The Age Cryptic by LR #20,489

Monday morning and it's LR day. This puzzle had lots of quick, easy solves to give a newbie experience and confidence and a few harder ones for challenge. this even had some weird clues with punctuation as definition and maths in the clues. I had this solved by lunchtime which is good time for me. I've only got one clue, 5D, that I can't fully parse.  Here's my pic:

1A - 2,4,6,8 now becoming more sedate! (4,6)
We start our puzzle with a cheer to motivate us! This is double definition where "2,4,6,8" and "more sedate" both mean EVEN NUMBER.

7A - Prepare luggage for some wolves (4)
Double definition: PACK.

9A - Go back to Sunday School, monster (4)
"Monster," is our definition and "GO back" means reverse GO to OG and "Sunday School" is Religious Education = RE to make an OGRE.

10A - Quietly produce egg, powdered, in kids area (10)
"Kids' area" is our definition and "quietly" = P for piano, "produce egg" = LAY and "powdered" = GROUND for a PLAYGROUND.

11A - Suspend cockney with beer around girl (6)
"Girl," is our definition and it seems to be a trend to have a random woman's name as an answer. Seems weird to me but hey, who am I to say. "suspend, cockney" = HANG -H, "with beer, around" = ALE reversed to ELA to make our girl ANGELA.

12A - Marksmen get owl in boat? (8)
"Marksmen," is our definition and "owl" = HOOTER, "in boat" = SS to make S(HOOTER)S.

13A - In favour of hospital room cuts //// (7,7)
"////," is our definition - I know, curious huh?! "In favour" = FOR, "hospital room" = WARD and "cuts" = SLASHES for the FOWARD SLASHES.

15A - Steps out of the limelight and into a cab, perhaps? (5,1,4,4)
"Steps out of the limelight," is our definition and it's a cryptic definition I think - not sure if a double definition. Answer is: TAKES A BACK SEAT.

18A - Extraordinary about machine-gun in swimmers (8)
"Extraordinary," is our definition and "about" = RE, "gun" = AK(47 for example) which is all "in swimmers" = FISH put together like: F(RE)(AK)ISH. (my last clue in)

19A - Sleep with 50 pills in Italian city (6)
"Italian city," is our definition and "sleep" = NAP with "50" = L and "pills" = ES for a plural of ecstasy(E) tablets to make NAP(L)(ES).

22A - Nude lifter broadcast without censoring (10)
I spent a while trying to work this as a homophone clue thinking "broadcast" was a signpost, and it is but it's an anagrind meaning to "throw wide" its previous letters "nude lifter broadcast" to make UNFILTERED a synonym for "censoring."

23A - Wise shopfront with Melbourne newspaper (4)
"Wise," is our definition and "Shop-front" = S and "Melbourne newspaper" = AGE for a SAGE.

24A - Present for queen wrapped by his excellency (4)
"Present," is our definition and "queen" = ER for Elizabeth Regina, "wrapped by his excellency" = HE to make H(ER)E.

25A - Quirky ambos rated as hunks (10)
"Hunks," is our definition and "quirky ambos rated" is anagrind and fodder to make DREAMBOATS. This reminds me it's time to get a new calendar.

2D - Herbivore views entree grimly. Any nicer starters? (5)
"Herbivore," is our definition and this is a beginning/end clue "Views Entree Grimly Any Nicer starters" to get VEGAN.

3D - Relative took litre from Nile to castle walls (5)
"Relative," is who we are looking for and "took litre (L) from Nile" = NIE -L, "to CastlE walls" = CE to get our NIECE.

4D - Laps up a foreign Swedish city (7)
"Swedish city," is our definition and "Laps up a foreign" is fodder and anagrind (new anagrind for me, I think) to make UPPSALA.

5D - Tries in vain to get vegetables, reportedly into a tomato sauce (5,1,4,5)
"Tries in vain to get," is our definition and "vegetables reportedly" = BEETS with homophone signpost becomes BEATS. From here I'm don't know what's going on. I know the phrase is BEATS A DEAD HORSE but cannot identify the "tomato sauce."

6D - Endless anger: $0.66 for child's toy? (3,4)
"Child's toy," is our definition and "endless anger" = RAGE -E, "$0.66" = a bit of math where we need to see that's 2/3 of a DOLLAR - AR as we remove that last third of the word to get a
RAG DOLL.

7D - Spooner ripped glue with rudeness (4,5)
"Rudeness," is our definition and "ripped glue" = TORE PASTE to become POOR TASTE.

8D - Agreeing that fraud took grand from university during lease (9)
"Agreeing," is our definition and "fraud" = CON, "grand" = G, "university" = U and "during lease" = a container signpost to hold the "U" in RENT to make CON(G)(R(U)ENT).

13D - Old cloth in country aroma (9)
"Aroma," is our definition and "old cloth" = RAG which will be held, "in country" = FRANCE to make FRAGRANCE.

14D - I rename ex "nasty". Reconsider! (2-7)
"Reconsider," is our definition and "I rename ex nasty" is fodder and anagrind to make
RE-EXAMINE.

16D - Flew from militia base by way of Tweed oddly (7)
"Flew from," is our definition and "militiA base" = A, "by way of" = VIA and "TwEeD oddly" = TED to make AVIATED.

17D - Family upset God with mass in realm (7)
"Realm," is our definition and "family" = KIN, "upset GOD" is anagrind and partial fodder, "with mass" = M(ass) to make KIN(GDO)(M).

20D - Sauce in Recipes Today liftout (5)
"Sauce," is our definition and it's hidden in "reciPES TOday" to give us PESTO. Meaning "liftout" is another signpost? I suppose just leaving "in" and the working words would've been too easy.

21D - Four couples dined, we hear (5)
Homophone clue where "four couples" = EIGHT and "dined" = ATE. We want the five letter word EIGHT.


All done. Great way to start the week. I've shared many of the clues with the Cryptic Crossword Learners group, especially the Spooner! It's always a treat to get and solve a Spooner.

Thoughts are with the hostages and their families in Sydney. I've listened to News 24 in the background while solving and writing this up. Praise belongs to the police and ambos where things could have gone so much worse.