Crowe ultimately drunk and unregulated (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (drunk) of RUSSELL + last letter (ultimately) of [crow] E .
Cabbage white is under ripe bananas (6)
Dogs scoff in revolutionary way (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
RAIL (scoff = to complain mockingly), contained in ST (abbreviation for street = way) reversed (revolutionary). I’d only come across “rail” as meaning to complain angrily, but Chambers also has the sense of mocking. Dog, as a verb = trail = follow.
Brief Encounter is 19D for president (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
B [r] USH (a brief encounter, as in a brush with fame or with danger), without the R (abbreviation for rule: reference to 19 down RULELESS). Either George H W Bush or George W Bush: father and son presidents of the US.
Artist brought up in Philadelphia (4)
See 22 Across
Type letters or click words in the clue