A good puzzle for tyros but not enough grey cell exercise for this solver as it required only one pass through the clues in order to complete the grid.
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Across
1 Deficit admitted by company, American giant (8)
COLOSSUS – LOSS (deficit) in (admitted by) CO (company) US (American)
6 Lack of interest in a course beginning in Yeovil (6)
APATHY – A PATH (a course) Y[eovil] (beginning in Yeovil)
9 List of charges resulting from quarrel about a king (6)
TARIFF – TIFF (quarrel) around (about) A R (a king)
10 Elected right-winger ringing the man on paper (2,6)
IN THEORY – IN (elected) TORY (right-winger) around (ringing) HE (the man)
11 Mum’s taken off the shortest possible skirt (4)
MINI – MINI[mum] (mum’s taken off the shortest possible)
12 Media star reviewed old form of broadcasting? (5,5)
STEAM RADIO – an anagram (reviewed) of MEDIA STAR plus O (old)
14 State fair – first in Lincoln, then Omaha used (8)
OKLAHOMA – OK (fair) L[incoln] (first in Lincoln) plus an anagram (used) of OMAHA
16 Layout of board, ignoring king (4)
PLAN – PLAN[k] (board, ignoring king)
18 Not so much on, having quit class (4)
LESS – LESS[on] (on, having quit class)
19 Share index performs, with judge working inside (3,5)
DOW JONES – W (with) J (judge) ON (working) in (inside) DOES (performs)
21 Song now playing, about time in a deprived area (10)
SHANTYTOWN – SHANTY (song) plus an anagram (playing) of NOW around (about) T (time)
22 Widespread fire out of control (4)
RIFE – an anagram (out of control) of FIRE
24 Dictatorial type in car, cold despicable person (8)
AUTOCRAT – AUTO (car) C (cold) RAT (despicable person)
26 Roar to upset speaker (6)
ORATOR – an anagram (upset) of ROAR TO
27 Key on completion (6)
LEGEND – LEG (on {cricket}) END (completion)
28 Constable’s fruit? (8)
DOGBERRY – double def. – the first being the constable in Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
Down
2 In textbook, a picture showing a rainforest ruminant (5)
OKAPI – hidden in ‘textboOK A PIcture’
3 What’s been passed down from Adam that’s in model’s home? (8,3)
ORIGINAL SIN – ORIGINAL’S (model’s) IN (home)
4 Emotional susceptibility not hard to detect (4,4)
SOFT SPOT – SOFT (not hard) SPOT (detect)
5 Very smartly dressed debutantes do, and I do, oddly (6,3,6)
SUITED AND BOOTED – an anagram (oddly) of DEBUTANTES DO I DO
6 Hat’s ruined – old lady makes a complaint (6)
ASTHMA – an anagram (ruined) of HAT’S plus MA (old lady)
7 Crack in a church (3)
ACE – A CE (a church)
8 History involving Marlborough’s initial retreat (9)
HERMITAGE – HERITAGE (history) around (involving) M[arlborough] (Marlborough’s initial)
13 Suitable / whip (11)
APPROPRIATE – double def. – whip=steal
15 Manage an establishment, Tower Hotel, overlooking river (4,5)
KEEP HOUSE – KEEP (tower) H (hotel) OUSE (river)
17 Final performance of Flanders’ partner, entertaining well? Good (8)
SWANSONG – SWANN (Flander’s partner) around (entertaining) SO (well) plus G (good)
20 Cross borne by Dorothy Bridges (6)
HYBRID – hidden in (borne by) ‘dorotHY BRIDges’
23 Stump in ground (5)
FLOOR – double def.
25 Be in debt to one who escaped originally (3)
OWE – O[ne] W[ho] E[scaped] (one who escaped originally)
Thanks Falcon and Gaufrid
Only a couple of minor holdups – getting OKLAHOMA for some reason and trying to work out who ‘Flanders’ partner’ was – had not known the comedian team of FLANDERS and SWANN previously !
The rest of it was enjoyable enough, but quite straightforward stuff.
It took me some thought to get LEGEND. I haven’t come across “leg” “on” often enough for it to really stick yet. Maybe next time…
Thanks Falcon and Gaufrid.
Bah. That’s my first comment here. I tried to put a sort of two-way arrow thingie between leg and on, using greater-than and less-than signs, but hadn’t thought that it would be interpreted as an attempt to write html.