Across
Paper tossed around Church Times newspaper, following brief talk (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
T T (abbreviation for time, twice = times) + I (a newspaper), after CONFE [r] (talk, as a verb) without the last letter (brief).
Feast that might accompany toast? (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Double definition. A large amount of food, especially when set out as a buffet for a special occasion; or jam, peanut butter or similar foods that you might put on your toast.
Tool turned fruit into bread (4,3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
UGLI (a large citrus fruit) reversed (turned), inserted into NAN (also spelled naan = Indian bread).
Very crisp, black, straight lines (4-3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
B (abbreviation for black) + ONE-D (abbreviation for one-dimensional = in a straight line = straight) + RY (abbreviation for railway = lines). I’m not quite convinced by 1-D = straight, but I assume that’s what’s intended. Very crisp = bone-dry = descriptive of white wine without much residual sugar. Or perhaps just meaning something with all the moisture removed.
Call up First Lady without consent (5)
Discover comedian's middle eight moved significantly (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
The middle eight letters from [disc] OVER COME [dian]. As in “overcome with emotion”.
T-shirt design represented Eastern deity (3-3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (re-presented) of E (abbreviation for Eastern) + DEITY . Fabric decoration technique popular in the 60s and 70s, often used on T-shirts.
What seals second team appearance (5,3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
S (abbreviation for second) + CREW (a team in rowing or other sports) + CAP (slang for an appearance for a national sports team).
Oxen trod precariously close (4,4)
Legendary winger is engaging about sport (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
IS , containing (engaging) CA (abbreviation for Latin circa = about = approximately) + RU (abbreviation for the sport of Rugby Union). According to ancient Greek legend, Icarus and his father Daedalus escaped from prison by flying, using wings they made out of feathers and beeswax; but it didn’t end well for Icarus because beeswax melts in the sun.
Australian site may make a typo, e.g. in fliers (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
CAN (as a verb = may = is able/permitted to), then ERR (make a mistake, for example a typo) in BA (abbreviation for British Airways = fliers).
Conan Doyle character's superlative conclusion leaving Lestrade confused (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (confused) of L [est] RADE , leaving out -EST (suffix indicating “most” = superlative conclusion). Irene Adler, who appears in only one of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories but is mentioned in a few others. For the surface, Lestrade is also a Conan Doyle character: a detective who is somewhat less clever than Holmes and therefore likely to be left confused by his conclusions.
Gunners locate treadmill (3,4)
Slowing down quietly during dance music from the 90s (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
RIT (in musical notation, abbreviation for ritardando = Italian for slowing down) + P (in musical notation, abbreviation for piano = Italian for quietly), all inserted into BOP (slang for dance). Confusingly, rit. is also an abbreviation for ritenuto (held back), which is more of a temporary just-go-a-bit-slower-here rather than a gradual slowing down. If in doubt, watch the conductor! British pop music genre from the 1990s.
A university grant (6)
Art lover hates high summer in Paris (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (high = intoxicated) of HATES , then ETE (French word for summer, so “summer in Paris”).
Down
Player needing racket before match with six-footer (10)
Unpleasant feeling rising, changing side of street (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
EMO [t] ION (feeling) reversed (rising = upwards in a down clue), with S changed to T (the “other side” of S[tree]T). The sort of word that probably catches out second-language English speakers: it looks as though it should mean “noisy” but it actually means disgusting, and is usually applied to bad smells.
'Great score of course - I'd sounded sharp (5-4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
EAGLE (in golf, completing a hole in two fewer strokes than expected = a great score on the golf course) + homophone (sounded) of I’D. Sharp = eagle-eyed = paying attention to details. And if you are, you probably spotted a stray punctuation mark at the start of the clue – at least in the version I’m looking at. I think it’s just a mistake; it may be a 14d but there’s no obvious reason to link the two.
Mickey Mouse beat Dumbo up (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
TOP (as a verb = beat = do better than) + NIT (dumbo = slang for a foolish person), all reversed (up = upwards in a down clue). Mickey Mouse = tinpot = slang for insignificant or a poor-quality imitation.
Force constituent to accept an island state (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
PC (abbreviation for police constable = a constituent of the police force), containing (to accept) AN + I (abbreviation for island). As in “get into a state” = get into a panic = get flustered.
Medicine struggles to eliminate one? (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (struggles) of MED [i] CINE with one I (Roman numeral for one) eliminated). Clue-as-definition (&lit): endemic = a disease that is ongoing in a particular location and never completely eradicated. (As distinct from epidemic = one that occurs there for a period of time; or pandemic = one that occurs everywhere.)
Kinks's Ray or Dave losing fight for unknown song of theirs? (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
DA [vie] S (surname of brothers Ray and Dave, founders of British rock band The Kinks), with VIE (fight, as a verb) replaced by Y (mathematical symbol for an unknown number). 1968 song by The Kinks.
Want beans cooked this time (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
Anagram (cooked) of BEANS , then CE (abbreviation for Common Era = another name for Anno Domini or AD = the current time as represented by calendar years).
I'm avoiding outside excursion (10)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
The punctuation mark in the middle of [i] ‘ [m] (avoiding the letters on the outside). The Greek-derived word for this punctuation mark means “turning away”, and it’s used in rhetoric to mean a digression from the main topic of a speech to address someone or something else.
Ceremony of religious leader touring America after several other countries (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
CHRIST (religious leader) around A (abbreviation for America), after EU (abbreviation for European Union = several countries other than America). Another name for the church ceremony known as the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.
Student article that's cutting edge (7)
Vote in favour of keeping Move It (1,6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
X (symbol used to indicate a vote on a ballot paper), then FOR (in favour of) containing ACT (move = do something). X Factor = it = slang for an indefinable but desirable quality, especially sexual attractiveness.
Degenerate left church area after religious teaching (7)
Rock and roll's first book penned by Jack or Tom? (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
First letter of R [oll] + B (abbreviation for book), contained in (penned by) MALE (Jack or Tom; jack = a male donkey, tom = a male cat).
S African gathering support over Grok, say (5)
Bag of chopped beef (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
GRIP [e] (beef = slang for a complaint), with the last letter removed (chopped). Another word for a holdall = travel bag.
Type letters or click words in the clue