Well, is it EYESORE?
Not quite.
EYELESS (damned if I can figure out why, though)
I’ll wait for a confirmation before submitting a clue.
EYELESS is correct. The explanation is that the clue contains every letter of the alphabet except the letter i, so it’s ‘i-less’, which sounds like EYELESS, which is “Why one just can’t see”.
Okay, then (good puzzle).
+++++
Ancient Hebrew mystics can’t see essences. (7)
ESSENES (essences - c)
Senate cuts into green gem, a hunchback’s friend. (9)
ESMARELDA (S in EMERALD + A)
Talent show winners had tight acts edited (7, 4, 3, 5)
DANCING WITH THE STARS (anagram of winners had tight acts)
+++++
The rat lass danced on some bones. (7)
TARSALS (anagram of RAT LASS)
Some despise asparagus, others loathe peas, but… 's maize I detest. (5)
Scorn ( S + corn)
++++
Study birds, or nit holograms without goats. But why? (11)
ORNITHOLOGY (OR + NIT + HOLOGRAMS - RAMS + Y)
Watch rotisserie meat spinning (9)
GYROSCOPE?
Yep. (GYRO SCOPE would be the act of watching (SCOPE) rotisserie meat (GYRO). And a GYROSCOPE spins.)
(Maybe I should have added a ‘?’ to the end of the clue.)
No ? necessary, I’m just overanalyzing again. I thought the “spinning” part meant spinning the order of SCOPE and GYRO, and (but not or) part of the “rotisserie meat spinning” to mean GYRO. I’ll stop explaining now.
For penance, hog slaughtered at capital city. (10)
COPENHAGEN (anagram of PENANCE HOG)
+++++
Sign mailers mangled with Original Equipment? Still dead. (13)
Never mind
GENERALISSIMO (sign + mailers + o + e)
Francisco Franco is still dead!
Reverend Spooner’s ribbon dinner will take place in Alabama town. (6)
Mobile (Spoonerfied “bow meal”)
++++++++
Captivate in tenth rally (8)
Captivate in tenth rally (8)
ENTHRALL (…tENTH RALLy.)
+++++++
One cause for sneezing and sniffling is largely uncontrolled (7)