Across
Bathroom item seen in meal on TV programme? (4,4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
DISH (food prepared and served = a meal) after SOAP (short for soap opera = TV serial drama).
Upset with excuse after dropping a drink (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
TIP (upset, as a verb) + PLE [a] (excuse), dropping the A.
Worried about female deity (6)
Group with a recording turning over millions - going this? (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
UNIT (group) + A + LP (abbreviation for long-playing record), all reversed (turning over), then M (abbreviation for millions). Extended definition: “going platinum” refers to the platinum disc that is awarded when a music recording sells a large number of copies (1,000,000 in the US; in the UK it’s 300,000 for an album or 600,000 for a single).
Say second new theme’s beginning in Beethoven overture (6)
Enthusiast caught engaging in some European risqué entertainment (3,5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
FAN (enthusiast), then C (abbreviation for caught, in cricket scoring) inserted into (engaging in) DANE (person from Denmark = some European). Dance in which the dancer, apparently not wearing much, is mostly hidden by two strategically-placed large fans.
Member’s upward path, dislodging leader (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
[c] LIMB (upward path), without the leading letter. An arm or leg.
School with a dull sound (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SCH (abbreviation for school) + W (abbreviation for with) + A . A simple vowel sound, like “uh” or the unstressed second syllable of “comma”: dull in the sense that it’s an indistinct sound produced by a relaxed mouth, without any of the physical adjustments required to produce a more specific vowel.
Do some artistic work - a quantity of sketching? (4)
Erudite Cockney’s attention monopolised by old coin? On the contrary (8)
The writer returned work containing zero engagement (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
ME (the writer, speaking personally) reversed (returned), then PLY (work, as in “to ply one’s trade”) containing O (zero). Employ can be a noun, a variant of “employment” = engagement.
They seize American person touring Biblical city (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
US (American) + PERS (pers. = abbreviation for person, in grammar, as in “1st pers. sing.” = I/me), around UR (Ur of the Chaldees, probably the best-known Biblical city in Crosswordland).
Texted expression of affection after song with little substance (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
ILY (text-message abbreviation for I Love You = expression of affection) after AIR (a song). “With little substance” looks like an adjective phrase corresponding to “airy”, but it could also be an adverb phrase: “He spoke with little substance” or “He spoke airily” = he talked vaguely without providing any real information.
Conservative trick to suppress old isolated figure (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
C (abbreviation for Conservative) + RUSE (a trick), containing O (abbreviation for old). The fictional character Robinson Crusoe, shipwrecked on a desert island and spending some years without human contact.
Dissenter to renounce belief about our group (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
RECANT (to renounce a previously-held belief) around US (our group). Originally a term for Catholics who refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
Down
Redirected to study creating in small-scale business (7,8)
Observe and act, bringing in power for car part (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SEE (observe) + DO (act), containing P (abbreviation for power). Short for speedometer = device for measuring a vehicle’s speed.
Phi, mostly, with pi and psi initially turning up in lab items? (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
SETTE [r] (Phi, our crossword setter) without the last letter (mostly), then PI and the first letter of P [si], all reversed (turning up). Laboratory tools for transferring small volumes of liquid from one container to another.
Animal transport tethered if shops around (4,2,3,6)
Reach area, ready to accept cheers (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
A (abbreviation for area) + TIN (ready = slang terms for cash), containing (to accept) TA (cheers = slang for thank-you).
River running through farm fodder - amount lost? (8)
Obscure bag filled with bananas is wishful thinking (5-6-4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
CLOUD (as a verb = obscure = to make something less visible) + LAND (as a verb = bag = to catch or otherwise achieve), containing CUCKOO (bananas = slang for crazy). Term derived from The Birds by Aristophanes, in which the birds build a new city in the sky: something that sounds like a nice idea but is unworkable or undesirable in practice.
Defender leading others in support (8)
Inactivity? A pop star will have change of heart (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
A , then BEY [o] NCE (pop star Beyoncé), with the middle letter (heart) changed from O to A . I prefer it when the setter specifies what the replacement letter should be, but it’s easy enough to work out in this case. In abeyance = temporarily suspended or no longer used = inactive.
Tense four terms in Sherborne suppressing Henry’s laugh (3-3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
T (abbreviation for tense, in grammar), then the last letter (term = termination) of [sherborn] E four times, containing (suppressing) H (abbreviation for henry = unit of electrical inductance). A representation of the sound of a certain kind of laugh.
Study essentially involving university (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:
PER SE (Latin phrase meaning “by itself” or “in itself” = essentially), containing U (abbreviation for university).
Type letters or click words in the clue