Times for the Times

I have more to comment on than usual in this one as there are a number of unfamiliar word and one clue (35A) that, despite being short, has a lot of complexity. I must make that my favourite in this solve, although I also liked 12D and 25D.

I did not time myself but I think the time was fairly standard as none of the clues were difficult to solve from wordplay and checkers, just needing subsequent fine tuning of my understanding of how the clues worked and the checking of definitions in the dictionary.

I have my doubts as to whether I will be taking up my place in the Crossword Final this year as travel arrangements are proving problematic after we moved away from the London area earlier this year, so good luck to all competitors.

Across
1 POST-HASTE - Flora POSTE - Stella (Gibbons') girl from Cold Comfort Farm, around HAST = had
6 STAFFORDSHIRE - STAFFS = groups of workers, HIRE = engage, around O(ld) and RD = road. Stone is a town in Staffordshire
13 LOADS - LADS = boys, around O = love
14 ARRIVEDERCI - ARRRIVED = came, RICE*
15 PRAYS - sounds like PRAISE = approval
16 SILLY SEASON - SILLY = stupid, SEA = water, SON = boy
17 LOAD-BEARING - LOADING = extra premium, around BEAR = put up with
18 RAT RACE - RATE = speed, around R.A.C. = drivers
20 ASEPSIS - ASS = stupid man, around EP = record, IS
21 WIDOWER - W(ith), I = one, DOWER = sort of house
23 NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM - NATURE = character, ABHORS = finds repulsive, A VACUUM = household appliance
27 SKA - SKA(ter) = ice-dancer
28 SEESAW - SEE = Bishop's seat, SAW = was, reversed
29 BELT UP - double definition
31 INDIGNITY - double definition, the second defining IN DIGNITY referencing a quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
34 PANELLIST - PT = part, around A NELL = a little girl, and IS/td>
35 HOPPER - (grass)HOPPER = insect, HOPPER = feeder and a HOPPER is only using one leg. So wordplay, straight definition and mildly cryptic definition. I could add a fourth reading with HOP = grass and PER = a, as Chambers has HOP = old slang for any narcotic which would be support for the first part. Hats off to the setter if that was intended
36 DRAGON - DR = GP, around AGON(y) = pain
39 TUG - GUT = narrow water, reversed
40 SWEEP UNDER THE CARPET - SWEEP = worker in chimney, UNDER THE CARPET = rugged on top (with a rug on top)
42 TARNISH - TARN = lake, IS, H(ospital)
43 EXTRACT - EXTRA = more, alternate letters in sCoTt
45 DRESSER - double definition, although there are plenty of dressers still found in kitchens
47 CASTING VOTE - double definition
49 DOUBLE CROSS - DOUBLE = repeated, CROSS = religious symbol. The reference to 55 is to treachery
51 IDOLA - initial letters of Initial Debate Outrageous Lies And. Wordplay was clear but needed to check the word before submission
52 ACCLAMATION - ACTION = operation, around C(aught) and LAMA = priest
53 VIRTU - VIRTU(e) = goodness. Another where the wordplay as clear but I needed to check the word before submission
54 PAINTED DESERT - PREDESTINATED*
55 TREACHERY - TEACHER = master, around R = one of the three basics, Y(ears)

Down
1 PALM SPRINGS - PAL = LAP = part of course, reversed, MS = writing, P(oetry), RINGS = calls
2 STARLET - STARLIT = in faint light, with E(nergy) replacing I = one
3 HUSKY - double definition
4 SIAMESE CAT - S(on), EMACIATES*
5 EURASIA - EA = each, around URA(l)S = mountain range, and I = one
6 SEVEN-YEAR ITCH - (ARSENIC THEYVE)*
7 ANDALUSIA - (v)ANDAL = hooligan, USA = America, around I = one
8 FORMATS - FOR sounds like FOUR = a number, MATS = rugs
9 RAINBOW GUIDE - double definition
10 SEPHARDIM - (co)MRADESHIP* where the removed CO = business
11 IMARI, I, MAR = spoil, I = one
12 EAST GERMANY - the final letters in neglecteD depriveD pooR are DDR, the former East Germany's initials
19 AIRMAIL - cryptic definition
22 WASHING UP - double definition
24 TWEENAGER - TWEE(t) = message, ANGER*
25 HEELTAP - HEEL = send rugby ball back (in a scrum), TAP = gentle kick. I vaguely remembered this word for drink left in a glass
26 ARIDEST - A, RIDE = journey, ST(reet) = way
30 PEPPER-AND-SALT - (PLAN SPEED TRAP)*
32 GARBAGE - GARB = clothes, AGE = start to wear out
33 RIDER HAGGGARD - RIDER = passenger, HAGGARD = looking drained. She is a novel by Rider Haggard
34 POTATO CRISP - POT = jar, A, TOP = lid, around alternate letters in CoRk and IS
37 NATURE STUDY - NATURE = science magazine, STUDY = sketch
38 FER-DE-LANCE - FENCE = barrier, around ALDER*
40 SOI-DISANT - SOD = ground, around I = one, IS, ANT = worker
41 NOTRE DAME - NO = absence of, TAME = uninteresting, around RED = colour
43 ECORCHE - hidden in dECOR CHEers.
44 TOURIST - TOUT = strongly recommend, around (i)RIS(h)
46 SCOURGE - SCOUR = clean, G(reas)E
48 SHOGI - SH = peace, OG I = I GO = one board game, reversed. Another one to check
50 CIVIC - a palindrome so no change on reversal. One can have a CIVIC centre and "of town" is the straight definition

… who realised the other day that he was getting ready for his 25th appearance at the Times Crossword Championship. I put together some text and photos about memories on a Facebook page. You should not need Facebook membership to read it at https://www.facebook.com/peter.biddlecombe.1/posts/10156876890166473

Best of luck to those competing today - may see you at the George later.

Good morning all. I have been travelling for most of the last week so I have had little time to solve, comment or write my blog. As I result I am typing this on Saturday evening after the championships, and I am in a position to report on the day’s activities.

This year's bombshell is that Mark Goodliffe didn’t win. He made a (for him, extremely rare) mistake in one of the puzzles in the final which gave Roger Crabtree the opportunity to take the top prize. Commiserations to Magoo and many congratulations to Roger.

It was a very strong showing indeed from the TfTT team. Verlaine did brilliantly well, coming in second overall, as did mohn2 in third. I made the final for the first time (which means I have now achieved my crosswording ambition and should probably retire) as did Penfold_61. And Philip Jordan was also among the finalists. As always it was very nice to see some familiar faces and to meet a couple of people there for the first time.

This week's puzzle? It took me 18:42, and I remember finding it a lot of fun with nothing to quibble about. Here’s how…

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, anagram indicators like this.

Across
1	Pass market that has one pound off oil
	DIESEL - DIE (pass), SELl.
5	Corporation strike over unlimited pay
	PAUNCH - P(pAy)UNCH.
9	Money-making drama pilot bore trashed
	POTBOILER - (PILOT BORE)*.
10	Hand bound to land with flipping force on son
	SERF - reversal of F (force), RE, S.
11	Fish seen around river channel
	TRENCH - T(R)ENCH.
12	Criminal is catty about husband’s celibacy
	CHASTITY - (IS CATTY)* containing H.
14	It is real nasty
	LISTERIA - (IT IS REAL)*. &Lit.
16	I managed land
	IRAN - I RAN.
18	Honour God’s will, so they tell us
	FETE - sounds like ‘fate’.
19	Quantities of game
	DRAUGHTS - DD.
21	If I must steal, a thankyou’s required first
	AT A PINCH - A, TA, PINCH.
22	Upset singer regularly ignored Latvian icon
	AVATAR - reversal of RAT (grass, singer), lAtViAn.
24	Mark Rothko’s first piece after unfinished study
	SCAR - SCAn, R~~othko~~. I’ve always found Rothko’s paintings mysteriously appealing. It’s nonetheless mysterious to me that this appeal can stretch to $87m.
26	Say what you want to say about wit hitting guards
	OUT WITH IT - contained in ‘about with hitting’.
27	Figure you must visit New York?
	STATUE - STAT(U)E. As in ‘u wot m8?’
28	Posh people experiment with dope
	GENTRY - GEN (information, dope), TRY (experiment).

Down
2	Saucy material that one male suppresses
	IMPERTINENT - I, M, PERTINENT. I was a little bit hesitant about using ‘suppresses’ just to indicate that the IM is on top of the PERTINENT, but it didn’t bother me unduly.
3	Protest Congress blocking Pride?
	SIT-IN - IT (the other, nudge nudge etc etc) contained in SIN. The question mark here indicates a definition by example, since other sins are available and pride isn’t really the one you’d pick, given a choice.
4	I say that woman’s involved in survey on energy
	LOOK HERE - LOOK(HER), E.
5	District making soprano a persona non grata
	PARIAH - take PARISH and replace the S (soprano) with A.
6	Distressing way to increase crossword output?
	UPSETTING - or UP SETTING, geddit?
7	My sort of music comes up short
	COR - reversal of ROCk.
8	Chess players not allowing any middle ground
	BLACK-AND-WHITE - fairly self-explanatory this one.
13	One brought in to take lead in Cheers?
	TOASTMASTER - CD, and a nice one.
15	God? Time His tripe must be thrown out!
	THE SPIRIT - (T HIS TRIPE)*. I’m not sure of the theological equivalence between ‘God’ and THE SPIRIT, but I’m prepared to take it on, um, faith.
17	A big band playingwithout any difficulties
	BADA-BING - (A BIG BAND). I was slightly confused by this definition, because I’m not entirely sure Sonny Corleone meant anything quite this precise when he used the phrase. But far be it from me to be a linguistic stick-in-the-mud: meanings change and I never really watched The Sopranos*.
20	Returns home with company and yours truly
	INCOME - IN, CO, ME.
23	When stag’s other half drained of colour
	ASHEN - AS, HEN.
25	Dude in Bombay?
	CAT - because a CAT’s the only CAT who knows where it’s at.

Well this was an odd solve - I found myself putting a lot of these entries in from definition. It helped that there were a few obscure words that I use on occasion, but I found myself scratching my head over wordplay, and had to come back to the wordplay in order to write this up. I think I've sorted it all out.

First definitions are underlined in clues.

Away we go...

Across
1	One headless attack in case of mate at end of tether? (12)
	MANSLAUGHTER - A(one), then ONSLAUGHT(attack) missing the first letter inside M~~(at)~~E then the last letter of tetheR. An all-in-one, the wordplay is also the definition.
9	Obscure hotel around ravine (7)
	INKHORN - INN(hotel) surrounding KHOR(ravine) - INKHORN is given in Chambers as an adjective form for obscure. Very tricky clue.
10	Elegant young girl getting rear pinched (4)
	CHIC - CHICK(young girl) missing the last letter
12	Mostly mentioned clips sounded clearly something like a fiddle (7)
	SARANGI - SAI~~(d)~~ (mentioned) rurrounding RANG(sounded clearly)
13	What I give when fully committed and wild in Perth (5)
	MYALL - Perth being Australia here, and I could give MY ALL
15	Safe shelter in “new” Durham town (8)
	PETERLEE - PETER(safe), LEE(shelter) - a friend of mine from high school lives there now... if you call that living
16	Bit of embarrassment after dancing act reveals derrière (5)
	NACHE - E~~(mbarassment)~~ after NACH(Indian dance performance)
18	No good, must get late lunch order (11, three words)
	CALL THE TUNE - anagram of GET,LATE,LUNCH missing G
19	Legendary Golgotha is piece of interment ground (11)
	HAGIOLOGIST - anagram of GOLGOTHA,IS,I~~(nterment)~~
24	Concerned with intestines, one former physician years ago leaving hospital (5)
	ILEAC - I, LEACH(alternative for LEECH, former physician) missing H
26	Bible book’s used for Vic in malignancy and idleness (8)
	OTIOSITY - OT(Bible books) replacing VIC in VICIOSITY
27	One left old-timer returning for money as before (5)
	PAOLI - I, L, OAP(old age pensioner, old-timer) - all reversed
28	Groundsel, perhaps wild seen on Channel Islands round (7)
	SENECIO - anagram of SEEN, then CI(Channel Islands), O(round)
29	Lied about old age (4)
	EILD - anagram of LIED
30	Striking content of red wine (German) (7)
	TANNING - you'll find TANNINs in red wine, then G(German)
31	Muse on second article by Head, mostly for a Greek scholar (12)
	ERATOSTHENES - ERATO(Muse), S(second), THE(article) then NES~~(s)~~ (head)

