Across
Water fern sick wife found in dockland area (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
ILL (sick) + W (wife) contained by [found in] PORT (dockland area). NHO this making its TfTT debut today, but the wordplay was clear once I had a checker in place.
Item left in car with sloping back (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
L (left) contained by [in] COUPÉ (car with sloping back)
Male US attorney with place in a Buddhist centre (8)
Man on board thrown by deals regularly backfiring (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
CAST (thrown), then {d}E{a}L{s} [regularly] reversed [backfiring]. Yes, we know about rooks and that it’s now considered inappropriate to class all chess pieces as men…
He made violins in the morning, very early! (5)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
AM (in the morning) AT 1 (very early). Any one of five members of the family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740.
Succulence mostly just in ices somehow (9)
Study post covering extremely useful discussion (12)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
CON (study) + STATION (post) containing [covering] U{sefu}L [extremely]
Street trader's period plugging a type of eel containing bone (12)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
TERM (period) contained by [plugging] CONGER (a type of eel) itself containing OS (bone). A rarely-sighted double parcel / containment clue in a Times puzzle! I’ve learned today that ‘os’ is the singular of the more familiar ‘ossa’ meaning ‘bones’.
Thus act, so to speak, getting sweet wine (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
Aural wordplay [so to speak]: SAUTERNES / “so” (thus) + “turn” (act). I’m not fluent in French but I believe the second S is silent.
Prudish people principally dress in fine clothes (5)
Old rover loses right to supply narcotic drug (6)
Gizmos daughters obtain in Indiana port (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
D (daughters) + GET (obtain) contained by [in] GARY (Indiana port]
Retired American chap exuding sweetness (6)
With support large Yankee becomes sly and treacherous (8)
Down
Woman taking step to identify plains (6)
Article in seagoing vessel having one dimension (6)
Sport, one not a little tedious (9)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
WEAR (sport), I (one), SOME (not a little)
Further tweaking involving impartial fellows badly rated externally (12)
Asian bloke arrested by call to attention (5)
Pitiful way it turns up in City district (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
PATH (way), then IT reversed [turns up] contained by [in] EC (City district of London – East Central)
Service, say, involving archdeacon and offspring (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
EG (say – for example) containing [involving] VEN (archdeacon) + SON (offspring)
Old fish market's scandal over presentation of accounts? (12)
Pa's a rogue, appalling the High Court? (9)
Southern explorer in charge of vessels finally going north — cutters (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
S (southern) + ROSS (explorer – Sir James Clark Ross) + IC (in charge of) + {vessel}S [finally], reversed [going north]
Arrogant fool with high-class china (8)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
ASS (fool), U (high-class), MING (china)
Beam, seeing part of Carousel in telecast (6)
Mole crossing railway line with agility (6)
I haven't cracked this one yet — but Times for the Times have:
SPY (mole) containing [crossing] RY (railway) + L (line)
Husbandless woman in compound (5)
Type letters or click words in the clue