Across
Trendy city where one avoids a complete soaking (3,4)
Drop a trail of blood? (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
I took a while to see how this works. I think it’s a double definition, the second being descent in the sense of bloodline, heredity.
Allowed knight to leave fast (3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
LENT, a Fast, loses N for knight as in chess.
Return meat sauces firm had marked at the back "with added sweetener" (5-6)
Henry and Norm snatch back chart (3,5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
all reversed, H for Henry, PAR for normal, GRAB for snatch. More usually a BAR CHART is a type of graph, but I can live with it.
Turns round large urban area (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
All reversed, L[arge], WARPS here meaning turns. I think warps means twists, rather than turns, but I expect Collins allows it.
Hammer-wielding chap stealing gold from writer (4)
Sole trader following me, horsing around (10)
Concerning brewing smooth beer (10)
Offshore location one's going to for broadcast (4)
Young male forward fed a bit of rancid fat (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
LAD (young male) ON (forward, as in “move on/move forward”), insert R a bit of rancid. When we use lardons they’re not all fat, they’re little bits of streaky bacon.
Working on emails — it's part of the grind (8)
Might a children's entertainer have had a hand in this? (5,6)
Little monkey's spotted leaving river (3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
I’m not sure which river is involved here. The best I can find is the Ure in Yorkshire, which would give us IMPURE to mean spotted, marked, stained. But I haven’t convinced myself. Please find us a better one.
Port wine drained after soldier pair retired (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
ANT (soldier) W[in]E, PR reversed.
Time before new Anglican dramatist (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
T[ime], ERE (before), N[ew], CE (Anglican). Apparently Terence was a Roman dramatist, a.k.a. Publius Terentius Afer. I only thought of Terence Rattigan, who wasn’t a Roman; I remember my embarrassing Am-Dram Dad being in The Winslow Boy when I was a kid.
Down
One taken with the net, perhaps, using computer — one only (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
HAL (the named of the computer in 2001 A Space Odyssey, a film I have actually seen); I (one) BUT (only).
Lift, open and restart after repairing (11)
Ridiculous muscles seen on Murdo when stripped (6)
Cleric from school, nuisance about teaching scripture? (4,6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
High (school), PEST with RI (religious instruction) inside.
Curse desperate character overcoming resistance (4)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
Desperate DAN (who was in the now-defunct Dandy comic) has R for resistance inserted. When did anyone last say darn? Not since my Grandma did, IMO.
Top professionals turned up carrying Caesar's first ballista (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
reverse NO I PROS (top professionals) and insert the C from Caesar. Apparently the Scorpio(n) and Ballista were both Roman artillery pieces, but far from being the same thing; I had to learn from the web https://allthedifferences.com › ballista-vs-scorpion
Skin sizeable amphibian (3)
Little 'un beginning to teethe left in care of stranger (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
T[eethe], L inside ODDER = stranger.
Venerable Hindu possibly sets aside day devoted to a Christian saint (11)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
AUGUST (venerable), INDIAN (Hindu possibly) loses D for day.
Caught husband with resin and cannabis in vessel used after dark? (7,3)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
C[aught], H[usband], AMBER (fossilised resin), POT (cannabis).
Paraffin smoke rose, nearly chokes (8)
City diary penned by a toff from the south (7)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
LOG (diary) inside A NOB (a toff reversed).
Model, former partner, somewhat bulky? (7)
Page, upstanding retro hotel employee (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
P[age], RETRO reversed.
Crack line taken from Dickensian villain (4)
Choose cape shunned by African Christian (3)
Type letters or click words in the clue