Down
1	A hateful guy, do not spare him (11)
	MISANTHROPE - anagram of NOT,SPARE,HIM
2	Fruit and nuts without shell (5)
	ANANA - BANANAS(nuts) missing the outside letters
3	Special mince inclined to be cut for lamb kebab (8)
	SHASHLIK - S(special), HASH(mince), LIK~~(e)~~ (inclined)
4	White border once with no end of geranium (6)
	ARGENT - MARGENT(old spelling for MARGIN, border), missing the last letter of geraniuM
5	Number one chance, with friend right away (5)
	UNITY - OPPORTUNITY(chance) missing OPPO(friend) and R(right)
6	Cell entrance blocked by fellows endlessly (6)
	GAMETE - GATE(entrance) with ME~~(n)~~ (fellows) inside
7	The college employs bodies on plant (9)
	THALLUSES - ;T, HALL(college), USES(employs)
8	I have an inclination in speech for her (6)
	EILEEN - sounds like I LEAN
11	Purchase in clubs more than once records and Smarties (11, two words)
	CLEVER CLOGS - LEVER(purchase) in C,C(clubs more than once), then LOGS(records)
14	Imitation marble so glacial in new design (9)
	SCAGLIOLA - anagram of SO,GLACIAL. Weirdly enough it is the name of a gallery close to my apartment
17	Component of dye as before reduced well in Italy (8)
	STILBENE - STIL~~(l)~~ (as before), then BENE(well in Italian)
20	Star in key broadcast (6)
	ALTAIR - ALT(keyboard key), AIR(broadcast)
21	Duke, otherwise heading for “Shakespeare in Love” (6)
	ORSINO - OR(otherwise), then S~~(hakespeare)~~, IN, O(love)
22	Best in a mess maybe thoroughly upset (6)
	OUTEAT - OUT(thoroughly), EAT(upset)
23	Rolls is to be entered for nothing in outside film areas (5)
	LISTS - IS replacing O(nothing) in film LOTS
25	Like a chat perhaps with Gill, not the first (5)
	AVINE - RAVINE(gill) missing the first letter. Two new ravines this week!

If anyone has happened to glance at the TfT right-hand sidebar, you will see that the results of the 2018 Championships are out, and we are once again providing links to the results.

Other than the actual results, interested parties who did not attend know little or nothing, as the Times does not usually publish its report until the following Monday. However, it is evident from both the results and Keriothe's comment in the Sunday puzzle blog that the great Magoo has finally been dethroned, and we have a new champion.

Well, here is a thread to discuss this exciting development. Contestants and onlookers are all invited to comment at length, although I am asking that you not reveal the actual clues and answers, as the Times will be reusing the puzzles in its regular daily rota.

There will be no time and no music today, because I had to solve this on the train on the way home from New York City, and I had to give up after an hour with one unsolved. When I returned to the puzzle later, I decided to go for a likely answer and biffed it, without being able to make much of the cryptic. In the end, my solution turned out to be correct.

My solve was an interesting example of getting to a correct solution without really knowing everything that is needed to solve this puzzle. I had a hard time getting started, and several of the clues were definitely a stretch. Taking a hint from Jeremy, without completely altering my blogging style, I'm going to go into a little more detail than usual about how I managed to solve some of the more challenging ones. Anyone moving up from the Quickie to the main puzzle is eventually going to run into some more difficult puzzles, and developing a good technique will enable you to solve them....eventually.

Across
1	Block entrance to office used by surgeon (4)
	VETO - VET + O[ffice]. Not obvious because of the word order, and skipped over until crossing letters became available.
3	Having several parties subsequently in action (10)
	TRILATERAL - TRI(LATER)AL. It seems perfectly simple, but I was fixated on BI and THEN. Once I tried LATER, it became obvious....but that was much later.
9	Keys a morbid type reportedly kept in lightweight anorak (7)
	CAGOULE - C(A GOUL)E. One of my last ones in, and very difficult. With all the checkers, I realized that C and E were the keys, and you want A G_U_ in the middle. But what? I considered 'a glum', but 'glum' is not a noun and doesn't sound like 'glum', it is 'glum'. Eventually, another word rang a vague bell in the back of my mind, although if you had asked me what a 'cagoule' is before I started solving I would have had no idea. The other possible meanings of 'lightweight anorak' offer additional chances for confusion, but here 'anorak' actually refers to an anorak.
11	Small network I’m working to turn around (7)
	NOMINAL - LAN + I'M + ON backwards. I had biffed 'minimal', but couldn't get it to work, so I just started writing in likely equivalents from right to left, read out what I had, and there it was!
12	Intimidates thirty, having change of heart? (9)
	THREATENS - THRE(-e,+A) TENS. I saw at once there must be some fancy synonym for 'thirty', but I actually biffed the answer from the checkers and worked backwards.
13	Broadcast protected by company’s capital (5)
	CAIRO - C(AIR)O, one of the useful starter clues that went straight in - there weren't many of them.
14	Welding substance damaging on eye? Exactly (12)
	OXYACETYLENE - Anagram of ON EYE? EXACTLY. I saw this was an anagram, but the two Y's and an X gave me pause. It was only when I got the first letter from the crossing word that I realized what it must be.
18	Camp fellow frames conditions covering posh wrapping material (6,6)
	BUTTER MUSLIN -BUT(TERM(U)S)LIN. The most difficult clue, IMO, the dreaded obscure answer with an obscure cryptic - obscure to me, anyway. An early attempt to put 'ifs' around U was not successful, but when I had more crossers I saw it must be 'terms' around U, and that the last word was probably 'muslin'. I thought of 'butter muslin' almost at once, but I still trawled through the alphabet in search of a better answer. But in the end, I supposed that if there is cheesecloth, then butter muslin might exist as well, and I was right. Of course, if you live in the UK and know who Billy Butlin was, the whole thing is much easier.
21	Hope and believe this is bound to be heard (5)
	TRUST - sounds like TRUSSED. I was hung up on 'tied' until I got the first and last letter.
22	Deliver additional note about island clubs (9)
	EXTRICATE - EXTR(I,C)A + TE. A lot of possibilities in a short clue, but once you think of 'extra' it really can't be anything else.
24	First-class bishop, single chap, backing state (7)
	NAMIBIA - A1 B, I MAN all backwards. Another one where you will be rewarded by meeking following the instructions.
25	Suffering fever, knight concealed torment (7)
	ANGUISH - A(N)GUISH. A write-in for me, because I just solved the same clue in another puzzle, I can't remember where.
26	S African native — worker in Francis Bret’s time? (10)
	HARTEBEEST - HARTE(BEE)'S T. I saw 'worker' and 'South Africa' and saw immediately what the answer must be. Bret Harte was a 19th-century American writer, for those who don't recognize him. He had to change the spelling of his name from 'Hart' in order to get the clue to work.
27	Fish trap creepy duke put out (4)
	WEIR - WEIR[d], a chestnut, and my FOI. I had to search the whole puzzle to find an easy one!

Down
1	Calling out initially for last of tea in break (8)
	VOCATION - V(-a,+O)CATION. I saw that this was a letter-substitution clue, but I needed a little help to figure out what the word to operate on was. The -tion' ending was sufficient, and the initial V allowed me to get VETO as well..
2	Stone the writer picked up after row about golf (8)
	TIGEREYE - TI(G)ER + EYE, sounds like I. I spotted the TIGER part quickly enough, but wasn't sure about the rest until I got the crossing Y.
4	Magistrate constantly upset about illegal drug (5)
	REEVE - EVE(E)R upside-down, a compendium of crossword cliches leading to one of our favorite magistrates, along with the doge.
5	Concerning two bodies jointly travelling in a Rolls round university (9)
	LUNISOLAR - Anagram of IN A ROLLS around U. Another toughie, and at first I played RR around U. Or maybe 'rolls' are the sort that are served with dinner, which could lead to all kinds of possibilities. Eventually, the checkers made it clear this must be an anagram, but even with all the checkers it was very difficult to place the remaining letters. I juggled a U, an I, and an O, and eventually I found it.
6	Taking a while polishing off porridge? (4-9)
	TIME-CONSUMING - TIME + CONSUMING, in the prison-sentence sense of 'porridge'. I thought this might be a cryptic definition for 'life sentence', which fortunately does not fit, but managed to get it eventaully.
7	Managed to get record, holding second of rivals off (6)
	RANCID - RAN + C([r]I[vals])D. You would think by now that the setters would know that a CD is not a record, particularly with all the LP and EP clues that keep popping up.
8	Proceed lumberingly and see ballot set up (6)
	LOLLOP - LO + POLL upside down. An easy one; clearly, LO and POLL must be involved in some combination, but it is not clear whether to invert one or both, so this took several tries.
10	Female noble gripped by message defying explanation (13)
	UNACCOUNTABLE - UNA + C(COUNT)ABLE. Another one that should have been easy, but since the second C is the crosser, it is easy to suppose that the girl must be four letters, ruling out the obvious UNA. I got around to the idea that there must be two C's only after trying a lot of four-letter females and four-letter nobles.
15	Petite gal skipping small part of book (5,4)
	TITLE PAGE - Anagram of PETITE GAL, a relatively simple clue.
16	Like lime perhaps from prickly plant in winding lane (8)
	ALKALINE - AL(IKALI)NE, where the outside is an anagram of LANE. I couldn't think of an appropriate prickly plant, and in the end just biffed it. 'Kali' is probably more familiar as either a Hindu goddess or a Linux distro.
17	Loose article pinched by ’awker, perhaps? (8)
	UNTETHER - UNTE(THE)R, i.e. the stage cockney's version of 'hunter'.
19	Stink son on Web kicked up, about hackers primarily (6)
	STENCH - S + NET upside-down + C + H[ackers], a very convoluted clue, but the answer is obvious.
20	Portion of flavourful marine bird (6)
	FULMAR - hidden in [faith]FUL MAR[ine], a bird I had only vaguely heard of.
23	Athenian courtesan doing for certain Asians (5)
	THAIS - Double definition. Thaïs is a courtesan in an opera by Massenet, but she is Alexandrian, not Athenian. However, few solvers are likely to know or care.

Well here I am blogging at you, not, as predicted in my last blog two weeks ago, from New York after a cruise down from Canada, but instead from the majestic streets of Hammersmith as per usual. A family illness sadly caused us to abort our holiday, so instead of soaking up North American culture for a couple of weeks I find myself collating receipts and medical reports to support an insurance claim, which I calculate should occupy a similar amount of my time. (Sorry, that's just me being grumpy. It'll probably only take me a day.).

Partly as a result of that, and partly just because it's been the way my crossword life has been going the last few weeks, I am writing this from a very limited viewpoint. If you have been reading my recent fortnightly blogs you will realise that I have been doing the 15 x 15 as regularly as ever, but that I have only been looking at the quickie on my appointed blog days (so I don't know in the intervening time what the difficulty level has been like - sorry). All I know is that on my last two blogs I have have encountered what you might call 'quickie stiffies' (stop sniggering there at the back). I have written the blogs on these days thinking that dementia is setting in and that my mental faculties are rapidly deteriorating, only to find from the comments that everybody else has found them difficult too, and that I am in fact providing a more useful service than normal, with several people being genuinely grateful that I have been able to shine some light into their darkness (for which, of course, I am in my own turn grateful).

So once again, this is the first quickie I have done since my last blog two weeks ago, and I would say it is a return to normal standards. Medium difficulty, with no fewer than six pretty straightforward anagrams that I can count on a quick read-through and at least two fairly obvious double definitions, with two or three slightly more difficult clues to push me up to the 10-minute mark. Overall I found the clues pleasant and witty and I am grateful to Felix for taking me on a nostalgic tour of some of my youthful enthusiasms (such as T S Eliot and topology). Great fun.

And before signing off perhaps I could just give my personal comment on the 'stiffies' mentioned above. There were a lot of comments on the blog complaining that they were too hard for quickies, but personally I disagree. I found them genuinely enjoyable. I am sorry if they put some people off, but equally well I am sure that there were some people who are working up to the 15 x 15 who found them a very valuable stepping stone. You can't have a 'standard difficulty' every day for either the quickie or the 15 x 15, you can only have a range of difficulty with any single crossword falling either side of the mean. In terms of the 15 x 15, we tend to talk of 'Monday' and 'Friday' puzzles, and when we encounter a particularly elegant example we all stand back and applaud. I felt similarly with those last two quickie puzzles because they show how far you can go with that format (and to be honest I am sure that if the setters really tried they could go a lot further). There have been some people commenting on the blog asking if we can 'flag up' when there is an 'easy' 15 x 15 that the inexperienced population can have a go at. Such people could presumably also regard a 'difficult' 13 x 13 as a similar scale of challenge.

