Across
1.  Empty Apartment (4)
4.  Soft grass (maybe edible) covers a side (10)
9.  A regular beet / devil's tongue cooked ain't no good to taste, for example (6,9)
10. Alternative fuel vehicle goes ahead extremely laboriously and cautiously (9)
12. Pick second vehicle, not the Audi at the front but the SUV from the middle (5)
15. A dress fits evenly and looks like a dream? (6)
16. Guide and preach on reforms (8)
17. Say, shoes exchange counter (8)
18. Not acceptable to sing-along around bar - that would be a way to fight? (6)
20. Fresh crackers - not one is broken (5)
23. Work upon grim areas to form ties (9)
24. Perhaps, a half and a quarter of oral anti-inflammatory pain killers (8,7)
25. Shocked by the first lapse on flip side (10)
26. Corner retreat full of odd lime trees (4)
Down
2.  Animal suit model took off for party top (7)
3.  Sharp tools to stab evil Ken, perhaps (5,6)
4.  Peter on vacation, rose hurriedly on receiving dog's signals (10)
5.  Spirit of a company besieged by an issue (5)
6.  A temple perhaps, found in central Mugello (Tuscany) (5)
7.  Quietly stripped varnish spread on alloy (5)
8.  Menial worker should be Brown, perhaps says Spooner (7)
11. A navy bordered lace used to design a kind of butterfly (7)
13. The introductory note given before a tour? (3,8)
14. Stage set for second base (10)
17. Twisted laughter, a backstabber's hidden act (7)
19. Principle of other variable measurement (7)
21. Cover up in winters (5)
22. City of Tokyo remodelled (5)
23. Highways seen outside a metropolis (5)