4D was my key into the theme. I had the answer of SALT and with a hint from Celia Fate "Anyone puzzling over 4 down think of a female hip hop duo when you try to 23 across it!" Hell yeah I know that! Salt N' Pepa! Ah is this a partnership puzzle? Well, sort of.
23A - Kinky habit of father, knocking clothes strewn all over the place (7-8)
"Kinky habit" is our definition and "father" = PA, "knocking clothes, STREWN all over the place" is we need a synonym of "knocking" = RAPPING and that will "clothe" or wrap around a mixed up STREWN to make PA(R(TNER - SW)APPING) so we will be doing a bit of partner swapping.
10A - Fluid in the cleaner bag can be traded (15)
"Can be traded" is our definition and "Fluid IN THE CLEANER BAG" is anagrind and fodder to mix and make INTERCHANGEABLE. This means in our pairs sometimes it's the first or second partner we want in the grid.
I did much googling to get through this. All pairs should have the word "and" between them, well except for 4D. I'll highlight the clue answer in blue and the grid answer in red to make it easier. Clues I have not parsed or have gaps I'll highlight the clue number in red.
3A - Rellie financed share (3)
Not a good start, I'm afraid. I got this with definition and cross letters. Answer is POP. Don't know if "financed share" gets us Mom or what. There's debate about whether this is or is not a theme clue but still in the realm of "no spoilers" no one's dishing answers.
8A - Cold disrupts dirty investigator of the supernatural? (6)
"Investigator of the supernatural" is our definition and "cold" = C which will "disrupt" a word for "dirty" = SULLY for Dana SCULLY played by Gillian Anderson on the series The X-Files. This is a theme clue so we really want to put in her partner Fox MULDER. We'll keep a pin on Scully though.
9A - Classiest centre quit wild playground game (8)
"Playground game" is our definition and "CLAS(-s)IEST, centre quit, wild" means remove the middle letter from "classiest" and then mix up the remaining letters to get ELASTICS. I had to google this. I grew up calling this game Chinese Jump Rope.
10A - (solved above)
11A - Psycho lowlife gutted reaper (7)
Answer is HAMMER but I'm really stumped here. I wonder if it's another swapped partner with 28A. "Reaper" is the definition. I see "pSYCHo, gutted" and it's most of the word SCYTHE. I don't know what "lowlife" is doing and if this a theme clue, what's the phrase?
13A - Mug declared a cure (7)
I got hung up thinking "mug" meant your face, like a mug shot. Mort set me straight telling me I should have thinking more criminally. "Declared" is a homophone signpost so mugging as a crime and something that's "a cure" for meat gets us: A SALT/ASSAULT and BATTERY.
15A - Votes against some cheesy Anzac retreat (4)
"Votes against" is the definition and "some" is a hidden word signpost working with "retreat" to tell us the hidden word is reversed. Hidden in "cheeSY ANzac" is NAYS which is partnered with AYES.
16A - Scraps whirlybirds (5)
"Scraps" is our definition and "whirlyBIRDS" is a one word instruction of anagrind and fodder to make DRIBS and DRABS.
18A - Computer units battle virus with passwords progressively (4)
"Computer units" is our definition and this was a new twist on an odds/evens/starts/finish clue. "Progressively" means take letters in sequential order across the phrase "Battle vIrus wiTh pasSwords" = BITS and BOBS.
20A - Loves customised shotgun (7)
"Loves" is our definition and "customised SHOTGUN" is anagrind and fodder to mixed to make NOUGHTS and CROSSES.
22A - Probe vault behind state banks (6)
"Probe" is our definition and "vault" = ARCH put "behind StatE banks" = SE(ARCH) and RESCUE.
23A - (solved above)
27A - Recording dented fringe split ends (8)
I had a struggle with this clue because I thought "recording" was a homophone signpost. Then I thought "fringe" was a deletion signpost - which it is, only I got it the wrong way. "Recording" is our definition as marking in a log book and "split ends" means to remove the first and last letters of "dENTEd fRINGe" = ENTERING which is the second half of BREAKING and ENTERING.
28A - Spillane detective hit (6)
Double definition where we want Mike HAMMER which is also a synonym of "hit" and a phrase with HAMMER and SICKLE. I was really looking for something "tongs"
29A - Glower briefly at Matrix hero (3)
I got this from definition "Matrix hero" = NEO which left me wondering what the "glower" was. I was dropping a letter from synonyms of frown and scowl using "briefly" as a deletion signpost. Thinking cryptically the lightbulb went off and I got NEON -N. Glower meaning something that glows.