Inevitably, there will be easy and difficult 13 x 13s, and the same for 15 x 15s. Together they form a spectral ladder which the novice can aspire to climb until they reach a level at which they can look down and regard a successful daily 15 x 15 solve as a formality rather than an occasional cause for celebration.

It remains for me to say:

FOI 1A, as it should be. A nice welcoming anagram to kick off with.

LOI 14D (I think).

COD? I think I will go for 15A. An elegant mechanism that took me drifting gently down the Thames with my beloved Mr Eliot to finish up (as I see it) on Margate Sands. Even though this location is mentioned earlier in the poem and not specifically referred to in this final part it seems likely to me that this was his intended final destination.

Definitions are underlined and everything else is explained just as I see it in the simplest language I can lay my mental mitts on.

Across

Catamaran ordered to transport grand historic document (5,5)

MAGNA CARTA - anagram of CATAMARAN with G (grand) 'transported' (i.e. put inside).

Farm building containing old cut of beef (5)

BARON - BARN (farm building) 'containing' O (old) gives BARON (a double sirloin).

Girl’s tunic boy picked up by mistake (3,4)

GYM SLIP - GYM sounds like JIM, so if you heard someone saying GYM you might instead 'pick up' JIM. Put this 'by' SLIP (mistake) and there can be no mistake.

A French work put forward without being challenged (9)

UNOPPOSED - UN (French indefinite article) + OP (opus, work) + POSED (put forward).

Syrupy stuff, mostly wholesome (3)

GOO - GOO is 'mostly' GOOd (wholesome).

Small pieces of coal, loose (5)

SLACK - double definition.

The two letters often associated with Lowry’s estate (5)

LANDS - L(aurence) S(tephen) Lowry was the guy who painted the 'matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs', and is almost always referred to as 'L S' Lowry. Thus L AND S are the 'two letters often associated with Lowry'. Put them closer together and you have LANDS, a mostly archaic term for a person's estate, as in The Waste Land by T(homas) S(tearns) Eliot (coincidentally another guy who is most commonly referred to by his initials):

"I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me
Shall I at least set my lands in order?"

Rag and bone (3)

RIB - another double definition.

Remedy nun concocted in historic English meadow (9)

RUNNYMEDE - straight anagram of REMEDY NUN.

Kit out for short film recording (7)

PROVIDE - PRO (for) + VIDE ('short' VIDEo).

One hundred and fifty live in part of Ireland (5)

CLARE - CL (Roman 150) + ARE (if to be is to live, then in the second person YOU ARE can mean YOU LIVE). I suppose the meaning is most powerfully illustrated in the biblical quote where Yahweh proclaims his name by saying "Before Abraham was, I AM".

Look after sea eagles, small, being kind (10)

TENDERNESS - TEND (look after) + ERNES (sea eagles) + S (small).

Down
1	I miss pub: sort that’s put out special ribbons? (6,6)
	MOBIUS STRIPS - straight anagram of I MISS PUB SORT gives these topological curiosities. A Mobius strip is a band which has only one surface. If you want some fun you can make one yourself by taking a strip of paper and putting a single twist into it before gluing it into a band. You can then draw a line from any starting point and follow all the way round the strip back to the starting point and realise that your line has passed through the whole surface of the strip thus demonstrating that the structure has only one surface. Then if you cut the strip down the middle, that is, along the line that you have just drawn, instead of ending up with two strips as you might expect, you get just one larger strip. Even more strangely (or maybe less strangely, depending on what sort of scale of strangeness you are using) if you then cut that resulting strip down the middle you do now end up with two strips, but they are linked together as in a paper decoration chain.
2	Actress filling sugar bowls and cigar boxes (5)
	GARBO - hidden word: ciGAR BOxes. [jackkt has kindly pointed out that I omitted to mention the other hidden GARBO in suGAR BOwls, see comments below.]
3	Girl’s warning oddly ignored (3)
	ANN - take wArNiNg and ignore the odd letters...
4	An uncannily grim, upsetting story, that’s initially impressive (6)
	AUGUST - ... and now take all the initial letters (initially): An Uncannily Grim Upsetting Story That's.
5	Male deity unexpectedly requiring a pause in operation? (4-5)
	TIME-DELAY - another straight anagram of MALE DEITY ('unexpectedly').
6	Keep signalling vessel (6)
	FLAGON - if you keep signalling with a flag, you might be said to 'FLAG ON'.
7	Luther’s prose adapted for stuffy artisans? (12)
	UPHOLSTERERS - straight anagram of LUTHER'S PROSE ('adapted').
11	Metal rod, old penny and diamonds for gambling game (5,4)
	POKER DICE - POKER (metal rod) + D (denarius: an old penny as in pounds, shillings and pence (l. s. d.) in the days before the decimal scourge washed ashore) + ICE (diamonds). (NB no BREXIT opinion is being expressed here, just a simple nostalgic fondness for the eccentric old British monetary system).
14	“England”: book penned by a famous author (6)
	ALBION - B (book) 'penned by' A LION (a famous author). A lion in the modern sense can be any sort of celebrity but was much more likely to refer to an author back in the days when literature was king. Albion is a romantic name for old England (when everybody used to reckon in pounds, shillings and pence, see above).
16	Nude DA, wandering around like a zombie? (6)
	UNDEAD - straight anagram of NUDE DA.
19	Dodge publicity, going in the night before (5)
	EVADE - AD (publicity) 'going in' EVE (the night before, as in Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve).
21	Vehicle that’s about right (3)
	CAR - CA (circa, about) + R (right).

Well, that was fun. I finished just shy of 14 minutes which would indicate a difficult QC in any case, but I’m now looking forward to writing the blog to piece together the many bits I’ve missed. I must confess to some biffing around and about the grid. LOsI 21dn and 3dn. There were two stand out clever short clues (14,16ac) which together merit COD - more of those later - here we go into the details.

ACROSS

1. EYEWASH - rot. Eastern (E) couple of trees - YEW and ASH.
9. ROTOR - chopper (helicopter) blade - palindrome.
10. OWING - what outstanding bills are. Thanks to Ulaca below for the explanation - if you have ALL and this=OWING then you get admitting=ALL OWING. ~~double definition. All this is admitting/outstanding bills are owing.~~
11. AVERAGE - mean. Declare how old a person is (AVER AGE).
12. INSOLVENT - bust. Rude (INSOLENT) about a small version of very (V).
14. DOT - a lady's name. This clue has 'Aida' mostly in lower case which means that one can see a (DOT) on top of the 'i'. I thought I didn’t have the prior general knowledge for these two clues until the cryptic nature of them presented itself. They make a pair and are a good example of why I do cryptic crosswords - there’s wit and cleverness - thanks to Howzat for brightening my day.
16. ADA - another lady's name. Here we have 'AIDA' in upper case which means that the 'I' resembles a 1. So, in AIDA, we find the sought after lady (ADA) embracing one (I).
18. ARCHANGEL - Russian port. This could be seen as a double definition with church high flier - angel of the highest rank (ARCHANGEL). Until looking that up I’ve never really considered grades of angels - the different job descriptions would be interesting. It could also be seen as a split between ARCH - in the sense of chief/principal and ANGEL - flier.
21. SHAKERS - double definition. Vessel for cocktail making and an American millenarian sect, founded in 1747 as an offshoot of the Quakers, given to ecstatic shaking, advocating celibacy for its members, and practising common ownership of property - so I think I’d rather rattle and roll.
22. TASER - stunner. Posed again - re-sat. Facing the other way (TASER).
22. ALOOF - remote. Gents (LOO - we had 'ladies' last week) hugged by (A) and female (F).
24. EARNEST - very serious. Homophone of Ernest.

DOWN

1. SEMOLINA - pudding. Anagram (confection) of IS A LEMON.
2. REMISS - careless. About (RE), penalty failure (in e.g. football - MISS).
3. GANG - band. Associated with the name Mozart is Wolfgang - which, when halved, gives wolf(GANG).
4. PHRASE - expression. Anagram (novel) of SHARPE.
5. GREEN TEA - drink - one of which I’m aware but do not partake. Anagram (brewed) of TEENAGER.
6. STRAND - double definition. Ply - one of the strands twisted together to make rope, yarn, etc/the street in central London.
7. BRAE - Scottish bank/hill. Part of the clue - some of f(EAR B)ankruptcy. As this is a down clue then 'coming up' means backwards.
13. LEAVE OFF - stop. Holiday (LEAVE), cancelled (OFF).
15. TOLERATE - stomach. Anagram (upset) of ROTTE (rotten endless) ALE.
17. A MAJOR - musical key. Accountant (CA) leaving a (A) Spanish Island (MAJOR)ca.
19. CUSSED - awkward. Talked about dis(CUSSED) missing DIS.
20. GUSHER - (oil) well. Good (G), one shows you to your seat (USHER).
21. SCAM - racket (fraud). Tailless monkey (SCAM)p - as in a naughty but liked child.

My solving time was off the scale and it was well past an hour when I got to my final two missing answers at 16dn and 24dn. By that stage I had completely run out of ideas so I set the puzzle aside for a while and when I returned to it the answers miraculously came to mind. I was very pleased just to complete this without resorting to aids.

No change of blogging style from me, as I altered it 2-3 years ago to give more detail when it became apparent that we had an influx of new contributors joining us from the QC. Also, as I blog for both puzzles, it was handier for me not to have to switch gear when moving across from one to the other. As for revealing my thought processes when solving, I wouldn't wish to inflict some of them on people who may be of a nervous disposition! One can apply straight logic only so far and there comes a point where lateral thinking is required and that's seldom easy to explain in simple terms.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
1	Shrew runs in through crack (6)
	VIRAGO - R (runs) contained by [in] VIA (through), GO (crack - 'have a go/crack at something'). I thought of the correct meaning of 'shrew' immediately so the answer should have been a write-in, but the word didn't come to mind until I had sufficient checkers to jog my memory.
5	Brass band regularly entertains United and a rival team (8)
	AUDACITY - {b}A{n}D [regularly] contains [entertains] U (united), A, CITY (rival team). A sneaky definition and quite complicated wordplay for which one needs to know that City and United are rival football teams in Manchester (maybe elsewhere too, for all I know about soccerl). I think the full expression for 'audacity' or 'cheek' is 'brass neck' and there are a number of other related usages such as 'bold as brass' and 'brazen' meaning 'made of brass' as well as 'shameless'.
9	I love being in south of France, returning with fine wine in particular (10)
	FASTIDIOUS - F (fine), ASTI (wine), then I + 0 (love) contained by [being in] SUD (south 'of France') reversed [returning]. 'With' has to be treated according to the 'on-in-an-Across-clue' convention so as to place the various components of the answer in the correct order.
10	Creative individual's scratching head (4)
	ARTY - {p}ARTY (individual) [scratching head]. 'A certain party/individual...'
11	Not losing heart, at first the guy will be determined (4-4)
	HELL-BENT - HE'LL (the guy will), BE, N{o}T [losing heart]. Through rain and wind and weather, hell bent for leather...
12	One goes onairship? (6)
	GASBAG -Two definitions of sorts, the first being a person who goes on and on about something or nothing at great length - I've known a few in my time!
13	Hospital unit is perfect (4)
	HONE - H (hospital), ONE (unit). Pronounced as in 'perfect one's skills'.
15	Old king, set to move, hiding inside tree (8)
	OLEASTER - O (old), anagram [move] of SET contained by [hiding inside] LEAR (king). An olive tree. The containement indicator is strategically placed to misdirect the solver
18	Extremely cold in Canadian province — Quebec's the leader in snow vehicles (8)
	BICYCLES - ICY (extremely cold) contained by [in] BC (Canadian province - British Columbia), LE (Quebec's 'the'), S{now} [leader]
19	Twopence piece is visible (4)
	OPEN - Hidden [piece] in {tw}OPEN{ce}
21	Coach follows game in which there's the potential for rain (6)
	NIMBUS - NIM (game), BUS (coach). I learnt the name of this game in a puzzle I blogged two weeks ago today, so it was fresh in my mind. In meteorology this is specifically a rain cloud, apparently.
23	Bearing weapons, is imprisoned, making lucky escape (4,4)
	NEAR MISS - NE (bearing - northeast), ARMS (weapons) with IS contained [imprisoned]
25	Strike bar before heading in goal (4)
	BANG - BAN (bar), G{oal} [heading]. One for the QC.
26	Application of string theory, “relatively” speaking? (6,4)
	GRANNY KNOT - According to Wiki: In topology, KNOT theory is the study of mathematical knots. 'Relatively' points us in the direction of a family member and GRANNY fits the bill nicely. More easily biffed than explained. Another misdirection here is that 'speaking' suggests a homophone might be involved, but it isn't.
27	Note river without end (8)
	TERMINUS - TE (note), R (river), MINUS (without)
28	A retired GP tucks into layer cake (6)
	HARDEN - A then DR (GP) reversed [retired] both contained by [tucks into] HEN (layer - of eggs). 'Cake' as a verb meaning to form or set into a hardened mass.

Down
2	Vacant area in pub to the rear of lounge (5)
	INANE - A (area) contained by [in] INN (pub), {loung}E [rear]
3	Vessel has poorly kept guns (9)
	ARTILLERY - ARTERY (vessel) contains [has...kept] ILL (poorly)
4	Lots of sketches, but missing the first … (6)
	OODLES - {d}OODLES (sketches) [missing the first]. Of uncertain origin, unfortunately.
5	...of many thousands lost for ages (1,5,2,7)
	A MONTH OF SUNDAYS - Anagram [lost] of OF MANY THOUSANDS
6	Seeing changes within a couple of days, as planned (8)
	DESIGNED - Anagram [changes] of SEEING contained by [within] D D (a couple of days)
7	Fellows taking over, not quietly, causing confusion (5)
	CHAOS - CHA{p}S (fellows) [not quietly] becomes CHAOS when it takes O (over) instead of the deleted letter
8	Nice intimate conversation? (4-1-4)
	TÊTE-À-TÊTE - Cryptic definition with 'Nice' indicating that it's a French expression.
14	One soldier decorated houses in spring (9)
	ORIGINATE - ORNATE (decorated) contains [houses] I (one) + GI (soldier)
16	Craftsman: "Ring me up in a moment, right?" (9)
	SHOEMAKER - O (ring) then ME reversed [up] both contained by [in] SHAKE (moment), R (right)
17	Has flung out photographic device (8)
	FLASHGUN - Anagram [out] of HAS FLUNG
20	What’s initially awkward to hold in with belt? (6)
	PAUNCH - A{wkward} [initially] contained by [to hold in] PUNCH (belt)
22	Using sticker? That’s surprising (2,3)
	BY GUM - BY (using), GUM (sticker)
24	Times lifted after leaving hotel room (5)
	SCOPE - EPOC{h}S (times) reversed [leaving hotel]

I suspect this will be another puzzle rated too hard by many. I thought I'd got lucky with some half-remembered vocabulary, along with trusting the wordplay where my ignorance was exposed, but ended up with one wrong (20ac, see below). I wasn't going to chalk up a PB today anyway - I spent at least 5 minutes trying to figure out and parse my last two in (10ac and 4dn).

Until recently, I've not really been interested in solving at speed nor improving (or even recording) my times, so I quite enjoy the frustration of struggling with a few educational clues - thanks Orpheus! I'm starting to get the itch, though, and have decided to try and get quicker. Maybe it's all the recent chatter about the championships, and the stunning display from many of the TftT team! To this end, I've been reviewing some websites that I dimly remember reading in the past, and post the links here for any other beginner- or intermediate-ability solvers who might be interested. If you know of any other useful general resources, let me know in the comments.

The (highly binge-able) "Cracking the Cryptic" videos on YouTube.

Two interesting stream of consciousness blogs by Mark Goodliffe (à la Jeremy) from 2008 and 2012.

Some very useful tips from the legendary Peter B, especially this page on abbreviations.

Anyway, here's the blog. Definitions underlined.

Across
7	Radio-controlled aircraft, one used by medical practitioner (5)
	DRONE - ONE by DR (medical practitioner).
8	European computer technology a couple of men follow (7)
	ITALIAN - IT (computer technology) which AL and IAN (a couple of men) follow.
10	Genuinemisprint (7)
	LITERAL -double definition. I saw the answer from checkers, and had a vague sense it might fit the first definiton. I did not know the second definition.
11	Frogman in seedy bar by river (5)
	DIVER - DIVE (seedy bar) and R (river).
12	Like bishops, work in special complex (9)
	EPISCOPAL - OP (opus, work) in an angram of (complex) SPECIAL.
14	Note brick-carrier brought back (3)
	DOH - reversal of (brought back) HOD (brick-carrier). I knew there was a word for the thing one stacks bricks into, but wouldn't have recalled it had I not seen the instruction to check the notes (doh-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-doh) backwards.
15	Dismiss unknown person in Casualty (3)
	AXE - X (unknown person) in A and E (casualty). I was going to ask about the superfluous 'person', as 'unknown' is sufficient to indicate X (or Y, or Z); perhaps it could refer to the X-mark of an unknown signatory?
16	Storyteller working near court (9)
	RACONTEUR - anagram of (working) NEAR COURT. In my haste, I put 'recounter' in without checking the fodder, and had to wait to get 5dn before seeing my error.
18	Mature insect, one initially misidentified in the past (5)
	IMAGO - I (one), first letter of (initially) Misidentified, and AGO in the past. Dim memories of an A-Level biology lesson, but I wouldn't have been able to recall it without the wordplay.
20	Publication Buddhist priest rejected: dentists use it (7)
	AMALGAM - MAG (publication) and LAMA (buddhist priest), all reversed (rejected). This was my error! I had 'amalgum' (reversal of the priest then 'gum' for something dentists use. I'd read an amalgum, but no such publication exists. Every definition up to this point has been at the beginning, so perhaps I was on autopilot!
22	Bringing inopenwork fabric (7)
	NETTING - double definition.
23	Business leader with responsibility for extra perk (5)
	BONUS - first letter (leader) of Business, then ONUS (responsibility).

Down
1	Debasement of drug in grown-up share (12)
	ADULTERATION - E (ecstasy, drug) in ADULT (grown-up) and RATION (share).
2	Tories to reform: one’s slow to move! (8)
	TORTOISE - anagram of (reform) TORIES TO.
3	EndurePaddington, for example (4)
	BEAR - double definition.
4	Charge the least possible amount for boost (6)
	FILLIP - FILL (charge, as in "charge your glasses") and 1P (the least possible amount). Not a word I can remember ever having seen, and clued very sneakily.
5	Instrument chap at party left at home (8)
	MANDOLIN - MAN (chap), DO (party), L (left), and IN (at home).
6	Capital that is sunk in key venture at first (4)
	KIEV - IE (that is, inside (sunk into) the first letters of (at first) Key and Venture.
9	Monster thorn flourished nearest the Arctic (12)
	NORTHERNMOST - anagram of (flourished) MONSTER THEN.
13	Throw up in vehicle, one principally carrying disinfectant (8)
	CARBOLIC - LOB (throw) reversed (up) inside CAR (vehicle), I (one) and the first of (principally) Carrying.
14	Digging up road to the north, moving slowly (8)
	DREDGING - RD (road) backwards (to the north) and EDGING (moving slowly).
17	Rocky extremities of crater ageing gradually (6)
	CRAGGY - first and last letters (extremities) of CrateR AgeinG and GraduallY.
19	Affectedly cultured chap finally thrown out of do (4)
	ARTY - last letter of (finally) chap removed from (thrown out of) pARTY (do).
21	Pulpit in Chesham Bois (4)
	AMBO - hidden in (in) cheshAM BOis. I couldn't think of another way to interpret the clue, and with a 'b' in third place, this went in with a shrug.

I enjoyed this one. It has some novel wordplay, only two anagrams, a couple of cats, no obscure antelopes or plants, a bit of French geography, and a reference to one of my favourite bands. It took me around 25 minutes to do and parse before writing this up. As usual I was prompted to look up origins of things afterwards, on my endless search for new trivia to absorb for quizzes, so forgive me if I waffle on here and there. Maybe I'll have a waffle for breakfast tomorrow instead of 29a.

Across
1	Naughty Zulus stop talking! (6)
	IMPISH - The IMPI (or an IMPI) are (is) a band of Zulu warriors; SH ! = stop talking.
4	Hiccup interrupting, say, Persian talk (8)
	CHITCHAT - A Persian, say = CAT, insert HITCH = hiccup.
10	Because of every other character leaving jobless, take industrial action (4,5)
	DOWN TOOLS - Because of = DOWN TO, O L S = alternate letters of j O b L e S s.
11	One creeping on round, sheepish? (5)
	OVINE - O = round, VINE = one creeping.
12	Be deceiving: a protracted row starts (6,5)
	STRING ALONG - A LONG = a protracted; STRING = row.
14	Dish in constant use, ultimately (3)
	PIE - PI = constant, π; E = use ultimately. The other day I foolishly asked Alexa to tell me π to 1000 decimal places, I had to tell her to shut up before the end. But she knows! Try it if you're lonely or can't sleep.
15	Asylum seeker to cater for again, mostly, embracing universal good (7)
	REFUGEE - RE-FEED would be to cater for again; delete the E (as in mostly) and insert U ang G for universal good.
17	Queen's issue clear, one requiring king's backing (6)
	KITTEN - Regulars know that Queen in puzzles often refers to a lady cat. Clear = NETT, I, K, all reversed.
19	Back of garden behind houses in French city (6)
	NANTES - Your NATES are your buttocks, from the Latin plural, insert N being the back of garden. I went to a few six lettered French cities ending in S, (Cannes, Rennes, Vannes, Tarbes, Troyes, Amiens...) before seeing why it was Nantes, which is France's sixth largest city, on the Loire, a thriving place and pleasant enough to visit.
21	Introduce first of paratroopers, then withdraw (7)
	PRECEDE - P(aratroopers), RECEDE = withdraw. My hair withdrew 40 years ago.
23	That girl's pa has lost weight? (3)
	HER - FATHER = pa, no longer has FAT, so has lost weight.
24	Lip, with cheek very close (4,3,4)
	NECK AND NECK - Both lip and cheek can mean neck.
26	Cash in silver, instantly withdrawn (5)
	WONGA - Reverse AG = silver, NOW = instantly. Apparently (says Wiktionary) Wonga derives from wongar or wangar, Romany word for coal, and coal itself was also used as a slang word for money in the 18c and 19c.
27	Complex, getting neighbouring Greek island to squeeze in (9)
	BYZANTINE - BY = neighbouring, ZANTE is a lovely Greek island (also known as Zakynthos), insert ("squeeze'') IN. The complex meaning seems to derive directly from either the architecture (many mosaics) or the complex layers of government which existed in the Byzantine Empire.
29	Breakfast is not a sausage, also refusing alcohol, in mess (8)
	OMELETTE - O = not a sausage, nothing; TT = refusing alcohol, inside MELÉE = mess. I don't much like this definition, an omelette is not exclusively, or even mainly, a breakfast dish. The spelling -ette is the usual British and omelet is more American, although both are permitted either side of the ocean it seems. A rather strange clue IMO.
30	Place where a long tooth shortened, by the way (6)
	STATUS - ST = street, way; A TUS(K).

Down
1	Asian runner getting taste for work (8)
	INDUSTRY - The river INDUS runs 2,880 km through Asia, and TRY = taste.
2	Influence someone £0.01 overdrawn? (5)
	POWER - Well if someone is a P OWER they owe someone else a penny, I suppose, so are that overdrawn.
3	Some dipso then? (3)
	SOT - Hidden in DIP(SO T)HEN.
5	Cushion can keep foot warm? (7)
	HASSOCK - A foot which HAS SOCK should be warmer.
6	Interpret ideas, however ahead of the pace (7-4)
	THOUGHT-READ - However - THOUGH, TREAD = pace. Not sure the definition is quite on the money.
7	Rug is cheaper one I replaced (9)
	HAIRPIECE - an anagram at last. (CHEAPER I I)*.
8	Ancient city, above all, unfinished (6)
	THEBES - Above all = THE BEST, unfinish it.
9	Heart of gold in fellow (6)
	MORALE - OR = gold inside MALE.
13	About to appear, sense of anticipation overwhelming a singer (11)
	NIGHTINGALE - NIGH = about to appear, a TINGLE could be of anticipation, insert A (i.e. A is overwhelmed).
16	Bouquet guy found in Bordeaux, perhaps? (9)
	FRAGRANCE - RAG = guy, tease, insert into FRANCE where Bordeaux definitely is.
18	Liking snakes, we must be crazy (8)
	WEAKNESS - (SNAKES WE)*.
20	After pillage, save brass instrument (7)
	SACKBUT - SACK = pillage, BUT = save, as in but for, save for. Seen a few times before.
21	Square food item topped, article covered (6)
	PIAZZA - a PIZZA is a 'food item topped' and it covers A an article.
22	Band still in fashion? On the contrary (3,3)
	THE WHO - Well, I still like them,at least the original band's stuff if not the reconstituted version. I even use the intro to 'Won't get fooled again' as a ring tone, to annoy Mrs K. If they were out of fashion and forgotten and someone mentioned them, I guess you might say 'THE WHO?' At least I think that's where the setter is going with this.
25	Number in team half lost after capsizing, survive (5)
	EXIST - Put SIX (a number) into TE(AM) = team half lost, then capsize or reverse it all. E(XIS)T.
28	Fastener, one with screw loose? (3)
	NUT - Double definition, one whimsical.