1D - Darn knot contributes to wharf dilemma (8)
It was very hard to stop thinking about actor Don Knotts and get stuck into this clue. I'm sure I'm alone in that malady. I fricken love Don Knotts, may he RIP. "Dilemma" is our definition and I was stuck at first because both "darn" and "knot" look like anagrinds to me. Mary at DAT helped me "1d, ‘knot’ is anagram indicator, think of ‘contribute’ as ‘insert into’. Def is last word." Ok, so mixed-up DARN will go into another word for "wharf" = QUAY for QUANDARY.
2D - Trim creep (4)
Double definition: EDGE
3D - Got Bewitched producer (8)
"Got" is the definition and "bewitched PRODUCER" is anagrind and fodder to make PROCURED. This was a sympathetic clue. A foothold into other clues.
4D - Oddly scarlet mariner (4)
"Mariner" is our definition and "oddly ScArLeT" = SALT and PEPA the 90's hip hop duo currently featured in a Kia ad.
5D - Cheeky invoice dismissed (6)
"Dismissed" is our definition and "in voice" is a homophone signpost so a synonym of "cheeky" = BOLD = BOWLED. I had this but couldn't think of a partnership until someone on DAT mentioned it was cricket related, then I knew what to google for. The phrase is CAUGHT and BOWLED.
6D - Italian smoker partly Vietnamese (4)
"Italian smoker" is our definition and "partly" is a hidden word signpost and nestled within "viETNAmese" is ETNA the active volcano.
7D - Investigator of the supernatural talked rot? (6)
"Investigator of the supernatural" is our definition again and "talked rot" is a homophone signpost to find a synonym for "rot" = MOLDER = MULDER and SCULLY. This duo had me stuck with an earworm by Catatonia for the day.
12D - Bungle foreign wisdom first off (5)
"Bungle" is our definition and "foreign (-w)ISDOM, first off" is anagrind and fodder plus an extra instruction to drop the first letter leaving ISDOM = MISDO. I wasn't sure that was a real word and had to look it up before trusting the solution.
13D - 14-down yellow-hearted males on farm (5)
Ok, spoiler alert for the next clue - 14D answer is EMBUS so "emBUs yeLLow hearted" = BULLS and BEARS. Thanks to Mort for helping with "13D Think stock market." I may have missed something as I'm not sure how "bulls" is plural apart from "males on farm" is plural.
14D - Join a coach to replace setter going back (5)
"Join a coach" is our definition and "to replace" = SUB and "setter" = ME as in DA himself being the setter of the puzzle, all is "going back" to make EMBUS. New word for me.
17D - Initially saw Jason's ship carrying donkey to sea (8)
This was one of my first solved clues. "Sea" is our definition and "initially Saw" = S, "Jason's ship" = ARGOS of Jason and the Argonauts, "carrying donkey" = ASS to go into ARGOS like this: S(ARG(ASS)O) which is a sea in an ocean? I'd never heard of this before! I love learning new stuff like this.
19D - Quite ebullient about African flower (4,4)
This clue was the particular bugbear of Celia Fate on DAT and through her I came to understand this clue, because again it was a new term for me. "African flower" is our definition and in the cryptic fashion of "flower" being a river not a bloom. I'm also introduced to "Quite" as a deletion signpost so "quite EBULLIEN(-t)" means drop the last letter - as if it was "not quite" and I may have twigged had it been that - then "about" is a flexible signpost that here is an anagrind. Mix up EBULLIEN to get BLUE NILE.
20D - Furniture lists (6)
Double definition: TABLES and CHAIRS. I had to rethink "lists" as I was stuck on drunken wanderings and tipping over not accounts and graphs.
21D - Beautiful sceptic sides with film review (6)
"Beautiful" is our definition and "SceptiC sides" = SC "with film review" means we want a word for film reversed = CINE to make SC(ENIC)
24D - Thieves cancelled the day before for the one here (4)
"The one here" is our definition and "THI(-eve)S cancelled day before" = THIS and THAT.
25D - Shut up zoo attraction (4)
Double definition: SEAL for SIGN and SEAL. Although I agree with DAT Mary this is better in the past tense as Signed and Sealed.
26D - Healthy hotel beer (4)
"Healthy is our definition and "Hotel" = H and "beer" = ALE for HALE and we would think "Hale and Hearty" but we only need four letters. Off to google to remind me of the comedy duo HALE and PACE.
There we go. Once we get the trick in play it's not too hard. Ok it helps to have a group of people working together and giving hints as well - thank you D.A. Trippers for all the hints! I'd be lost with you. I did use a notepad to help work though a lot of these:
As always if you have alternate solution or see things I've missed, please share them in the comments. Have a great weekend!
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