Not too much to frighten the horses in this one, though a Czech play and a much-loved (by those of a certain age and disposition) comedian might cause a few scratch marks to appear on furrowed brows. Lots of anagrams, and no sneaky hidden make for a pleasant enough workout. Today’s random girl might have just as well been a random chap, perhaps more so, though the reforming Spice Women (surely, by now?) might have something to say about that. I have to acknowledge that I parsed a couple post solve, partly so that I could squeeze in two seconds short of 20 minutes.

One of those crosswords which stirs pleasant memories by association. Clues are presented in italics, definitions underlined, and solutions captalised in BOLD.

ACROSS

1 See terms reorganised as one (8)

SEMESTER A sweet &lit-ish to start with, this version of one term being a reorganisation (that’ll be an anagram, then) of SEE TERMS

5 Meat product in crate (6)

BANGER And a generous (-ish) pair of definitions to follow, a banger being a sausage in the UK (snag in Oz, I believe) and also a dilapidated car.

10 Kind group almost always billets old dog (6,9)

GOLDEN RETRIEVER I believe this is GENRE for kind plus TRI(o) for group almost, plus EVER for always, with OLD for –um- old inserted towards the front end. Extra points if you took time to work that out.

11 Advocate having second beer brought round (7)

APOSTLE The first (only?) I wasn’t sure of: obviously we have ALE for beer which means second stands for POST. The best I can do is to refer you to post- as a prefix, so war comes first and post-war comes second. Am I missing something obvious?

12 Club in weapons collection (7)

A***NAL Allegedly a football club, should be called Woolwich, where bits of the former royal armaments store still stand

13 Insane expert better after reversal (8)

CRACKPOT I think this is still an acceptable alternative for insane, expert giving CRACK and better reversed giving POT

15 What may constitute hangover goes without beginning (5)

EAVES Goes is LEAVES. Knock off the beginning as instructed.

18 Alumnus, represented at centre, having much to lose? (5)
OBESE O(ld) B(oy), our alumnus, has the middle of represented tacked on

20 Short while back put money into trust (8)

RECENTLY So here back is not a reversal indicator. CENT is money, RELY is trust

23 Let's not have cold chicken — it's uncivilised (7)

HEATHEN Look, I don’t make up these definitions or mean anything ungenerous in reporting them. HEAT HEN is given as a charade in the not-definition part of the clue. Any (obviously) civilised heathens please address your pique to the editor, who may tick off the setter if he so chooses.

25 Comedian takes tips from debtors and pays out (7)

UNWINDS “Are you all sitty comftybold two-square on your botty? Then I'll begin” If you know who that comes from, deep joy! If not, O folly folly! “Professor” Stanley Unwin is the comedian you seek, add both tips from DebtorS. Oh, and here’s a samplode

26 One's doctrinaire formulation provides review (15)

RECONSIDERATION Ooh, “formulation. An anagram? Indeed, of the first couple of words.

27 Portion to keep dry that remains in pipe (6)

DOTTLE A (small) portion is a direct synonym of DOLE. TT (for teetotal) is dry. Dottle is the (usually disgusting) remains at the bottom of a pipe bowl.

28 Follower died in this place, clutched by worker? (8)

ADHERENT D(ied) and HERE, in this place, are absorbed into the industrious ANT

DOWN

1 Extraordinarygesture (6)

SIGNAL Two definitions one an adjective, the other a noun.

2 Girl carried round university city (9)

MELBOURNE I’ve worked this out now (it’s not hard) MEL is your random girl (Brooks? Smith? Tormé? Gibson? I fear I can’t spell Giedroyc, which would otherwise help) BORNE is carried, and U(niversity) the insertion.

3 One with doubts about contaminated houses (7)

SCEPTIC C for about, a legitimate abbreviation of circa, housed in SEPTIC for contaminated. Septic for me will always be the pilot from Angels One Five

4 Strange passion arising in midweek? (5)

EERIE Midweek is, of course EE, and IRE the passion “arising” (this is a down clue) therein

6 First-rate paper under discussion (2,5)

AT ISSUE Bless you. A is first rate, TISSUE your paper

7 Assuming soldier is on discharge, briefly (5)

GIVEN ...the assumption that the two words are interchangeable, GI, our Stateside soldier takes his place on VEN(t), discharge.

8 Play a record for one loving country (8)

RURALIST Rossums Universal Robots (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti) is a 1920 play by Karel Čapek, though the title is as we have it here, RUR. It is the origin of the English “robot” and of the much-hyped fear that AI will supplant humans. Oh, add A LIST for a record or you won’t have the rest of the entry

9 Craft loses wings in space above the pond (8)

ATLANTIC It’s arguable that in order to work the pond needs to be Pond, but who’s counting? ATTIC is the space above, LAN a plane with its wings clipped.

14 Hurried round, one in flat being very suspicious (8)

PARANOID Hurried is RAN, round O, and flat encompassing both is PAD. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you (Joseph Heller)

16 One secretly loved Latin — even in translation (9)

VALENTINE Only 98 days away. An anagram (in translation) of LATIN EVEN

17 Made effort to have more between the sheets? (8)

BOTHERED More translates to OTHER, and between the sheets places it in BED. (Very) mildly risqué?

19 Restructuring the loan makes you solvent (7)

ETHANOL Another anagram (restructuring) THE LOAN

21 Movement from English wives in approach to altar (3,4)

NEW WAVE We had this the last time I was on duty (Artistic movement of green and white horse?). This time it’s E(nglish) plus 2 W(ives) in NAVE, the main body of a church and hence (sort of) the approach to the altar.

22 American clear about Eastern newsgroups system (6)

USENET Precursor to the WWW, still in use though not as much as it was. Cue real IT people telling you how grossly inadequate that definition is. Sorry. Here, it’s US American, NET clear and E(astern) within.

24 Adoptee supposedly lucky to miss first course (5)

ASCOT A slightly lengthy definition of MASCOT which is to lose its first letter to produce the (race, duh) course.

25 Author in guide regularly making stand (5)

UPEND Fortunately, the author is the generic PEN, enclosed in the (even) letters of gUiDe

.

*** RSE, might be censored by LJ’s robot.

With about nine-and-a-half minutes on the clock and just 12d left to get, I'd say this was about bang on average difficulty, but a carelessly bunged in wrong ending at 17ac saw fit to my finishing on target and it took the guts of another four minutes to resolve the mess. Good puzzle, I thought, with three long anagrams opening things up to provide a steady solve, and lots of imaginative cluing along the way, my favourite probably being that pesky 12d. Many thanks to Hurley!

Across
1	Pastry served in Mostar, tasty (4)
	TART - "Served in" the letters of mosTAR Tasty. A beautiful town in Bosnia with a World Heritage Site for a bridge. I was in Sarajevo recently (it's a wonderful place) but was too hungover the only day we had to visit Mostar, and instead spent the day in bed listening to the cricket. Shame on me!
3	Clown getting a pet for pounds in capital (4,4)
	CAPE TOWN - CLOWN having A PET instead of L (pounds)
8	Linette’s new name (7)
	ENTITLE - anagram (new) of LINETTE
10	Clever securing English tree (5)
	ABELE - ABLE (clever) securing E(nglish). Rang a very distant bell, I suppose, but if I saw the word by itself I'd have been guessing it was a Mongolian instrument or something. Also known as the white/silver poplar, "abele" derives from the Latin for white (as in albumen). Similarly, the white poplar was called "leuka" in Greek (as in leukocyte). Leuka was the most beautiful of the nymphs and an Oceanid - a daughter of Oceanus - which Hurley with his deep setterly wisdom might have been daydreaming of when crossing this with 6d!
11	Feature of writing unit act upon at work (11)
	PUNCTUATION - anagram (at work) of UNIT ACT UPON
13	Person displayingbathroom fixture (6)
	SHOWER - double definition
15	Residence of royal friend, superb (6)
	PALACE - PAL (friend) ACE (superb)
17	After training, pointer made to prevail (11)
	PREDOMINATE - anagram (after training) of POINTER MADE. I bunged in predominANT, possibly because of the "NT" together in "pointer", but ultimately because I'm a careless idiot.
20	Manifest finished before time (5)
	OVERT - OVER (finished) before T(ime)
21	New order to bang out for patrol vessel (7)
	GUNBOAT - anagram (new order to) BANG OUT
22	Booked, saying little (8)
	RESERVED - double definition
23	Be informed boss has right to replace daughter (4)
	HEAR - HEAD (boss) has R(ight) to replace D(aughter)

Down
1	Wrong lock of hair Dad’s cut (8)
	TRESPASS - TRESS (lock of hair) cut/intersected with PA'S (Dad's). Well really, if you get your dad to cut your hair.
2	Divulge private information about ration one spurned (3,2)
	RAT ON - RATION with I (one) spurned/rejected.
4	Primate trapped in escape manoeuvre (6)
	APEMAN - "trapped" in the letters of escAPE MANoeuvre. I thought there might be some outsize bush-baby type thing called an apeman, but no. Simply an old word for the "missing link", before we started finding lots and lots of missing links and giving them rather more scientific names, but it's a vivid enough term to remain in popular use.
5	Opponent of privilege revising inter alia a guidebook at the start (11)
	EGALITARIAN - anagram (revising) INTER ALIA A G (Guidebook at the start)
6	Part of world Eco’s written about with enthusiasm at first ignored (7)
	OCEANIA - OCE (Eco written about/reversed) with MANIA (enthusiasm, first letter ignored)
7	Require massage, we hear (4)
	NEED - sounds the same (we hear) as KNEAD (massage)
9	How rent under lease is paid, exact in every way (2,3,6)
	TO THE LETTER - double definition
12	One going over shortcoming, bore at heart (8)
	DEFECTOR - DEFECT (shortcoming) OR (bORe, "at heart"). Nice definition.
14	Torment journalists after work (7)
	OPPRESS - PRESS (journalists) after OP (work)
16	Show disapproval of US soldier over Eastern dance (6)
	BOOGIE - To BOO a GI is to show disapproval of US soldier, over/above E(astern)
18	A British poem — “Home” (5)
	ABODE - A B(ritish) ODE (poem)
19	Rise initially spoken of as ridiculous (4)
	SOAR - "initially" Spoken Of As Ridiculous

A lovely puzzle from Izetti today, as always, with plenty of wit and inventiveness in the clueing and neat surfaces. Although I finished in an average time for me, I needed to keep my thinking cap on to unravel some of the trickery, so I expect a few of our less experienced solvers will find some these clues a bit testing... which is as it should be, to my mind, and it wouldn't be a proper Izetti puzzle without them. Clues I particularly liked include DABS, PO-FACED, UNAPPRECIATED and SEVENS, but T-SHIRTS was my favourite. Thanks, Izetti! How did you all get on?

Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1	Experts— they can provide evidence for crime (4)
	DABS - A nice double definition to start with. If you are an expert at something (like Izetti at setting crosswords) you might be called a DAB hand. The other meaning, of course, being hand DABS (aka fingerprints).
3	Female star in cabin humourless in expression (2-5)
	PO-FACED - F (Female) ACE (star) [in] POD (cabin). Continuing the theme of excellence.. If you are a star at something, you are an ACE. POD for cabin is a bit of a stretch, perhaps, but it didn't hold me up so I didn't put that expression on my own face. I like the phrase, which is based on the French "pot de chambre".
8	Discloser of scandal troubling to well-wisher — British involved (7-6)
	WHISTLE-BLOWER - Take B for British and include in an anagram of [troubling] (to well-wisher)* .
9	Girl spends hour in routine procedure (3)
	RUT - A bit tricky. The girl in question is RUT{h} - 'spends hour' meaning to lose the H for hour. But you all spotted that, didn't you?
10	Idiot in the morning in Indian location (5)
	ASSAM - ASS (idiot) AM (in the morning). A favourite variety of tea of mine named after the North-Eastern Indian state it comes from.
12	After end of day canvas shelter is wide open (7)
	YAWNING - Take the end of {da}Y and add AWNING (canvas shelter) to get what one does at the end of day.
14	Garments flogged in this street — 50% off (1-6)
	T-SHIRTS - I loved this one. Flogged here indicates an anagram. Take 50% off street to get STR and munge with THIS to get the required apparel, Yes, I am wearing one as I type.
16	Daughter is taking care of entertainment event (5)
	DISCO - D (daughter) IS C/O (care of). Not my sort of entertainment event, I'm afraid, and my daughters know better than to arrange one for me.
17	See some of them swimming in German river (3)
	EMS - A lovely hidden word clue - the answer submerged in thEM Swimming. Luckily I vaguely remembered this river. Apparently there's more than one! Find out more here.
20	Canute, a dipper sadly not respected (13)
	UNAPPRECIATED - (Canute a dipper)* [sadly]. A clever reference to Canute failing to stop the tide. Certainly not unappreciated by me.
21	Gives new order toholiday towns? (7)
	RESORTS - Double definition. I wonder if there's a league table of resorts?
22	Copied a page written by editor (4)
	APED - A P (page) ED (editor). It's always good to have a few easy ones to get you going.

Down
1	Dejected actors in county of Northern Ireland (8)
	DOWNCAST - DOWN (N.I. county) CAST (actors). Another useful encourager.
2	Painful sore makes one get agitated (4)
	BOIL - Double definition. I wonder if we will get anyone boiling in rage about today's crossword? I hope not. I think it's a beaut.
3	Lots of work around hospital department (6)
	PLENTY - PLY (work) around the old chestnut "Ear Nose and Throat" hospital department - ENT. If you've not seen this before, it's worth remembering. You're far more likely to find this in an answer than, say, Pathology.
4	Showed an interest in legal process and did likewise (8,4)
	FOLLOWED SUIT - FOLLOWED (Showed an interest) SUIT (legal process). As one did when playing cards.
5	Farm animal falls over in flowering plants (8)
	COWSLIPS - COW (Farm animal) SLIPS (falls over).... which conjures an entertaining image.
6	Challenge accepted by one radical rising up (4)
	DARE - Reverse [rising up] hidden in onE RADical. I dare you to criticise this puzzle!
7	German soldier spreading most terror with op (5,7)
	STORM TROOPER - (most terror op)* [spreading].
11	Finally teach class or upset those in it? (8)
	SCHOLARS - Anagram [upset] of {teac}H [finally] and CLASS OR. From what she says not everyone in the classes my wife teaches are these.
13	Good and mature, but unable to go up in the world? (8)
	GROUNDED - Take G (good) and add ROUNDED (mature - as in developed to perfection) to get what my son would be if he didn't act as befits a scholar in his classes.
15	Saracens initially given 50/50 chance in game of rugby (6)
	SEVENS - S{aracens} [initially] EVENS (50/50 chance). A great version of the game to watch. And a lovely surface.
18	Turning up, bishop gets to express satisfaction audibly (4)
	PURR - PU [turning] up RR (Right Reverend - the form of address of a bishop).
19	Procedure observed in latest epistle (4)
	STEP - Our 3rd hidden word! Found in lateST EPistle. Hmm. I thought a step was part of a procedure, but Chambers tells me otherwise!

An interesting Friday offering, with an unfussy approach that on occasions seemed only a hair above the difficulty level of the Quick Cryptic, but managed nevertheless to confound and deceive with little clever touches throughout. My first ones in came as late as 26 and 28ac; the downs proved easier but I was held up for long minutes at the end by 1dn, which is obviously not very amenable to the seeking of wordplay-based explanations. What can I say in my defence except that it was very early in the morning, and I refuse to let my mind even think about the horror of the daily commute in London until it is almost upon me and there is strictly no other option.

Word of the day to 23ac which is definitely the sort of thing a

verlaine would be proud to wear. I guess my COD goes grudgingly to 1dn for defeating me - anyone want to nominate any different candidates?

ACROSS
1 Refuse what can be earned around London? (6)
SEWAGE - London is in the southeast of the country so what can be earned there could be termed a S.E. WAGE.

4 Serene, though surrounded by endless pack ice (7)
PACIFIC - IF [though], surrounding by PAC{k} IC{e}, both "endless".

9 Traveller is author with American accent, speaking? (5)
RIDER - say WRITER [author] in an American accent.

10 Melting in our arms — that’s only seen at night (4,5)
URSA MINOR - (IN OUR ARMS*) ["melting"]

11 Cleric who’s left briefly, late coming in (9)
PRECENTOR - POR{t} [left "briefly"], with RECENT [late] coming in

12 River runs within explosive borders (5)
RHINE - R [runs] + IN [within] that H.E. [explosive] borders.

13 River: one among a number (4)
ARNO - R [one (river)] among A NO [a | number]

14 Alternate energy, extremely different (5,5)
EVERY OTHER - E VERY OTHER [energy | extremely | different]

18 Religious medal if dear must be changed to be accepted (3-7)
GOD-FEARING - GONG [medal], accepting (IF DEAR*) ["must be changed"]

20 A revolutionary force in the kitchen? (4)
CHEF - CHE F [a revolutionary | force], semi-&lit

23 Inoculation to back? It should be on one’s front (5)
JABOT - JAB [inoculation] + TO reversed. A jabot is a lacy frill worn under one's collar, mostly only as part of Highland dress nowadays, alas.

24 Explanation of desert island having left half missing (9)
RATIONALE - RAT IONA [desert | island] + LE{ft} ["half missing"]

25 Apology as starter of chicken leg having feathers on (5-4)
CLIMB-DOWN - C{hicken} + LEG [limb] having DOWN [feathers] on

26 Genevan, maybe, when drunken, is smart (5)
SWISH - SWISS [Genevan, maybe] as pronounced by a drunkard

27 Homeless person delighted to be in side ward (3,4)
BAG LADY - GLAD [delighted] to be in BAY [side ward]

28 Staging erotic content, hot stuff (6)
GINGER - hidden content in {sta}GIN GER{otic}

DOWN
1 Hold arm up in tube? That may be going to work (5-4)
STRAP-HANG - cryptic definition, related to commuting on the London Underground

2 What bird is doing we misrepresented? (7)
WIDGEON - (DOING WE*) ["misrepresented"]

3 Grand forest that may surround the house (6)
GARDEN - G ARDEN [grand | forest]

4 Bill has no time for puzzle (5)
POSER - POS{t}ER [bill] minus T for time

5 Phone feature defective — nothing working in the country (8)
CAMEROON - CAMER{a} [phone feature "defective"] + O ON [nothing | working]

6 Like a bit of fish, being European (7)
FINNISH - if something is like a FIN [a bit of a fish], it would be FINnish.

7 Cut right through hollow (5)
CARVE - R [right] through CAVE [hollow]

8 Plant endlessly lucrative when propagated (8)
CULTIVAR - (LUCRATIV{e}*) ["when propagated"]

15 Circle character that calls for an answer (8)
RINGTONE - RING TONE [circle | character]

16 New student joins part of army course (9)
REFRESHER - FRESHER [new student] joins R.E. [part of army (Royal Engineers)]

17 Bone half upright on bare ground (8)
VERTEBRA - VERT{ical} ["half" upright] on (BARE*) ["ground"]

19 Big band arrangement is briefly touching (7)
DABBING - (BIG BAND*) ["arrangement"]

21 Direction from husband say, stifling a row (7)
HEADING - H E.G. [husband | say], "stifling" A DIN [a | row]

22 A haughty type turns up one miniature (6)
BONSAI - reverse A SNOB [a | haughty type], plus I [one]

23 Judge a horse and a sheep (5)
JACOB - J A COB [judge | a | horse]. Jacobs are the piebald, multi-horned ones.

24 Capacious jumper, wow! (5)
ROOMY - ROO MY [jumper | wow!]

Well, that was a breeze. I was finished in about 30 minutes, which for me rates as a gentle canter. Perhaps they decided to give the rest of us a bit of a break, while the big guns were at the finals of the competition that weekend?

My last one in was 12ac, where I needed the helpers to get this slightly unfamiliar word. But, my last one justified was 9ac, where I didn’t understand the “sounds like” component. Is that a common expression?

My clue of the day was 18dn, for the nice combination of “twisting” and “turning”. The definitions in 10dn and 22dn were also particularly nice. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. Lots of fun all round, including more than the usual number of jocular double definitions.

Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, then wordplay. (ABC*) means 'anagram of ABC', with the anagram indicator in bold italics. Deletions are in [square brackets].

Across
1 E.g. Pancake Day hamper? (7,5)
MOVABLE FEAST: double definition: the first because Pancake Day, like Easter, is tied to lunar cycles; the second a jocular reference to picnic hampers.

8 Conclude negative vote's a disaster (7)
INFERNO: INFER / NO.

9 Pre-publicity on the radio increasingly highly charged? (5-2)
BUILD UP: this was a puzzle. I think the idea must be that to load charges onto a bill would be to “bill up”. If so, “billed up” would sound like the answer we’re looking for (“on the radio”). But, is “billed up” really an expression? I couldn’t find it in the usual dictionaries.

11 Some on reflection uselessly fill unfillable void (7)
NULLIFY: backwards (“on reflection”) hidden answer (“some”).

12 Drop fowl from behind, having permit (7)
DRIBLET: BIRD (fowl) “from behind” / LET (permit). A vaguely unfamiliar word, but clear enough once I thought of it.

13 Car wheel's sound (5)
AUDIO: AUDI (car) / O (“wheel”).

14 Taking this turns friend into devil at once (5,4)
RIGHT AWAY: if you take R out of FRIEND, you get FIEND.

16 Takes cue, perhaps, and breaks down (4,2,3)
GOES TO POT: double definition, the first a jocular reference to billiards or snooker.

19 Otologist, say, finding her area of expertise dull (5)
DREAR: DR (since an otologist, say, is a doctor) / EAR (what our otologist specialises in).

21 Vegetable lacking in hotel (7)
AUBERGE: the veg is an AUBERG[in]E.

23 Stint in India ends (7)
TERMINI: TERM (stint) / IN / I[ndia].

24 Taking home Anne, girl endlessly distressed (7)
EARNING: (ANNE GIR-*). Drop the L since the girl is endless.

25 I regret that Scottish cheese covers French bread (7)
BRIOCHE: OCH in BRIE. Chambers gives “regret” as a secondary definition of “och”. New to me.

26 Gone to take corner (5,3,4)
ROUND THE BEND: another double definition, the second the jocular version this time.

Down
1 Subdued miss was forward (7)
MUFFLED: MUFF, as in miss a shot / LED (was forward).

2 Doctor I try controls onset of rare medical condition (7)
VERTIGO: VET (doctor) “controls” R from r[are], then GO (try, as in “have a go”).

3 Bash goof up in unwelcome surprise (5,4)
BOOBY TRAP: reversal (“up”) of PARTY (bash) BOOB (goof).

4 Posh girl yours truly raised to get settled (5)
EMBED: reversal (“raised”) of DEB (your posh girl) / ME (yours truly).

5 English Literature is ultimately subject privileging the select few (7)
ELITIST: E (English) / LIT (literature) / IS / [subject]T.

6 Salad's got a bit of earth on it — proving this? (4,3)
SOD’S LAW: SOD on a SLAW, giving the thing known in my parts as Murphy’s Law.

7 Replace ageing slang with 'U' as digital expression (4,8)
SIGN LANGUAGE: (AGEING SLANG U*). Clever definition – not a computer language, after all.

10 At an early stage, continent’s bananas went by rail (5-7)
POTTY TRAINED: POTTY (bananas, as a euphemism for “mad”) / TRAINED (went by rail). And an even cleverer definition!

15 Make reservation in restaurant that's accessible (3-2-4)
GET-AT-ABLE: with a change in spacing, GET A TABLE.

17 Trade restriction scary chap lifted with business expert intervening (7)
EMBARGO: MBA “intervening” in OGRE (scary chap) backwards (“lifted”).

18 Top person's rubbish, turning and twisting (7)
TORSION: NO 1’S ROT, “turning”.

19 Room to rest together and chill — will they have nibbles? (7)
DORMICE: DORM (room to rest) / ICE (chill). I know nothing about dormice, but clearly they must be nibblers.

20 Indicated one man has kidnapped another (7)
EVINCED: ED takes VINCE.

22 Loopy figure’s importance, bypassing the Head (5)
EIGHT: [w]EIGHT. More cleverness!

Easiest Jumbo *I've* done in a while, certainly, proving all done and dusted in 12 minutes. Most of the definition parts led to exactly what you I expected them to, and were quickly substantiated by a glance at the cryptic; the wordplay is fairly homogeneous, a lot removing the first or last letter from something, inserting something into or removing something from something else. No bad thing to have a training-wheels-style Jumbo of course!

First One In 1ac, Last One In 39ac after I mentally double checked that it was a CLIP and not a FLAP... no hardened cyclist, me. Clue of the Day definitely goes to cheeky/clever &lit 5dn. Thanks setter!

ACROSS
1 After pressure, Democrat, implicated in US money changing, giving fake name (9)
PSEUDONYM - After P [pressure], D [Democrat] "implicated" in (US MONEY*) ["changing"]

6 Power and current provided reduction in frozen ocean (7)
PACIFIC - P [power] and AC IF [current | provided] + IC{y} ["reduction in" frozen]

10 Line taken with infant making incomprehensible sounds (5)
BABEL - L [line] taken with BABE [infant]

13 Member of House displaying a nature that's unruly (7)
TAUREAN - (A NATURE*) ["that's unruly"]. Zodiacal "house".

14 Candidate supported by me most of opposing voters will accept (7)
NOMINEE - MINE [supported by me], NOE{s} ["most of" opposing voters] will "accept"

15 Stage layout material recalled role in Hamlet (7)
LAERTES - SET REAL [stage layout | material] reversed

16 Blasé sign? It's surprisingly good (1,8,2,8)
A BLESSING IN DISGUISE - Reverse cryptic, "a blessing" being the anagrist and "in disguise" the anagrind to clue "blase sign".

17 View only 50% decent (3)
SEE - SEE{mly}

18 Brainboxes hurried to block agents (6)
CRANIA - RAN [hurried] to "block" CIA [agents]

20 Encourage a judge to tuck into cabbage (6)
CAJOLE - A J [a | judge] to "tuck into" COLE [cabbage]

21 Mostly futile cracking lock — siren results (9)
TEMPTRESS - EMPT{y} ["mostly" futile] "cracking" TRESS [lock]

23 Farm building showing several different layers? (7-3)
CHICKEN RUN - cryptic definition, the layers here being layers of eggs, i.e. hens.

25 Summons learner driver aboard vehicle in local smashes (7,4)
CLARION CALL - L [learner driver] "aboard" CAR [vehicle] + (IN LOCAL*) ["smashes"]

29 Detective's skill, containing one racket (5)
NOISE - NOSE [detective's kill], containing I [one]

30 Transfer story in article upset most of team (8)
ALIENATE - LIE [story] in AN [article] + (TEA{m}*) ["upset"]. A legal transfer, here.

31 Poorly educated fellow accepting University maltreatment (3-5)
ILL-USAGE - ILL SAGE [poorly | educated fellow] "accepting" U [university]

34 Element supporting barter economy perhaps seeing no end to trade (8)
ANTIMONY - ANTI-MON{e}Y [supporting barter economy, perhaps], minus {trad}E

36 Party functionary governed area (8)
DOMINION - DO MINION [party | functionary]

37 Parliamentarian abandoning leader? That is strange (5)
EERIE - {p}EER [parliamentarian "abandoning leader"] + I.E. [that is]

39 Appropriate speed providing security for cyclist? (7,4)
TROUSER CLIP - TROUSER [appropriate, as in "pocket"] + CLIP [speed]

41 Audio version of dark gangster title (10)
KNIGHTHOOD - homophone of NIGHT [dark] + HOOD [gangster]

43 Clears rocks behind compartment in mountain transport (5,4)
CABLE CARS - (CLEARS*) ["rocks"] behind CAB [compartment]

45 Party, only not the right wing, probed by one in Central America (6)
SOCIAL - SOL{e} [only, "not the right wing"] probed by I [one] in CA [Central America]

47 Save money? Shortening of film scenario saving millions (6)
SCRIMP - SCRIP{t} ["shortening of" film scenario] "saving" M [millions]

49 Say more days will be attached to allowance at the outset (3)
ADD - D D [(two) days] will be attached to A{llowance}

50 Assertion of solidarity with players from Broadway? (5,5,4,5)
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE - cryptic definition I think, the players being footballers, and "Broadway" referring to the fact that the song was original in Broadway musical Carousel.

52 Exotic orchestra has scheme excluding piano (7)
GAMELAN - GAME{p}LAN [scheme, minus P for piano]

53 Attempt the black, perhaps, and fail badly (2,2,3)
GO TO POT - double def, the first half being a snooker reference

54 Lad's first to dismiss a form of winter sport (7)
BOBSLED - BOB'S LE{a}D [lad's | first "to dismiss A"]

55 What one US mayor will do in a fluid way (5)
RUNNY - RUN NY [what one US mayor (currently Bill de Blasio) will do]

56 Is content missing from Friday after next day’s content? (7)
SATISFY - IS F{rida}Y after SAT [next day (after Fri)]

57 Unconventional business involving Queen trapped by spell (9)
HETERODOX - TO-DO [business] "involving" ER [Queen], "trapped by" HEX [spell]

DOWN
1 Former PM, note, engaged by expert for a small amount (8)
PITTANCE - PITT [former PM] + N [note] "engaged by" ACE [expert]

2 Peer’s endless uneasiness after end of vote (5)
EQUAL - QUAL{m} ["endless" uneasiness] after {vot}E

3 Fashion groupies, perhaps, in part of theatre (5,6)
DRESS CIRCLE - which also suggests a circle of people who are into dress, sort of

4 Ambassador’s sister ultimately ecstatic, over the moon (6)
NUNCIO - NUN [sister] + {ecstati}C, over IO [moon]

5 Blokes get on with Rosa, becoming involved with it? (6,1,5)
MENAGE A TROIS - MEN AGE [blokes | get on] + (ROSA ... IT*) ["...becoming involved with..."] &lit

6 Pepper the writer fed to horse (7)
PIMENTO - ME [the writer] "fed to" PINTO [horse]

7 Cheating king enveloped in self-assurance given approval rating (10,5)
CONFIDENCE TRICK - R [king] "enveloped" in CONFIDENCE [self-assurance] given TICK [approval rating]

8 Railway vehicle about to be surrounded by battle — no end of concern (7-3)
FREIGHT-CAR - RE [about] to be "surrounded by" FIGHT [battle] + CAR{e} ["no end of" concern]

9 Metal collected, involving one into copper (7)
CALCIUM - CALM [collected], "involving" I [one] "into" CU [copper]

10 How you should articulate of course at the Sorbonne? (4,7)
BIEN ENTENDU - cryptic definition, actually just looking for the French for "of course"

11 Biblical 21, clean, with sex appeal, ensnaring Hebrew (9)
BATHSHEBA - BATH [clean] with S.A. [sex appeal] "ensnaring" HEB [Hebrew]. 21 = 21ac's solution, temptress.

12 Follows advice when dismissing first two in combat (7)
LISTENS - {wh}EN ["dismissing first two"] in LISTS [combat]

19 One not believing in being at scene of crime (7)
ATHEIST - or, differently punctuated, AT HEIST [at scene of | crime]

22 Fee covering coach but not car ultimately (8)
RETAINER - RE [covering] + T{r}AINER [coach, but not {ca}R]

24 Rampant nepotism amongst junior officers is without reason (3,6,6)
NON COMPOS MENTIS - (NEPOTISM*) ["rampant"] amongst NON-COMS [junior officers]

26 Stage show capable of providing a lone hit (8)
IOLANTHE - (A LONE HIT*) ["capable of providing..."]

27 Art-songs remain greatly loved, bar the third (6)
LIEDER - LIE [remain] + DE{a}R [greatly loved, "bar the third"]

28 Child really should have name — not Charlie (6)
INFANT - IN FA{c->N}T [really] taking N [name] for C [Charlie]

32 Deduced time for pranks or indiscretions, primarily (1,6)
A PRIORI - APR 1 [time for pranks] + OR I{ndiscretions}

33 One won’t give you a hand for a time (7,5)
DIGITAL WATCH - cryptic def, digital watches being the type that don't tell the time using hands

35 Religious presentation having awed response? Yes, partly, after rewriting (7,4)
MYSTERY PLAY - MY! [awed response] + (YES PARTLY*) ["after rewriting"]

37 Room for reflection? (4,7)
ECHO CHAMBER - cryptic definition

38 Escape, carrying whip and torch (10)
FLASHLIGHT - FLIGHT [escape] "carrying" LASH [whip]

40 Government official starts to develop motorway in Arab state (9)
OMBUDSMAN - BUDS M [starts to develop | motorway] in OMAN [Arab state]

42 A photographer's first photographs appearing around last supplement (8)
APPENDIX - A P{hotographer} + PIX [photographs] "appearing round" END [last]

43 Electric device runs after payment (7)
CHARGER - R [runs] after CHARGE [payment]

44 Former student requiring a reduction in mass student body (7)
ALUMNUS - A + LUM{p} ["reduction in" mass] + NUS [student body]

46 Engaging ambassador, about to work for little money (7)
CHEAPLY - "engaging" H.E. [ambassador], CA PLY [about | to work]

48 Very nearly join, after intervention of Lord Lieutenant (3,3)
ALL BUT - ABUT [join], after "intervention of" LL [Lord Lieutenant]

51 Not initially filthy drunk (5)
OILED - {s}OILED ["not initially" filthy]

* My desultory research indicates that the first citation of “It’s quiet… too quiet” may be a line in the film Drums Along the Mohawk (1939).

This was a moderately entertaining and not very difficult puzzle. Six Double Definitions (DD), nothing very convoluted. Some might even find the long anagram to be the hardest clue here, with the quite terse definition. I have no doubt about any of my interpretations and am aware of nothing that I’ve failed to parse.

…Of course, I have felt that way before, so there is still a slight, lingering fear that kevingregg and/or jackkt or another of our estimable solvers will emerge from the shadows where they are lurking to reveal fatal errors in my strategy.

I do (masangra)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clue.

ACROSS

1	12 awkwardly holding cut beast (8)
	ANTELOPE— (EATEN)* with LOP, “cut,” inside
5	Fixedcause of poor reception (6)
	STATIC— DD
10	Cutting ditch with worker (9)
	TRENCHANT— TRENCH + ANT
11	Father Brown finally married a temptress (5)
	SIREN— SIRE (“father”) + [brow]N. I guess the two parts could be said to be “married” here, but that’s really just for the surface. (We’ll encounter a siren again in my note to the very last clue.)
12	It’s said school for the rich scoffed (5)
	EATEN— Sounds like Eton. (At last, a noncontroversial homophone.)
13	Engine put outside a drinking den (3,6)
	GIN PALACE— “Gin” as in “cotton gin,” a machine or “engine” + P(A)LACE
14	Athlete on mountain eating a vegetable (6,4)
	RUNNER BEAN“Athlete” is RUNNER and then you have BE(A)N
17	Talk idly about rare clothes (4)
	GARB— GA(R)B
19	Dog swallows large piece of tobacco (4)
	PLUG— P(L)UG
20	Bug makes 1000 notepads run poorly (4-6)
	POND-SKATER— (K [1000] + NOTEPADS + R)*
22	If returning oarsman holds record it shows strength (4-5)
	FIRE-POWER— IF<— + R(EP)OWER. Recording artists still put out Extended Play vinyl discs!
24	Little container found in street (5)
	SCANT— S(CAN)T
26	Henry meeting his rejected wife, which might have made him look red (5)
	HENNA— H + ANNE<—
27	A campanologist might seem familiar (4,1,4)
	RING A BELL— The literal meaning of the words of the idiom then defined
28	Tenor requested to be given something to do (6)
	TASKED— T + ASKED
29	Having no ideawhat I want to do after retirement (8)
	CLUELESS— DD, one of them (I hope) a joke. I mean, it is a bit of a downer to think that, as implied by the second part, our setter (or is it the editor?) is finding the writing of clues here to be such a chore. When, in 1998, we at The Nation put on a 50th anniversary party for our crossword setter then, the former OSS cryptographer Frank W. Lewis, we learned that his payment for each puzzle had not changed in the previous five decades (he did, of course, immediately get a raise). Yet we had never heard a peep out of him about this. Apparently, his production of our puzzles was primarily a labor of love.

DOWN
1	How a race might have started, with all speed (2,3,4,2,1,3)
	AT THE DROP OF A HAT— DD. I’m not sure “with all speed” captures my sense of the phrase, which is closer to “suddenly”—or, as the definition offered by Google has it, "Acting readily or on some single signal. In the 19th century it was occasionally the practice in the United States to signal the start of a fight or a race by dropping a hat or sweeping it downward while holding it in the hand.” (Not in England also?) Are the explanation of the idiom and the idiom itself really two definitions?
2	Care forsomething special (5)
	TREAT— DD
3	Pub owner, perhaps, seen distressed by horrible insects (8)
	LICENSEE— (seen)* next to LICE, “horrible insects”
4	Head of Property managed end of housing crash (5)
	PRANG— P[roperty] + RAN, “managed” + [housin]G
6	Navigator takes volunteers to southern isle (6)
	TASMAN— The “volunteers” are the T(erritorial) A(rmy), plus S for “southern” and the Isle of MAN
7	Ruin a garment, beginning to tear in fury? (9)
	TERMAGANT— (a garment)* + T[ear]
8	Edit extremely early Burt Lancaster work (10,5)
	CANTERBURY TALES - (E[arl]Y + BURT LANCASTER)*
9	The usualflag (8)
	STANDARD— DD
15	They’re tiny and barely matter (9)
	NEUTRINOS— An amusing Cryptic Definition
16	Diligent student’s grub (8)
	BOOKWORM— DD
18	Get painting from tall building right away! (8)
	SKYSCAPE— SKYSC[-r]APE[-r]. The particular sort of non-Ximenean clue (wordplay + definition plus“Get”) of which I am not a great fan.
21	Old head swallows one drug to help rest (6)
	OPIATE— O + P(I)ATE
23	Official carries note to do with organs (5)
	RENAL— RE(N)AL. That is, to do specifically with the kidneys.
25	Ridge discovered by veteran returning after shelling (5)
	ARETE— [-n]ARETE[-v]<— From Latin arista, “ear of corn, fish bone, spine.” In the famous chanson “Supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sète,” Georges Brassens pleads to be buried, when the time comes, on the beach where he spent the best days of his youth, was initiated in the mysteries of love and avalait la première arête, “swallowed the first fishbone,” which is to say, learned that every rose has its thorns: Auprès d’une sirène, une femme-poisson J’ai reçu de l’amour la première leçon Avalait la première arête (Next to a siren, a mermaid, I received my first lesson of love, Swallowed the first fishbone…)

Unless you’re very experienced you are unlikely to solve a Mephisto without using Chambers. The idea is that you use the precise wordplay to derive an answer that you then verify in the dictionary. 19A is a perfect example.

This was a very pleasant puzzle of average complexity. The PM top row pun is back with “balustrade”. Spare Rib jogged some memories – a magazine that certainly provoked hot debate at the time. Past issues can all be read in digital form via the British Library

In the clues, definitions are underlined. Wordplay explanation is followed by very helpful comments.

ACROSS
1 Ship is steadied by this thing which is round a stone (7)
BALLAST: BALL-A-ST;
6 Lit up and ready to burst (5)
RAYED: (ready)*;
10 Racket in fake tax-man’s district (6)
RIDING: RI(DIN)G;
12 Italian company on greeting (4)
CIAO: CIA-O; Italian company=CIA; on=O’; pronounced “chow”
13 Adult clumsily cleans daggers (7)
ANLACES: A-(cleans)*;
14 In error lead oblivion and endless opportunity in decay (12, three words)
RULE,THE,ROOST: RU(LETHE-ROO(m))ST; oblivion=LETHE; endless opportunity=ROO(m); the correct phrase is “rule the roast” but if you said that nobody would know what you meant!
15 What sewer carries is pretty fruity from the central regions (4)
ETUI: (pr)ET(ty) (fr)UI(ty); a sewing basket, nice piece of misdirection;
17 Naval officer’s utter delight rounding the Kentish region? (6)
PURSER: PUR(SE)R; Kent is in SE England;
19 Flower (Chinese), first from the right school (8)
CHENOPOD: CH-(ONE reversed)-POD; Chinese=CH;
21 Unbending stickler’s point in trading place (8)
MARTINET: MAR(TINE)T;
23 Row about what limits thankful claimant in the past (6)
TITLER: TI(TL)ER; TL from T(hankfu)L;
24 Deaccession book from premium load (4)
ONUS: (b)ONUS; b=book;
26 Mortal turned towards beguiling noise, no? (12, three words)
OFF,ONES,ONION: OFF-ON-(noise no)*; turned=OFF (as in food); towards=ON; mortal means drunk or off ones head
29 Industrious colonist back outside state restaurant in the Aegean (7)
TAVERNA: ANT reversed surrounds AVER;
30 Faraday — outstanding type (4)
FACE: F-ACE;
31 Daily work by Sergeant-Major on motivational research (6, two words)
MRS,MOP: MR-SM-OP; MR=motivational research;
32 Shakespeare’s mess is intractable (5)
SHARD: ‘S-HARD; cowpat in Stratford;
33 Revamped tablets, such as may be charged in, eg, All Souls Buttery (7)
BATTELS: (tablets)*; student’s accounts at Oxford;

DOWN
1 Eliot’s opening on sitting under brown shrub seen in poetry (5)
BRERE: BR-E(liot)-RE;
2 Polynesian superman’s indefinable quality set in gold (4)
AITU: A(IT)U;
3 Lodge in luxury college, cohab should ring (12, three words)
LIVE,IN,CLOVER: LIVE-IN-C-LOVER; college=C; sample la vie en rose
4 Colouring anecdotal collection with extreme spinning (6)
ANATTO: ANA-OTT reversed;
5 The Tube left to go by cerebration? (8)
TELEPORT: TELE-PORT;
6 Hinder/ nurse (4)
REAR: two meanings
7 Concert is into morphing zydeco comp, perhaps (12)
ACCORDIONIST: ACCORD-(is into)*; Lawrence Welk or Myron Floren presumably.
8 A set of overseas selectors heading west of Wishaw (6)
EASSEL: hidden (overs)EAS-SEL(ectors); a scots word meaning “eastward” or “easterly”. Wishaw is between and south of both Glasgow and Edinburgh, so I found “west of Wishaw” rather confusing. Heading inland from Oban I would have understood.
9 Harry insulting commie makes steady progress (7)
DOGTROT: DOG-TROT;
11 Unconventional unit led agent to weaken? (7)
DILUENT: (unit led)*;
16 Opening in kilt ridicule challenging mag (8, two words)
SPARE,RIB: SPARE-RIB; opening in kilt=SPARE; ridicule=RIB; iconic magazine Spare Rib's first issue was published in June 1972. It circulated widely through women's groups and networks. Its purpose was to investigate and present alternatives to the traditional gender roles for women
18 To bask is in New Mexico’s set of orthodox beliefs (7)
SUNNISM: SUN-N(IS)M;
19 Copper swells in recycled jeans? (7)
CUTOFFS: CU-TOFFS; jeans cut down to make shorts
20 Boater, say, to lie about reefer (6)
BIFTAH; HAT-FIB all reversed; a spliff or a joint
22 Timber is extremely artificial (6)
TOOART: TOO-ART;
25 Steals wheels from the south (5)
SNIPS: SPINS reversed;
27 Miss providing massage reportedly (4)
NEED: sounds like “knead”;
28 In America wolf up bit of Thucydides (4)
OBOL: LOBO reversed; LOBO=wolf; small Greek coin

To be honest, I was well stuffed by this one, albeit beaten by two rare words and one where I was looking for the wrong bit of underwear. Yes - one of the those days. The rest took me around 40 minutes and contained one of the great all-time words, beloved of Antipodeans. A lot of nice stuff here, I thought - just too much for my little brain.

ACROSS

1 Arrangement for art-house distribution (5-3)
SHARE-OUT - anagram* of ART-HOUSE
6 Instructions on what's regularly used by chippies (6)
RECIPE - RE (on) C[h]I[p]P[i]E[s]
9 Chap's rear squeezed into short item of underwear: laugh uncontrollably (6)
CORPSE - [cha]P in CORSE[t]
10 Old person, heading off towards port reportedly, finding shellfish supplier? (4,4)
ROCK POOL - [c]ROCK POOL (slang term for the city where the Scousers play; alternatively, as Jack points out, the rather more prosaic, albeit accurate, parsing is 'sounds like POOLE', the pleasant place that once was - and still ought to be - in Dorset)
11 A rodent from tail to head is so long (2-2)
TA-RA - reversal of A RAT
12 Secret group I dismissed, right away (10)
CLASSIFIED - CLASS I FI[r]ED
14 Defamed a journalist backing press changes (8)
ASPERSED - PRESS* in A ED; didn't know it could be a verb - only ever heard them being cast
16 Hit, throwing stone in brawl (4)
RUCK - [st]RUCK (STRUCK with the ST thrown away)
18 Project with European material (4)
JUTE - JUT E
19 Former duke enters Cambridgeshire city in joyful fashion (8)
ELATEDLY - LATE D in ELY
21 Expert's way accepted by Pamela and Daisy (4,6)
PAST MASTER - ST in PAM ASTER
22 Composer's brief to supply modern music (4)
RAVE - RAVE[l]
24 Obedient tot gets back into good book (8)
BIDDABLE - reversal of ADD in BIBLE
26 Down under, real scandal about injecting fluid (6)
DINKUM - INK in MUD reversed
27 Motif at entrance to this art museum (3,3)
THE MET - THEME T[his]
28 Thus row hasn't finished about accommodation cost in Italian resort (8)
SORRENTO - RENT in SO RO[w]

DOWN

2 Ensnare a smoker (5)
HOOKA - HOOK A
3 Substitute set to appear after second match almost finished (11)
REPLACEMENT - CEMENT after REPLA[y]
4 Gloomy director's position in theatre? (8)
OVERCAST - setter whimsy, since the director lords it over the cast
5 Punishes sailors with contaminated fresh tea (4,3,8)
TARS AND FEATHERS - TARS (sailors) AND (with) FRESH TEA*
6 Drivers one's seen on motorway showing unacceptable prejudice (6)
RACISM - RAC IS M
7 What group of scouts mostly raised perhaps? (3)
CAP - PAC[k] reversed to give a nice all-in-one for what they do when they meet their elders and betters. If only...
8 Successfully tested class, securing good grade in French language (9)
PROVENCAL - PROVEN A in CL
13 Long suffering soldiers mostly exhausted, invading European country (11)
FORBEARANCE - OR BEA[t] (exhausted, dead beat) in FRANCE
15 Prudish girl attracted to Mennonite sect, without question (9)
SQUEAMISH - Q in SUE AMISH
17 Political reformer enlisted by US socialists in area of N America (8)
LABRADOR - RAD in LABOR for a part of Canada; cunning that
20 Songbird to flutter, chasing rail (6)
BARBET - and not 'barbat', which is a central Asian lute (or was when someone still played it); I'd just bought my tickets for the racing at Sha Tin and still couldn't see paste fluttering eyelashes. Tsk!
23 Very mature red ultimately missing in cellar (5)
VAULT - V A[d]ULT
25 Monk last to leave part of cathedral (3)
DOM - DOM[e]; not all cathedrals have domes, but some do, which is good enough for me

Jumbo 1348

A rare visit from your founder …

Sunday Times 4822 by David McLean - everything else is obsolete

Mephisto 3035 - Tim Moorey

The Times Crosswords Championships 2018

Times 27187 - Torcher, say?

QC 1215 by Felix

Times Quick Cryptic 1216 by Howzat

Times Cryptic 27188

Quick Cryptic 1217 by Orpheus

Times 27189 - more of a cat's breakfast.

Times Cryptic No 27190, Thursday, 8 November 2018 Second Wave

Times Quick Cryptic No 1218 by Hurley

Times Quick Cryptic No 1219 by Izetti

Times 27,191: Mesopotamia

Times Cryptic No 27186 - Saturday, 03 November 2018. Better the devil you know.

Times Jumbo 1349: At A Fair Clip

Sunday Times Cryptic 4823, by Jeff Pearce — It’s easy… too easy(?)*

Mephisto 3036 Paul McKenna

Times 27193 - Epic Fails